Cynthia stared just as surprised.
“The engagement party,” Norman said smoothly. “It will be at my country estate, until the wedding. A grand party, of course. I insist you come, Lady Cynthia.
Kitty was dumbfounded.
He had only decided just now. She could feel it. There had been no mention of such a move previously, and yet he had spoken of it as if it had been premeditated all the while. He had done it just to surprise Cynthia, to let her see that he was the one setting the conditions, not she.
Cynthia smiled coldly. “How…generous.”.
Norman leaned forward. “Save your well-wishing for the party. I shall see you there.”
With that, he turned to Kitty. “Come. We are leaving.”
Kitty walked to the McGowan’s carriage, still dazed, while he walked a step behind her.
Before she climbed inside, she turned to him, finally finding her voice. “That was?—”
“Necessary.” He did not look at her, looking at the church entrance instead. “It will silence those who would otherwise gossip. If they see us as a suitable match, if they see our engagement being hailed on a large scale, they will have no other option but to accept it.”
Kitty observed him, trying to see the man standing in front of her. He was infuriating beyond description, insufferable in his pride, and yet?—
She paused. “Thank you,” she whispered.
His gaze flashed to her. “For what?”
“For standing up for me.”
He remained silent for a very long time before speaking. “It is not that I was simply standing up for you. I am also ensuring—now that you are associated with me—that you are treated as is due your station.”
Kitty breathed slowly, looking down at her boots.
She still loathed him. She still felt imprisoned. But for the first time since this nightmare began, she felt something else as well. A peculiar, disquieting feeling twisting in her gut.
Uncertainty.
The rhythm of the carriage wheels over the gravel should have been soothing, but Norman found his gaze drawn again and again to the window opposite him. Kitty’s carriage trailed close behind his own, and though he could not see her through the paneled walls, he imagined her there with her spine stiff and hereyes sharp, watching the world as though it might suddenly turn against her.
He still couldn’t quite believe it—that they were all heading to Wharton, his ancestral home, not for a somber family gathering or a political affair, but to celebratehisengagement. The notion felt absurd, unreal. As if at any moment, someone might tap the glass and inform him there had been a mistake.
“You do look rather worried,” Eleanor said, her voice slicing neatly into his thoughts.
Norman turned back to his sister with a carefully arranged expression. She was perched across from him, her gloved hands resting lightly on her lap, her brown eyes bright with curiosity. Eleanor rarely let things go unnoticed.
“I’m not worried,” he said coolly.
“About Miss Katherine?” she pressed, arching an elegant brow.
Norman resisted the urge to sigh. “What about her?”
“Well, she seems very... spirited,” Eleanor said. “I can see why you like her.”
He met her gaze directly. “I never said I liked her.”
Eleanor gave a little smirk. “You didn’t have to. The way you defend her. The party you planned. The way you stare at her carriage like it holds all the secrets of the earth. You can’t stop staring. Even now…”
Norman’s jaw ticked. “You read too much into things.”
“Perhaps.” She said lightly, her eyes glinting. “Or perhaps I simply have eyes. She is interesting, I’ll give you that. She is different from all the other girls around you. I think I should like to talk to her more. Get to know her. We’ll be sisters, after all.”
