The Duke's Christmas Greetings (Regency Christmas Summons Book 3) (4 page)

Damn it all. The little kitten’s claws were as sharp as needles against Matt’s skin as he shielded the thing in his greatcoat from the wintry Yorkshire wind.

Ashes was not a good traveler. He meowed nonstop from the moment Matt had settled onto Sanus’s back until they’d finally arrived at Allwynds.  Of course, if someone had plucked Matt from Lady Patience’s bed and taken
him
somewhere else, he’d have complained the whole way too. He couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the blush that had stained her cheeks when he’d first sat on the edge of her bed.

She had reason to blush too. Especially if she knew the thoughts that had darted in and out of his mind while he’d sat there. Matt shook his head to clear the madness from his mind. He was a damned idiot. He shouldn’t have
any
inappropriate thoughts about Lady Patience. She was a patient, after all. And the great-niece to the Duke of Danby, sister to the Marquess of Bradenham, whoever he was, and Matt was…Well, neither of those things. Just a lowly country doctor with a large cottage and a rather happy life. He was far from destitute and managed his funds well. But he wasn’t in the same category of men she must usually associate with, not by a long shot.

Ashes meowed as Matt slid from Sanus’s saddle. “Yes, yes,” he grumbled. “She’s softer than me. I know.”

And she was soft. Touching Lady Patience’s skin was like brushing his hand across the petals of a flower. What an idiot he was. Petals of a flower! Of all the ridiculous drivel. He was a man of science not a poet, for God’s sake.

He put Sanus back in his stall and then darted for the cottage to escape the wind, with Ashes pressed against his chest the whole while. And the damn little thing poked him with those claws again. “I think you may be more trouble than you’re worth,” he said as he stepped inside Allwynds and shut the wintry air outside behind him.

“I beg your pardon?” Mrs. Henderson said from the middle of the foyer, blinking at him with an ashen expression. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh, no, no.” Matt couldn’t help but laugh. The poor woman. “Not you at all, Mrs. Henderson.” Then he opened his greatcoat and revealed the little grey terror in his arms. “This is Ashes. Our new guest.”

The woman’s mouth dropped open. “Oh good gracious! Where did you find her?”

“Him,” he corrected, not that the gender of the cat mattered one way or the other. “I saved him from being unceremoniously tossed from Danby Castle.”

Mrs. Henderson stepped closer to Matt, a wide smile on her face. “Isn’t he precious?”

Precious?
He’d turned Matt into a pincushion on the ride over. “One of His Grace’s great-nieces certainly thinks he is.” And he’d never forget the look of adoration in Lady Patience’s eyes when he said he’d take in her kitten.

“Is this the same kitten who bit one of the duke’s guests?” Mrs. Henderson reached her hand out for the little grey menace.

He had done that. Matt nodded, and actually…Well,
actually
he would never have met Lady Patience if Ashes hadn’t bit her. He supposed he owed the kitten for that, not that he wanted the pretty blonde to be in any sort of pain. He would never want that. But he was happy that he had met the lady, however.

“Why are you smiling?” His housekeeper looked at him as though he was mad. She probably thought he was. Why would he smile about someone getting bit?

“It’s just been a very long day,” he said.

“Aye,” she agreed. “When you came in earlier, you looked bedraggled, if you don’t mind me saying so…”

It would be a little late if he did mind.

“…but now you look like you’re floating up the clouds.”

Apparently, it was impossible to get anything past Mrs. Henderson. “Dinner is still warm, I hope.”

“Of course, of course.” She placed the kitten on the floor and then started towards the kitchen. “And I’ll get your warm cider right away, sir.”

Ashes looked up at Matt and yawned. He probably was tired with all he’d done that night – biting Lady Patience, soiling the duke’s slippers and wailing all the way from Danby Castle to Allwynds like a banshee. “Don’t even think abut soiling my slippers,” he said and started for the dining room.

His dining room was nicely apportioned with an oak table that had once belonged to his mother, God rest her soul, and six very sturdy chairs, though he was the only one who ever sat in them. How many meals had he taken in that room all alone over the years? He sat down at the head of his table and thanked Mrs. Henderson when she brought in a large bowl of stew and warm cider.

“Meow.”

Matt glanced over the side of his chair to discover the little grey kitten blinking up at him from the floor. Matt couldn’t help but shake his head. All those years alone and now he had a companion, though it wasn’t the sort he’d really wanted.

Honestly, he’d never given much though to the sort of companion he would like. Matt had always been quite focused on his work, on learning more about medicine every chance he got. Once upon a time while he was away at school in Edinburgh, he’d fallen quite under Miss Annys Buchanan’s spell. But she hadn’t cared the least about his medical musings and their courtship had not lasted terribly long. Looking back now, that was probably for the best. Annys with her wild Scottish blood would have been quite miserable in Yorkshire.

