Lord and Master (7 page)

Eugene’s face had taken on the faraway expression he had had at Astley’s when he learned the striped cat’s name was Mihos. He remembered Bastet and the message she had sent him by way of the cat. And how he would gain his freedom when Lord Ravenswood married Miss Kendall.

“Do not fear, Miss Shelby. All will be done that can be done to bring the two together.”

Miss Shelby’s benign blue eyes had taken on the intensity inspired when her dramatics took over. “Nothing shall stop us. We shall be invincible. They are as good as wed. Soon we must think of names for the babe.”

Eugene saw his master signal him that he was ready to leave. He rose to his feet and bowed his turbaned head low to Miss Shelby. “You are a treasure, wise lady, as sure as any treasure my master found in Egypt.”

He turned and walked toward Lord Ravenswood, leaving behind a blushing, openmouthed Miss Shelby.

* * * *

On Wednesday night Eugene painstakingly helped Anthony dress for the evening ahead. He had taken his time throughout the preparations, behavior that drove Anthony almost to the end of his tether.

Mihos paced the bedchamber restlessly, in the manner of a caged tiger. The striped cat could sense his favorite person was preparing to leave the house, and this disturbed him.

Having finally gotten his lordship into a dark, brown coat, Eugene glanced over at Mihos. “The cat does not want to be left alone, master.”

“Good God, you hardly think I am going to be swayed by a cat’s feelings, do you?” Anthony asked, making a final adjustment to his cravat. “Besides, he will not be alone in a house full of servants. You know as well as I, he has only to walk into the kitchen, and Mrs. Ware has a treat ready for him.”

“She is a good woman,” Eugene acknowledged. “But Mihos wishes your companionship. It is a shame you must go to this dinner at the Blenkinsops’ before Almack’s.”

Anthony looked at the manservant incredulously. “Eugene, you go too far. It has been obvious all evening that you have tried to delay my going to the Blenkinsops’. Indeed, I must hurry now, or I shall be late.”

Eugene silently handed him his hat and stick.

Lord Ravenswood took the articles impatiently. “You do not have to accompany me, you know, if that is what is bothering you. Following me around while we were in Egypt was one thing, but here in England I am quite safe.”

Eugene heaved a sigh. “I go where you go, master.” Under his breath he added, “Even if it is to the nest of a drab little mouse.”

The manservant only received a black look for a reply before Lord Ravenswood walked quickly from the room.

Descending the steps that led to the hall, the earl nearly tripped when Mihos raced in front of him. “Devil take that cat! Is he trying to cause me to fall and break my neck?”

The feline in question had reached the bottom of the stairs and was standing guard at the front door. Lord Ravenswood’s butler, Pomfret, tried to dislodge the cat with the toe of his shoe, but received a scratch from a sharp claw that penetrated his white stockings for his trouble.

Seeing the red line on his butler’s leg, the earl’s temper snapped. “Now what have you done, you feline fiend! Pomfret, go belowstairs and tend your leg.”

“Thank you, my lord,” the butler replied, and motioned the second footman to take his place. The young man stepped carefully around the cat and prepared to open the door at any cost when his lordship indicated he was ready to leave.

“Eugene, take Mihos to the kitchen and tell Mrs. Ware she must find a way to keep him there,” the earl ordered.

“Grraow!” Mihos protested loudly.

His lordship’s jaw twitched.

Eugene bent and lifted the cat into his arms. “Of course, it shall be as you wish, master, but Mihos will be most unhappy and so will Mrs. Ware. Although she likes Mihos, when she tries to contain him in the kitchen, he finds ways of getting into things and making a nuisance of himself,” Eugene warned. “Hard as it is to believe of such a good-natured animal.”

From the cradle of Eugene’s arms, Mihos stretched a paw out toward Lord Ravenswood’s chin. He added a pitiful shadow of his usual “Grraow” for effect.

The earl shook his head in defeat. “Oh, very well. Put the animal down and let us take our leave.”

Eugene placed Mihos on the floor and stroked his back soothingly. “Do not worry, little tiger, I shall take care of everything.”

A stubborn expression remained on the cat’s face despite this reassurance.

His lordship drew on his gloves and nodded to the second footman, who promptly swung open the heavy door.

Lord Ravenswood exited the house and walked down the stone steps to where another footman stood, holding open the door to his closed carriage.

