“Very well,” he said. He straightened and nudged James with his shoulder. “I hate you, you know.”
James burst out in laughter and nudged him back. “I know. Now, let’s finish the game.”
Robert grabbed for his cue and leaned back in for a shot. Yes. He would finish this game, one way or another. And he didn’t mean the one he was playing with James.
Katherine smiled as she freshened Bethany’s tea and then took a place beside her aunt on the settee.
“So you never told me, how was the Donburrow ball? I’m sorry I had to cry off. My head feels much better.”
Katherine’s face fell. She had been feeling so happy. It had been three days since her encounter with Roseford on the terrace at Charlotte’s ball. She’d been working hard to forget it, forget him, and declare to herself that her set down would put him off his pursuit for good.
And now one word from her aunt and her mind spun right back to the man. To the fact that he’d wanted to kiss her. The fact that she’d wanted it right back. And to his declaration that her nature was not wrong.
“It was fine,” she lied, forcing a false smile for her aunt. “I must say though, I’m glad to see the Season winding down as autumn chills the air. London will be easier in the winter. Perhaps I can regather myself before next year.”
Bethany’s brow wrinkled in worry, but then she reached out to pat Katherine’s hand. “Well, I’m glad it was uneventful.”
Katherine worried her lip. She might not tell her aunt about her unexpected exchange with Roseford, but there was something else she had to share. Something that would go over just as well.
“My father was here waiting for me that night when I returned,” she said.
The fear that lit up on her aunt’s face was immediate and powerful. Katherine physically recoiled from it, even as Bethany’s hand clutched hers tighter.
“Was he?” she asked, breathless. “Is that the first time he has pursued you here?”
Katherine nodded. “Yes. Since Gainsworth’s death, he has avoided me. He writes, occasionally, to remind me to repent all my wickedness before it’s too late. But it seems my return to Society drove him to come tell me in person.” She drew a short breath. “That and…Bethany, he knows that you and I have been reunited. That we are seeing each other now.”
Her aunt got up and walked away. Her back was to Katherine for a long time as she stared out the window to the street below. Finally, she turned and she was pale as paper.
“I suppose I should have known that would happen. When you were married and did not go out much, our occasional meetings could go unnoticed. But now that we have gone out to parties and balls, of course he would hear that we found each other.” She shivered.
“You’re afraid of him,” Katherine said softly.
Bethany nodded. “I am, I admit. He is…dangerous.”
“Why?” Katherine asked. “We have been reunited for two years now, but I’ve never had the nerve to inquire about what separated you from my mother, from me, in the first place.”
Bethany frowned. “I suppose now is as good a time as any to explain. Your father wasn’t always as he is now. When he married Jane, I actually thought they’d be good for each other. She was such a bright light and he so serious. But instead of being warmed by that light, he snuffed it out. He isolated her, just as he did to you. Just asyourhusband did. Even when you came, it wasn’t enough for your father.”
Katherine squeezed her eyes shut. She had few memories of her mother, but the ones she did were difficult. “She was lovely, but so sad,” she whispered. “And he got so cold and so hurtful. She was alone, I could see that even as a child. And look at me. I am the same.”
“No,” Bethany said, catching her hand. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”
“Of course it does,” Katherine said, trying to laugh when what she wanted to do was scream. “What happened with Gregory, the scandal it has created…that has damaged my chances to have any kind of life that I once imagined.”
Bethany squeezed her fingers. “Unless you find powerful friends who can sweep away that scandal with their influence.” She smiled. “I have an invitation for us to join the duchesses for tea today. In half an hour, actually, so we should go now if we’re to make it on time.”
“The duchesses—you mean,the duchesses?” Katherine blinked. The women had all been very kind to her thus far. Isabel had even been the one to warn her about Roseford, but to invite her into their circle for tea? Could they really be so determined to help her?
“Yes,theduchesses,” Bethany laughed.
“I don’t know,” Katherine sighed. “I appreciate their attention, but—”
“If you are not certain, let me be for both of us,” Bethany said, all but dragging her to the foyer. “This is your chance to still have those dreams you buried. The ones my sister never got to live. Now come, we’ll dry our tears in the carriage.”
Katherine blushed as Isabel stepped into the foyer and smiled at her and Bethany from across the room. She hadn’t realized that this invitation had been to the house of the very woman who knew Roseford’s plans for her. Now she felt exposed as the duchess came toward them.
“Oh, I am so pleased to see you,” she said, squeezing Bethany’s hand and then quickly embracing Katherine. “Are you well?” she whispered.