Lady Patience was a bit wild too, wasn’t she? That maid of hers had said the lady and her sisters caused havoc for their brother. She didn’t strike Matt as wild though. She was quite serenely perfect, actually, in a very innocent way.

He dipped his spoon into the bowl, and…

“Meow.” Ashes rubbed up against the side of Matt’s chair.

“You are
not
getting my dinner.”

Though Ashes apparently had a different idea as he climbed up the side of the wooden chair. Then he crawled into Matt’s lap and pushed up on his hind paws as though to look down into the bowl of stew on the table.

“You are an enterprising little piece of baggage, aren’t you?” He scoffed.

But then the kitten looked up at Matt and blinked his green eyes as though he was the most innocent creature ever born.

Matt was an idiot for doing this, but he couldn’t help it. “All right,” he sighed. “I’ll give you a
bit
of mutton but that’s all.” Then he returned the cat to the floor and pulled a piece of mutton from the stew. The entire piece was inhaled before it could even hit the floor. But then Ashes rubbed up against Matt’s boots and plopped on top of his feet, apparently quite content.

What the devil had he gotten himself into?

His bedchamber was freezing when Matt blinked his eyes open. Sometime during the night, the fire in his hearth had gone out. His chest was heavier than normal and it was buzzing or humming or…

“Meow.” Came the tiniest meow he’d ever heard.  And then Ashes walked further up Matt’s chest and rubbed his face against Matt’s jaw, bringing with him
her
rosewater scent. Damn it all, the cat
smelled
like her. No wonder he’d dreamt of her all night. They were rather nice dreams too, inappropriate as they might be.

He cast the tiny grey creature a little smile and scratched him behind his ears. “That’s how you do it, huh? Burrow your way into people’s hearts and then use those razor-sharp claws to stay there?”

Ashes just purred more and plopped down right beneath Matt’s chin.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I will be sure to tell your lady how you’ve completely taken over my household in just a single night.”

And honestly, he couldn’t wait to see Lady Patience, especially after dreaming about her slightly crooked smile, her twinkling emerald eyes and wondering how her pretty flaxen hair would feel through his fingers. He probably should get to Danby Castle to look in on his patient. He probably should get there as soon as he possibly could.

Patience alighted from bed, well rested and rather cheerful. It was going to be a remarkable day. She could just feel it. She stretched and then smiled when she remembered that Doctor Campion was going to call on her today. All right, so he wasn’t actually
calling
on her. He was just going to check on her wound, but in order to do so, he’d have to take her hand in his again and…

“His Grace would like a word with you,” Sarah announced as she stepped into Patience’s room without invitation. Usually the woman at least scratched before barging in.

The delightful feeling that Patience had been experiencing evaporated in an instant. What did the duke want with
her
? Was it because of his soiled slippers? Blast Hope for not hiding them better. “Isn’t it a little early?” she asked.  “I mean, I do have my injury to consider.”

And she’d crawl back into bed and stay there all day if that meant she could avoid His Grace. She’d mostly escaped his attention so far, as the duke had taken immediate notice of Grace and her
cheekiness.
But the man was intimidating. He was tall with a full head of grey hair and he had the most commanding presence of anyone she’d ever met. He could cut someone in two with just the narrowing of his eyes. And his tongue was most acerbic. But the worst was watching Mama nearly quake with fear. Never in her life had Patience ever seen her mother in such a state. And Mama’s fear of the Duke of Danby had certainly caused anxiety to bloom in Patience’s heart.

“Your mother said you mustn’t keep him waiting.” The maid went straight to Patience’s wardrobe and retrieved one of her favorite dresses, the blue one with the little pink flowers. “Off with your nightrail.”

In no time, Patience stood at the threshold of the duke’s study and her hand trembled as she reached up to knock. But the trembling had nothing to do with her wound. She wished Grace was with her. Grace was the bravest of any of them. Grace would hold her head high and she wouldn’t let the duke cow or intimidate her. In fact, the duke would probably be smarting by the time Grace was through with him. What if she sent Grace in to deal with the duke instead? No one could ever tell them apart. That was the perfect solution! If only—

“I don’t have all day,” grumbled an old voice from the other side of the door. “Do stop wasting my time.” The irritation she heard in His Grace’s voice sent trepidation spiraling through her.

Heavens! How did he even know she was there?

With a wince, Patience turned the handle and opened the large mahogany door. “You, um, you wanted to see me?” she asked, fairly quietly.