Page 33 of Impassioned
Just then, the cat ran from the draperies, his trajectory aimed for the door. Constantine threw himself backward and grasped for the ball of gray fur. He plucked up the animal and held it tightly. Which Grayson did not appreciate, for he swiped at Constantine’s chest.
He held the cat up. “No need to be rude. I’m only trying to help.”
Grayson stared at him with wide yellow eyes. He really was still a kitten, certainly not an adult, with whiskers that were much too large for his face.
“You’re a handsome lad,” Constantine said softly, recalling the kittens that had lived at Woodbreak in his youth. His mother had loved to care for the litters every spring.
Without warning, Grayson lashed out at Constantine’s chin with his paw.
“Ow!” Constantine dropped the cat and brought his hand to his chin.
“Oh no!” Lady Aldington stood and rushed to stand before him. “Did he scratch you?”
“Yes.” The pain in his chin was sharp. “Apparently I offended him by calling him handsome.”
“Cats are known to be particular.”
“Where did he go?”
“Back under the draperies.”
Constantine glared in that direction. “You’re an unsightly, unrepentant miscreant! Is that more to your liking?”
The countess sucked in a breath. “That’s not nice.”
“It’s a ploy,” Constantine whispered. “If he doesn’t like compliments, perhaps he prefers insults.”
“Oh.” Her eyes lit with mirth. She went back to the draperies and knelt once more. “Come out now, Grayson, you horrid little scamp.”
“Scamp may be too nice,” Constantine cautioned. He pulled his hand from his chin and saw that there was blood. Damn. Without a handkerchief, he pulled his cravat off and dabbed at the wound.
“Grayson, come on, you menace,” she coaxed in a singsong voice that made Constantine smile. Suddenly, a dark nose appeared beneath the hem of the curtain. “There you are, you fiend.”
A moment later, the cat crept carefully from the drape and sniffed at the countess. She held out her finger, which he practically inhaled in his efforts to conduct his olfactory investigation. The countess laid herself flat on the carpet and rolled to her side. “Is this better? Now I’m not lurking over you.”
Constantine moved closer—slowly and quietly—to obtain a better view. He just managed to see Grayson put his paw on Lady Aldington’s chest as if he were trying to push her onto her back. She must have thought the same thing, for she rolled to her back with a smile. “Isthisbetter?”
In response, Grayson sniffed her some more before climbing onto her chest and sitting down as if he were a small loaf of dark gray bread.
Lady Aldington looked up at Constantine, her lips curling into the most charming smile he’d ever seen her wear. He was captivated. No, more than that. He simply couldn’t look away. Nor could he not smile in return.
“Grayson prefers you to me. Smart cat.”
A laugh escaped her lips, and Grayson started. The countess clapped her hand over her mouth, but her eyes still danced with amusement. Constantine started to laugh too, in spite of the still aching slash across his chin.
The door to the study opened, and Mrs. Haddock stood at the threshold. “Grayson! You naughty boy!”
The cat leapt off Lady Aldington and ran to his mama, who scooped him up with one arm. She held a small bowl of something—presumably kidney—in her other hand. “There you go,” she murmured as the cat dipped his face into the bowl. “I’m so sorry, my lord,” Mrs. Haddock said earnestly. “This will never happen again.”
Constantine honestly didn’t care if it did. The event had been the most entertaining and enlivening thing that had ever happened in this house. “So long as he stays out of sight when we have guests, Grayson is not a problem.” He lowered the cravat from his chin.
Mrs. Haddock’s jaw dropped. “Oh no, did he do that?”
“I’m afraid so,” Constantine glanced at the blood stains on the white silk.
“My deepest apologies, my lord. If you want us to turn him out, we will at once.” The housekeeper looked pained as she made the offer.
“Not at all. He’s a cat, and Lady Aldington has reminded me that they are particular. It seems he prefers the countess to me.”
