Kitty quickened her pace, glad of Henry close behind. She wasn’t afraid of Edison, but she didn’t want any embarrassments.
“Why did you marry him?” he demanded.
“That is a most impertinent question.”
“You must have known how I’ve always longed to make you mine.”
“Then you should have acted sooner.” Immediately, she knew it was the wrong thing to say. She stopped to retract it. “I—”
“So youwouldhave married me! Damn fate that had me far away!”
“Away?”
“My regiment was posted to Corfu. I returned only three weeks ago, and then visited my family, but I intended to seek you out. If only I’d made haste.”
Kitty always preferred honesty, but for his sake she must lie. “I’m sorry, Captain Edison, but we were already committed.”
“He didn’t act that way a short while ago, mentioning you in a club as if he hardly knew you.”
Damnation.Braydon had told her that. “I shall have to take him to task for that,” she said lightly, turning into the Edgware Road and seeing the line of hackney carriages not far away. “And no cattle clogging up the street. They bring them this way to the cow yard,” she said to Henry behind, “and then on to the butchers. That’s why this area is cheap when it’s quite close to Mayfair.”
“Kitty...” Edison said.
“Ah, here we are!” She gave her address to the driver of the first hackney.
Edison opened the door for her but said, “I can’t give up hope.”
“Of what?” she demanded. “My husband’s death? Have an end to this, sir. I have only ever regarded you as a friend. We would not have suited.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Good day to you.”
She picked up Sillikin and climbed in. Henry followed and soon they were on their way.
“Devil take it,” Kitty murmured. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t mind, dear. You’d no idea he felt so strongly?”
“None.”
“Would you have married him?”
Kitty thought about it. “If he’d presented himself at Cateril Manor a few months ago? Quite possibly, but it would have been out of desperation. Truly, he’s had a lucky escape. He would have been jealous of other men, and I would have lost my temper with him.”
Which had almost happened with Braydon.
“Oh, enough. That should be the end of it.” Then she exclaimed, “Edgware!”
No wonder Henry looked bewildered, and perhaps worried that Kitty had lost her wits.
“The Edgware Road,” Kitty said. “It must go fromhere to there, and I don’t think it’s very far. I wonder how large a place Edgware is.”
“Why?”
“The viscountcy seems to own a property there, but no one knows exactly what it is. I wouldn’t mind looking into that.”
“What a one you are for curiosities. Remember what curiosity did for the cat.”
