He’d used her.
Finally, she understood.
The bitter part was, Katerina hadn’t been his lover—ever. Allowing the ton to believe she was had been an aspect of one of the only generous, altruistic acts in which he’d ever participated.
Katerina had lost everything when France had invaded her home. She’d survived, for a time, as a French general’s mistress. Her life had intersected with Rayne’s when, following a battle, she’d managed to help a wounded English soldier and his wife escape imprisonment.
The soldier—who turned out to be Farring’s runaway oldest sibling and Rayne’s close friend—had directed Katerina to Rayne’s residence, and, though Rayne and Farring had hatched a plan to hide all three at Periwinkle Gate, Katerina’s former associations meant she’d be scrutinized, and scrutiny meant danger for the other people who had found refuge at the Gate.
However, for Katerina to take up residence in London, she needed a man powerful enough to provide good reason for the home office not to send her back to her war-torn country…a connection salacious enough to prevent deeper inquiry into the soldier and his fate.
In other words, she’d needed Diamonds.
Rayne pinched the bridge of his nose.
None of this was his story to tell—lives still depended on secrecy.
And if Julia believed without questioning what everyone else had taken for granted, so be it. She deserved to feel embarrassed.
She’d endangered him.
She’d endangered herself.
And he hadn’t any idea how he was going to get them both out of the mess she’d created. All he could do was focus on the next step—getting her out of her wet clothes before her chill brought on something worse.
A furious Julia would survive, kicking. But if she fell ill…
He tossed around his neatly folded clothes, looking for his nightshirt while cursing himself for not having a better option than something he wore to bed.
He might never be able to sleep in the thing again, but at least she’d be dry and covered.
“Why are you suddenly so quiet?” he asked. “And what did you mean ‘change your mind about the pirates’?”
She kept her eyes on the growing ring of wet droplets around her boots. “I—” Her voice wobbled just a touch. “I am deciding what I am going to do with you—if you attempt to prevent me from proceeding.”
“You’retrying to decide what to do withme?”
“Yes,” she gritted out. “I require your carriage. In the process, you may consider yourselftangentiallyabducted.”
Preposterous thing. Didn’t even make sense. “Abducted, am I?”
She closed one eye. “You—you might o-oblige me by appearing sufficiently frightened.”
He went back to sorting through his clothes. “I’m not.” He pushed apart the sides of the valise as far as they could go. “Strike that. Iamfrightened. Do you know what Bromton and Markham are going to do to me when they catch up with us?”
She snorted. “Don’t count onthemto save you.”
Savehim? More like string him up by his toenails. “They are probably hot on our heels as we speak. I wouldn’t be surprised if they break down that very door before dawn.”
“S-sorry to disappoint. B-Bromton is on his way back to London. M-Markham is on his w-wedding trip. T-they have no id-dea I’m not still in the village.”
He exhaled and closed his eyes. “If that’s true—and I don’t for a moment believe it is—at least that means I can have you back before anyone notices you’re gone.”
“N-n-no you w-w.” She stopped trying to speak.
“Since you can’t finish a sentence, you might as well admit defeat.”Finally!His shirt! He shook out the linen.
“You are j-j-just going to go to b-b-bed?” she demanded indignantly.
