Chapter 2

Since that was how things stood, there was no need for me to butt heads with them directly. Hence, I smiled softly and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Why would I be upset? I love cats more than anything. I couldn't possibly be more delighted. It's just that people always say you should give a pet an ugly name, or it won't survive. They die young otherwise. I was only thinking of the cat's well-being."

Edmund's expression eased considerably at that, but then I continued without missing a beat.

"Jocelyn sent me a cat, so I really should thank her properly. I'll head over to her room right now."

Edmund immediately grabbed my arm. "Jocelyn is seriously ill. You shouldn't go. I'd hate for you to catch whatever she has."

In my past life, Edmund had used that exact same excuse. He never once let me visit Jocelyn from start to finish.

It was only after I died that I saw Jocelyn's soul drift out of the little cat and return to her own body, which had long gone stiff and cold. That pale, withered body flushed with life in an instant, until she looked like a beautiful girl no older than 15 or 16.

I sneered inwardly but kept up my gentle and gracious mask. "You're willing to tend to her at her sickbed yourself, and yet I, the lady of this house, shouldn't even pay her a visit? That hardly seems right."

I brushed Edmund's hand aside and moved to leave, but then he snapped at me. "Know your place! A wife obeys her husband. You dare defy me? You're forbidden from stepping one foot outside your room tonight!"

With that, Edmund turned on his heel and stormed off, leaving Josy and me to stare each other down.

Before long, the maids began their little performance of gossip.

"Mr. Hughes is normally such a mild-mannered man. For him to lose his temper over Ms. Linton like that, he must truly adore her."

"Exactly! I'll bet Mr. Hughes stopped my lady from going because he was afraid she'd give Ms. Linton trouble."

"Hush! Stop talking. My lady won't be happy."

I listened to their chatter in silence, then said quietly.

"I never realized before how many loose tongues I had among my maids. If I'd known, I would have sold the lot of you off and replaced you with ones who knew when to keep their mouths shut."

The maids began trembling at once and did not dare say another word.

At that moment, Josy seized her chance and tried to slink over to nuzzle against me. The second her fuzzy little head touched my calf, I jerked away and let out a tremendous sneeze.

"Oh dear, I nearly forgot. I'm allergic to cat fur. I can't be too close to her. You there, go find a cage and lock her up."

The maids had just gotten on my bad side and were terrified of being sold off, so they scrambled to find a cage immediately.

Josy froze for a moment, a flash of malice crossing her eyes, and then she lost all composure. She charged straight at me, impossibly fast, leaping at my legs with her claws aimed deliberately at my belly.

The thing was, no human could outrun a cat. I could not block her in time.

Cold sweat broke out across my body, and I twisted sideway to shield my stomach, which was all the opening Josy needed to land on my lap. She sat there staring up at me with a pair of smug, triumphant cat eyes.

In my past life, I had overheard Jocelyn explain that as long as the cat made physical contact, she could continuously drain a person's life force. The previous time, I held the cat while I slept for just one night, and my hair turned white.

At this point, the maids had found a cage and were walking back over. I furrowed my brows, clicked my tongue lightly, and said on purpose, "Oh my, this cat seems to be in heat. Shouldn't we find a tom to mate her with?"

One of the younger maids piped up eagerly, "I used to keep a female cat at home, my lady. I've heard that when a female cat is in heat, you can poke her backside with a stick to give her some temporary relief."