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Chapter Twenty

K itty awoke to the rumble of thunder. Snuggling deeper into her bedclothes, she recalled the most delicious dream. Zeke, in the library, kissing her into oblivion. Except…

She scanned the room and spotted the crumpled green silk gown draped over the post at the foot of the bed. Groaning, she rolled onto her belly and crushed her face into the down pillow.

As if the heavens seconded the magnitude of her idiocy, an ominous crack of thunder reverberated through the windowpanes, followed by a rising din of rain, pounding the roof tiles and grounds below.

She lifted her head and smiled. Good. The nasty weather meant no shooting match.

She could mill about the bedchamber all day if she so chose.

She grinned as Zeke’s edict from the night before came to her. We’ll need to spend more time together. Doing…things.

“Doing things, my big toe,” she muttered—and dragged the covers over her head.

***

Zeke had spent about as much time dawdling over his kidney beans, eggs, and toast as he could stomach, and still Kitty hadn’t come down for her morning meal.

Was she ill? According to the housekeeper, Kitty hadn’t missed breakfast once since arriving at Chissington Hall.

Perhaps he’d arrived too early in his zeal not to miss her. No matter. He’d wait her out. He allowed the hovering footman to remove his plate. Drummed his fingers on the white tablecloth. Frowned into his coffee cup.

Boot steps sounded in the corridor seconds before Caden and Randall entered the breakfast room.

Zeke sighed inwardly. If she presented herself now, there’d be no chance for a private conversation. He dropped his cheek in his palm and regarded his brother and Randall.

“Sadly, our shooting exercise will have to wait,” Caden said as he heaped food onto his plate from the sideboard.

“The sky’s positively black, not to mention the grounds are soaked.

” He started for the table and glanced pointedly at the empty chair beside Zeke.

“Where’s your lovely fiancé this morning? ”

Zeke ignored the question. He flicked a bored glance over Randall, currently eschewing food in favor of tea. “What’s wrong with your appetite, Randall?”

“Tea first, food later.” He scraped back a chair. His eyes drifted over the empty plate before Zeke. “I see you got an early start.”

Zeke shrugged.

Caden grinned. “Let me guess. You hoped to catch your fiancé alone before the rest of us descended on you.” He waggled his brows. “Better luck next time. Pass me the Times , will you?”

Zeke snorted and slid the paper toward Caden, hoping neither he nor Randall noticed his cheeks going ruddy. His brother’s jest hit too close to the mark.

Aunt Lillian swept into the dining room. “Good morning.”

The earl appeared a few moments later, followed by James who pointedly avoided glancing in Zeke’s direction.

Probably a good thing. So far he’d managed to hang on to his pleasant comportment. But the day was young.

“Ah—the infamous Lord James, I presume?” Caden asked equably.

The earl made the formal introductions.

More plates of food filled. More pots of tea and coffee drained. Still no Kitty. Zeke seriously pondered the notion she’d come down with something—though she hadn’t seemed the least bit ill last night. His mouth curved in a self-satisfied grin.

He suddenly became aware of a heavy silence in the room. Glancing around the table, he noted every set of eyes, save James’s, centered on him. “Did I miss something?”

“Only the last five minutes of conversation,” Caden said.

“Ah, but Caden, the crafty grin on your brother’s face tells a tale all its own. One can only hazard to guess what’s brought that devil’s gleam to his eyes.”

Zeke ignored Randall. “Forgive me, Caden. Kindly repeat whatever it is you said.”

Caden shrugged. “I asked how your trip to South Africa went. Grandfather says you purchased a diamond mine and brought back some sort of rare stone.”

“Yes, I purchased majority shares for the family, and the mine promises to be a fruitful. I’m glad to hear you’re interested.”

“What of the diamond?” Randall asked.

Zeke leaned back in his chair. “For starters it’s huge—and rare, thanks to its unique coloring. It’s got a bright green orb, with little flecks of crystalline gold in its center.”

“So rare it has its own name,” the earl added. “Your brother came up with it.”

Zeke answered the unspoken question. “Tiger’s eye.”

“Prescient, your having brought this tiger’s eye back with you, eh?” Caden asked.

Zeke knew what his brother referred to. He assumed Zeke would make the diamond into a ring for his bride to be.

He started to deny any such thing, but his mind filled with an image of Kitty, gazing up at him in that way she had of looking at him, some combination of hero worship and gratitude and womanly desire all swirling in those frosty green eyes of hers.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor. He glanced at the open doorway.

