Lady Be Reckless (Duke's Daughters #2)(45)

And since she had snuck out without even Pearl in attendance, she wasn’t certain how to knock on the door. Not without dislodging the kittens.

She was very grateful she hadn’t had to drive herself, at least.

She raised her arm and rammed her elbow into the wooden door, grimacing at the shooting pain that went all the way up into her shoulder.

But she did hear steps approaching so, as she frequently told Pearl, the pain was worth the effort.

The door swung wide to reveal a butler whose expression of surprise was quickly replaced with the bland assurance Olivia associated with most butlers.

“I am Lady Olivia, here to see Mr. Wolcott. They haven’t gone yet, have they?” she asked, trying to peer around the butler’s substantial form in the doorway.

“I will inquire,” he replied, his sharp gaze likely taking in that she was alone and therefore perhaps not entirely respectable.

Her parents’ phaeton was at the bottom of the steps, but the butler likely couldn’t trust it belonged to her. She appreciated how strict he was to his duty, but she did wish he’d asked her in so she could sit down and remove Scamp and Mr. Whiskers from her jacket.

The door snapped back open again in minutes, only now it was Edward opening it. He glanced around, a protectively angry look on his face, and yanked her inside, slamming the door behind them.

The kittens did not like the sudden noise and movement, so Olivia let out a shriek that was far louder than she would have liked.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, his expression now concerned.

“No, it’s—do you have a place we can talk in private?” Because the butler was still in the hallway, and there was a footman or two standing around as though waiting for something. If they weren’t careful, they’d each get a kitten, and she didn’t think that was the type of task they had been hired for.

“Yes, in here,” he said, taking her arm more gently now and guiding her to the same room she’d been in the time she’d visited before. When she’d made that list and he’d talked about how it hurt. Even though he hadn’t directly talked about how it hurt, Society’s condemnation of him, but she could understand what he was truly saying.

It was her empathy that got her into these situations, after all.

“Tea, please,” he said to the butler, closing the door just enough to ensure nobody could hear, but leaving it wide enough so that no impropriety could take place.

Unfortunately.

“Would you care to sit down?” he asked, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

She shook her head no, then sat down in the sofa right underneath the window. Sitting down carefully, so as not to startle her traveling companions.

“I thought last night—I thought we weren’t going to see one another again.” He spoke in an exceedingly polite tone, enunciating clearly, which made Olivia want to smile even as she wanted to cry about it all.

“Well, yes, but then I recalled that you hadn’t yet given me the thousand pounds you promised. And I thought of something I could give to you that would perhaps make the country even more enjoyable.” And with that she slipped her hand inside her jacket and withdrew Mr. Whiskers, with Scamp following quickly behind.

They wasted no time in vaulting off her lap to go sniff the legs of the sofa.

He was frozen in place, his eyes pinned to the kittens.

“You brought me . . . cats?” he said in disbelief.

“Not cats, silly.” Did he know nothing? “They are kittens, and Pearl and I rescued them from our neighbor. There are two more, but I didn’t think you would want all four.”

He lifted his head to look at her. “I don’t want any of them, Olivia.” He sounded outraged, and she had a twinge of doubt. Was it possible he wouldn’t want them? But he didn’t know them. He just had to give them a chance.

“Oh, you do,” she contradicted in a knowing tone of voice. “Kittens are delightful creatures, they don’t need much care. Just some food and a place to, you know.”

“You brought me kittens.” It sounded as though he was having difficulty processing her generosity.

“I did.” Olivia removed her hat, placing it on the sofa beside her. “They can’t stay in our house—my mother will have a fit if she discovers them.” That her mother hadn’t yet figured out that there were additional residents in the town house was testament to just how self-absorbed the duchess was. Olivia thought she might safely house a marching band prone to practicing at all hours without her mother noticing, but she didn’t want to share that detail with Edward.

Not that that was the only reason. “I know we might not see one another again, and I wanted you to have them as a way to remember me.”

“It’s unlikely I will forget you.” His tone was both amused and wry, and she wondered how he would recall her, later on, when the kittens had grown up and he had—well, she couldn’t think about that.

Olivia heard a noise in the hallway, and quickly scooped up the kittens, holding them up against her chest.

“Tea, sir,” the butler said as he walked in with one of the footmen who was bearing a large silver tray. The butler directed the footman where to place it, and Olivia could have sworn she saw the man’s eyebrow raise just barely as he took in the sight of two wriggling kittens in Olivia’s arms.