Page 4 of Boxing With My Duke (A Sweet and Lighthearted Regency #16)

A day later ~ Somewhere between England and Scotland

“ C arlton , how far are we from our stop?” Catherine asked. Her personal needs were calling, and she couldn’t sit still much longer.

“ We’ve thwarted a highway robbery and traveled for over twenty-four hours—with three more days to go. If it’s all right with you, I wonder if we could take a short break and stretch our legs.”

“ That makes sense,” he replied. “ But there’s a small inn a few miles ahead. It’s clean, and the food is good. We’ll be stopping there for the night.”

This wasn’t going the way she needed it to go. Unfortunately , she needed to be more specific, or she would embarrass herself. Catherine cleared her throat. “ I need to stop for the necessary. I can’t wait much longer.” She felt her face blush and thought her face must be as red as a ripe apple in October .

Carlton regarded her over the top of his book. “ I’ll have the driver stop.” He lifted the shade and looked around. “ Nothing but woods here. Is that suitable?”

She nodded. “ I have no choice. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Carlton put down his book and tapped the ceiling with his cane, signaling a stop.

“ We will be back shortly,” he told Morris as he helped her from the carriage. Taking a lantern from the front of the carriage, he handed it to her. “ Use this to light the way and pay attention to where you walk.”

“ I will, but you’re going with me all the way, are you?”

He regarded her with an arch of his brow. “ I’m not planning to watch if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Fiddlesticks ! The duke had every trap door and convenience imaginable. How could they forget something as important as a chamber pot? Stop it, Catherine , she scolded herself. She would not make a fuss. She was determined to get along with Carlton for the rest of the journey. Remembering her temperament of yesterday, she bit her lower lip and decided not to point it out. Besides , she needed him to stand guard.

They reached the edge of the road, and Carlton peered into the woods. “ Looks to be as good a place as any.”

“ Promise to wait for me?” she asked, nervously holding the lantern.

“ Of course,” he assured her. “ Just don’t drop your lantern.”

She gulped and slowly walked into the woods. “ Carlton , talk to me. I need to gauge how far you are.”

“ I’m where you left me at the edge of the road,” he replied.

“ Then back up to the other side,” she replied. “ Don’t let anyone else walk back here.” She found a small clearing behind a copse of trees with a small stream. Elated , she set the lantern down. Glancing around, she pulled up her dress and squatted. A sudden whimper made her jump back up. “ Did you hear that?” she yelled.

“ I heard nothing,” Carlton yelled back.

“ It sounded like a dog whimpering,” she said, pleased he sounded far away but not too far away. She almost lost her balance when she realized Brandon and Morris could most likely hear them. Briefly , she wondered if Yates , the outrider, had joined them.

“ A dog?” he pressed.

“ You heard the whimper?”

“ No , I didn’t hear a whimper. You did.”

His voice sounded suspiciously closer that time. Maybe too close. “ Um , Carlton , could you please move back a few feet?”

“ For the love of?—”

In the evening’s stillness, she heard the crunching of his feet moving farther away and relaxed. Her stomach had been cramping since the noon meal. This would not be a quick trip, she despaired.

“ I had to move closer when you started asking me questions,” he said in a voice that sounded far enough away.

Pleased , she relaxed and finished. Reaching behind her, she tugged a few leaves and cleaned herself.

“ Don’t forget to use nonpoisonous leaves,” he yelled.

She froze and held the lantern up to examine the leaves. She had already used some of them and did not know if they were poisonous or nonpoisonous. “ There are poisonous ones out here?”

“ Unless we’ve found the only woods in the area without them.”

She couldn’t linger much longer, or she feared the odor would cling to her. She tore a bit of her shift, rinsed it in the stream, and hastily washed herself and her hands. Thank God for the water.

Grabbing a clean leaf from the pile, she decided to show it to Carlton . She read books about love, not leaves. How was she supposed to know what was what? “ I’ll bring one leaf back with me and show you,” she yelled.

“ Just make sure it’s one you haven’t used,” he replied, his voice threaded with humor.

Oh ! Isn’t that just like a man to tease at a time like this?

She held her lantern up and trudged back to the road. Holding the leaf up to examine it. Panic suddenly gripped her. Had she used leaves from a nightshade plant? It was the one plant her mother had always warned about. Suddenly she felt a burning sensation on her bottom, and she broke into a run, carrying the lantern and trying to shake the folds of her skirt back into place.

