Page 35 of His Stolen Duchess
“Scandalous thighs!” the bird squawked from atop the curtain rod in the large window.
The servants burst into laughter at the parrot’s candor.
And the parrot seemed to thrive on the laughter.
“Scandalous thighs!” he repeated.
“Come down from there!” Georgina called to her pet.
At one point, she looked over her shoulder at Lysander, biting her lip in consternation.
One of the footmen ran around with a ladder, and two of the maids had large blankets, ready to throw them over the parrot.
“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” the parrot squawked.
Lysander was the only one who could see it coming. The others flapped around in ways that the parrot had done previously, but was not doing now, perched safely atop the curtain pole.
“Get him off of there!” Lysander held his arms out in front of him, but didn’t venture into the room. “Get him off there now! For goodness’ sake! He’ll destroy the curtains and surely the upholstery next!”
Georgina and the staff were in too much of a panic to comply with the Duke’s demands, and they fell on deaf ears.
It was too late, anyway. The parrot relieved himself all down the curtains.
Lysander turned away and brought his hand to his forehead. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
I thought I was simply saving her from a scandal. What horrors have I invited into my house as a result?
Anger flooded through him at being disobeyed by his staff and at the parrot for wreaking havoc in his home.
“No!” Georgina called from the room. “Mr. Squawksby, you know better than that! You’re a sophisticated parrot, not a brute.”
More laughter erupted from the library, and while Lysander considered that to be a fine noise to have inside his manor, the other noises were entirely unwelcome.
When Lysander peeked into the library again, he saw that the parrot had purloined a silver spoon from somewhere and was now flying around near the ceiling as the staff ducked and covered their heads in fear that the parrot would drop it directly on them.
The parrot finally dropped the spoon, and one of the footmen dove out of the missile’s way. Then, the winged creature went straight for the piano, landing on its keys and blazing out a combination of notes that sounded purely horrid.
“Encore! Encore!” the bird shouted before walking down the keys and playing them out of time and out of tune.
“Will someone stop that blasted bird!” the Duke bellowed.
The maids ran for the piano, tossing the blankets and missing completely. The parrot danced from side to side on the keys as if playing a victory song, albeit an unbelievably bad one. When one of the footmen ran for the bird, it took flight again and circled high above.
“Oh, blast this!” the Duke boomed. He finally entered the library and strode across the room to the piano, picking up one of the blankets. He turned to face the tormentor and pointed at the parrot, which was now circling the ceiling.
“Stop this at once!” he boomed.
The parrot flew down and then straight at the Duke, and once it was close enough, he tossed the blanket on the bird. Although it mostly covered the wayward fowl, as the parrot flapped its wings and scrabbled its legs, it became tangled in the blanket.
“Oh, no!” Georgina screamed.
Lysander quickly stepped forward, holding out his arms, and caught the parrot as it fell to the floor. He held it tightly, his hands pinning the wings under the blanket, and the parrot went still.
He handed the wrapped parrot to one of the footmen. “Take him back to where he belongs. Everyone except Lady Georgina can leave the room.”
The laughter was over. The staff exited the room with their heads lowered. Georgina took a step toward the footman holding her parrot and reached out her hand before thinking better of her actions. She retracted her hand, took a step back, glanced at Lysander, then fixed her gaze on the carpet.
“You don’t—” Georgina started.
