Page 117 of The Trouble with Tigers
“Because you were whistling.”
He thought a moment. “So I was.”
“Odd to be so jubilant after getting a nasty knock in the head, don’t you think, Randall? Perhaps we should have tried that on him earlier in the week.”
Zeke refrained from rising to the bait. By George, he was in a grand mood.
“Ah. That ought to suffice for the journey back to London,” Caden said a few minutes later, when he’d consumed a copious amount of eggs, ham, beans, and toast.
“Alas, it is that time, is it not?” Randall asked.
“We’ll miss you,” Zeke said with a grin.
“Don’t pay any attention to him. The house won’t be the same without the two of you here to wreak havoc on us all,” the earl said. “Isn’t that so, Lill?”
Aunt Lillian appeared lost in thought. With everyone’s eyes on her, she gave a start. “You were saying?” she asked of no one in particular.
Caden threw his head back to laugh. “On that note, I’m off to my chambers to gather my things.”
“I’ll do the same,” Randall said.
Both men rose. “What, you’re leaving today?” Lillian asked them.
Her look of indignation had no effect on the hoots of laughter her question heralded, though Zeke’s affectionate wink seemed to mollify her.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
After his brother and Randall left the room, Zeke checked his pocket watch. Late. Soon, breakfast would be cleared from the sideboard. Damn it, why hadn’t she come down yet? Was she so mortified by last night’s events?
Didn’t she know he’d only pushed the bounds of their relationship because she’d agreed to marry him?
As to that, the sooner the better. To date Kitty hadn’t proven herself the most practical girl when it came to marriage, but he assumed she’d be on board with the idea of a hasty wedding.
After all, she loved him.
He’d be happy to ask her opinion on the matter. If she ever came downstairs.
“What’s got you all bothered?” his grandfather demanded. “When you first walked in here, you seemed grand.”
Zeke cocked his head, considered his grandfather’s words, then said, “Matter of fact, there is something on my mind. Something I wish to share with both of you, as it happens, since you’re both privy to certain pertinent facts.”
“You actually plan to marry our girl, am I right?” the earl surmised, calm as you please.
Zeke frowned. “Yes. How did you guess?”
The earl waved a dismissive hand. “It was only a matter of time.”
“Oh, dear,” Aunt Lillian said.
Both men turned to look at her.
“I wasn’t sure I should say anything, but now…” She trailed off, her expression pained.
“Say anything about what?” Zeke demanded.
“Late yesterday afternoon, after Dr. Caswell arrived, and Kitty and I adjourned to the corridor outside Ezekiel’s chamber, she was beside herself. She kept muttering something about it all having been her fault, and a few choice words concerning the good doctor I’d rather not repeat.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Zeke’s mouth. “She was upset. Seems a normal reaction for a concerned fiancé.”
