Katherine faced her. She had become friends with Isabel in the previous weeks. With all the duchesses. That, at least, she knew was true. And she could tell her friend what had happened. There would be catharsis in that. And a good ear to help her sort through her tangled emotions.
But then she thought of Robert. He already felt on the outside of his group of friends. If they knew what had happened tonight, certainly they would all confront him in their own way. Katherine could not, would not, be responsible for breaking his world to pieces. For pushing him out of the only group of people he truly loved.
Loved. Was that what he was going to say to her before she pulled away from him and left the parlor? That he loved her?
“Katherine!” Isabel’s voice was sharp and she caught Katherine’s arm with both her hands. “Your look and your silence are frightening me.”
She drew a few breaths. “It’s nothing,” she lied. “Just a bad night.”
Isabel’s brow wrinkled in confusion and deeper concern. “What happened? Is it Robert?”
Katherine flinched and knew that gave the answer she’d been trying to avoid. Still, she pulled away from Isabel and walked to her bed. She set her hand on the coverlet, trying not picture the nights she’d shared this room with Robert. Making love. Laughing. Talking long into the night with no thought of tomorrow.
Now she questioned if all those moments were just a lie, meant to manipulate her. They were soured. Ruined.
She bent her head. “I’m just ready to go home,” she breathed. “Tomorrow cannot come fast enough.”
Isabel was quiet for a long time. So long that Katherine thought for a moment she might have simply left the room. But at last she took a breath and said, “Katherine, please—”
She faced Isabel, loving that her friend was so concerned. Hating that this break from Robert would probably ultimately mean an end to her friendship with the duchesses, too.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “There is nothing that can be done. If you are my friend, and I know you are, you will just go downstairs and pretend you didn’t see me. You’ll make my excuses and you’ll let this go. It is not something that can be fixed.”
Isabel’s expression softened and she nodded after a moment. “If that’s what you want.” She moved forward and caught Katherine’s hands gently. “Anything can be fixed, my darling. Even at its darkest, night gives way to dawn.”
“When dawn comes I’ll be gone,” Katherine whispered. “And it’s for the best.”
Isabel’s expression saddened, but she didn’t pry any further. She didn’t push. She just kissed Katherine’s cheek and left her alone. To think. To remember. And to mourn the moment when she’d believed her love for Robert could be enough.
Now she knew it wasn’t, and her world would never be the same.
When the door to the parlor opened, Robert jerked to his feet and pivoted to face the intruder, praying it was Katherine returning to finish their conversation. Instead, Isabel stepped into the chamber.
He frowned and retook his place slouched before the fire. “I’m sorry to be rude, Your Grace, but I am not in the mood for company.”
“I would assume not,” Isabel said, looking around the room like she was seeking an answer to a riddle. “But I’ve been searching the estate for you in the last half hour and here I am.”
He shook his head. He had one thing in common with his friends: not a one of them had been drawn to what was commonly called a biddable bride. Spitfires all were their loves and lovers.
“I saw Katherine,” she said as she shut the door behind her and leaned against it.
He jerked his gaze to hers. “Was she…was she all right?”
Isabel’s expression softened. “Physically, yes. I cannot speak to her emotional state, as she would not tell me what had happened. But it’s obvious from your own broken expression that it has to do with you.”
He stood up and walked to the window. As he looked out into the night, he said, “You told her about my wager.”
Isabel was quiet a moment, and then she stepped forward. “Yes, I did. I will not apologize for it.”
He faced her slowly, and the anguish of what he’d done felt raw and heavy in his chest. “I wouldn’t ask you to. She had every right to know. Every right to destroy me for my cruelty.”
“And yet she didn’t. She came here and she made the best of it. You two were obviously involved in something far deeper than friendship certainly much more powerful than a bet. We were all thrilled to see you open yourself up.” Isabel shook her head. “Robert, what happened?”
He shut his eyes, reliving those moments of confrontation with Katherine. Feeling himself burn in the fire of her contempt. “She saw me. The true me,” he said. “And that is what sent her away.”
He saw Isabel’s pity for him. And why not? He was pitiable. He had been thus for years, even as he strutted about reveling in his depravity. Crowing at the fact that he had erected a tower so high that no one would ever scale its walls and get to him.
Until one very unexpected woman had done just that. And what had he done? Burned everything down around them both.
