Page 23 of My Beastly Duke

A slurry of yelling footmen and maids came rushing past them, yelling for the cat to stop.

Aaron had to take a step back in an attempt to avoid being knocked over by the hoard.

Glancing in the direction of the chaos, Marina shook her head and carried on as if nothing strange had occurred at all. “Anyway, like I was saying, he used to be named Blue, because of the color of his feathers. We tried to get him several companions over the years, but they all ended up dying. Thus, we renamed him Henry the VIII.” She nodded her head triumphantly as if she had made perfect sense.

Taking a moment to stare at her with his head cocked to the side, Aaron contemplated all of the ways that everything she had said infuriated him.

“It is a perfectly normal name for a bird, I can assure you of that.” She bit on her lips, suppressing a smile that only furthered his anger.

“I am fairly certain that it is not. What I would rather know, however, is why you have seen fit to bring a literal menagerie into my home?” he narrowed his eyes at her and clenched his jaw.

Marina’s eyes widened with wonder. “A menagerie would be a wonderful thing! Can you just imagine how many beautiful birds I could own? They could fly freely above our heads while we enjoy our tea in an exotic garden.” Her cat-like blue eyes sparkled with dreams of flying birds.

“More birds for Henry to execute?” He grumbled under his breath and shook his head.

Clearing her throat, she sobered up. “Henry will not kill any more mates. He is a reformed bird.”

“Was this a conversation that you had with him personally? Because if so, I would love to know how that went.” He began to tap his foot impatiently at the ridiculous conversation he was having.

“Well, I spent an awful lot of time telling him how…”

“I did not mean it literally!” Aaron gave her an incredulous look, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

Marina’s cheeks filled with color as she shut her mouth.

This woman is going to be the death of me.

“I warned you about bringing animals into my home. Did I not?” He felt his irritation growing when the same gaggle of servants from earlier came back into the hall carrying the white cat.

Reaching out instinctively, Marina took the cat from a maid and gently stroked her fur. “There were a lot of things that were promised at the start of the marriage.” She glanced at the servants and waited for them to leave before continuing. “One of them being an heir. I hesitate to remind you, but the sooner you provide me with a child, the sooner I will be able to return to my mother and sister.”

“You can’t just change the agreement because things are not going your way!” He took a step forward and stared at her.

“Bloody bastard!”

Aaron stopped in his tracks with his mouth slightly agape. “What did you just call me?”

Blushing deeply, Marina attempted to hide behind her cat. “It was not me, Your Grace. It was Henry.”

“Bloody bastard, bloody bastard!” The chanting echoed from the parlor, carrying into the entrance hall.

“One of the many conversations that you have had with the bird?” He turned back to Marina with his eyebrows raised.

“Of course not! He picked it up from the current baron of Wallace. He has quite a temper on him. I would never say such vulgar things.” She raised her head defiantly.

“Then I think you had better have another one of your little conversations with the bird. What if we have important guests over?” He suddenly realized that he had unwittingly given permission for the animals to stay.

The corners of her mouth curved into a smile. “Then I would hope that our guests have a good sense of humor.” She placed the cat on the floor and watched it dart up the stairs before sauntering triumphantly into the parlor.

How did we get here?

He went over the conversation in his mind before shrugging it off and marching into the parlor. “I will not tolerate these animals in my home. They must go back to where they came from at once!”

Marina stood beside the cage, rubbing the beak of a very large bird that seemed large enough to remove a finger.

“The birds will stay as long as I do, Your Grace. The choice is yours as to how long that stay will be.” She turned to him with a sweet smile that made something in his chest shift.

“You should be careful what you wish for, wife.” His voice suddenly dropped to a dangerously low tone. What was this power that she held over him where she could awaken his desires with a simple smile? He had spent hours over the past few days trying to avoid her, yet even when he was mad at her, he could not help but want her.