AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Percy froze, holding the kitten in his outstretched hands, as if he didn’t know what else to do. Then all at once, he smiled, throwing her a look of complete shock. “Is this what brought you to the village today? In the rain!” He shook his head, setting the kitten down on his lap. He lifted one hand to stroke its head with two fingers, and he smoothed back her velvet ears. His smile grew. “You are the most ridiculous woman I have ever met.”
Fanny gasped. “I believe a bit of gratitude is in order.”
That little crease appeared beside his mouth, and he looked down at the kitten again. “Thank you.” The words felt like a gift of the most precious kind. “But I believe a name change is in order.”
Fanny laughed, leaning over to pat the kitten’s head. “A name change? You don’t like ‘Cake, the second’? I found it to be quite fitting.”
Percy put on a thoughtful expression. “But Cake was my cat. This one is ours. We shall choose a name together.”
Fanny looked down at the kitten just as it dug its claws into Percy’s hand. He pulled his arm back fast and she laughed. “I think she adores you.” Just after she said the words, the kitten slid down to its belly on Percy’s lap and began scratching at the button near the bottom of his waistcoat. Percy reached under the kitten and picked her up, holding her far away from him. Fanny gasped as the kitten sank her teeth into his thumb.
Percy dropped the kitten onto his lap, eyes wide.
Fanny’s laughter rang through the air and she struggled to catch her breath. “I was correct. She loves you more than anything in the world. You named your first kitten Cake because she loved cake more than anything, so perhaps we might call this one Percy.”
His head jerked to her and his shoulders shook. His chin quivered, and then it happened. He laughed. Percy Wellingtonlaughed. Fanny stared at him, completely mesmerized by the sound. It seemed completely out of character yet fitting all at once. Her heart filled with the sound—the deep chuckle, the endearing way he caught his breath and laughed again. She hoped she would never forget it.
“You laughed!” She pointed a finger at him. “You laughed! I knew you would.”
Percy’s face faded to a smile. “But I didn’t giggle.”
The kitten leaped from his lap and climbed up the arm of the chair where Fanny was sitting, propped up on a cushion. “I never expected that from you,” Fanny said, smiling wider now. “But do you remember? Do you remember our deal? Now I may have anything my heart desires.” She sat up straighter in her chair, leaning on her elbow toward him.
“Oh, yes. How could I have forgotten?” Percy’s eyes glinted blue in the light, dancing with the flames that seemed much less frightening than before. “What’s it to be?”
Fanny looked at him again, realizing that she would never, ever grow tired of it. His mouth was quirked up in a grin, one so captivating that she knew precisely what she wanted from him. Her heart beat against her ribs and her cheeks caught fire. Dare she ask it of him? It was a simple request, but the way she was feeling in this moment wasn’t simple at all. Words, all jumbled in her brain, came pouring out without thought. “I—well…I have wondered what it might be like…well, I mean, you have never kissed me, and you are my husband. It seems a rather natural thing to do.”
For a moment, Percy’s eyes rounded in surprise, and she regretted every word that had just escaped her. But then his expression changed.
He looked determined.
Her heart gave a distinct thud, a chill spreading over her limbs.
Leaning across his chair, his hand found her face. “You’ll have to help me a little here,” he whispered close to her ear. Her neck erupted in shivers.
She nodded, hoping his hand that held her face would feel the motion. She eyed his lips, closing the space between them. The moment her lips touched his, she closed her eyes. Her stomach fluttered with emotion, and she lifted her hands to grip the front of his jacket.
He buried his fingers in her hair, capturing her lips with his, again and again, each kiss growing in confidence and intensity. His other arm wrapped around her waist, and her hands slid over his broad shoulders and she cupped the back of his neck, bringing him impossibly closer. All thought escaping, Fanny kissed him just as fervently as he kissed her, forgetting her scars, her insecurities, her doubts, and even the kitten sitting patiently on his lap. Her heart bounded in time with his, pieces falling back together, mending with the passionate, yet careful movement of his mouth against hers. Her lips burned for more, but all at once, Percy pulled back, his hand dropping from her face.
Fanny watched him, eyes wide. Why had he stopped? A look of regret was looming in his profile, and awkwardness hung in the air, consuming her face with heat. What had she done now? Her heart stung with longing for him to stay, not to shut her out again. Had he changed his mind? Did her burns disgust him after all?
In one stiff motion, he lifted the kitten and set it on the floor. “I—” he took a deep breath. “I know you don’t really want this.” His voice was cold and flooded with regret. “I heard you with Mr. Gregory.”
What did he mean? Her brow furrowed. Before she could reply, he stood from his chair and walked out of the room, leaving Fanny with nothing but the echoes of fading footsteps and the sound of a hand dragging along the wall.
“Percy?” she called.
He didn’t reply.
Her mind whirled as she pressed her hand to her heart, feeling the quick rhythm, and she wondered what had just happened to it. Her fingers flitted to her lips and her face burned all over again. Percy had kissed her. But then he had acted as if he regretted every moment they had just spent together. Her chest tightened with emotion and her throat clenched. Would he always be this way? Why had he mentioned Mr. Gregory? Did he think she had feelings for theirgroundskeeper? It was ridiculous.
Her gaze traveled across the room and her heart fell. The kitten was a mere foot away from the fireplace, swatting the corner of a blanket that sat dangerously close to the flames. Dread stabbed at her. She leaped from her chair and swiped the kitten up with one hand, her pulse pounding in her ears. She kicked the blanket away and stumbled back several steps.
With a shaky breath, she buried her face in the kitten’s soft fur and tried her hardest not to cry. Orange and red light danced off the walls, flickering in angry faces as Fanny ran from the room.
CHAPTER12
Percy hadn’t intended to kiss Fanny. He crossed his arms and dropped his head back against his chair in aggravation. He hadn’t intended to fall in love with her either. He had fully intended to let her leave him—to see her off with Mr. Gregory where she could be happy. But then he had kissed her…
