Berronburg chuckled. “Men like us always do. I’m honestly surprised the lady still invites you. You are worse than I am.”
Robert’s mind turned instantly to Katherine. “I’m trying to be…better.”
“Hmmm. In truth, I had to come. There was a rumor circulating in London that Lady Gainsworth is in attendance at this party, and of course it turned out to be true. You made a good move isolating her out here. And I saw you two dancing, so I must assume your pursuit of the wager is going well.”
Robert’s heart began to throb. This was a tricky situation to manage. If he told Berronburg to sod off, the marquess would never believe that he truly cared for Katherine. Robert’s past behavior—toward lovers in general, but Katherine specifically—would not allow it. Berronburg would pursue her for the bet. They wouldallpursue her.
“It is progressing,” he said softly.
“Progressing?” Berronburg repeated with a frown. “After ten days isolated on this estate, I would have thought you would have already bedded her and crowed to stake your claim. Are you losing your touch in your advancing years, my friend?”
“I suppose that is a possibility,” Robert said, grinding his teeth.
Berronburg’s face lit up. “Then that means the lady is still in play. The wager’s amount has increased tenfold since she disappeared into the country. If you cannot land her, the winner will walk away with a tidy sum in his pocket. Perhaps I should play my cards, as well.”
Robert’s eyes went wide. Fuck it all, that was exactly what Katherine didn’t need. To be stalked across the country by panting, leering men who wanted to bed her only to win a game. That he had ever been one of them made him hate himself.
“You assume I’m finished with the lady. I’m not by half. It isn’t about not fulfilling the terms of the bargain, my friend. It’s about fulfilling my own desires with the lady. You may tell the others that the prize has been won.”
Berronburg’s face fell slightly. “Bollocks. I knew it was too much to hope. You wanted her, of course you would have her. It probably wasn’t even a challenge, was it? Are you going to give me any lovely details of the quest?”
Robert shook his head. “Not tonight, my friend.”
Not ever, and this man was no longer his friend. But there was no reason to cause a ruckus now. To draw attention where it needn’t be. When he returned to London he would ensure all talk of this shameful bet was erased from the mouths of his friends. That Katherine would never have to hear of it.
Or know what he’d done.
“Well, I hope you’ll talk soon. You know how everyone loves the tales of your conquests.”
Robert glanced at the door, anxious because he knew Katherine would be coming at any moment. Not that he thought Berronburg would be so uncouth as to mention their bet to her face, but he would leer and she would be uncomfortable.
“I see you counting the time,” the marquess chuckled. “I’ll be off and leave you to whichever lady you’ll be rutting with tonight, be it the lovely Lady Gainsworth or another. We should go to the Donville Masquerade when you’re back in Town. Catch up.”
Robert pursed his lips. “Certainly. Goodnight, my lord.”
“Your Grace,” Berronburg said, and slipped from the room.
Robert let out his breath in a slow exhale. That unpleasantness was done. He didn’t feel particularly good about it. He’d allowed the marquess the impression that he’d won the bet with Katherine. And he had. But that hadn’t been on his mind for such a long time.
He heard the door behind him close and turned. Katherine stood there. He smiled at the sight of her, his thoughts of Berronburg vanishing at her entrance. But his smile fell as he read her expression. Cold. Hard. Broken.
And he knew in that moment that she’d heard everything the marquess had said.
She crossed the room in three long strides, her hands shaking. She stopped in front of him, dark eyes lifted to him. “How could you? You bastard, you bastard! How could you?”
Chapter Twenty
Katherine had never wanted to strike someone so much in her life. To hit Robert because the pain that was bursting in her chest was too powerful to put into words. But she sucked in her breath to calm herself, remind herself she was better than that. And he did not deserve to see how deeply he had wounded her.
His face was ashen. “Katherine,” he whispered. “Please, let me explain.”
“Explain?” she repeated, jerking away from him and letting her gaze slide around the room. He’d been preparing the chamber for her. Laughing at her, she supposed, as he awaited Berronburg so they could crow over her foolishness. “How the hell do you think you can explain what I already knew? What I’ve known forweeks.”
He stared at her, shaking his head. His expression was pained and confused. “You—you knew?”
“Isabel came to me even before I was invited here and she told me what a horrible bargain you’d made over bedding me.” Her hands shook. “And I vowed I wouldneverallow you near me.”
He blinked. “That night at the ball when you said I didn’t care what I did to other people. You knew then, didn’t you?”
