Catherine crossed her arms. Why did men always think they were the only sex capable of rational thought? “If you mean am I going to attempt to escape in only my sheet again, the answer is no. But I will not go home. I know you wish to be rid of me, but I would go to the Americas before I return to my family.”
“I understand.”
She raised her brows. She did not think he could possibly understand all her father was capable of, nor did she think he understood what she was telling him. She was now, for better or worse, his wife.
“Would you feel better if I said that I have written several letters, discreet inquiries to my friends, asking their advice on the situation?”
That did not make her feel better, not at all. What could other men know of her situation? Mightn’t they all simply tell Valentine to send her home? If that were to happen, she would need to prepare to escape first, so she said cautiously, “And you will share their replies when they arrive?”
She could tell by his scowl that he didn’t like that request. How like a man to use knowledge to make himself feel powerful. But to her surprise, Valentine nodded. “I will share them. For now, will you do me the honor of dining with me for dinner?”
“Do you the honor—? A few hours ago, you called me a liar and looked as though you could have cheerfully strangled me. Now you want to dine with me?”
He cleared his throat. “I am not happy with our circumstances. I am not happy about what you did—”
“I told you, it was my—”
He held up a hand. “Nevertheless, I am trying to be reasonable. There are several matters I wish to discuss with you—matters I think better dealt with now than later.”
Suspicion tickled her spine and spread warm fingers over her shoulders. Now what did the man have in mind? If he so much as hinted at sharing a bed—
There was a bang and a shout, and then the sound of voices outside. Catherine whirled toward the window and saw Ashley’s face and her fist pounding the pane.
“What the devil?” Valentine swore, while Catherine ran to the window and unlatched it.
“Ashley! What are you doing? Get in before you fall.” Torn between joy at seeing her cousin and fear that Ashley would fall, Catherine clasped Ashley’s hands and made to pull her inside. Ashley was heavier than she looked, and Catherine grunted, but then Valentine was beside her, lifting Ashley effortlessly inside. Catherine sighed with relief. Ashley was safe. And now Catherine had an ally.
As soon as Ashley’s feet were on the ground, Catherine tackled her, hugging her hard, but Valentine went straight back to the window. He swore under his breath. Catherine stared her cousin. “You didn’t.”
Ashley gave a sheepish smile. She wore black trousers and a loose-fitting shirt. Her glorious hair was caught under a workingman’s cap. “How could I leave them behind?”
“Hold on,” Valentine was calling out the window. “I’m coming to get you. And you”—he pointed at the ground—“do not even think about climbing up.” Then he leaned from the window so far Catherine was afraid he would tumble out. She and Ashley ran to the window on the other side of the bed and peered out.
Josephine was hanging on to the rusty trellis. She too wore men’s clothing, and with her thin figure and cropped hair, she resembled a young boy. The trellis she clutched looked stable enough, but it ended a few feet before Catherine’s second floor window. Josie was reaching up, her fingers mere inches from Valentine’s. And then she seemed to sway, lose her balance on the trellis, and Catherine and Ashley screamed in unison. The moment they were certain their cousin would fall, Valentine clasped her hands in his and lifted her off the trellis and into the room.
Before she ran to Josie, Catherine saw that Maddie was still on the ground below. She was the only one of the three dressed in a gown, so she obviously did not intend to scale any buildings. Thank God one of her cousins had some sense. Catherine ran to Josie. Valentine had just released her, and Catherine gave her a hard hug. “You almost got yourself killed! What were you thinking?”
And then she looked at Valentine. “My cousin, Lady Madeleine, Lord Castleigh’s daughter. Would you bring her up before she decides to climb up, too?”
Valentine went to the door, and she heard him call directions to his butler.
Catherine turned back to her cousins, her heart still pounding from fear, but by now the girls were laughing. “We made it!” Josie said.
“Of course we did,” Ashley said, slapping her on the back. “Third time is the charm.”
Catherine gaped. “Are you both mad? You might have fallen and died. And what if this had been the wrong window?”
“We knew it had to be right,” Ashley said. “We’d tried two others already.”
Catherine’s legs felt weak, and she had to back up and take a seat on the bed. She could just imagine her cousins scaling the house, falling, and ending up a broken pile of bones on the lawn below. And that was just the worst-case scenario. All the girls but Maddie were wearing men’s trousers and shirts. Had they been traipsing about London in broad daylight like that? It was one thing for them to dress as boys and run about London in the middle of the night when they were eight. But now they were grown women of the ton. It didn’t help that Catherine had made her own scene this morning. Lord, the papers would be in news ecstasy after reporting on the four of them.
“Oh, stop worrying,” Josie said. “We did it for you. We had to rescue you.”
“And just in time, too,” Ashley said, her gaze falling to Catherine’s sheet. “What was he doing to you?”
Catherine flushed, but before she could answer, Josie reached into her coat and extracted a large cutlass. Valentine, who was coming back into the room, paused.
“Don’t come any closer,” Josie warned. “If you touch her, I’ll cut off your nose. And that’s just the start.”
