She’d only done this for a few months, until she couldn’t take the guilt any longer. Stealing wasn’t the way to get what she and her mother desperately needed. Not long after that had happened, the owners of the tavern moved her from the kitchen into the serving room. Only there had she made more money and never had to steal again.
When Katrina had thought the crocodile was going to kill her, parts of her life had flashed in her memory that she now wished had stayed hidden. This was something she had prayed that would have never happened to her.
Men didn’t want to court women with sordid pasts... or scandals that had been in their family.
She wasn’t saying that Felix wanted to court her, but she had certainly been thinking differently about him lately, and she really didn’t want him to know what she had done. Yet she knew she had to tell him.
He sighed and cupped her face gently. “Katrina, you can tell me anything.”
“I fear this little secret may make you think differently about me.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure many people have had bad things happen in their lives. We all move past them.”
“How about you?” She cocked her head, keeping her gaze with his. “Have you done bad things in your life or things you feel ashamed about?”
Chuckling, he dropped his hands to his side. “Yes, I have.”
She arched her eyebrows. “Do you wish to share them with me?”
A lazy smile stayed on his face the more he looked at her. “I suppose it’s only right.”
“Yes, it is. If I’m telling you secrets, you should tell me secrets.”
“Very well, then.” He nodded. “I have not been entirely honest with you about my identity, either.”
She hitched a breath, anxious to hear what he had to say and hoping it wouldn’t be terrible news.
“My father was the Duke of Rosewood. I was the second son, and therefore expected to become a vicar or enter the military. I wanted neither. I was the son who was always in trouble, mainly because I didn’t want the life that was being forced on me.”
“What sort of things did you do?”
He shook his head. “Let’s just say I was an embarrassment to my family. At the age of eighteen, after I was out of school, I fell in love.” His gaze moved away from her toward the sky. “Well, what I thought was love. Back then, I would have done anything for Eva.”
Katrina wished he would continue, but right now he seemed lost in thought. Patiently, she waited, hoping he’d tell her more about the woman he thought he was in love with. Within moments, a frown claimed his face and he looked back at her.
“Eva and I had known each other for years, but soon we didn’t see each other as an awkward girl or foolish boy. She was the spoiled daughter of an earl, and she had many men vying for her hand in marriage. Eva knew my feelings for her, because like a fool, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.”
When he grinned, she chuckled. “For some reason, I can’t see you blurting out your affections for her.”
“I was a different man back then, young and extremely unwise.”
She nodded. “Please, go on.”
“Eva led me to believe she had feelings for me. Little did I know that all she wanted was a quick lesson in passion.”
She sucked in a breath. “Really? A woman of quality?”
He nodded. “Yes. I’m sure it would shock you to know there are women in England like that. Anyway, I met her in secret a few times, and I really thought she loved me and wanted to be my wife. Within a week, I discovered she had been betrothed to a marquess. When I confronted her with it, she sneered in my face and treated me as if I were so far beneath her that she wouldn’t even step on me to cross the street.”
Even as the sun was setting and shadows played over his face, the evidence of his pain was etched in his expression. After all these years, the woman’s betrayal still left a mark on his heart. Katrina wished she could take him in her arms and comfort him, but she remained still and allowed him to finish his story.
He took a deep breath and slowly released it. “Now here is the part where I tell you what I did that I was ashamed of, and I wish I had never done.”
“Go on.”
“Eva hurt me and humiliated me so much I wanted to strike back at her in any way I could. I wanted her to experience what it felt like to have her heart ripped out of her chest and crushed. I didn’t want her any longer. But I didn’t want any other man to wed such a vicious woman, either so I spread rumors that I had seen her and another man together on several occasions. I also mentioned that she was with child.”
“Oh, my.” Katrina put her hand to her mouth. “Thatisbad.”
