For all that Katherine had determined to let go of the fantasy, the hope hadn’t died. Not entirely. Some part of her had longed to see love in his gaze. To hear him whisper her name and tell her just how much she mattered to him. That he desired her.
Love grew from friendship. Katherine knew such a thing to be true. It was easy enough to see that their marriages were strong and flourished because they genuinely respected and enjoyed their husbands; Parker had only come to love Prudence after they’d become friends, after all. It had been so easy to convince herself that if a man became a friend, one day he might view her with adoration.
But she had been wrong. Mr. Archer was as close a friend as she could boast, and there had been no passion in his eyes when he’d looked at her mere moments ago. His heart was so full of that wretched Mystery Lady that he couldn’t believe it had been the plain Katherine Leigh beneath the mask.
She covered her face once more, bending over with a low groan.
What had she been thinking? She hadn’t. Or at least, not in any discernible fashion.
Silly, foolish girl! Making a mockery of herself at every opportunity—
Dropping her hands, Katherine straightened, jutting her chin out as though to challenge her own thoughts. Whether or not she’d made the proper choice, she did not deserve such castigation. Those poisonous words were her mother’s, and whatever mistakes she’d made, Katherine wouldn’t allow herself to wallow in such filth.
*
Fool! Dimwit! Imbecile! For all that the English language had many colorful turns of phrase, there were not curses enough for the lackwit David Archer.
He was a man of business who had successfully managed his family’s finances for over a decade. He had the social grace to earn himself a decent place in society. He clearly possessed skill and brains enough to navigate most situations with aplomb, even from a young age. Yet when it had mattered most, he’d uttered that ridiculous statement.
“That most certainly paid my forfeits.”
What had he been thinking? Clearly, he hadn’t. A jest was a good way to ease tension at appropriate times, but not when one had just soundly kissed a lady. His friend.
Rubbing at his forehead, David cursed himself again and again as he tried to comprehend what had happened. The fact that he’d kissed her was disorienting enough. That he enjoyed it so much was doubly so.
And then he’d said that idiotic statement and sent her fleeing.
Turning this way and that, he searched the sea of faces, but he caught not a single sight of Miss Leigh. He paced the drawing room, then surrendered, marching through the corridors to the parlor, but she wasn’t there either.
Heavens above! What would he even say to her once he found her? What could he say?
David didn’t know what he was thinking then or now, and his nerves weren’t helped by the memory of her eyes fixed on him as he’d spoken. Despite being a closed book to many people, Miss Leigh’s eyes spoke volumes if one bothered to look, and with her wrapped in his arms, David hadn’t missed the pain and anguish his thoughtless statement had caused.
What had he done?
*
Lifting back the edge of the curtain, Katherine scoured the corridor and found no sign of Mr. Archer. Sitting here was doing no good, and she was done with the evening. Time to return to Whitley Court. Thankfully, the Breadmores’ home was not far from hers. No—the Leighs’. For all that Katherine had spent the whole of her life within those walls, the place did not feel like her home. It was merely the stack of bricks in which she resided.
And perhaps it was time to change that.
Striding down the hall, she kept her head ducked low to keep from drawing attention, and in a trice, she had fetched her shawl from the footman and stepped out into the night.
“Katherine!” called her brother.
Crunching footsteps hurried down the gravel drive, following after her. She didn’t slow. Benjamin was the last person she wished to see at this moment. No, Mr. Archer held that distinction. And Mama would be equally vexing, for the lady could make any irritation all the more irritating. In point of fact, there was only one person Katherine wished to see at that moment, and Pamela was bundled up in her home with her darling husband and sweet children.
She gripped the edges of her skirts as she marched along, refusing to stop when Benjamin placed himself in front of her. His brows rose as she barreled into him, shouldering past without slowing a step.
“Do not tell me you are piqued—” he began.
“Do not speak to me! You said enough tonight.”
Proving himself a fool of the highest order, Benjamin fell into step beside her. “I apologize. I was attempting to be subtle—”
Katherine scoffed. “Oh, yes, Benjamin. Standing up in front of everyone and whispering in Miss Breadmore’s ear was quite subtle. Everyone in that room was quite aware of your subtlety. Bravo!”
“I—”
