Page 2 of Whiskers and Wiles

“A lady should be escorted by a gentleman when she is out walking, otherwise, she should not be out,” Lord Headland said, almost as if he were scolding her. “I insist you allow me to take your arm.”

“And I insist you keep your hands away from my person, my lord,” Kat said, hugging her books and her robe tighter.

“Katherine,” Lord Headland said, speaking to her overly familiarly and giving her an indulgent, reproachful look, as if she were a child being deliberately difficult. “This sort of behavior is unbecoming of a young lady. You know that when we are married, I will not allow you to behave in such a manner.”

Kat stopped immediately, just before the Magdalen Bridge, and whipped to face Lord Headland with a sharp scowl.

“Let me make one thing clear to you, Lord Headland,” she said. “We will not marry. Ever. I have refused your suit more times than I can count over the course of this academic year. I have made my lack of intentions toward you very clear. I love another and he loves me, and this very moment, I am going to him, expecting a particular question to be asked.”

“Is that so?” Lord Headland asked, going stiff with indignation.

“It is,” Kat said, tilting her chin up and keeping her back straight.

“You live just on the other side of the river, do you not?” Lord Headland asked. “In that building there?” He gestured to one of the student houses across from where they stood.

“Yes,” Kat said, feeling deeply uneasy about the man pointing out where she lodged. He’d known for some time and arrived at the house to call on her at least once a week, though she’d begun to pretend that she was not at home when he called. Theservants in the house all knew he was pursuing her. They all knew she loved Waldorf as well.

Kat waited for Lord Headland to say something more about her living arrangements. Instead, without any warning, he grabbed her upper arms and yanked her close. Kat yelped in protest, but he used her startled reaction to close his arms around her and slam his mouth into hers in a kiss.

Kat shrieked louder and struggled. Lord Headland would not let her go until he’d finished imposing his kiss on her. As soon as he backed up, panting, Kat shoved him back as best she could with her books and robes in her arms. She wanted to slap the blackguard so hard he fell into the river, but her robe had tangled around her arms, and by the time she freed herself, Lord Headland had stepped out of her reach.

“How dare you?” Kat seethed. “I should call in the constable and have you arrested for assault, sir.”

“And embarrass yourself in front of all these people?” Lord Headland said, gesturing to the others on the crowded street, most of whom stared at them as if they had no idea at all what to make of the drama they’d just witnessed. They were in Mercia, but far too many of the men who had witnessed Lord Headland’s assault grinned at him, as if they approved, and far too many of the women appeared too afraid to do anything to help Kat.

Kat was livid. The day was supposed to be beautiful and magical. Lord Headland had just spit on her joy.

She absolutely would not have that.

“If you ever so much as look at me again, I will make absolutely certain that a particularly bony part of my knee makes firm, intimate contact with a tender part of your person,” she seethed. “And do not think I have not learned precisely how to administer such a blow.”

She had indeed learned. Her brother, Thomas, had taught her more than a few techniques to defend herself when she’dannounced her intentions to attend Oxford. The rest of her family had railed at her and lectured her, and ultimately, her father had had her name struck from the family Bible.

Few people knew the sacrifices Kat had made to attend Oxford. Waldorf was one of those people.

“Surely, you must?—”

That was as far as Lord Headland got in his continued protestations. Kat turned and marched away from him, Careful to dodge a few of the pedestrians crossing the bridge so that she could put barriers between herself and Lord Headland, in case he made the terrible decision to pursue her.

She made it across the bridge and around the corner to Cowley Place without Lord Headland bothering her again. She did not look back to see if he was pursuing her. If he was, he would have Waldorf to contend with once he reached her lodgings.

She longed to reach home and throw her books and robes aside so that she could fold herself into Waldorf’s protective embrace for comfort just then. She was not one to admit any sort of weakness, particularly in such a way that would communicate that weakness to her lover, but Lord Headland had unnerved her completely. The man’s advances toward her had grown in intensity and boldness as the academic year had wound to a close, but the man’s outrageousness was now much too much for her to manage alone. And without her family to help her mitigate the threat Lord Headland presented, she was truly alone, but for her friends and Waldorf.

“Waldorf!” It was an utter relief to find Waldorf walking down the main stairs in the boarding house, as if he’d been in her room already, despite Mrs. Cornish’s insistence her borders had no gentleman callers upstairs. Kat set her things on the nearest chair in the parlor to the right of the main hallway, then turnedback, intending to throw herself in her beloved’s arms, and to, perhaps cry. “You will never believe?—”

She stopped short when she realized Waldorf was glowering at her instead of gazing upon her with love and sympathy. More than that, he held up a stack of letters tied with a red ribbon that Kat had never seen before with a sharp, “What is the meaning of this?”

Kat gaped, too surprised by her beloved’s harsh reaction to find her words at first.

“I do not know,” she said as soon as she was able, shaking her head. “I have never seen those letters before.” She wanted to ask where he’d found them, but instead said, “Waldorf, I am beside myself with upset. Lord Headland followed me from Queen’s College, and?—”

“Yes, I know,” he said in a low voice, narrowing his eyes. “I saw the two of you.”

Again, Kat was stunned beyond words for a moment. She recovered as quickly as she could and shook her head, stepping closer to her lover. “Then you saw the way he accosted me without provocation and in public.”

“Accosted you?” Waldorf’s brow shot up in angry indignation.

A pit of dread opened in Kat’s gut. “Waldorf, what is the matter?” she asked, her heart pounding. “This is not like you at all.”

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