Page 118 of The Trouble with Tigers
“You didn’t see her. You don’t know,” Lillian insisted. “I suggested she retire to her chamber, or the family parlor at the end of the hall, at the very least. She wouldn’t hear of it. Not knowing what else to do for her, I finally went to fetch her a cup of tea.
“When I returned, Kitty was nowhere in sight. I first thought she’d retired. Then I noticed the parlor door stood ajar. I tiptoed toward the room, not wanting to intrude if she was resting. I heard voices.”
Zeke stiffened. He and his grandfather exchanged a meaningful look.
Had James waylaid her? Zeke remembered now she’d been crying. If her cousin had harmed her, if he’d so much as frightened her, Zeke would tear him apart. Slowly. “James’s voice among them, no doubt?”
To his surprise, Lillian shook her head. “I listened a moment. Not to eavesdrop, you understand, but because I know the danger her guardian—er, previous guardian—poses.” Her eyes narrowed. “Finally I heard Kitty call the man by name. Collin.”
Impatience stirred within Zeke. So Kitty and her brother had a private conversation. So what. “Go on.”
“It was obvious their conversation was upsetting Kitty.”
The earl cocked a brow. “Why do you say that, Lill?”
“Because she was crying.”
Zeke stifled a sigh. “Didn’t you say she’d been crying over my injury?”
“Yes. I thought the same, until I heard her ask Lord Hastings if there wasn’t some other way.”
Lillian broke off a moment to reflect. “Yes, those were her exact words. Collin, isn’t there some other way? To which he replied, quite testily, no, there wasn’t, and how could she think of objecting after all he’d been through.”
She took a moment to lock eyes with both men, alternately. “He also told her she mustn’t to breathe a word of their plans to any member of the Claybourne household. He made her promise.”
The earl’s white brows furrowed with concern. “What could he have asked her to do he would demand her to keep secret?”
Lillian frowned. “I don’t know. I stopped listening when she started crying in earnest. It broke my heart.”
Zeke slapped his palms on his thighs and rose. “One way to find out.”
Lillian’s eyes went round. “You won’t tell her I—”
Zeke gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry your pretty head, aunt. I’ll be discreet. I only plan to…”
Hell. He had no plan. Just a feeling of dread urging him to move. “…to talk to her,” he finished lamely.
“But you can’t simply descend on a lady’s private chambers. It’s not proper,” Lillian insisted.
Zeke didn’t stick around to argue the point.
A few minutes later—minutes that felt like bloody hours—he stood outside Kitty’s door. Now that he was here, he found himself somewhat chagrined. She clearly had no desire to speak with him.
On the other hand, he wasn’t leaving without answers.
He rapped twice. Waited. And waited. Rapped again, harder.
Still no response.
Something was very wrong. He grasped the doorknob, swallowing hard. “Kitty, I’m coming in,” he said loud enough for her to hear from her inner chamber. He turned the lever, and after a beat, pushed open the door.
Her sitting room was all wrong. His gaze raked the area, trying to pinpoint exactly what seemed off. Then it struck him. It was perfectly tidy, not a single item of hers in sight. He stalked forward, yanked open the adjoining door, and felt the blood drain from his face.
Kitty was gone.
Operating on instinct, he bolted from her suite, and raced down the corridor toward the bachelors’ wing. He came to James’s chamber first. He flung open the heavy walnut door, slamming it into the papered wall. Empty.
He crossed the hall to Hastings’ chamber, already knowing what he’d find.
