Katherine covered her mouth. She had heard of that place. Sometimes Gregory had thrown its existence up in her face. Taunted her with his membership, told her she belonged in its halls like the rest of the whores.
“Is it terrible?” she whispered.
Isabel’s face softened. “No. It’s a place for pleasure. Matthew and I connected there, and it was only after that when his identity was revealed. He was once engaged to my cousin. She died, very tragically, in an accident.”
“You didn’t know it was him?” Katherine gasped.
“Not at first.” Isabel took a deep breath. “When the lie came out…well, there were other circumstances and we were forced to marry. It’s complicated.”
“But he forgave you for the lie,” Katherine said. “I’ve seen him with you—it’s clear he adores you.”
“Yes, I’m lucky.”
“He’s lucky, too,” Meg said, taking a sip of tea. “You saved him, we all know it.”
Katherine wrinkled her brow at the reference. “I cannot believe so many of you have had scandal.”
“All of us, really. Even the couples not here at present were embroiled in it. You’d have to ask Amelia and Diana about that, but I’m certain they would confess with just as clear a conscience as we have,” Emma said. “Because the fact is, my dear, that scandal doesn’t mean a thing.”
“The best couples seem to begin with one, that is for certain,” Helena said with a smile.
Katherine froze as she realized they were comforting her because they thought her kiss with Robert meant more than it did. Perhaps if they understood the truth, all this acceptance would fade.
And yet she didn’t want to lie.
“Roseford and I are not a couple,” she said slowly.
Isabel folded her arms. “That cad. Honestly, it is like he is determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. So Robert tells you that a future cannot be?”
Katherine shook her head, thinking of what he wanted, thinking of what she withheld. “No. Both of us.Me.”
There was silence in the room for a beat, and then Charlotte got up. “I know what it’s like to be unhappy in a marriage for so long. Your circumstances seem to be far worse than my own were, and I can well imagine that would leave you…uncertain of making a new future.”
Katherine bent her head. “I suppose that is part of it. There are other reasons.”
“Is it the bargain I told you Robert made?” Isabel asked.
“That’s another part of it, yes.”
Isabel’s shoulders rolled forward. “Oh, Katherine, you must know that for all his eccentricities, Robert is a good man. I was angry with him for that bad behavior and thought you should know the truth, but I would never discourage you from taking a future with him.”
“We’ve all watched you with him this week,” Emma said softly. “And have commented to each other more than once that you two seem a good match.”
“Do we?” Katherine said with a shake of her head.
“You do,” Adelaide said. “You do not let him run you over. It’s terribly confusing to him and amusing for us. But that is what he needs. Someone who doesn’t give him much quarter, makes him work for what he wants. He…smilesmore when he’s with you.”
“He is the real Robert, which you hardly ever see in mixed company,” Meg added. “Normally he is the Seducer at full force, but when he’s with you, I seehim. The man we all care for. The man who would die for his friends.”
“From the outside, itdoeslook like a good match,” Helena said.
Katherine’s hands began to shake and she shoved them behind her back as she paced away from the group and stood at the window looking down at the garden. She didn’t see it. Her mind was too busy spinning, her eyes blurred.
What they were saying…it was almost impossible not to allow it to put thoughts in her head. Dangerous thoughts of a future she didn’t want. A life she couldn’t lead. A man she couldn’t love.Wouldn’t.
“Well, I thank you all for your candor,” she said, hating that her voice was shaking, too. “I clearly have a great deal to think about. Perhaps you’ll forgive me for being rude and excuse me.”
Emma stepped forward. “Oh, Katherine, we didn’t mean to overwhelm you.”
