Page 74 of The Dueling Duchess

Cat nodded.

“Well—finish what you started.”

Cat heaved a put-upon sigh. “Just because you haven’t seen something doesn’t mean that thing doesn’t exist.”

Cecile raised her eyebrows. “That is a very good point.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Cat asked, her blue eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Because I was thinking the same thing—just because I can’t see a little girl, doesn’t mean there isn’t one under all that dirt. Now come, you help me haul some water from the pump. While it heats for a bath, I’ll give you something more to eat. I just so happen to know where Cook keeps her secret supply of shortbread.”

Chapter 13

The banging in Guy’s skull was deafening.

Christ! He’d barely had anything to drink the night before, scarcely two glasses of—

“Wake up, Guy!”

Guy forced his eyes open. Hangovers might pound, but they didn’t shout one’s name. And they didn’t call one Ghee.

He glanced out the window; dawn had just broken, the light a pale, watery gray. Since he’d not even gone to bed until three, that meant he’d barely had two hours’ sleep.

He groaned and swung his feet to the floor.

“Guy! Don’t make me throw a bucket of water on you.”

“I’m awake—I’m up.” He tripped over something—a shoe—and stubbed his toe on the nearby wing chair before slamming against the wall.

“Aaarrgh!” He squeezed his throbbing toe, hopping across the room and biting his lip to keep from groaning.

“What is going on in there?” Cecile demanded.

“Nothing!”

“Have you got company in there? You’d better not have.”

“What? No.” He gingerly lowered his foot to the floor and whimpered.

And then frowned; was that . . . giggling he heard?

“I’ll give you one minute to get out here.”

“I’m hurrying,” he called out in a raspy voice, struggling into his work clothes.

“One minute. And then we are coming in.”

Guy paused; we?

He hurried, suddenly much more awake. Who the devil did she have out there? He could hear voices. Had something gone wrong last night? He’d not touched any hammers or saws, so it couldn’t be that he’d wrecked anything.

“Your time is up.” The door swung open just as Guy was tying a simple knot in his neckcloth.

It was Cecile and—Guy squinted—a little girl. And a dog, a very familiar dog.

“Holy hell!”

“Guy!”