“Have you missed living in London?” From what she understood, he’d not made it a priority to insert himself into society. He’d been in mourning the year before, and the year before that, he’d married and then quickly returned to Bowcliff Heights with his new wife. She supposed that being a duke, he likely was never compelled to do anything he didn’t wish to do.
He glanced at her and then out the window just as quickly. “Some of it.” He shrugged. His neck was slim, but his shoulders seemed unnaturally wide. He likely wore padding. She hadn’t noticed that before.
“Which parts?” This was the perfect opportunity for him to tell her that he missed dancing and flirting with pretty girls such as herself.
He lifted his chin, and she couldn’t help but notice the hairs again. She jerked her gaze back to his eyes.
“Cards at White’s. Tattersalls. Lively political discussions.”
Although not the answers she was hoping for, she now knew a few more things about him.
“You enjoy riding?” This was something they could do together. She loved riding. She loved animals in general. Her gaze shifted to the cat on the bench—most animals.
“Immensely.” He smiled at this. “And you?”
“Indeed. I enjoy riding my horse, Misty, more than almost anything when I’m at Westerley Crossings.”
“Ah, she sounds like a horse you named as a child. She is gentle?”
“She is. But spirited enough to make riding her interesting. I’ve had her since I was seven.”
“Once we’re settled at Bowcliff, I’ll request your brother transport her to my estate for you. Would you like that, my dear?”
He might be lofty, but hedidcare for her. And his appreciation for horses was reassuring. It was something they would have in common going forward.
Culpepper’s beringed hand settled on the cat, stroking behind its ears without seeming to be aware of it, and then hooking his finger through the cat’s collar. At least she thought it was a cat. Without any hair, it just as easily could have been a squirrel—or a very large rat.
“Meow.” The cat glared at her as though reading her mind and finding her thoughts offensive.Touché.
“What is your cat’s name?” At the risk of being a chatterbox, talking put her at ease. It always had.
“He is Archimedes.”
She had to laugh at that. Because the one thing she knew about Archimedes, the mathematician, aside from the fact that his discoveries had something or other to do with circles, was the legend that the man had been taking a bath when he’d had his mathematical epiphany and then gone running through the streets naked, shouting, “Eureka.”
“Archimedes is hardly deserving of your laughter. The name imparts dignity. There is an elegance to his smooth symmetry.” Culpepper stroked the cat’s side. “He is a most valuable animal.”
“So he is not called Archimedes because he is naked?”
“I beg of you not to be vulgar.” Culpepper sent her a frown. Surely, he was teasing her. “Archimedes is not… unclothed, Lady Tabetha. He is hairless. And as I said, rare and valuable. I hope to turn a considerable profit once we’ve returned to London.”
“You’re going to… sell him?”
“Like all animals, he is an investment. I suppose this is not something a young lady such as yourself can comprehend. I imagine you see him as a pet, something to shower affection on until you have your own human child to nurture.”
“But…” As ill-mannered as the cat was, Archimedes was still a living being and deserved to be treated as something more than a possession.
He was right. She did not understand.
“Does he bite?” She leaned forward but the duke held out one hand, as though to stop her.
“He isn’t comfortable around strangers. Best not become attached, anyhow.” He grimaced and then glanced up at her “I’d hate for him to mar your lovely complexion with his claws.”
Tabetha squirmed and touched her fingertips to her hair. Getting to know this man was going to take more effort than she’d imagined. She soldiered on. “Archimedes. It is quite the mouthful. Do you ever call him Archie?”
“Archie is a name befitting a servant, Lady Tabetha.”
One of her brother’s outriders was named Archie. Was Culpepper inferring that his cat was more valuable than a servant?
