Page 51 of The Bachelor Spy
She released a long breath. Mischievous animals really shouldn’t hold such power.
“Shams did not mean to knock over the pitcher.” Zahra’s voice held a distinct note of pleading. “She was merely investigating.”
“Investigating?” Grace surveyed the wreckage—water pooling across the side table, porcelain shards glinting in the lamplight.
Shams, as if the feline understood English perfectly, simply returned to grooming her paw with an air of complete indifference.
“Yes.” Zahra nodded earnestly. “She believed there might be a mouse hiding behind it.”
“And was there?”
“No,” Zahra admitted. “But Shams could not know that without a thorough inspection.”
“I see.” Grace pressed her lips together. “And the library curtains that now bear claw marks reaching nearly to the ceiling?”
“She was practicing her climbing. For safety.” Zahra’s expression remained perfectly solemn. “In case she needs to escape danger quickly.”
“The only danger Sham faces is from Zeus, whom she torments mercilessly.” Grace knelt to gather the scattered porcelain pieces, a hitch in her bend. “And Mrs. Powell’s patience is wearing thinner by the instance, Zahra darling.”
Frederick always used “darling” to soften his words to her. It seemed to help with Zahra too.
“But you love her,” Zahra said with utter confidence. “I can tell.”
Grace glanced at the cat, who had leaped from Zahra’s arms to wind around Grace’s skirts, purring with calculated charm. Grace pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Oh, how the little girl wanted to keep this cat.
Grace sighed. “I love thatyoulove her,” she corrected carefully. “There’s a meaningful difference.”
“Papa says you have a kind heart that cannot help but love creatures, even troublesome ones.” Zahra knelt beside Grace, helping gather the broken pieces. “He says it is one of your beauties.”
My beauties?
Zahra was a clever little thing, coating the situation with sugar and bringing Frederick into the conversation.
Her smile trembled wider. “Well, if he were here to witness Shams’ latest campaign of destruction”—Grace sent a teasing smile to her daughter—”he might revise that assessment.” She stood with a slight wobble that she attributed to pregnancy rather than her usual clumsiness. Did carrying a child affect one’s balance? Something else to research. “I think you’ll need to take Shams outdoors more frequently. Especially on lovely days like today.”
“I will.” Zahra’s face brightened with renewed purpose. “Even if I feel the cold to my bones.” She gave a little shiver, as if winter was on their doorstep, though in truth, it wasn’t too far away. “It is not as bad as it was when we first came to England.”
Grace settled onto the edge of Zahra’s bed and gestured for her to come near. As soon as the girl sat, Grace pulled her close. “England is certainly colder and much damper than Egypt.”
“And so much rain.”
Grace chuckled. “Indeed. But it’s also what makes the countryside so beautifully green.” She squeezed Zahra closer. “And it should make us wish to capture the beautiful days while we can.”
Grace’s own words brought a rush of memories of time with Frederick, and her eyes drifted closed for a moment. They’d captured so many beautiful days together. So many marvelous, daring, and delightful adventures. Wonderful togetherness. And she clung to those reminders when letters took too long to arrive. When wireless reports shattered her peace.
Her hand went to her stomach.
When she couldn’t know the future.
She swallowed through the emotions in her throat and turned back to Zahra. “I have something to tell you, Zahra.”
Zahra tilted her head, studying Grace with those large gray-green eyes that held far more awareness than Grace had possessed at that age.
A flicker of concern creased the girl’s brow. “Is it about Papa?”
Their thoughts had traveled the same dark path, hadn’t they? To the one missing from their small family.
“No, Papa is well.” As far as Grace knew. As far as his carefully worded letters suggested. “This is about something very good. Something we will share with Lily once she’s returned from Aunt Elinor’s house.”
