Brandon almost bodily lifted his nephew up and hop-stepped him to the inn’s front door. After pushing him out, Brandon returned to the table.
“Aren’t you worried about him?” Jess asked.
“No,” was the reply. “For what he is doing, the fewer witnesses, the better.”
Jess grunted her agreement and tried another tack—contrition. She had huge blue eyes that could project innocence. “I was wrong. Terribly wrong. I betrayed your trust. But can’t you see your way clear to giving me a second chance? I promise I will mind all the rules and I will not cause an ounce of trouble.”
“Because you want to go to London?” Kate said, before cautioning, “Be careful, Jess. My question is a test of your honesty.”
The milkmaid sat back in her chair. She eyed Kate for a second and then admitted, “London is the only reason I joined your troupe. I dream of going there.”
“You are not alone. Half my actors are with me because they wish to appear on the London stage. Unfortunately, you have not worked hard at all. And let us continue to be honest—you have no intention of staying with my troupe once we reach London, do you?”
The claim that Kate was wrong about her was on the tip of Jess’s tongue. Her protest was clear in her eyes, and then she slowly reconsidered, tilting her head and weighing the purse in her hand. “I’m bound for better things than your troupe.” She stood. “Good luck, Kate.” As simple as that, the girl walked away, sitting herself down at another table of rowdy men drinking.
“I believe it is time to return to Maidenshop,” Kate said.
An hour later, Bran was driving a hired wagon back to Maidenshop, Kate beside him on the front seat. They had decided this was the only way to take Winderton home. His nephew was in no shape to ride and the horses were spent.
The duke now snored away in the wagon bed. He smelled worse than a pig. Even Orion and the gray tied to the back seemed to avoid catching a whiff of him.
The quiet wagon ride through the night gave Bran a chance to think.
They were almost back to Maidenshop when he decided he must try again. “I don’t want to lose the one person who means the most to me. Kate, I want you formy wife. I love you—”
“No, you don’t, Brandon.”
He started to contradict her but she quieted him with a shake of her head. “It isn’t time for us. Perhaps it never will be. We both have big dreams. You dream of building bridges—”
“Not any longer. I was just going through the steps, pretending that I had some meaning to my life, except I don’t have any passion for it. In this week, I’ve felt more alive than I have over the past fifteen years.”
She looked into his eyes. Hers were silver in the moonlight. Huge tears welled in them, and then she whispered, “I can’t.”
“You can’t love me?”
“Oh, you are very easy to love.”
“Then why?” he demanded.
“Because I’m not ready to give up my dreams yet. I’ve traveled a long way to reach this point and I must try.”
“Did you feel that way yesterday?”
“Before all of this? Yes, and I believed that you understood what returning to London’s stage meant to me when you gave me the set drawings.”
“I do understand. I have a house in London. You can be in the theater. We can have a good life. Kate, what happened today will not repeat itself.”
She faced him. “This isn’t about today. Or my love for you, and I do love you, Brandon. However, I am on a journey that I started years ago, even before I met you. I must continue.”
“And there isn’t room for me?”
“This isn’taboutyou,” she said quietly. “I’ve given up so much to reach this moment. It’s almost a calling. And if I don’t try this,my way, then I’ll always regret it. Even if I fail.”
He studied her a moment and realized he had never loved her more. And, at last, he grasped what she meant about trust. About not being just attracted to the person but knowing her. Accepting her.
“You won’t fail, Kate,” he assured her before lifting the reins. He urged the horse forward.
They reached the tents. She didn’t wait for him to help her down. Instead, she swung from the seat and practically ran from him.
