“Perhaps,” he said quietly, pulling back for a moment. “We could make use of those apartments.”
Breathless, she shook her head. “If we are to continue our wedding night, my love, I want it to be in my own home.” She grinned. “Although I fear the carriage ride back to Stonebridge might be a thing of immense torture.”
“Or the very opposite,” he replied, as he lowered his head to kiss her neck. “A thing of endless pleasure.”
She moaned softly, her hands running through his hair. “Then… let us make haste and head home at once.”
“As ye wish,” he replied, grazing one last kiss on her lips before he took her hand in hers and led her toward the stairs.
He didn’t want to disappoint her, but it would still be a fair while until they could get in the carriage and return to Stonebridge. For he would not go back until he was certain, beyond any doubt, that Mr. Miller would never see the light of day again.
Outside the jail that the butler had been hauled into, fighting the entire time against the two constables who had been entrusted with wrangling him, three figures stood on the pavement beside the carriage.
No one seemed inclined to speak, though Anna kept glancing at Katherine, trying to gauge how her friend was feeling. There were no tears in Katherine’s eyes, but her pale face was wracked with a quiet kind of sorrow.
“If you would like me to join my brother in there, I will understand,” Katherine said suddenly. “I knew that he meant to put something in His Grace’s drink, but he insisted it was just to make him sleep, so thatyouwouldn’t have to suffer the... pain of your wedding night, Your Grace.”
She addressed only Anna, likely too ashamed and too afraid to speak to Jeremy directly.
“I agreed to stand guard because I thought… it wasn’t what you wanted,” she added, dropping her chin to her chest. “After all we discussed before the wedding, I thought I was doing the right thing. I had no notion that it was poison, nor that it was supposed to kill your husband. I only understood that when I came in to assess him.”
Jeremy cleared his throat. “How did ye save me?”
“I guessed what had been used,” Katherine replied sheepishly. “And I gave you charcoal and a tonic that I had made previously. An antidote, really, in case you accidentally drank what was intended for the former duke. I am so very sorry to you both, and I will accept whatever punishment you wish to give me.”
Anna reached for her friend’s hand, surprisingly soothed by the woman’s explanation. In fairness, therewasa lot that Annahad said before the wedding that could lead a person to believe she wanted no part in such a marriage. For that reason, Anna couldn’t find it in herself to be angry with Katherine.
She certainly couldn’t be angry with Katherine for having no remorse about the previous duke’s death, not while knowing of the terrible, violent things that Robert had done to her.
“It was not your fault,” Anna said, giving Katherine’s hand a squeeze. “I cannot blame you for thinking that you were doing the right thing, and I will never blame you for wanting revenge upon Robert. I believe you probably saved a great many lives by not saving him the way you saved Jeremy.”
A sob wracked Katherine’s chest, tears spilling from her eyes. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness, Your Grace. I should have known what my brother intended. I should have seen that he was half-mad, obsessed with you. He is my brother; how could Inothave noticed it?”
“We do not often see the flaws in those closest to us,” Anna replied gently. “We do not want to believe what they are capable of.”
“I am so sorry,” Katherine mumbled, her chest heaving. “I am so very, very sorry. I can’t bear to think what might have happened if I had been slower, or if Paul had used something else.”
Jeremy settled his hand on Katherine’s shoulder, her head snapping up in surprise.
“The one responsible will be punished, Miss Miller. He will not bother us again, and he won’t bother ye either,” he said. “While I admire yer request to be punished, it’s not necessary. If me wife forgives ye, then so do I.”
The maid stared at him with wide eyes, as if she didn’t understand.
“You are forgiven, Katherine,” Anna reiterated. “If you do not wish to remain at Stonebridge, I will understand, but… I do not know what I shall do without my dearest friend. But, rest assured, whether you return with us or not, no one at Stonebridge will ever know that you played a part in Robert’s death. It will forever stay between us three.”
Katherine smeared the tears from her cheeks, her lip quivering. “I don’t deserve such grace.”
“You do, Katherine,” Anna insisted. “You do because you are not cruel and you are not wicked. None of this is your fault, and I pray that you will return with us. Indeed, your brother would not be captured now, if it were not for your aid, and I am certain something bad would have befallen me if you had not acted.”
With a shaky breath, Katherine looked from Anna to Jeremy and back again. The turmoil was etched upon her pretty face, her doubts clear in the way she anxiously chewed her lip. Yet, Anna hoped that her friend wouldn’t abandon her, not because of her brother’s despicable behavior.
“I… will come back to Stonebridge,” the maid said. “I will come back, and if I can’t bear it, then… I will consider my choices. But… I can’t leave if you still need me, Your Grace. I never would. And… I thank you, both, for being so gracious when I… don’t know if I deserve it.”
Anna’s heart lightened. “Then, it is settled.” She gestured to the carriage. “Go on, dearest Katherine. You get inside and situate yourself before you change your mind.”
The maid bowed her head, tears still flowing down her cheeks, and shuffled toward the carriage door. She opened it and climbed inside, closing it behind her, as if she knew the couple might want a moment alone before starting the journey home.
“Do ye really forgive her?” Jeremy asked, gently pulling Anna off to one side.