She heard the whimper again and glanced over her shoulder, trying to see into the dense darkness. She stumbled and would have fallen if Carlton hadn’t stepped in front of her and caught her just in time.

“ You’re all right,” he said, his deep voice reassuring. “ Show me the leaf.”

Catherine didn’t miss his twitching lips as she handed the leaf to him.

“ It’s lamb’s ear. You’re safe. Did you never think to use the lantern?”

Her bottom stopped burning and her face heated. “ My stomach was upset.”

“ I see,” he said, looking away. “ Fortunately , you’ll be fine.” He tossed the leaf, turned, and strode away.

“ You're laughing at me.” She struggled to keep up; his legs were so very long.

He kept walking.

“ Wait . Don’t you need the lantern?”

“ No . I handled my business while waiting for you. All done,” he said, stopping to let her catch up.

His face stretched into a wide grin—making her breath catch and, at the same time, frustrating her with his smugness. Instead , she shrugged. “ I’m certain a man must have invented the dress. Honestly , sometimes I think it would be far simpler to wear breeches.”

“ You would look incredible in breeches.” He waggled his brows. “ Yet , I think…” He cleared his throat. “ Without the male appendage, the process would be the same—just less fabric.”

Catherine burst into laughter. She couldn’t help herself. She’d never known a man like Carlton .

He didn’t know what was more appealing, Lady Catherine Campbell’s throaty laugh or the thought of her wearing breeches. Either way, a jolt of heat coursed through him. Her soft curves displayed in a pair of snug breeches would have forced him to sit outside with the driver. As it was, he needed time to regain his self-control before they returned to the carriage. The lantern would provide some cover, at least.

“ The inn isn’t far, and I’m certain you would prefer a hot meal to cold cheese.”

“ Oh but, we can’t leave now. An animal is wounded out there somewhere. I’m almost certain it’s a dog.”

“ Are you sure it wasn’t a female fox giving a mating call?”

At the shocked look on her face, he shook his head. “ You’ve led a sheltered life, young lady.”

She reached for his hand and took a step closer. The warmth of her touch and her luminous blue eyes nearly took his breath away.

“ Please , Carlton ,” she said, her voice breaking. “ We can’t leave it to suffer. We must do something.”

At that moment, if she’d asked him to wrestle a bear, he would have.

“ Fine . Let’s look for this dog. Carlton felt in his waistcoat for his small pistol—just in case.

“ Thank you, Carlton .” She beamed at him and continued to hold his hand as they made their way back into the woods.

He didn’t mind holding her hand. In fact, he quite enjoyed her company—something he never imagined when they first met. Catherine differed from the other women he’d encountered at Society functions. She was forthright, funny, vibrant, and warm-hearted. Their conversations had been lively, to say the least. One would never be bored married to Lady Catherine Campbell .

He nearly froze in his tracks. Holy Hell ! Where did that thought come from?

Marriage ? He wasn’t ready for marriage. He’d avoided it like the plague since his first Society ball. So why was he thinking about marriage? And not just any marriage. No , he had to contemplate marriage to Lady Catherine Campbell . His convoluted thoughts were interrupted as Catherine tugged on his hand.

“ It’s just up ahead.” She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled.

He blew out a breath and tried to shake off his strange notions as they walked into the woods. Catherine pushed through the trees at a quick pace—as if on a mission. The whimper sounded again, and she let go of his hand and took off at a run. Just beyond a decayed tree and some brush, they came upon an orange and white puppy with a leg caught in a trap.

“ Oh , you poor thing.” Catherine crouched down. “ My goodness! It’s a Brittany Spaniel . My father always loved these dogs—ever since he first saw them in France .”

She knelt beside the canine and cooed, reaching out to stroke the fur around his face. “ He’s just a pup. I cannot believe someone abandoned him to this horrible fate. Sweet fella, we are going to take you with us and make you all better.”

“ Hunters don’t take the time to ensure their dogs are with them,” he pointed out. “ I see blood, but no bones showing. That’s a good sign. His leg may recover, but he’ll probably be no good to a hunter.”

“ How will we get him out?”

He crouched down to get a better look at the trap’s mechanism. “ Damn contraptions! People who set traps should be required to spring them with their own feet inside.”

“ It’s just plain cruelty,” she agreed, petting the whimpering dog’s head.

“ I’m going to pull the trap’s iron jaws open,” Carlton said. “ When I do, I want you to lift the pup. But be careful.”

Catherine nodded.

