Victoria wasn't worried about that. The duke couldn't force her to marrytonight,and anything else that he could do to her was a mere inconvenience, not a real problem.
Or so she believed until they were alone.
Once the others had gone, he turned to face her directly, and he got right to the point. "You've got cats," he said.
"Yes," she agreed. Then a thought occurred to her. "Did you just realize that?"
"One of them was in my study."
"I'm sure it was Hades. He's the more curious of the two."
"Yes, Maxwell told me that it was Hades."
"Well, I'm pleased you met him." She kept her voice cool. She wasn't honestly that pleased about it. It wasn't good for Hades to have met the duke, but perhaps being in the company of a cat would soften him slightly.
"You can't have cats in this house," he told her.
Victoria blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"I think you heard me. You can't have cats here. I don't want cats in my home. You'll have to get rid of them."
"Well, that's ridiculous," Victoria said. "I'm not going to get rid of my cats. I love them."
"You can't lovecats."
"Maybe you can't. I can, and I do."
"I'm sorry to hear it, because they're going to have to go," the duke said. "I've made up my mind about this. We're not going to have cats in this house, underfoot, tripping me and nipping at my toes when I'm trying to work. You'll just have to put them out."
"They'll never survive in the wild, Your Grace," Victoria said. "They're house cats. They're used to having their meals provided for them, and the biggest thing they've ever fought is the occasional mouse. The very first fox they met would finish them off, if they didn't starve first."
"That's what happens to cats who are kept indoors," the duke said coldly. "They become soft. It's your own fault for making them the way they are."
"Well, I don't care what you think," Victoria said. "I'm not going to let the cats go."
"If you don't, I will."
"You can't think that will work. They know where their meals come from. They'll return to the house, and I'll always let them back in. You can't be watching the doors all the time. You might put them out again, but I'll let them in again. And I believe the staff will do the same thing. They like my cats."
The duke said nothing, but Victoria could see that he was seething. His hands were clenched into fists and his lips were pressed together in a fine line.
"You're being ridiculous," she told him. "You didn't even know they were here until today, so you can't act as if they're bothering you too immensely. Just go back to ignoring them."
"One of them was in my way today."
"He can't have done anything too bad. Hades isn't that mischievous. I'm sure he just took you by surprise." Victoria did her best to make her voice as conciliatory as possible. "Your Grace, you know that I'll be gone soon. You're planning to marry me off, aren't you?"
"You know that I am."
"So why not just wait? There's no reason to do all this. Before long I'll be gone, and I'll take the cats with me. You won't have to worry about any of us anymore. That way they won't have to die just because you don't care for them—and isn't that a better solution?"
She held her breath, hoping that he would accept. If he pressed the matter, Victoria didn't know what she would do. The only thing she knew for sure was that she had no intention of putting her cats out of the house to meet whatever grim fate might await them in the wild. She would never do that to Hades and Persephone, no matter what the duke might insist upon. If that was what he wanted, she would have to find a way around it.
He let out a sigh. "You know what?" he said. "I don't care what you do. You have been a thorn in my side since I learned of my inheritance. You've made me feel as if I can't live in this house. Ihaven't wanted to come here, because I knew that you were here, and I didn't want to share quarters with you. But then, once I made my peace with the idea of staying away and giving up what was rightfully mine, news of your reputation reached me and I felt I could no longer ignore the situation. How could I, when the things people say about you were starting to encroach upon my ability to practice business?"
Victoria stared. She had known he wasn't fond of her. None of what he was saying now truly came as a surprise. And yet, to hear it all spoken at once like this, she felt a little shocked. It was as if he was letting out everything he had disliked about her right from the start—as if she was getting hit with a flood of complaints about herself.
But Victoria didn't take his words to heart. She stood up straighter, letting the flood wash over her. "You certainly have allowed me to become a big problem for you," she said. "If I were you, I wouldn't let other people take up so much space in my mind, but maybe you can't help it. Maybe you're so preoccupied with me that you haven't been able to think about anything else."
