Chapter 391: The Duke and the Cat

Chapter 390: The Duke and the Cat

Lyria’s POV

I frowned, still attempting to understand what Elara meant by her words.

Before I could ask, Bridget began grumbling beneath her breath.

"He ought not to be here," she muttered. "I suspect he is very much like the Earl."

Elara rolled her eyes.

"Must you always say precisely what is upon your mind, Bridget?"

Bridget huffed.

"I merely stated an observation."

"And I am suggesting that you keep certain observations to yourself."

Bridget folded her arms but, mercifully, fell silent.

Margery, however, appeared more concerned.

"Why has he not masked his scent?" she asked, lowering her voice. "Everyone in the vicinity will know that he is here."

I stared at her.

I still could not understand.

I did not possess the heightened senses that the others seemed to take entirely for granted. I could not detect someone’s presence from several rooms away, nor could I comprehend how they determined who had entered the palace simply by breathing. Their conversation felt like a riddle from which I had been deliberately excluded.

And, if I were being honest, I found the feeling rather disagreeable.

I glanced between them, debating whether to ask, when Elara spoke as though she had anticipated the question entirely.

"It is Duke Thorncrest, Your Highness."

I gave her a questioning look.

For one brief moment, I wondered whether she knew that I was wolfless.

But there was nothing in her expression to suggest it. She remained composed, her manner as calm and courteous as ever.

"I believe His Grace would prefer to speak with you without an audience," she continued. "However, if Your Highness would rather not receive him, we may politely decline his visit."

Pippa nodded immediately.

"I am quite capable of doing so, Your Highness."

"As am I," Debbie added.

"I do not recall you all displaying such enthusiasm when the Earl appeared yesterday," Margery observed.

Pippa’s expression became rather dignified.

"That was an entirely different matter."

"I do not see how," Margery replied pleasantly. "If anything, one might argue that His Grace is the more proper of the two, given that he has come directly through the door rather than appearing uninvited at Her Highness’s bedside whilst she slept."

"We permitted His Lordship entry," Pippa said, placing considerable emphasis upon the word we, "and besides, Elara was present with him for the greater part of the visit. He could hardly have attempted anything untoward."

That was news to me entirely, as Elara had not been in the room when I woke.

"She withdrew before Her Highness stirred," Margery supplied.

That explained it.

Pippa rolled her eyes. "Margery, everyone here trusts His Lordship. Not one of us doubts for a moment that he cares genuinely for Her Highness, and he conducts himself as a gentleman in every regard."

Bridget made a sound that fell somewhere between a scoff and a cough, though she said nothing further.

I very nearly laughed. She truly did not care for Earl Hawthorne, and appeared to have no intention of pretending otherwise.

Debbie nodded in agreement with Pippa, though there was a peculiar smile upon her face. Not uncomfortable, nor insincere. Simply — there. Something I could not quite place.

Before I could dwell upon it, Elara spoke again.

"Shall we withdraw, Your Highness? Or would you prefer that we remain?"

I considered the question.

I had no particular objection to receiving Duke Thorncrest. I had found him easy company on the occasions we had spoken, and I was reasonably certain, much as I had been with Earl Hawthorne, that he had come with genuine intentions rather than any desire to cause difficulty.

Besides, I was not without recourse.

"I am q-quite comfortable with His G-Grace," I said. "And if there is a-any difficulty, Phineas and B-Brayden are just outside. I c-can call for t-them if n-needed."

Elara regarded me for a moment before inclining her head.

"Very well, Your Highness."

A knock sounded at the door, and Phineas’s voice followed immediately.

"Someone is here to see you, Your Highness."

I smiled faintly, already knowing who it was.

"Please a-admit him."

The door opened.

Pippa immediately began gathering the breakfast dishes with quiet efficiency. Debbie moved to assist her with the trolley. Margery smoothed the folds of her dress before stepping aside, and Elara offered a small curtsy toward the doorway.

Then I heard Duke Thorncrest’s voice before he fully entered — warm, unhurried, entirely at ease.

"A most lovely morning," he said pleasantly. "And quite lovely to see you all."

The maids received him with appropriate courtesy.

"Good morning, Your Grace."

"Good morning, Your Grace."

"Your Grace."

He returned their greetings with the particular ease of a man who found himself comfortable in most rooms and made no effort to conceal it. There was nothing performative in his manner. He was simply — at ease. The way certain people were, effortlessly and without announcement.

I looked toward the doorway as he entered.

His clothing was impeccably arranged, every detail suited to a gentleman of his rank and occasion. Even his smile seemed entirely at home within the palace, as though such surroundings had never once required him to adjust himself to suit them.

He closed the distance between us with an unhurried grace, his smile widening as he approached.

I found myself returning it without quite deciding to.

"How lovely it is to see you, Y—"

Before he could complete the sentence, the cat stepped between us.

It happened so swiftly I scarcely had time to register it.

One moment, the creature had been settled beside the table, perfectly composed.

The next, it stood directly between Duke Thorncrest and myself.

Its body was rigid.

Its fur had bristled along its spine in a sharp, dark line.

Its tail had become a swollen plume, held high and absolutely still.

And it was hissing with a conviction I had, by this point, become quite accustomed to witnessing directed at everyone other than myself.

Duke Thorncrest stopped where he stood.

The smile slipped from his face as his attention dropped to the black creature positioned before him with every apparent intention of holding that ground indefinitely.

"A cat?" he said.

His voice carried a note of genuine surprise.