Page 39 of The Trouble with Tigers
She gritted her teeth.
Lady Lillian turned to Zeke. “How long did you say 'til Maidstone?”
“With stops, we’ll arrive before nightfall,” Zeke answered.
“Excellent.” She turned a bright smile on Kitty. “My dear girl, I learned of your existence for the very first time last night around midnight, and was given only the briefest of details. I’m exceedingly curious as to how all of this came about.”
Zeke eyed Kitty. “As am I.”
“You don’t know?” Lillian asked him.
“Obviously I’m privy to the basics, as I am the groom in this melodrama. Still, I’d love to hear Kitty’s rendition.” He sent her a banal smile.
Kitty focused her attention on Lady Lillian. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Start with your relationship with my brother, Claybourne.”
Zeke spoke up. “The earl and Kitty’s grandfather, the late Baron of Maidstone, fought together in the Crimean War.”
Kitty glanced at him in surprise. “That’s right. My grandfather trusted Lord Claybourne implicitly. He told me to go to him if ever I felt…”threatened. She cleared her throat. “If I needed safe harbor for a time.”
“Your grandfather? What of your parents?” Lillian asked.
“Both deceased. They passed some four years ago. Cholera.”
Lillian’s brows furrowed. “I’m terribly sorry to hear that, Kitty. Do you mind if I call you Kitty?”
“Please.”
Lady Lillian flashed a brief smile.
“My parents traveled a great deal due to their chosen professions. Cartographers, both of them. They contracted the disease in America, shortly before they were to sail for home.”
“How dreadful. I’m sorry.” After a moment’s pause, Lillian went on. “Cartographers, you say? They must’ve travelled extensively.”
“Almost constantly, from as early a time as I can remember.”
“That must’ve made for an interesting childhood,” Zeke sounded as if he found the notion intriguing..
Kitty slanted him a glance. “They didn’t take us, generally. Their destinations were, by design, uncharted territory. Hardly fit for children.” Turning back to Lady Lillian she added, “My grandfather filled in during their absences.”
Lillian shot her great nephew a fond smile. “Zeke had a similar upbringing.”
“Just so.” He flashed his Aunt a brief grin, which faded the instant he shifted his attention to Kitty. “You said ‘us.’ Do you have siblings?”
She regarded her hands in her lap. “I had an older brother.” Her valiant, charming Collin. “He died two years ago.” If only he had stayed home with her and their grandfather instead of sailing to America, none of this would be happening.
Lillian shook her head and took Kitty’s bare hands. “Poor darling. Losing your parents, your brother, and your grandfather, all in the span of four years.”
Kitty found she couldn't speak.
“I’m so glad you came to us. So very glad.”
“Thank you, Lady Lillian. That’s very kind of you to say.”
“I still don’t understand how James figures in all this—save for the obvious,” Zeke said.
“What, pray tell, is the obvious?” Lillian asked.
