“We would go back to relive those days? I was not married, but if I had been, well, the damage would have been done.”
She did not like his common sense, so of course, he had to press the matter further. “And while you claim to recall little of that time, you did remember the stories I told you. You made them into your plays.”
“Aesop’s Fablesare popular stories.”
“Some are. And some I shared with you were not well-known at all. They are part of your performances.”
She hadn’t moved away from him. Her troubled gaze met his as if she was just recognizing the connection of her plays to him.
“As for the Maidenshop gossip,” he said, “I have no doubt that Lucy probably spread some story of my having married. She cares about what people think and likes to speculate. She has drilled me several times over whether I was hiding a wife back in India. It’s her flair for drama coupled with her nosiness.” He frowned. “Did Mrs. Warbler say what happened to my ‘wife’?”
“She died.” Her words were barely a whisper.
“Ah, how convenient.”
They stood very close to each other without touching and the world around them could go to hell as far as he was concerned. She was beautiful in her gown of soft green and her dark curls beneath her velvet cap framing her face. There were tiny flowers in the pattern of her dress and when she moved, he caught the scent of violets. Lovely.
He leaned closer. “I’ve given you no reason not to trust me, Kate. Others conspired against us. It wasn’t me. I would have killed Hemling for what he did to you, if I had been aware. Instead, I thought leaving you alone was what you wanted.”
She swallowed hard at the mention of her attacker. He could feel the heat between their two bodies. Her gaze dropped to his neck cloth. “And yet our lives have gone on,” she said. “You could have married.”
“I meant to. I thought I would. However, the truth is, you spoiled me for other women, Kate. I kept comparing them to you.”Always you.
Her lips parted in surprise, her brows drawing together as if she didn’t quite believe him, and he had an insane desire to kiss her until she trusted him. All he had to do was lower his head—
“Ah, there you are, Mr. Balfour,” Fred’s hearty voice interjected. “Your horse is ready...” He trailed off as he realized that he might have interrupted something. Both Bran and Kate stepped back as if his voice had made them aware of how close they stood. “Beg your pardon, sir.”
“It is fine. Thank you, Fred.” Bran looked to Kate. Should he have been as honest as he had been?
Her color was high. She didn’t look at him. In fact, it was obvious she was trying to look everywhere but at him... and there was his answer.
However, he’d had his say. She might hold the past against him forever, and how could he stop her? Kate had an iron will and apparently knew how to nurse a grudge.
“Goodbye, Miss Addison.”
She didn’t respond.
He turned on his heel and went to collect his horse.
Others conspired against us.You spoiled me for other women.
The words trailed in the air behind him.
Kate placed her hand against her belly, trying to steady herself. There had been a moment between them just now when she’d wanted his arms around her. Hadneededto feel his body against hers. Her mind, her reason could argue and yet, her body remembered. Everything deep within her responded to him.
“This is not what I want,” she whispered as if saying the words aloud could make them true. She was going to London. She planned to reclaim her place in the world.
Kate did not need the complication of Brandon Balfour in her life. Or any other man, she quickly reminded herself. Men mucked things up. She’d lived it and witnessed it in other women’s lives. She liked her life uncomplicated. Her sights were set on her future.
So, why did she feel overheated and completely discomfited?
Why had she reacted so strongly to Mrs. Warbler’s gossip? If Brandon had married or not wasn’t her business, as he’d pointed out.
She had been making her own decisions for quite some time. She knew what was best for her—and Brandon Balfour was not necessary to her life. Especially right now when she had a performance to give in an hour’s time.
The last thought moved her forward. She tried to ignore the glances of the smithy and his workers. They were obviously curious about what she and Brandon had been doing behind the wagon. She smiled, nodded, and kept moving.
However, something had changed about the day. Every step she took seemed to be on unsteady ground. Brandon’s words, the information that he might still care, rattled her.
