Page 38 of Just Imagine
Kit fell to her knees. Oblivious to the damage his dusty paws were inflicting on her dove-gray traveling dress, she hugged him and let him lap her face. Her hat fell to the carpet, loosening her carefully arranged hair, but she didn’t care.
Cain’s voice intruded on their reunion like a polar wind over a glacier. “I see finishing school hasn’t improved you. You’re still the same headstrong little brat you were three years ago.”
Kit looked up at him and said the first thing that came to mind. “You’re just mad because the dog’s smarter than you are.”
8
Not long after Cain had stalked out of the sitting room, Kit heard a familiar voice. “Lucy, did you let that dog in the house again?”
“He slipped past me, Miz Sophronia.”
“Well, he won’t slip past me!”
Kit smiled as she heard the approach of brisk, efficient footsteps. She hugged Merlin and whispered, “I won’t let her get you.”
Sophronia swept into the room, then drew to a sudden halt. “Oh, I’m sorry. Lucy didn’t say we had a visitor.”
Kit looked up and gave her a mischievous grin.
“Kit!” Sophronia’s hand flew to her mouth. “Lord! Is it really you?”
With a laugh, Kit sprang to her feet and raced toward her. “It’s me, all right.”
The women hugged each other while Merlin circled them, barking at their skirts.
“It’s so good to see you. Oh, Sophronia, you’re even more beautiful than I remember.”
“Me! Look at you. You look like you just stepped out of Godey’s Lady’s Book.”
“It’s all Elsbeth’s doing.” Kit laughed again and grabbed Sophronia’s hand. They sank down on the settee, where they tried to catch up on three years of separation.
Kit knew it was her fault their correspondence had been so infrequent. Sophronia didn’t like to write letters, and the few she’d sent were so full of praise for what Cain was doing at Risen Glory that Kit’s replies had been scathing. Finally Sophronia had stopped writing.
Kit remembered her earlier agitation over all the improvements Sophronia had made to the house. Now that seemed petty, and she praised her for everything she’d done.
Sophronia drank in Kit’s words. She knew the old house was shining under her care, and she was proud of her accomplishments. At the same time, she began to feel the familiar combination of love and resentment that always plagued her where Kit was concerned.
For so long, Sophronia had been the only one watching out for Kit. Now Kit was a woman with friendships and experiences Sophronia couldn’t share. She was also beautiful, poised, and at home in a world Sophronia would never enter.
The old hurts began to throb.
“Don’t think because you’re home now you can start stickin’ your nose in my business and tellin’ me how to run this house.”
Kit merely chuckled. “I wouldn’t think of it. All I care about is the land. The fields. I can’t wait to see everything.”
Sophronia’s resentment faded and worry took its place. Putting the major and Kit under the same roof was going to lead to trouble.
Rosemary Weston’s old bedroom had been redecorated in blush pink and soft moss green. It reminded Kit of the inside of a ripe watermelon, close to the bottom where the pink meat joined the pale iridescence of the rind. She was glad the cool, pretty room would be hers, even though it was second-best to the bedroom Cain occupied. The fact that both shared a common sitting room made her uneasy, but at least it would allow her to keep a closer watch on him.
How could she have let him kiss her like that? The question she’d been trying to avoid asking felt like a fist in her stomach. True, she’d pushed him away, but not before he’d thoroughly kissed her. If it had been Brandon Parsell, she could have understood, but how could she have done such a thing with Baron Cain?
She remembered Mrs. Templeton’s lecture on Eve’s Shame. Surely only an unnatural woman would abandon herself like that with her most bitter enemy. Maybe there was something wrong with her.
Nonsense. She’d merely been exhausted from the trip, and Miss Dolly’s chatter was enough to drive anyone into doing something irrational.
Determined not to think of it again, she stripped off her dress and stood in chemise and petticoat to freshen up at the washstand. Bathing was her favorite luxury. She could hardly believe she’d once hated it so. What a silly child she’d been. Silly about everything except her hatred for Cain.
She cursed softly under her breath, a habit even Elsbeth hadn’t been able to stop. Before Cain had stormed out of the sitting room, he’d ordered her to meet him in the library after dinner. She wasn’t looking forward to the interview. At the same time, he needed to understand he was no longer dealing with an immature eighteen-year-old.
