Happily Bedded Bliss: The Rakes of Cavendish Square by Tracy Anne Warren Read Free Book Online Page B

they had emerged, snuggling, blind and deaf, as newborn kittens were, against their mother so she could groom them clean and urge them to drink their first meal of mother’s milk.
    All five tiny, adorable kittens—two tabby-striped, two black and one white—had eaten and were sleeping contentedly with their mother in the warm blanket-lined box Esme had prepared for them. Abigail had eaten a small amount of the minced chicken Esme had sent to the kitchens for; then she too had dropped off to sleep, exhausted from the exertion of having given birth.
    Esme smiled down at them, already thinking about various friends and neighbors who might be willing to adopt the kittens once they were old enough to be weaned and settled in new homes. And, of course, a few of her siblings might have room in their homes for a new feline addition. The older of her nieces and nephews would want to see the kittens. Once they did, she suspected they would be begging to take home their favorites.
    For tonight they would remain here in the feed room, but tomorrow she planned to move them to a more secluded part of the stable, where they would be in no danger of getting underfoot as the grooms did their work.
    After one last look at her furry charges, she turned away and headed toward the main stable doors. The sky was a brilliant blue, the sun warm and bold, making her realize that the hour was more advanced than she had thought.
    Her stomach panged and she became abruptly aware of just how famished she was. If she was lucky, she might be able to wheedle some tea and biscuits out ofGrumbly. Otherwise, she’d have to wait for nuncheon, which was never served earlier than one o’clock.
    She walked toward the house, not bothering to stop and look as she cut through a break in a high hedgerow and stepped out onto the graveled drive. A pounding of hooves came to her ears seconds before she saw the massive gray stallion thundering toward her. She cried out and instinctively raised an arm to shield herself from what was certain to be a brutal blow.
    But it never came, the rider reacting so quickly that he slowed the animal’s speed and shifted his mount’s direction in the blink of an eye.
    The horse whinnied and reared, great equine hooves slashing the air only inches from her head. The man turned the frightened horse again so that when the stallion’s legs came back to earth he was well clear of her, the rider having controlled his mount with a skill that was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
    Esme stared wide-eyed, her breath coming in quick, shallow gasps as she willed her heart to stop beating like a tom-tom. She pressed a hand to her hammering chest and gazed up, then up again.
    Good heavens, it’s him! The man from my drawing.
    Only he was wearing clothes this time—and one of the darkest, most furiously menacing scowls she had ever seen, which, considering her six devil-take-the-hindmost older brothers, was saying a great deal.
    “Are you injured?” he barked in a harsh tone. “Have you suffered any harm?”
    “No, I—” She took a moment to assess her health. “I am well, physically, at least.”
    “A state for which you have my quick reflexes to thank. What in Hades’ name did you think you were doing, darting out from between those bushes like that? My horse and I nearly ran you down, you idiot girl.”
    Whatever guilt Esme had been feeling for her part in the near accident vanished with the words “idiotgirl.” Her arms dropped to her sides, her fingers curling into fists.
    “I was taking a shortcut to the house,” she said in clipped tones, “which would not have been a problem had you been riding at a less reckless pace.”
    “Reckless? I was cantering. That is hardly a dangerous speed.”
    “It is when you are traveling on an unfamiliar lane and fail to watch what is in your path.”
    “That was not a matter of not watching. I would have spotted you with plenty of time to spare had you not leapt out of that hedge like