Her lovely hazel eyes were huge in the pale oval of her face, and he noticed with anger that her full lower lip was trembling.
“It is too ghastly for words…”
“Where?” he demanded, his blood hot with the need to act.
Honora pointed a wavering finger. “In my room-”
Stalking into her chamber, Silas examined the space, his eyes falling on the bed with its soft rose-coloured coverings.
Resting in the centre of the counterpane was a small limp form, along with a sealed envelope.
A cat, the creature unnaturally still.
Silas felt his heart twist with sadness, then rage.
Whoever had done such an abominable thing should be taken out and shot.
Pulling his handkerchief out of his pocket, he moved towards the small black shape, intending to cover it.
Something seemed strange, so he looked more closely.
It was taxidermied. And rather badly, at that. The stuffing made the legs stick out at an unnaturally stiff angle.
Silas felt his breaths even out with relief, somewhat.
Yes, it was still dead, unfortunately for the cat. But certainly not recently, considering the moth-eaten state of the ears.
Silas was momentarily flummoxed.
What kind of a sick joke was this?
He plucked the note from the bed and tore it open, his eyes skimming the leaflet torn from a local scandal rag. The article detailed how a certain lady had fallen from her horse in Hyde Park.
The intended message was undeniable.
See how I can come into this house and hurt whoever I choose, if I wanted to.
Lowsobs of distress came from outside the room, and Silas straightened with resolve.
He would see that whoever was responsible for this would pay. Dearly.
Silas strode purposefully out of the room, curling his arm protectively around Honora’s shoulders and leading her away.
“Come away, Honora. The cat is not real. It is stuffed.”
Honora gasped in shock, her face twisting with disgust. “Stuffed? What in heaven’s…Who woulddosuch a thing?”
“A cretin,” answered Silas grimly, leading her away. “One who wanted to scare you witless with this cowardly display.”
Honora nodded mutely, letting him lead her to his chambers, where he deposited her in a chair while her maid hovered nervously in the background.
“Stay here, I will search the house and remove the…cat. Do not move from this spot.”
“Of course, Silas,” she replied, looking up at him with trust shining in her eyes.
It was something he hadn’t seen there for many years, and he realised with a pang that he had missed it terribly. Missed everything about her.
There was so very much he had lost by keeping his distance these last four years.
