Page 63 of A Wallflower to Win the Viscount

‘Show them in,’ he said, trying not to sound disappointed.

The footman looked towards Clawdia and raised a questioning eyebrow.

‘Yes, you’re right, perhaps not here. Show them into the drawing room and ask one of the maids to come and sit with Clawdia.’

Just as the footman was leaving, Beatrice entered the study, followed by her husband. She looked down at Clawdia, then at him, her eyebrows raised as if she had countless questions that needed answers.

‘She came over here to have her kittens,’ he said, explaining the scenario.

‘I see. And am I to assume this animal is one of Primrose’s?’

‘Yes, this is Clawdia, with a w, as in claws,’ he explained. ‘We haven’t named the kittens yet.’

‘I see,’ Beatrice said, then smiled. ‘How lovely. Primrose must be delighted that you are caring for her pet at this delicate time and proving what a responsible parent you will make.’

Lucian frowned. That was an overstatement on all counts. Primrose had accepted the situation for what it was, and he was merely doing the decent thing for an animal in need. He was not acting like a parent to these kittens.

‘I had no choice,’ he said, trying to sound dismissive so Beatrice would not make too much of something that was of no real account. ‘She just came over, uninvited, and had her kittens here in the study.’

‘How sweet,’ Beatrice said, still beaming.

Lucian could see nothing sweet about it, so he turned to the footman. ‘Please arrange for tea to be served in the drawing room.’

The man stopped smiling inanely at Clawdia, nodded and left the room.

‘May I?’ Beatrice asked Lucian, before approaching Clawdia slowly and gently patting her head. ‘Oh, yes, Lucian, you’re going to make such a devoted father. Perhaps a bit overattentive, but that’s not uncommon with the first one. By the time you’ve had three or four, you’ll be a lot more experienced and relaxed about the whole process.’

Lucian was not going to be around long enough for Clawdia to have any more litters of kittens, and he frowned once again at her reference to him being a father.

‘I’m not doing anything that isn’t in the book,’ Lucian said, indicating the tome he’d left on his chair. ‘It’s no more than what is expected when a cat gives birth.’

‘You’ve got a book,’ she exclaimed as she straightened up. ‘Look, Reggie, he went out and bought a book. Isn’t that funny?’ She turned to face Lucian. ‘That’s exactly what Reggie did when our eldest was born. He was so nervous that we might do something wrong. Primrose must be so impressed by you. And to think that only a few weeks ago you were wanting to get rid of her and her animals.’

‘People can change,’ he muttered, repeating what he’d said to Primrose.

‘Indeed, they can,’ Beatrice agreed. ‘Indeed, they can.’

The maid arrived to relieve him from watching Clawdia, and he escorted his cousin and his wife down the hallway and through to the drawing room, where the tea service had been laid out on the credenza. They took their seats, and Beatrice poured them each a cup.

‘So what else has been happening between you and Primrose since we last saw you?’ Beatrice asked. ‘Apart from becoming the proud parents of four kittens,’ she added, as she handed him a cup.

Lucian placed his untouched tea on a side table and crossed his legs, wondering how to answer that question. Quite obviously he would not be going into any details about what else had happened between him and Primrose in the very study they had just left.

‘Have there been any developments?’ she continued to probe.

To delay, he picked up his tea, went to take a sip, then thought better of it and replaced it on the table.

‘Has anything of any significance changed between the two of you?’

Lucian cleared his throat, wishing she would leave this rather sensitive subject alone.

‘Anything that would put an end to my matchmaking?’

‘If you must know, I asked her to marry me,’ he said, his voice tense. He could add that that was the least scandalous event to have occurred since he last saw Reginald and Beatrice.

‘Oh, Lucian, I am so pleased,’ Beatrice said, grabbing her husband’s arm and beaming a bright smile. ‘I told you, didn’t I, Reggie? Didn’t I say we’d soon be attending a wedding? Didn’t I tell you I simply had to buy a new hat and order a gown to be made, one suitable for a Society wedding?’

‘You did,’ Reginald said. ‘She did,’ he added unnecessarily, turning to Lucian. ‘My Bea is always right when it comes to matters of the heart. So when is the happy day?’