Markham blushed. “The voucher actually read: ‘the hand of my sister Katherine, if both parties deem an alliance suitable.’”
“Lud, Percy, can I trust you with Julia?”
“Inever sank his ships,” Julia pointed out.
Katherine chuckled halfheartedly.
“Ididthink you’d suit,” Markham said quietly. “And I still do. Brom received the far better bargain.”
“Oh,” Katherine smiled reluctantly, “I agree wholeheartedly on that point.”
“Can you forgive me?”
Could she? He had much to learn, this brother of hers. But, his love was sincere.
“Smile, Percy,” she said, touching his cheek. “You get away with much more when you make use of your dimple.”
With gratefully upturned lips, he placed his hand in hers. Katherine glanced up to the sky as a butterfly wafted overhead. Feeling her mother’s presence, she squeezed her siblings’ hands.
“Bromton’s horses are going to be restless. I must go.” She closed the three-way embrace. “I love you two.”
“We love you, too,” Julia replied.
“Women,” Markham said derisively, though he had a suspicious gleam in his eye.
Katherine reached up to cup her little brother’s cheek. “Take care of Southford.”
“I will,” he replied.
“And you,” she turned to Julia, “take care of him.”
“Who will take care of you?” Julia asked.
Katherine’s gaze drifted to the top of Bromton’s carriage, just visible in the drive below.
Many, many emotions jumbled around in her heart. She needed time, time to untangle them, knowing each knot would resist.
“I intend,” she said with a sniff, “to care for myself, for once. It is sure to be a novel experience.”
…
If he had ridden alone, Giles could have completed the trip to London in just a few hours. The addition of his wife and his coach-and-four transformed the journey into a two-day affair.
Anexcruciatingtwo-day affair.
Giles may have been sitting beside the woman he loved, but neither had spoken a word beyond what was absolutely necessary. The loneliness weighting his heart was not just loneliness, but a scourge—a lash that beat repeatedly on the same open wound until he was certain there would be nothing left of him when they reached the city but bone and blood.
Luckily, the inn he’d arranged had been able to accommodate an additional room. However, the thin, wooden walls only served to amplify the sounds she made as she prepared for bed. He’d lain awake most the night, much as he had every night since the terrible scene in the library.
Staring with sand-dry eyes at the ceiling, he’d practiced a thousand different ways to beg.
The phantom Katherine refused each one.
The future stretched out before him—one, long, dark corridor of shame.
He’d considered riding outside the carriage. Then he remembered, he did not deserve relief. As the carriage rumbled over yet another rut, he snuck a glance at Katherine. She looked so pale, so drawn.Ah, hellion, don’t let me do this to you.
“Would you like me to slice you a bit of cheese?” he asked. “You did not break your fast.”