“ Ready ?”

“ Ready .”

Carlton gripped both edges of the metal jaws and pulled them apart as Catherine carefully lifted the animal from the trap.

“ You intend to make him a pet?”

“ Of course.” She cuddled the moaning animal against her chest, planting soft kisses on its nose. “ Mother is used to my bringing home injured birds and abandoned kittens. Father never minded either. I think I shall call him Riggs . Riggs was my father’s valet—he retired last year. A finer man I have never known.”

“ Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr . Riggs ,” Carlton said as he opened the pup’s mouth and looked at his gums. “ He’s barely a year old and didn’t have enough training in the field before someone cut him loose with the pack. We’ll have a farrier check him over when we arrive at the inn.”

“ Good idea,” Catherine said, glancing up at him with that bright beaming smile of hers.

He cleared his throat. “ You know, I had a dog as a young lad—a wolfhound. A fine dog she was, too. Her name was Gretchen .”

“ Gretchen ?” She giggled. “ Did the name mean something to you?”

He chuckled. “ Actually , yes. Mother would read to me sometimes and act out the story—different voices, you know. Anyway , there was a story about a young boy and his dog. The dog was named Gretchen . The name must have stuck in my head, and when I got a pup for Christmas that year, I named her Gretchen .”

“ How sweet. I can just imagine you as a precocious little boy getting into mischief and Gretchen always by your side.”

“ You can?”

“ Yes , I can. You must have been quite a handful for your mother.”

He chuckled again. “ And my mother never lets me forget it.”

“ I wish I had known you back then.”

“ Trust me, you would have hated me. I most likely would have put a snake down the back of your dress.”

“ I disagree. Something tells me you would have watched out for me.” Tears crested her eyes. “ Thank you for saving Riggs . I’ll sleep in the barn with him at the inn and not let him be any trouble.” She swiped at a stray tear.

“ You’ll do no such thing,” he said, restraining himself from taking her in his arms and kissing her tears away. Holy Hell ! What was happening to him? Get ahold of yourself, man! He was acting like a lovesick fool. “ The inn will allow him to sleep in your room,” he croaked out. “ I’ll see to that.”

They arrived back at the carriage to the oohs and ahs of Morris , Brandon , and Yates .

“ I seen a Brittany once,” Morris said. “ Softest fur I’ve ever felt on a dog, milady. Someone will be sorry they left this ’un behind.”

“ I simply couldn’t ignore his cries.” She looked up at Carlton and gave a wry smile. “ I’m so glad he wasn’t a fox. Thanks to the duke, we were able to save this little one,” she said, giving Carlton another soft smile.

“ Yes , well, let’s try to get to the inn before dawn, shall we?”

“ I’ve never had a dog,” Catherine murmured a few minutes later when they were back on the road. “ But I’ve always wanted one. I found one once, but after I nursed it back to health, a woman came to our home and claimed it. It was a small spaniel that had jumped from her carriage and disappeared. The animal was full of bites and burrs when I found it. But when he heard his mistress’ voice, he went tearing to the door. There was nothing to be done but return him.”

“ Yes , but you took care of it and had you not, it may have perished. Owls , eagles, and hawks are gruesome predators of small dogs and cats. I’ve seen them swoop down and carry them off in a matter of seconds.” He leaned over and rubbed Riggs ’ nose. “ Something tells me you won’t lose this one.”

Catherine leaned down and kissed the dog on the nose. “ I hope not.” She smiled and met his gaze across the carriage. “ I’m already falling in love with him.”

His chest constricted at her words and the tender look on her face. What would it be like to hear her say those words to him?

“ Is something wrong?” she asked.

“ Er — No . I was just thinking about a hot meal and a warm bed.”

“ Well , I’m thinking what a good man you are.”

“ Thank you, but let’s not let the world know. I have a reputation to uphold.”

They both laughed. Hers was a rich laugh. For the moment, Carlton forgot why they were on the road, stuck in a carriage that had begun to feel cramped. Instead , he focused on the rich, throaty sound of her laughter and wished he knew something to say to keep her laughing.

“ Your secret’s safe with me, Your Grace ,” she smiled as she cuddled the sleeping puppy close to her chest.

Carlton’s chest did that funny thing again. Double damn! He needed to keep his mind focused on the matter at hand, finding Edward and Serafina and preventing them from making the biggest mistake of their lives. And most importantly, he needed to stop thinking about Catherine’s sweet smile and throaty laugh.