The Leighs adored endearments, but even with all the dears and dearests tossed about, they rarely ever spoke of love, and Katherine’s throat tightened at that endearment, making it very difficult for her to speak.
Leaning forward, she mumbled into his shoulder. “Why must you be sensible now?”
“I haven’t the foggiest notion,” he murmured in return. “But it’s for the best. Unfortunately.”
Katherine’s gaze rose once more, and her breath seized once more at the longing in his eyes. For her. Katherine Leigh. They drifted across her face as though studying each lovely detail, and heat swept through her, settling deep into her heart.
With great reluctance (and one final kiss), she stepped from his embrace and slipped her arm through his, resting her free hand atop his forearm. Then his other hand joined hers, binding them together in such a cozy fashion that Katherine longed to rest her head against his shoulder with a sigh.
It was not as good as stealing kisses in the garden, but it would do.
Weaving through the shrubbery, David led them along, and Katherine couldn’t speak. As they passed others enjoying the cool autumn night, her cheeks flushed with heat. No one paid them any heed, and she doubted they suspected a thing, but she couldn’t help the silly grin brightening her face.
“Yes, I must marry you as soon as possible,” he murmured, slanting an arched brow at her. “I cannot help but want to kiss you thoroughly when you look so radiant.”
A thrill coursed through her, filling every inch of her body with such vibrant electricity that Katherine was certain her grin would explode at any moment. And all the while, her dear David smiled with the smug satisfaction of a man who knew he would get his way.
They stepped back into the house and strode down the hall, though Katherine nudged him away from the ballroom as she caught sight of a familiar face striding towards the entryway. She refused to release David’s arm, instead dragging him along as her footsteps quickened, speeding towards the only other person she wished to see at this moment.
“Pamela!” she said. “I thought you were not coming.”
“I’m afraid we arrived monstrously late and are taking our leave already,” replied Pamela, stepping away from her husband just as Katherine released David to sweep her friend into an embrace.
“He loves me,” whispered Katherine, though the fact that she managed to moderate her tone was something of a miracle.
“Too right, he does,” whispered Pamela in return. “How could he not?”
*
Despite all the frustrations of his world, David Archer had thought himself a happy man; imperfect his life may be (for every life was tainted by trials and tribulations), he was blessed with many good things. Yet seeing Katherine’s broad smile as she embraced her friend added to David’s own delight, growing and expanding far more than he thought possible for any person to feel.
“Am I to assume that congratulations are in order?” asked Mr. Kitts in a low voice, glancing at his wife. The ladies stood apart from their men, holding a whispered conversation, utterly unaware of anything else around them.
“That is a question for Miss Leigh to answer,” replied David.
Mr. Kitts raised his brows and nodded as the pair stood there waiting for their ladies. Mrs. Kitts shifted, tugging at the shawl draped across her arms, and the movement drew David’s attention to the length of cream cashmere, decorated with intricate stitches of deepest blue. His eyes latched onto the article as the world around him stilled. For one long moment, he stood there, transfixed.
He knew that shawl.
Despite his thoughts stuttering at the sight, David’s mind leapt through various assumptions and possibilities, and it took no great stretch of logic to make the connection between Mrs. Kitts and the Mystery Lady. His eyes darted to Katherine, blinking a rapid pace as he struggled to sort out his jumbled thoughts.
Katherine was the Mystery Lady?
Despite that possibility posing itself a few times over the past two and a half months, David hadn’t truly believed it—especially considering the tender tokens of affection they’d shared. Yet, staring at the shawl draped across Mrs. Kitts’ arms, David had to admit that it must be true.
Pain struck his heart, and he tried to hide it from his expression as the truth of Katherine’s deception settled heavily in his chest. For months, she’d kept this from him, watching his struggles without saying a word. And even after having bared his soul to her, Katherine did not trust him with the truth, and that betrayal thrummed through him.
But as quick as the feeling came, it faded.
David knew better than most how fragile her heart was. Hadn’t he lectured Benjamin on how difficult it was to earn her trust? And opening oneself to love was among the most vulnerable things a person could do. It was little wonder Katherine had remained silent.
To say nothing of the fact that he was the fool who hadn’t recognized his friend beneath the mask. That was his doing—not hers.
And then there were all the ways in which he’d mishandled this courtship from the beginning. Even if Katherine had lied to his face that she wasn’t the Mystery Lady (which she hadn’t), David had no right to feel anything but bone-deep gratitude that she had forgiven him. It was a miracle she was even speaking to him. Let alone allowing him to kiss her.
Besides, what did that secret signify? Mystery Lady or not, she was his choice—his only choice. Katherine was everything he wanted in a sweetheart and wife, and as long as she was his, it didn’t matter if she and the Mystery Lady were one and the same.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, David watched Katherine, his gaze drifting over the length of her as a smile crept across his face. Katherine Leigh was his sweetheart. Possibly his wife-to-be. As they hadn’t officially settled on an engagement, he couldn’t say which it was, but as long as she wasn’t fleeing from him, he was quite content to take some time to sort the rest of it out.
