Already His (The Caversham Chronicles - Book Two) (13 page)

“Do not,” he implored, “for the love of all that’s conventional and proper, take anything Lady Sewell says to heart. She’s an old woman who would stir up trouble just to watch the debris settle.”

“She is not,” Elise defended her grandmother. “And as I have determined to marry for love alone, I want—as every intelligent woman should—to compare kisses to make sure I find the perfect mate for me.”

“I’ll be damned if you’re going to go about testing each young buck to see if you like how his lips feel on yours!”

“Come now, Michael, you’re not my brother. You can hardly exert that sort of influence over what I do.”

“The hell I can’t. I’ll tell Ren, and....”

“If you did, then you’d also have to reveal that
you
kissed me. How do you think he’d react to that?”

She had a point. He very well couldn’t order her brother to lock her away because he had already kissed her—obviously disturbing him more than her. As the path neared the canal, Michael pondered what she’d said as he spied movement near the edge of the field. He saw two children, a little girl and a little boy, carrying a small wooden box between them, then set it down near the bushes. The girl lifted the cloth covering the top of the box, then the boy turned the box over onto its side. The girl was crying, so he pulled his team to a stop to observe.

Michael saw that Elise also noticed the children. They both watched as the girl sat on the grass in front of the crate and began to coax whatever was inside to come out. Two furry little orange kitten heads appeared and behind them a tiny black one. Michael saw that all was well and cued his team to resume their walk.

“No! Please Michael, stop!”

“Why? They’re just releasing some kittens. If they were going to drown them I’d say something, but it doesn’t appear they’re in any harm.”

“Stop right this instant! Can’t you see how upset that little girl is? And those are kittens, Michael. Babies! They cannot possibly fend for themselves. They look barely weaned.”

“Very well, but they go to your stables, not mine.” He pulled the team off the path, set the brake to the phaeton and handed the reins to the groom. After dismounting he walked around the back of the vehicle to help Elise down, only to find that she’d already made it part way to the children. Carriages began to slow and watch he and Elise as they moved closer to the bushes. He knew this did not bode well. People were sure to talk about the incident, and never would anyone come close to the truth of it. It didn’t bother him, but it might Ren.

“Hullo dearlings,” Elise greeted the children. “What have you got there?”

“These are our kittens,” the little boy, who appeared to be about nine, said solemnly.

“Well if they’re yours, why are you turning them loose under the bushes?” Michael noted that Elise wasn’t being accusatory, but sounded instead like a curious child herself. He was sure she did so to put the children at ease.

“Our mum says we can’t keep ’em, ’cause we have ’nough cats,” the boy said. “An’ everyone knows kittens grows up to be cats.”

She turned her attention to the crying girl, the little thing barely out of nappies, holding onto two of the kittens and petting the third in her lap. “Why are you crying then, sweeting?”

“My kitties.”

“I know they are, and they’re very cute kittens, too,” Elise replied.

“She don’ want ta turn ’em loose. She’s ’fraid they’d get eaten by monsters.”

“There’s no such thing as monsters, you know,” Elise reassured the little girl. “In fact, in all my years, I have yet to see one. And I’m pretty old.”

Michael watched Elise lower herself next to the little girl on the grass. “They’re awfully cute kittens. Mind if I pet them?” When the child nodded, Elise stretched out a hand and began to pet the feline head closest to her. Within moments two of the three kittens were climbing onto Elise’s yellow carriage dress, but she didn’t seem to mind at all. Most young ladies of his acquaintance would not have sat upon the ground or allowed the sharp-clawed little creatures to venture onto their expensive clothing.

Not Elise. She was the opposite of every other young lady he knew. Her gentle mien with the children raised his opinion of her even more. She would make the right man a fine wife and good mother to his children. And if he were honest with himself, Michael had already begun to picture her lithe, naked form in his bed. The resulting discomfort each time it happened was the price he had to pay for thinking of his best friend’s sister in such an improper manner.

“I’m sure you’re thinking this is a good place to leave them, and it might be if they were just a wee bit older,” Elise said sweetly to the children. “I’m thinking that because these are still babies, they might need a mummy. Just as you two do.”

Both towheaded little ones nodded in agreement.

“What if I could be their mummy and take them home with me? I’d give them a good home in our barn with lots of mice to catch and they’ll have ever so much fun there.”

The little boy smiled and puffed up pridefully. “Their mum is the bes’ mouser in all London! They’d be perfect for the job, milady. Don’t ya think so, Meggie?”

The little girl’s mouth spread slowly into a smile and she nodded her head in agreement, stray curls falling free of her cap.

Elise beamed, happy at rescuing the little felines. “Wonderful! Have you by chance named them yet? You’ll have to tell me, for I’d hate to confuse the little dears by changing their names.”

“This’n ’ere’s Blackie.” The girl handed the very shy black kitten to Elise. “An’ this is Tiger and the other orange one is Naughty.”

“He hasn’t done anything yet to be naughty,” Elise replied.

“No, silly!” the boy said. “That’s ’is name. Naughty.”

Elise giggled. “Oh, I’d love to know how he came about that name.”

“He pusses his brothers away when it’s time to eat,” the girl said.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll have to see to it that he has his own dish, then.” Elise gathered the three kittens and replaced them in the little crate.

“Would you like to learn how they fare, dearlings?” Both children nodded their heads. She looked at Michael and asked, “What time do you have, my lord?”

He removed his pocket watch and flipped the lid. “Ten minutes after three o’clock.”

Elise raised an eyebrow, then gave him a half-crooked smile and he understood. She had missed her appointment with Sinclair, which had been his intention all along. But she wasn’t as upset as he’d thought she’d be. Turning back to the children, she said, “Meet me back here in one week, at precisely three o’clock, and I shall tell you how they are getting along. Agreed?”

