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Louisa nodded, smiled and made a small curtsy. “Welcome to Wintercrest, Lord Huntington,” Louisa said. “I know Papa has been looking forward to your arrival. It is a delight to have you visit our home.”
Lucy wasn’t watching her sister; her eyes were glued to Lucas. If he was surprised to hear Louisa refer to her husband as ‘Papa’ he hid it well. So well that Lucy was even more certain that the two men shared far more than childhood memories.
“I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, Louisa,” Lucas said, giving her another small bow before turning his attention back to Lucy. “Then this little feline’s name must be Miss Furniss,” Lucas said.
“Feline?” Edward said, his brow lifting.
Lucy tensed waiting to be chastised for striking his guest, but Lucas only chuckled. “Just a little misunderstanding,” he said, turning to her again. “I owe you an apology, Miss Furniss,” he said, his tone far more soothing than it had been when he’d been scolding her. “I didn’t mean to either scare you or embarrass you.”
Despite Lucas’ brushing off their encounter, Lucy saw Edward’s eyebrow lift at the confusing conversation.
“Can someone please enlighten me? What exactly has happened here, Lucille?” Edward asked.
Lucy took a deep breath, noticing the man had not apologized for spanking her! “I was just getting a book, sir,” she began. “Lord Huntington yanked me off the ladder and wouldn’t put me down. I never once said I was Louisa. In fact, I repeatedly try to tell him he was mistaken, but… he… he just wouldn’t listen!” Lucy said in a rush.
Lucy saw Anna shaking her head and though she prayed the woman wouldn’t find it necessary to intervene now that she’d explained what happened, that prayer went totally unanswered.
“She was screaming as if being murdered, my lord. Nearly put me in an early grave,” Anna said, pressing her hand over her heart. Lucas dropped an arm around her to offer her comfort while Lucy couldn’t help but think the woman had missed her true calling as she should have be on the stage.
“Edward, I take full blame,” Lucas said. “I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t knock; I just came in. I found this little one teetering from the ladder and decided to rescue her—”
“I was not teetering!” Lucy declared, rolling her eyes and then realized she had just interrupted a very important guest of Edward’s. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said seeing Edward’s eyes give her a warning. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She knew she should quit but couldn’t seem to stop herself. “But, I was perfectly fine. I was just getting my book when he… he grabbed me and wouldn’t put me down even though I asked several times!”
Lucas’ laugh had her eyes narrowing even as the sound had something inside her tummy fluttering.
“Edward, your little ward might be the size of a kitten, but I assure you she can fight like a lioness. She even showed her claws and slapped me when all I was doing was saving her from breaking an arm or a leg or even worse,” Lucas said, ignoring Lucy’s gasp. He simply continued with his version of the story. “Of course, if I’d known she was capable of clinging to shelves with those claws, I suppose I would have simply stood back and watched the show.”
Lucy felt her face burn as a flush rose up her neck. He made her sound like a silly, stupid girl. She had climbed the ladder hundreds of times without all this drama. Edward had looked away from his guest and directly at her when Lucas said she had slapped him. Lucy found herself waiting for Edward to give her an appointment or simply decide to spank her right where she stood. Edward shocked her when he laughed loudly.
“It’s about time someone took you to task, Lucas. You can’t think you are in true danger. As you’ve mentioned, Lucille is a tiny little thing. Perhaps if you had been your usual charming self, you would have been able to make her purr instead of hiss with fright.”
Lucas laughed and, releasing Anna, made a show of bowing to Lucy. “Forgive me, little kitten, I concede you are correct.”
Lucy looked up and then between the two friends. She saw Edward’s smile and saw that his friend was still bent in an exaggerated bow.
“Might as well forgive him,” Edward chuckled. “Otherwise I fear we’ll be subjected to his ridiculous pose until you do.”
“Oh… um, of course. I… I forgive you,” Lucy said softly, her face heating anew. She was most definitely not accustomed to hearing someone other than herself or Louisa ask for forgiveness. She felt her insides twist as she tried to understand what she was feeling. Despite Lucy’s discomfort, with the exception of the housekeeper, the rest of the group seemed amused.
Mrs. Bremmer, evidently was nowhere near as forgiving as her employer, walked up to Lucy. “I would think a hand slapped against your bottom would serve you much better than all this bowing, Lucille,” she said sternly. “Imagine what Lord Huntington must truly think about your behavior. He is simply being polite. We all know that proper young ladies do not go about caterwauling like banshees or slapping houseguests.”
Lucy dared a glance at Lord Huntington to see him observing the reprimand, but not contributing to it. His lips curled as if Lucy and he had decided to share some little secret, or as if daring her to admit that his hand had indeed popped against her posterior. She dropped her eyes, her stomach twisting even more, not about to volunteer anything so humiliating, praying no one ever learned about all that had happened.
“Lucille!”
Anna’s sharp tone voice had Lucy turning back to her. “Oh… I’m sorry. I—”
“Child, I swear, you didn’t hear a word I was saying. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”
“I promise there was nohittinginvolved, Miss Anna,” Lucas said.
Anna gave a disbelieving harrumph, shaking her head. “As I was saying, Lucy, before I decide to turn you over my knee, I suggest you get upstairs and change your dress. Your antics ripped your skirt. Lord Wintercrest does not need to waste his money on fine dresses if you are so careless with them. You will spend this evening repairing the damage,” she said, motioning for Molly to escort Lucy to her room.
Far too embarrassed to look at anyone, Lucy said, “Yes, ma’am, I’m sorry,” before turning to follow Molly. Before they were halfway across the library, she heard Lucas speaking and turned back to see the man had Mrs. Bremmer hugged to his side once again.
“Don’t be upset with the little thing, Miss Anna,” Lucas implored, “It truly was my fault.”
Anna shook her head and Lucy was a bit surprised to see that the housekeeper was looking up at her beloved lad with less than an adoring stare. “Well, young man, unless you wish to learn to mend, I suggest you let me decide what is needed. You’ve obviously grown soft in your travels,” she said, and Lucy saw him grin and barely managed not to cry foul when she saw the housekeeper slap her own hand against Lucas’ chest.
