His butler blanched. “I tried to stop her, Your Grace!” he cried. “I told her you wouldn’t approve! But she wouldn’t listen to me! She told me that she would talk to you about it when you returned, and anyway, that Ladies Leah, Celeste, and Eve were far too attached to them to let you give them away now.”
“What are you talking about?” Lucien thundered, dread pooling in his stomach. “Attached to them? Attached towhat?”
“I--”
But before the butler could answer, Lucien’s question was answered for him as the sound of several dogs barking filled the upstairs corridor.
Oh, good God, what has my wife done?
Letting out a low, angry sound, Lucien strode toward the staircase and then took the stairs two at a time. At the top, he turned right, toward the portrait gallery. But he’d barely gone two steps when the doors flew open and three puppies came running out into the hall, their little feet echoing surprisingly loudly on the marble floors. Behind them were his sisters, all three of whom were wearing their nightgowns and laughing as they chased after the puppies. And behind them, smiling indulgently, was his wife.
Lucien felt the rage inside of him surge. At the same moment, his sisters caught sight of him, and the laughter seemed to die on their faces instantaneously. They came to a halt and, demurely, they looked down, hanging their heads.
The same could not be said for his wife. Emery strode forward, a cool smile on her face, stepping around his sisters in order to greet him.
“Ahh, there you are,” she said dismissively. “It’s about time you returned home.”
“Excuse me?” he spat, raising both his eyebrows.
“It’s been a week,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “and none of us have even known where you are. Did you think, perhaps, that it might be best if you had written to let us know what had happened to you?”
“It has been raining nonstop for days,” Lucien said shortly. “I tried to write, but the letters couldn’t be delivered. It’s been dangerous for horses to travel at high speeds.”
Emery narrowed her eyes. “I suppose that makes sense. Where were you?”
Lucien chose to ignore this.I will not be interrogated by my wife!Instead, he looked around at his sisters, then at the puppies, who were still jumping on one another and generally making a ruckus at the top of the staircase.
“What is going on here?” he demanded. “Why are there three animals in this house? And why are my sisters in nightgowns? Don’t you know how highly improper that is?”
“We adopted these puppies,” Emery said, smiling. “We found them abandoned in the woods and--”
“And you thought it was a good idea to bring them into the castle?” Lucien asked, incredulous. “They could be riddled with diseases!”
“They’re not riddled with diseases,” Emery said, her face flushing with annoyance. “They’re very sweet little things, and--”
“And it wasn’t your responsibility to adopt them! They have a mother, I presume, who should be taking care of them.”
“Lucien, please,” Leah said, stepping forward, a nervous expression on her face. “We searched everywhere, we really did. But the mother was nowhere to be found. If we hadn’t taken the dogs in, they would have died!”
“Anyway, when were you even able to find puppies in the woods? With all the rain, surely--” he stopped speaking as realization hit him, and another wave of anger surged through him. He rounded on Emery. “Did you take my sisters outside in the rain? Don’t you know how bad that is for their health? They could have come down with colds!”
“It wasn’t raining when we went out,” Emery said, looking taken aback. “And I didn’t know it was a crime to bring ladies outside! Don’t you think they could actually benefit from fresh air and exercise?”
“Not in the early spring when they could become ill! What if Leah came down with something right before her debut? What would happen then?”
“I’m perfectly well, Lucien,” Leah pleaded. “Emery only wanted us to spend some time outside, have a little bit of fun.”
“Fun?” Lucien repeated. “Fun is for those who do not have responsibilities to fulfil. And yours is to be well and fit so that you can marry well and produce heirs for your future husband.”
“She’s not a breeding mare!” Emery shouted, and Lucien turned, very slowly, to look at his wife. She was glaring at him with such a deep level of dislike that he almost took a step back. But of course, he stood his ground.
“I am aware,” he said coolly. “She is, however, a lady of theton. And it is her responsibility to continue the family line. Something she can only do if she is a proper, well-behaved young lady, not the kind of woman who traipses around through woods rescuing dogs and then runs around the house in her night rail! Do you have any idea how improper that is? What if someone were to call and see her like that?”
“None of us are out yet,” Leah pointed out in a nervous but determined tone of voice. “No one is going to call on us, Lucien.”
Lucien closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “That’s not… that’s not the point. It is unladylike, and it sets a precedence for other inappropriate behaviors. Such as going out in the rain and adopting strays that are probably flea-ridden!”
“They’re not flea-ridden,” Emery said flatly. “We would have noticed. And we had Cook make up a bath for them that she swears gets rid of any fleas.”