Not Kitty but Giles appeared. “My lord? Mr. Hallis has arrived from London. He’s awaits you in your den.”

The earl’s man-of-affairs.

The earl shot Zeke a look. “Good. Zeke? Care to join us? We’re going over the books for the last quarter.”

In fact, Zeke did want to talk to Hallis. He had questions for which the solicitor might be able to provide answers. He just hadn’t wanted to talk to him today. Today, he had another conversation in mind entirely. On the other hand, Kitty clearly wasn’t going to make that conversation easy.

He pushed back from the table. “Lead the way.”

***

Kitty rose from the pretty, rose-colored wingback chair in her sitting room, and moved to her open window.

The breeze had picked up, carrying with it the thick scent of wet earth.

She peered through the mist-cloaked air at the rain soaked lawn.

It was indeed a fine day to laze about. Too bad the excitement she’d felt at the prospect of evading Zeke had faded with the passing rain.

She had to get out of her self-imposed prison, even if it felt as if she’d be losing a battle of wills, against herself, if not Zeke.

Had Zeke noticed her absence? Doubtful. But say he had, and she had the unfortunate luck to cross paths with him, he’d take one look at her and know she’d done little more today than relive the memory of last night.

The thrill of his hands on her skin, the magic of his lips sliding over hers.

The intoxicating awareness of his sharp desire for her.

Turning from the window, she glanced at the treatise on Chissington Hall she’d been leafing through, again, and thought longingly of the atlas she’d gone to such lengths to unearth last night, then promptly abandoned in the library, thanks to Zeke.

Bother. Snatching up the Chissington Hall treatise, she made for the door.

She raced through the meandering corridors, a woman on a mission, eyes peeled for any sign of him . She passed only a chambermaid scurrying from one room to another, duster in hand. Much ado about nothing.

Except…as she approached the open doorway of the library, she overheard masculine voices coming from within.

Her pulse kicked up a notch as a golden haired scoundrel with a dashing white smile and hot, wet lips sprang to her mind. She wiped her suddenly damp palms on her skirts and crossed the threshold.

Caden and Lord Randall sat across from one another, bent over a board game of some sort. Zeke was nowhere in sight.

Her traitorous heart sank.

She fixed a bright smile on her face. “Good afternoon, Caden, Lord Randall.” She strode toward them. “I’ve come to exchange my book.” She held it out in front of her like she needed to show proof.

“Good afternoon, Lady Kitty. This is a welcome surprise. I’ve had enough of this bloke’s company to last me the week.” Caden rose. He clipped a slight bow.

Lord Randall followed suit. “I had begun to lament we might not see you this afternoon at all. Spending time with a beautiful lady on a rainy afternoon is one of my favorite pastimes.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “If only I’d known.” She hugged her book to her chest and rocked back on her slippers as she eyed the half-played game. “You’ve been playing chess?”

“Playing? More like losing. A tedious endeavor, really,” Caden said.

“Meanwhile, I’ve quite enjoyed myself,” Randall quipped.

Caden scowled. “Perhaps we should come up with another game, for three this time. Unless you’re set on resting further, Lady Kitty?”

“In truth, I’d love to. I was beginning to feel like a caged rabbit, staring at the same four walls all morning.”

“Silly, goose, why’d you lock yourself away all day, then?” Caden asked.

She blinked. She could hardly tell them she’d been thoroughly kissed last night, had liked it way too much, and as a result, had hidden all morning. “I…er, had the headache. But it’s better now.”

“Excellent,” Caden said. “I daresay it’s a good thing the rain delayed our shooting match. Explosive firearms would not have helped matters.”

She smiled and approached the shelves to return the book. The less said the better. After re-shelving the treatise, she glanced at the seating area where she and Zeke had…where she’d left her parents’ atlas. It was nowhere in sight.

“Have either of you seen the atlas that was on the table just over there?” She pointed to the side table, her face burning as if they could see into her mind and know what had transpired on the sofa beside that table.

The men shook their heads, looking at each other as if to confirm neither had moved it.

“Sorry, Lady Kitty. It wasn’t there when we came in,” Lord Randall answered for both of them.

So it had been re-shelved. Now she’d have to go searching for it again. “Have either of you seen…” Zeke “…the earl today?” she asked, re-joining them.

“At breakfast,” Caden replied. “After which his man-of-affairs arrived. I believe he and Zeke are still meeting with the fellow. Lady Lillian’s made herself scarce, as well. Said something about retiring to her chambers to see to some correspondence.”