basket to her chest and scowled. “If you won’t let me tend your wound, will you direct me to my coat? If we’re to avoid accidents of another kind, he needs a brief trip out-of-doors before we settle in for the night.”
Xavier sighed. The last thing he needed was Egui piddling all over the cottage. And with the weather as it was, he certainly couldn’t send Miss Downing out for even a moment. He reached for the basket. “Give it here.”
She shook her head. “He truly distrusts strangers, and if anything were to happen to him, my—”
“Nothing’s going to happen. Stay here where it’s warm. Make yourself comfortable. The cat and I will return in a few moments.”
Despite the emasculating lack of confidence in her expression, she at last relinquished the basket.
He inclined his head and quit the bedchamber.
Rather than go immediately outside, he headed for the servants’ quarters. He might not be able to prevent the cat from attacking, but he’d be damned if he let it run away. Which left what?
The skinny, gray, potbellied devil-cat was unlikely to respect the sort of leash one might use with a dog. Xavier needed to fashion something as unusual as the cat itself. He twisted the cord from a bellpull into a figure eight and wrestled Egui’s front paws into the holes as if it were a waistcoat. He looped the ends of the cord through the metal clasp of a leather belt and tied a solid knot.
There. A cat leash. He leaned back, satisfied. As long as he didn’t let go of his end—and Egui refrained from attack—all would be well.
Xavier bundled the cat back into the basket and slipped on his coat and hat before slipping out into the blustery evening.
The icy wind robbed his lungs of air. Once his body adjusted to the frigid wind, he released Egui from his basket, careful to keep a firm hold on the safe end of the belt.
He couldn’t contain a brief smile. Taking a demon cat for a piss in the snow couldn’t be further from how he’d imagined spending his first night home, but Miss Downing and company were undeniably more entertaining. Even if he got a few new scars out of the escapade.
In fact, Egui might just be the key to saving them all. And not just because no man in his right mind would trust that cat anywhere near his bare arse.
Miss Downing, on the other hand… Xavier needed one hell of a plan to dissuade her from throwing away her virginity. A plan that stopped her from wanting him .
The easiest way would be to let her know exactly what sort of blackguard she was offering herself to, but his damnable pride hated the idea of resorting to such measures.
For one, tales of his misdeeds would rob her of a different sort of innocence. No one deserved that. And for two… she liked him. No matter how misplaced her faith in him might be, he hated to give it up. He just needed her to think of him as a friend, not a lover.
A friend who took her barmy cat for moonlit walks in the snow.
He turned his back to the wind and shivered. Yes, that was the answer. He would drown her in platonic politeness. Illustrate his relentless friend -ishness at every turn.
The best way to keep Miss Downing safe was to keep her at arm’s length.
His fingers curled into fists. By devoting himself to the care and well-being of her cat and all other libido-killing topics, he would mold her impression of him until he squarely fit the role of friend and nothing more.
Xavier tucked the cat back into the basket and hurried into the cottage, away from the bitter cold. Once inside, he leaned against the door until sensation returned to his fingertips.
Lord, it was wretched outside. In the past few hours, the weather had only worsened.
He could build up the fire in the parlor, but firewood was limited. He’d told Miss Downing that there would be plenty to see her through the night, and that was true—but it meant extinguishing all the other fires in order to better ration the wood. If the blinding snowfall kept him from
Xavier sighed. The last thing he needed was Egui piddling all over the cottage. And with the weather as it was, he certainly couldn’t send Miss Downing out for even a moment. He reached for the basket. “Give it here.”
She shook her head. “He truly distrusts strangers, and if anything were to happen to him, my—”
“Nothing’s going to happen. Stay here where it’s warm. Make yourself comfortable. The cat and I will return in a few moments.”
Despite the emasculating lack of confidence in her expression, she at last relinquished the basket.
He inclined his head and quit the bedchamber.
Rather than go immediately outside, he headed for the servants’ quarters. He might not be able to prevent the cat from attacking, but he’d be damned if he let it run away. Which left what?
The skinny, gray, potbellied devil-cat was unlikely to respect the sort of leash one might use with a dog. Xavier needed to fashion something as unusual as the cat itself. He twisted the cord from a bellpull into a figure eight and wrestled Egui’s front paws into the holes as if it were a waistcoat. He looped the ends of the cord through the metal clasp of a leather belt and tied a solid knot.
There. A cat leash. He leaned back, satisfied. As long as he didn’t let go of his end—and Egui refrained from attack—all would be well.
Xavier bundled the cat back into the basket and slipped on his coat and hat before slipping out into the blustery evening.
The icy wind robbed his lungs of air. Once his body adjusted to the frigid wind, he released Egui from his basket, careful to keep a firm hold on the safe end of the belt.
He couldn’t contain a brief smile. Taking a demon cat for a piss in the snow couldn’t be further from how he’d imagined spending his first night home, but Miss Downing and company were undeniably more entertaining. Even if he got a few new scars out of the escapade.
In fact, Egui might just be the key to saving them all. And not just because no man in his right mind would trust that cat anywhere near his bare arse.
Miss Downing, on the other hand… Xavier needed one hell of a plan to dissuade her from throwing away her virginity. A plan that stopped her from wanting him .
The easiest way would be to let her know exactly what sort of blackguard she was offering herself to, but his damnable pride hated the idea of resorting to such measures.
For one, tales of his misdeeds would rob her of a different sort of innocence. No one deserved that. And for two… she liked him. No matter how misplaced her faith in him might be, he hated to give it up. He just needed her to think of him as a friend, not a lover.
A friend who took her barmy cat for moonlit walks in the snow.
He turned his back to the wind and shivered. Yes, that was the answer. He would drown her in platonic politeness. Illustrate his relentless friend -ishness at every turn.
The best way to keep Miss Downing safe was to keep her at arm’s length.
His fingers curled into fists. By devoting himself to the care and well-being of her cat and all other libido-killing topics, he would mold her impression of him until he squarely fit the role of friend and nothing more.
Xavier tucked the cat back into the basket and hurried into the cottage, away from the bitter cold. Once inside, he leaned against the door until sensation returned to his fingertips.
Lord, it was wretched outside. In the past few hours, the weather had only worsened.
He could build up the fire in the parlor, but firewood was limited. He’d told Miss Downing that there would be plenty to see her through the night, and that was true—but it meant extinguishing all the other fires in order to better ration the wood. If the blinding snowfall kept him from
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