Again, the children nodded.

“Michael? Will you help me?” she asked.

He extended his hand and she handed him the crate. Her amber-eyed gaze danced in merriment. “Hold that while I rise.”

He watched her rise, unaided, a willowy lass swiping grass from her skirts. They then bid the children goodbye, with Michael carrying her new pets back to his phaeton. Placing the box on the bench, he assisted her up, and went around to sit next to her. As he drove his team back onto the path, he asked, “Why did you tell them you would meet them in a week?”

“Because first, it reassured them that the kittens they care so much about are going to a good home. Second, I do plan to be here next week and I’m willing to bet that by then they will have forgotten about the kittens. If I’d suggested tomorrow or even the day after that, there will not have been enough time passed and they might still cling to the pain of losing their kittens.”

Her logic astounded him. Michael had never seen her manage children before, and that she cared what caused a crying working-class babe upset sent a warm feeling to his heart. He was learning there was so much more to Elise than he’d ever suspected.

“What do you plan to do with them?”

Without hesitation she said, “We shall give the two males to your mother for her birthday and I shall keep the female.”

“Kittens? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” she replied. “They’re perfect.” Elise spoke at him as though he didn’t know women.

He wanted to remind her that knew women well enough. He had two sisters and five nieces. He’d also had several mistresses before. So he knew the fairer sex enough to know that an animal wasn’t high on their list of gifts they’d want to receive. Women wanted baubles. Baubles and trinkets.

“Michael, all little girls have a soft heart for fuzzy warm creatures.”

“Did I mention my mother is turning fifty-five? She’s hardly a little girl.”

“She was a little girl once and I doubt she’s changed so much that she’d refuse these adorable kittens.”

Damn her, but she was more than likely correct. And he didn’t understand why he hadn’t thought of a pet before. She was right. His mother did like animals and he remembered her having several cats as he grew up.

“I’m learning much about you, Elise. And it’s all so very different from what I’ve known of you all these years.”

“We all grow up at some point.” Then she turned mischievous amber eyes to him and said, “An’ everyone knows kittens grows up to be cats.”

He smiled, chuckling at her imitation of the young boy. “I do have another question. How do you know which one is female and which two are male?”

“Well, aside from the fact that I looked to confirm as I held them, orange cats are usually boys. And because this female is black, I’ll keep her. She’ll be more vocal once we separate her from her litter mates, and as she gets older.”

“You seem to know a great deal about felines.” Even to his own ears he sounded smitten, and that just wouldn’t do. He had to remember this was his best friend’s
little
sister. Until he could work up the courage to bring up the topic with her brother, she was off limits.

“I should,” she replied. “I have thirteen of them now.”

“Thirteen cats, and this one is black. Are you afraid you’re setting yourself up for a run of bad luck?”

“I don’t believe in such superstitions. A woman must make her own luck if she’s to get what she wants in this world.”

Lady Elise Halden, Michael was learning quickly, was a breath of fresh air in this stifling society of theirs. If he didn’t watch himself, he might actually fall hard for this sister of his friend.

“Did I mention,” she began, “that nearly all thirteen of my cats are female?”

“No. Why is that?”

“Because they’re the best hunters.”

Michael threw his head back and laughed heartily.

T
he next morning’s gossip columns all reported that a certain unmarried earl had been seen in the company of the unmarried sister of a certain duke and that the two appeared to be having a wonderful time in each others’ company. The column ended with speculation as to how long it will be before the earl in question took this unmarried lady to bride.

C
HAPTER
F
IVE

U
pon the return of Michael and Elise to Upper Brook street, a good hour past the time they’d agreed to, Michael went directly to Ren’s office.

“How did it go?” Michael asked, taking a seat opposite his friend.

“After I told him I was refusing his suit and warned him off my sister, he became somewhat incensed, demanding a reason. So I told him I knew about his previous betrothal and the circumstance surrounding the dissolution of the contract.

“Then I asked him about his extracurricular sport. He denied it at first, but when presented with the proof you provided me from the father of the girl, and the reports from his former staff, he became defensive. I’d swear I saw a desperate, dangerous glint to his eyes. I told him I didn’t care one whit about his sexual peccadilloes as long as they don’t involve gently bred young ladies, and as long as the women involved were willing and left their beds uninjured. That upstart bounder had the nerve to tell me I was ‘too gallant’ with the type of women they chose to play with. Then I warned him I would be watching them now, and one wrong move would see them all imprisoned—or worse—for assaulting our fairer sex.”

Michael digested what his friend just said. “She needs to be guarded at all times. Elise cannot be allowed alone, in case he should do something rash, either in desperation or retaliation.”

“I agree, which is why I’ve already sent for Cartland. You remember him, don’t you? I used his firm a couple of years ago when Lia...,” Ren coughed through the hitch in his voice. “When she went missing.”

Michael nodded as he lit a cheroot. The man’s firm was the best in town. Michael had used him several times on his more important cases, and could swear the man had connections from the bowels of hell itself, to his own noble ranks. “She can’t know she’s under guard or she’ll do something imprudent—like evading her protectors.”

“Yes,” Ren conceded. “She can be a stubborn little hellion when told she ‘must’ or ‘cannot’ do something.”

“You’re forgetting, no one knows this better than I.” Michael thought of several instances when as a child Elise had been ordered by her father or stepmother not to follow him around when he’d come to Haldenwood to visit. It was all to no avail. She’d followed him anyway. Sometimes she was caught and punished and other times he could have sworn someone watched him, but could never prove it was Elise.