“There’s always Jamie.”
Gill’s expression pinched. “Kitty Kat has been kissed by the marquess?”
She flinched. Gill didn’t seem the nosey type, especially where she was concerned, but her friendship—and that was all it was—with Jamie wasn’t something she wanted to discuss.
“I don’t kiss and tell. Or not kiss and tell.” Best to change the subject. A gate was ahead of them. “This leads down to the stable, right?”
Gill nodded. “Your nose is turning pink.”
“So are your cheeks.”
“We should go back inside.”
“Go ahead.” She let the cold air fill her lungs. “I’m just getting started.”
“I’ll stay out here a few more minutes.”
Curiosity was getting the better of her. She had to ask. “Is this some kind of keep-your-enemy-close kind of tactic?”
His jaw thrust forward. “You see me as an enemy?”
“We’ve never been that friendly, so we can’t be frenemies.”
“I’ve been friendly,” he countered. “I warned you about my mother.”
“That was a quid pro quo for my mentioning Sophie’s wedding diet. I don’t need examples. I asked why because I was curious.”
“You know what happened to the curious cat.”
“Yes, but I’ll take my chances.”
A cry sounded. She froze. “What was that?”
“What?”
“I heard a noise. It sounded like a child.”
“There aren’t any children on the grounds or living nearby. I didn’t hear anything.”
Kat had. She listened. Nothing.
“Are you—”
“Shhh.”
Another noise sounded. A cry, no a whimper. Every muscle tensed. Not a child. A dog.
Maximillian.
Adrenaline surged.
Kat didn’t need a degree in veterinary medicine to recognize a cry of pain. The anguished sound hurt her heart.
She ran toward the sound.
Something was very wrong.
*
