Page 58 of A Wallflower to Win the Viscount

‘We need a box spacious enough to accommodate Clawdia and those kittens.’

‘Yes, my lord,’ the man said dubiously, then walked off towards the kitchen.

As if oblivious to the mayhem she had caused, Clawdia happily groomed her kittens, still purring loudly.

The footman returned almost immediately with a large wicker basket.

‘That’s perfect, but it needs something soft to line it,’ Lucian said. Before the footman could answer, he ran up the stairs to his own room. He pulled several flannel shirts out of the portmanteau the valet had packed, sending other clothes flying, then raced back downstairs and into the study, where he found the footman stroking the purring cat’s head.

He laid the shirts neatly in the basket and placed it in the corner beside Clawdia.

‘Right,’ he said to the footman. ‘We’re going to have to lift her into the basket without disturbing the kittens. I’ll take Clawdia, and you scoop your hands under the kittens and hopefully we can move them all as one unit.’

Before they could attempt this difficult manoeuvre, Clawdia stood up, the mewling attachments unceremoniously falling off. She gently picked up each kitten in turn with her mouth and placed them in the basket, then climbed in herself and resumed feeding them.

‘Good, well done, Mama,’ Lucian said, nodding. That was one problem solved, but he suspected it was going to be the first of many.

‘Do you know anything about caring for cats and kittens?’ he asked the footman.

‘No, my lord,’ the man said, still smiling at Clawdia.

‘Right,’ he repeated, even though there was nothing right about this situation. ‘Neither do I. You remain here and keep an eye on them. I’ll go and get some help.’

With that he stalked out the door in search of some much-needed expertise on the care of nursing cats and their kittens.

Chapter Twenty

There was nothing to worry about, Primrose told herself repeatedly. She’d not seen Clawdia since yesterday afternoon, and this morning she had not appeared to demand her breakfast. But that presumably meant she’d found somewhere safe and private to have her kittens.

She would soon emerge to proudly display her offspring. Primrose was sure that would be the case, but that didn’t stop her from searching the entire house from top to bottom, particularly the hidden-away places a cat might choose to give birth.

She was not to be found anywhere inside.

Primrose moved out into the garden, still telling herself there was nothing to worry about. She peered under the hedge and looked behind every shrub, watched attentively by the interested animals. When every possible nook and cranny had been thoroughly examined, she had to admit Clawdia was not on the property.

She looked thoughtfully at the high wall that separated her garden from Lucian’s.

‘Oh, Clawdia, sweetheart, you haven’t! Have you?’

As much as she did not want to face up to it, it was looking increasingly likely Clawdia had chosen to have her kittens on Lucian’s property. Hopefully not on a high shelf in his study.

Not willing to surrender to that possibility just yet, she bent down and looked under the bushes and shrubs she had already checked, hoping to spot a well-concealed Clawdia among the foliage.

This was pointless.

She stood up, knowing what she had to do. The one thing she really did not want to do, but it would be unforgivably remiss of her to put her own discomfort ahead of the needs of her pet.

She looked back at the high brick wall. Hopefully, Lucian would be out. She could sneak in and retrieve her traitorous cat and possibly some kittens, without seeing him and without having to deal with the disturbing effect he was sure to have on her nervous system. Even the mere thought of him made her pulse race, so how was she going to react when she saw him in the flesh?

She grimaced and closed her eyes.

No, do not, under any circumstances, think of flesh or muscles or masculine scents or any of those other dangerous reminders of what you shared.

She opened her eyes and drew in several deep breaths and tried her best to still that dratted insidious yearning.

There was nothing else for it. She had to retrieve Clawdia.

Before she could question the wisdom of this move, she strode off with forced determination, ignoring the little voice telling her to maybe just check the entire house and garden one more time so she could delay a little bit longer.