“Who are you talking about, Katherine?” My sister shifts closer. “Mr. Carew, or the duke?”
Before I can answer, Mr. Benjamin, Mr. Carew’s driver, comesfrom the house. He looks in our direction, shakes his head, and then turns away.
I can’t move.
Cut directly by a servant is a sign—a bad, bad sign. My fingers curl tighter about the reins. “Guess everyone knows of my scandal.”
“Katherine, let’s go inside and see.” Georgina adjusts her blue bonnet. The dried lilacs decorating the brim look festive; there’s nothing mournful or sorrowful about them. “Remember, it’s not what others think. It’s about Lydia and the duke.” She begins to rise.
“Wait, Georgie.” My fingers remain tightly wrapped on the reins. “Everything changes when we walk through those doors.”
She sits back, smoothing her pale blue skirts. “Everything has already changed.”
“Help me inside,” Mr. Thom says. “I’m ready to get this procedure done and see what I can see. My sons are counting on me.”
My sister scrambles down and leads him.
I refuse to budge and stare at the kitten asleep at my feet. The mangy little thing looks peaceful.
Mr. Benjamin’s loud voice echoes. He’s speaking with one of Jahleel’s grooms as they change harnesses to the physician’s carriage.
My gaze follows Mr. Thom and Georgina to the double entry doors. No black armbands. None of the footmen standing guard have them. I must believe nothing has happened—no death.
The grooms finish fixing Carew’s carriage. I don’t move. I’m mesmerized by how Jahleel has made this magnificent house look like the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the place where I met him.
The resemblance cannot be by happenstance. And I never mention the changes or construction. I can’t comment on the past, but this is his way of slowly torturing my heart. He knowshow special I felt being admitted to those gilded halls. I was Cinderella or Vasilisa trying to enter the ball. The guards wouldn’t accept my invitation. I don’t know what happened to my chaperones or Tavis. They would have shown our credentials.
But they were all missing.
My heart pounded as the guards sought to turn me away, but Jahleel Charles intervened.
Handsome and gallant, he removed all obstacles and escorted me inside. Did he know what it meant to be favored, to be on his arm, to meet people important to the tzar?
Glancing at the yellow chrysanthemums and flowers that decorated the palace, I think of my mother. Mums were her favorite.
The flowers wave. They’re in full bloom.
My sister returns. “Katherine, I’ve taken Mr. Thom inside. Mr. Carew will lead him to a room in the servant wing. Katherine?”
“All this time, the duke’s been trying to recreate the moment we fell in love.”
“What, Katherine? What are you mumbling?”
“This is the Winter Palace, Georgie. He’s made Anya House look like the moment I became so smitten with Jahleel I couldn’t think straight.”
Georgina cocks her head to the side like the large bonnet has weighed down her neck. “The duke has made no secret of being in love with you.”
“I guess he gave up waiting. He’s involved one of the king’s barristers to make me concede.”
“Katherine, what are you babbling about? Are you well?”
“I should’ve given in when you wed. Then, I’d not have to come here begging for forgiveness. I’d be at Jahleel’s side comforting him. Now I’m the beggar who stole his happiness.”
She grasps my shoulders and gives me a little shake. “The man is upstairs fighting for his life. I don’t need you down here losing your senses.”
“You don’t understand.” I swipe at my wet eyes. “No one understands.”
“One man might, Katherine. In my note, I requested Scarlett to let you see him.”
