Page 46 of Enticed By an Earl
“I beg your pardon, miss,” George said, as if Kitty were the one at fault for whatever near collision they had had.
“My lord,” Kitty said, keeping her face down as much as possible and praying that her bonnet hid all.
George grumbled and nearly stepped on, but at the last minute he rocked back and narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Kitty. He even crouched down slightly so that he could get a better look at Kitty’s face.
“You’re that clumsy country lass who caused me so much trouble at Bradshaw’s ball the other night,” he said without any kindness.
“I am very sorry,” Kitty said, bristling with the urgent need to get away.
“Salisbury wouldn’t shut up about you,” George said, shifting to block Kitty from leaving. “He fancies you, though he says that Lord Deveraux Ogilvy has already claimed you. Is that true?”
The question confused Kitty, since the banns had just been read not an hour before. She snapped her head up to stare at George in puzzlement. But then, she did not remember seeing her brother in the church. George was probably crossing through the churchyard on his way home from some other, probably wicked event.
Glancing up proved to be the very worst thing Kitty could have done. At first, George wore a salacious smile, as though he planned to importune Kitty or tease her, as he was wont to do with unfortunate young women he believed were beneath him. But all too soon, recognition dawned in George’s eyes.
“No,” he said, his eyes going wider. He raked Kitty with a brash look. “No, it cannot be.”
“Good day, sir,” Kitty said, fighting to keep her voice as light as possible and not to swoon from pure fear.
She tried to leave, but George stepped into her path again. “I cannot believe my own eyes,” he said, his tone turningharsh and a devilish light sparking in his eyes. “You’re not dead after all.”
“I do not know what you are talking about,” Kitty said, her mouth and throat going dry. She looked down and away, doing everything she could to avoid her brother.
“Yes, you do,” George growled. He shot out a hand and grabbed Kitty’s jaw near to where it met her throat, nearly choking her. When he forced Kitty’s head up so he could get a better look, he laughed and said, “You little pervert. I always knew you were hopelessly bent.”
“Leave me alone, George,” Kitty said, shaking so badly she feared her legs would not support her. “I want nothing to do with you.”
George ignored her.
“Swanning about in a dress,” he said with a sneer. “Pretending to the world that you’re some ignorant country lass come to London to find a husband?”
“Please,” Kitty said, on the verge of tears. “Just leave me alone. You can have everything, the money, the title, everything. I just want to be left in peace.”
“To live a life that turns the natural order on its head?” George demanded, shaking Kitty.
Kitty let out a terrified moan and tried to get away, but George clamped down harder on her throat until her head started to swim.
“Wait until I tell Father,” George laughed. “He won’t bother to hire men to get rid of you, he’ll do it himself this time.”
Kitty’s eyes bulged. She’d known the truth in her heart all along, but hearing from George that her father had indeed attempted to have her killed was defeating.
“I’ll get the title and the money anyhow,” George said with a smile. “And I’ll get to see you hang on top of it.”
Kitty moaned again. She had come so close to having the sort of life she desired. She had come so close to love.
George squeezed her neck harder, but before he could say anything else cruel to crush Kitty’s spirit, Dev’s shout of “Unhand her at once!” sounded from the corner of the church.
Thank God! Her savior had arrived!
Sixteen
There had been times in the past several weeks when Dev had entirely forgotten that there was anything unusual about his love for Kitty or their increasingly public affection. His heart was convinced that Kitty had been put into the world exactly as she was just for him, and that he was solely for Kitty. Kitty’s dual nature was not any sort of hindrance to his affections, it enhanced them. He felt as though he had the best of all things, gentleness and grace as well as strength and an exciting physical form, all in one person.
Because of the naturalness of everything he felt for Kitty, his need to protect his beloved had eased up with time. If he was confident in Kitty’s ability to interact with his family and neighbors without so much as a hint of her former life, then the rest of the world would naturally accept his beloved exactly as she was.
It was a beautiful but dangerous sort of complacency to fall into, and Dev regretted it the moment he glanced up from his conversation with friends to find his mother speaking with Lady Everly alone.
At first, he thought nothing of it. He smiled to his mother, who beamed back at him, so proud Dev felt a rush of tender warmth spread through him. But when Kitty did not reappear, and when a further sweep of the churchyard found that she was nowhere in sight, Dev began to worry. He left his conversation and strode across the yard to join his mother.
