Pamela squeezed her arm, and Katherine hazarded a glance at her friend. The lady’s brows pulled together, a clear question in her gaze, though she knew Pamela well enough to know it wasn’t her actions she was questioning. No doubt, she knew Mr. Tryck’s reputation as well. He made quite the impression.
Turning an exasperated look at her friend, she begged for some assistance, and Pamela’s polite smile tightened as she turned narrowed eyes to the Leighs’ favorite child.
“Katherine has made herself clear, Benjamin,” said Pamela. “Best cry defeat, and let it be.”
“Nonsense,” he said with a scoff. “Mr. Tryck is a tad difficult, true, but I think they are well matched. He has a decent income and would make a fine husband for Katherine.”
Something inside her shattered. She might’ve thought it was her heart, but the past weeks had ensured there was little left of it. The concert had mended a few of the fractured pieces, and the knowledge that she’d done some good—whether or not it was known or ever acknowledged—helped to strengthen it, but that could not undo all the damage done.
Drawing in a deep breath, Katherine narrowed her eyes on Benjamin. “Oh, Mr. Tryck is a good match for me, is he?”
Pamela’s brows rose at the coldness in her tone, but her own brother seemed not to notice.
With a shrug, he pulled his brows together as though her question was ridiculous and the answer entirely obvious. “Certainly.”
So often, fury was described as a hot, burning emotion, and whilst Katherine certainly had fire enough in her heart at times, at that moment, her anger was ice cold. Like an arctic wind swept through her, she stared at her brother as ice swept through her veins.
“Why does it matter to you if I marry, Benjamin?” she asked in a tone as hard as steel. “I have spent years fending off Mama and Rosanna’s ‘well-meaning’ matchmaking efforts as they trotted out gentlemen who are empirically awful and wretched men. But you never threw in with them. You left me alone. Now, you are determined to make yourself just as irritating. Why is that?”
Benjamin’s eyes widened, and he shifted from foot to foot. “You speak as though I do not care about you, but that isn’t true. I wish to see you happy.”
“With a man like Mr. Tryck?” Katherine’s voice rose of its own accord, and she didn’t care that the others in the room fell silent. “Someone who is cold and cruel in his humor, and determined to pull apart everyone and everything to amuse himself—that is what you believe will make me happy?”
Scratching at the back of his head, Benjamin stared at her. “I am trying to aid you. Why are you being so brusque?”
Katherine scoffed. “If this is your idea of aid, I beg you to stop. You have made it clear since your arrival home from school that I am a bother; you only tolerate me when Mr. Archer forces you to include me. And for all that you, Rosanna, and Mama insist you are acting on my behalf because you care about my happiness and well-being, not a single one of you has ever bothered to know me well enough to know what that entails. So, do not pretend that you are acting in my best interest, Benjamin. We are not friends.”
Dragging Pamela forward, Katherine ignored her brother’s gaping (and the expressions of the others around them) and marched from the room. She didn’t wish to go to the drawing room once more, so she veered towards the door that led into the corridor.
“Brava, Katherine. It was about time you spoke up,” said Pamela, squeezing her arm. “Do you wish to leave? I can have Ralph send for the carriage. Now that the concert is over, we needn’t linger.”
Uncertain whether or not she could form the words, Katherine nodded. Pamela echoed the gesture and stepped away.
“You are staying with my family tonight, and we are going to talk all about this,” said Pamela before she wandered off in search of her husband.
Katherine nodded again, though with her anger fading, her strength leached out of her, leaving her limbs quivering. Scowling at herself, she shook it away and straightened. Blast that wretched Benjamin and Mr. Archer. Blast all those people in that room who found delight in laughing at her. And blast her family and all the horrid Mr. Trycks they’d foisted on her.
Tonight was a triumph. Not in the manner she had intended, but it was a triumph nonetheless. And Katherine wouldn’t allow anyone to diminish that victory.
Chapter 22
Whitley Court was much like any other house of little distinction and mighty pretension. Little more than a rectangular block dropped at the roadside with a middling garden at the rear, it looked like any number of houses in the area. Though earlier architectural styles employed natural woods, giving the interior a warm—if small—feel, modern sensibilities had painted over all those rich browns, leaving the rooms more open and airy. And cold.
But that might simply be David’s current mood.
Being a frequent visitor to Whitley Court meant he was allowed more liberty than other guests, especially as he was the favored friend of the favored son. Except for the private quarters, he’d explored most of the house, but still, he felt a bit like a sneak thief as he slipped through the corridors and up the stairs.
He was here to visit Benjamin, after all, who was in the parlor, but Miss Leigh was unlikely to be at his side. Of course, he didn’t hear any piano music coming from the drawing room, so it was unlikely she was there, either, but he had to try.
Pushing open the door, he poked his head inside and found precisely what he had expected. No Miss Leigh. But David paused on the threshold as he realized something was odd about the room. Frowning at the instinct, he tried to identify the source, and it took him a moment to realize that the space between the two grand windows, which utilized the light to its best advantage, was empty. Her pianoforte was gone.
Odd that.
With little other furniture in the room, there was no reason for Miss Leigh to linger. Parlor it was, then. David took the stairs back down and prayed his good fortune would hold out. Sweeping through the door, he ignored his friend as Benjamin rose to his feet in greeting and cast his gaze about the space. No Miss Leigh.
“Thank heavens you arrived,” said Benjamin as he moved forward, ushering David back out. “I was about to expire from boredom. With the weather so fine, we shouldn’t waste a moment of it. Winter is coming on fast, and before too long, we won’t be able to ride at all.”
With a nod, David allowed himself to be led back towards the door. “How is your sister faring? I haven’t seen her in an age.”