Eugene followed him, and after the two entered the vehicle, the footman slammed the door shut and called to the driver to be off.

Inside the town house the second footman was closing the front door. At the last minute Mihos darted past him and ran down the steps toward the earl’s coach.

Lord Ravenswood chanced to look out of the window and saw the cat coming. But it was too late. At the very moment he banged his stick on the roof and shouted for the driver to stop, the cat flung himself at the coach.

A loud thud, followed by a scraping of claws down the side of the varnished coach door, preceded an ominous silence.

The vehicle stopped and chaos reigned.

Eugene scrambled out first and saw the cat lying on the ground, bright red blood streaked across his hind leg. “No! Bastet, this cannot be! Mihos, our little tiger, what have you done?”

The manservant began cursing in his native language while he dropped to his knees next to the cat.

The driver of the coach cried out his apologies to the earl.

“Silence,” Lord Ravenswood commanded while he stepped down from the coach. He turned to the gaping footman. “Fetch a bedsheet, a blanket or something, and be quick about it.”

Anthony bent over Mihos, who lay on the road stunned and breathing heavily. He saw the blood on the cat’s leg and silently prayed the limb was not broken. He reached out his hand and awkwardly, but gently, stroked the cat’s head. “That was a very silly thing to do, Mihos. You will not be flying about for a while, I daresay.”

Mihos closed his eyes, and Anthony felt his heart lurch in sudden fear. “Eugene!”

Although frightened by the cat’s condition, the manservant regained his calm air. “He is alive, master. Your touch merely soothed him, and he closed his eyes to rest. See how his sides are still rising and falling?”

The footman came running with a large white bedsheet. Eugene took it from him and folded it. Together he and his lordship delicately moved the cat from the ground and laid him on the sheet.

Eugene made as if to lift Mihos, but Lord Ravenswood was there before him. He gathered the cat, wrapped in the bedsheet, into his arms and turned to Eugene. “You do know how to take care of his wound?”

Eugene’s mind raced. “In truth, master, I cannot say that I do.”

“What?” Lord Ravenswood demanded.

“But I am certain that Miss Shelby will know what to do. She was raised in a vicarage around many animals. Miss Kendall, I am told, also grew up in the country among cats and dogs. Between them, they are sure to be able to help Mihos.” Eugene held his breath, waiting for his master’s response.

Anthony’s chief concern was to get the cat help immediately. There was no time to argue with Eugene or spend time wondering why the manservant had cried out the name “Bastet.”

“Let us go to Clarges Street, then,” he said, and gave the driver the directions.

He entered the coach once again, this time holding Mihos. As he gazed down at the cat, which appeared to be unconscious, he felt a strange tug at his heart.

If only he could be certain Miss Kendall and Miss Shelby would know what to do. Then he remembered Miss Kendall’s advocacy of the cat at Astley’s. He remembered the way she had taken in three dogs, even if one of them was troublesome. He remembered her continued concern for Mihos after he had taken him home.

Suddenly he felt himself relax in the knowledge that whatever the problem with Mihos, Miss Kendall would know how to handle it.

Chapter Four

Upstairs in Clarges Street, Daphne tried on one gown after another. Her lady’s maid, Biggs, wore an expression of strained patience.

Daphne was determined to look her best this evening at Almack’s. She told herself this feeling sprang from a desire to charm Lord Guy into clearing Miss Shelby’s name. At the same time, a vision formed in her mind of the Earl of Ravenswood’s compelling brown eyes glancing appreciatively at her appearance.

“What do you think, Biggs?” Daphne asked anxiously while holding an ivory satin gown with a green velvet trim in front of her. “Will this serve?”

Although she knew very well her mistress appeared divine in the ivory dress. Biggs paused consideringly for a moment, then nodded her approval. “Yes, miss, I believe it is the very one. Only, the green velvet band around the sleeve is coming loose. Let me mend it for you quickly.”

Daphne handed her the dress and threw on an old gray gown she used to wear on walks in the country. “Thank you, Biggs. How are your hands today? I wondered with the weather turning a bit warmer if the pain had lessened—

She got no further because Miss Shelby burst into the room. The peach color in her cheeks was heightened, and her eyes were round with fear. “Daphne, you must come at once!”

“What is wrong, Leonie?”

