And he thought of how she had pressed into his body as she slipped beneath the covers, unaware of his presence in the bed; the nudge of her backside a torment that had troubled him in his own room after he had found somewhere else to sleep.
It was impossible not to imagine how different things might have been if he had curved himself around her, pulled her against him, feeling the shape of her exquisite figure beneath that nightdress.
And she’d have scratched ye to ribbons if ye had.But, in his imagination, she wasnottrying to get away from him. Rather, she was pressing herself closer, stirring him up.
He shook his head to snap himself out of the thought, annoyed that she had such an effect on him. Annoyed that he wanted to punch Colin instead of simply accepting the idea of him taking Anna off his hands.
“Is everything well, Your Grace?” A vaguely familiar voice drew Jeremy’s attention away from Anna and her flock of goats, where he found the butler standing on the path toward the stables.
“Yes, just a slight complication,” Jeremy growled in reply, as he dismounted.
The butler dipped his head. “Anything I can assist you with?”
“No,” Jeremy said brusquely, taking hold of the reins and leading his stallion to the stables.
The butler followed, as if waiting for instructions, but Jeremy marched on without another word. He didn’t have a butler of his own, but right now, he had no reason to trust anyone working for Anna. Anything he said would almost certainly reach her, one way or another.
The sooner I marry her off, the better it’ll be for us all.
Perhaps this masquerade ball would present the ideal opportunity.
CHAPTER 7
“Oh, to be a goat,” Anna crooned as she kissed the soft nose of the gray and white goat. The runt of the litter. “I daresay there is absolutely nothing going on between this one’s little ears. Just pure joy, a desire to gobble up oats, and the occasional impulse to ram something with his head. That sounds like bliss to me.”
Katherine, who was picking wildflowers, laughed heartily. “I think I would rather be a kitten, curled up by someone’s fireplace. That would be a rather nice life.” She looked up at Anna. “How are you feeling today? I must say, there’s less concern among the staff this morning. They trust in you, as I do.”
“That is good to hear,” Anna replied, as the baby goat bleated for more scratches between his ears. “I refuse to disappoint them.”
A quiet sigh escaped Katherine. “And if His Grace should make you leave?”
“Impossible. My stance has not wavered, and shall not waver, no matter what that Duke might want,” Anna replied. “I have had quite enough of men telling me what to do and where to go and how I ought to exist in this world. I will not permitthisman to deny me my home, denyusour home, not after everything I have already endured. Indeed, the only man who can make me do anything is this little darling; I would pick an orchard clean of apples for him if he but asked.”
She pressed a firm kiss on the top of the little goat’s head and received a small head-butt of affection in return.
Relaxing slightly, Katherine nodded. “Animals are superior to men. They’re simpler.”
“The animals or the men?” Anna flashed her friend a wicked smirk.
Chuckling, Katherine replied, “The animals. They’re not selfish or cruel; they never leave you guessing what they want. They give love without expectation, and there’s nothing so loyal as an animal.” She twisted a length of long grass around the stems of her wildflower bouquet. “Maybe, I wouldn’t say that if I were faced with a wolf or a bear, but at least I’d know, if it hurt me, that it’s just attacking me because it’s hungry or it sees me as a threat.”
Anna’s expression softened, her heart aching for her dearest friend. “You never have to fear anything like that again. I hope you know that, dear Katherine. I will protect you; I will alwaysprotect you, and that is yet another reason why I will not give up this home of ours.”
They shared a comfortable silence for a while, with the goats running free, scampering around, and throwing themselves physically at the two women as if they could sense the change in mood and wanted to lift their spirits again.
Soon enough, as Katherine swiped her bouquet away from two mischievous goats that were trying to grab a treat, it worked. The lady’s maid laughed and swung the bouquet from side to side, her face lighting up as the goats followed the flowers, lunging left and right, leaping to snatch a mouthful.
“One of the girls at the market was telling me how a goat saved her life,” Katherine said, chuckling as a goat missed the flowers and landed in her lap, where he seemed dazed for a moment before deciding to settle down for some pats and scratches.
“She was telling everyone that she’d finally found the secret to scaring off unwelcome men,” the lady’s maid continued. “Well, rather, she was telling us all that her disgrace of a husband left to visit his brother months ago, and hasn’t been back since, all because she brought home a baby goat to take care of. She was keeping it in her bed, or so she said, and it kept butting her husband in the stomach whenever he’d try to get into bed with her.”
“And didn’t her husband do anything about it?” Anna asked.
“On the one occasion he managed to throw the goat out, it screamed all night. Naturally, he threatened to kill it, but he couldn’t catch the sweet thing. Apparently, it was quite the sight, watching him stumble drunkenly after this creature for hours and hours, all to no avail. Then, that night, it screamed again, just bleating and bleating and bleating until he couldn’t bear it anymore. Next morning, off he went to his brother’s, never to be seen again.”
Anna burst into laughter, her amusement blending with Katherine’s as the two women giggled together, surrounded by the very creatures that had chased off such a beast. They seemed to realize their part in it, as they crawled into the women’s laps, curling up into a sleepy cluster.
And as Anna looked down at the goat in her arms, a new idea began to take root. Rather, someone else’s idea, repurposed for her own troublesome beast…
