Page 28 of The Baron Takes a Bet
Turning back, he caught Katrina’s eye as she watched him.
“Your sister has been avoiding me, and I’m afraid I’ve upset her somehow,” he said, folding his hands behind his back. “Most probably when I informed the Paynes of our marriage.”
Katrina’s eyes widened slightly as if she were surprised he would broach such a topic.
“Oh, um, yes, she mentioned that.”
“I wonder if it’s because she wasn’t still, possibly, infatuated with Mr. Payne.”
A laugh escaped Katrina’s lips.
“Oh, no,” she said, placing the pieces of fabric on the table as she stood up. “Holly doesn’t have feelings for him. I mean, that is to say, she may still hold some soreness about the event.”
“Their engagement, you mean?” he asked, and she nodded. “I believe it was broken off because Mr. Payne was in love with someone else?”
“Well, it was a well-known fact that Mr. Payne was fond of Charlotte, and I believed Charlotte felt sorry for Holly. She has a well-off family, you see, and she had no shortage of suitors. But Holly… everyone knew that we were struggling. Charlotte didn’t wish for Holly to become destitute. She persuaded Mr. Payne to propose. I believe your uncle helped facilitate it.”
“Did he?”
She nodded.
“But after Holly said yes, she could see plain as day how it affected poor Charlotte, not to mention she felt rather embarrassed by the idea of taking Mr. Payne’s charity—though it didn’t quite feel like charity, if you ask me. Anyway, she didn’twant to be the eternal cause of Charlotte’s suffering, so she stepped aside to allow them to marry. It was really quite heroic.”
“But not at all helpful to her own cause.”
“No. But then that’s Holly. If she’s not sacrificing her happiness for someone, it’s because she’s doing it for someone else, if that makes sense.”
“It does,” he said thoughtfully. “How did someone as attractive as your sister stay unattached for so long?”
Katrina perked up.
“You find her attractive?”
Gavin shrugged.
“As attractive as any young lady, I suppose.”
Katrina’s shoulders dropped slightly. It was clear this wasn’t the answer she’d hoped for, but Gavin didn’t care to entrust his entire attraction to Holly to her sister. Even if they were married.
“Bad luck I suppose, but don’t mention that to her. She hates the term. And really, it wasn’t so much luck as circumstance, but when hurdle after hurdle appears, one can’t help but get a little superstitious about it. If she didn’t have to take care of Jasper and I, she might have made a fortuitous match. The farm being in the state that it is didn’t help her cause, either. Bringing it back to the point of profitability would require a great expense, or so I’m told.” Katrina peered down at her fingers, intertwined before her. “It’s rather unfair that Holly should have to deal with it all, if you ask me.”
“What is?”
“Sacrificing all of her own joy for others. Particularly Jasper. He’s set to inherit it all and yet he doesn’t care one iota about it.”
“Unfair indeed,” Gavin said. “Tell me more about how my uncle tried to facilitate a match between Holly and Mr. Payne.”
“Well, your uncle was terribly fond of Holly and thought it was rather cruel for someone like her to go through life alone. He and Charlotte worked on Mr. Payne together to encouragehim to propose. But in the end, Holly refused to see it through. Perhaps that was why he did what he did with your marriage license—making sure the truth wouldn’t come out until it was too late for Holly to stop it from happening. Still, it was rather devious of your uncle to marry the two of you by proxy.”
“Yes,” Gavin said. “Yes, it was.”
“Um, my lord, may I ask you something?” Katrina asked, shaking him from his thoughts.
“Of course.”
“Holly would be furious to know I asked, but… we are in rather desperate need of dresses. You see, Holly dyed all hers and I have none for the upcoming season. I was hoping, well…”
Gavin waved his hand.