Miss Shelby gasped for breath. “Cramble says Lord Ravenswood and Eugene are in the hall, and Mihos is bleeding to death!”

Amid groans from Biggs, Daphne rushed past Miss Shelby and hurried down the stairs. In the hall she saw the elegant figure of Lord Ravenswood clutching what looked like a bundle of bedsheets. Eugene stood apprehensively at his side.

“My lord, what happened? Cramble told Miss Shelby that Mihos is on the brink of death.”

“I hope not,” Lord Ravenswood replied. He briefly outlined the particulars of the accident, ending with, “Miss Kendall, I apologize for calling like this, but Mihos is badly injured, and I need your help.”

“And you shall have it, of course,” Daphne assured him. She stepped forward and lifted the white cotton that his lordship had used to cover the cat. Her gentle fingers felt around Mihos’s head, then examined the wound on his leg. “I do not believe he is in any serious danger.”

Since she was mere inches from him, Lord Ravenswood was able to study the loveliness of her creamy-white complexion, marred only by the furrow of concern between her brows. He noticed her lashes were long and dark, a pretty frame for her light green eyes.

Miss Shelby stood uncertainly, twisting her hands together in her concern. “How is he?” she asked, and peered over Daphne’s shoulder. “Oh! I have never been able to bear the sight of blood.”

Fortunately Eugene was standing nearby and was able to catch her when she swooned.

“Good heavens,” Daphne cried, faced with both an unconscious companion and an unconscious cat. “Eugene, would you be good enough to take Miss Shelby into the morning room? I shall ring for Biggs to assist you.”

Eugene lifted Miss Shelby as if she weighed nothing and carried her away.

Daphne turned back to a rueful Lord Ravenswood. He said, “I have well and truly disrupted your household. Miss Kendall.”

“Nonsense. Now, I believe we might find a cozy spot for Mihos in the kitchen. Would you like me to take him?”

Lord Ravenswood shook his head. “No, I shall carry him.”

Daphne led the way to the kitchens. The smell of roast beef permeated the air, and the kitchen was alive with the preparations for dinner. A big, burly man with vibrant red hair, obviously the cook, held sway, shouting orders to the maids.

A silence descended when Daphne and the earl entered the room.

“Hamish,” Daphne began, “excuse the intrusion, but we have an injured cat here, and I wish for a place where I might tend his wounds.”

Lord Ravenswood thought the brutish-looking cook would soon be shouting at them rather than the maids, but instead the man’s expression softened at the sight of Miss Kendall.

“A kitty, is it? You just come right over here, miss, and I’ll bring the whiskey. Nothing like it for cleansing cuts... and the soul, if I do say so meself.” A boom of laughter emitted from the man’s chest after this pronouncement. He ambled over to a corner of the kitchen and spread a towel on a wooden table.

Daphne and Lord Ravenswood moved across the room, and the earl carefully laid Mihos down.

Daphne hurried away to the stillroom, leaving Hamish to look his lordship up and down in a measuring way. Lord Ravenswood felt like he was being judged by a considering father and could not like the feeling.

No more than a moment or two passed, though, and Daphne reappeared with two small bottles. Hamish returned to his pots, and Daphne rolled up the sleeves of her gown and tied an apron around her waist. Ignoring the whiskey Hamish had placed on the table, she poured some of the contents of one of her bottles onto a clean cloth and gently began cleaning the wound on Mihos’s leg.

Lord Ravenswood heard a small sigh escape her lips. “Is it severe? Will he lose the leg?”

Daphne turned and smiled at him. Anthony experienced a rush of emotion at that smile, but told himself it was concern for Mihos that caused the sensation.

“No, I believe the wound looks worse than it is because of the amount of blood on his fur. See, when it is cleared away, there is a nasty laceration indeed, but I am confident we can take care of that.”

“Why has he not woken?”

“Well, as to that, did you not say he bumped his head when he threw himself at the coach?”

“Yes.”

‘There is our answer. He may have a very slight concussion. I cannot feel any lump on his head, so I believe it not to be critical. He should regain consciousness at any time.” She chuckled. “One might say we are fortunate he has not yet awoken, so we may tend him without any protests.”

Lord Ravenswood watched her every movement as she spread a vile-smelling liniment over the cleaned wound. “You are a capable lady, Miss Kendall. I am most grateful for your assistance, and am pleased Eugene suggested we bring Mihos to you.”