Page 51 of The Scandalous Love of a Duke
‘Then you are not welcome in my home.’
Looking back, John smiled a vicious smile, feeling his grandfather’s monster rise up inside him. ‘As you wish.’
11
Katherine looked at the door of the assembly rooms for the umpteenth time. Neither Phillip nor John had arrived. Her mother, father and sister had stopped receiving guests an hour ago and the clock on the mantle said it was already nearly ten.
Gentlemen and their town hours, her inner voice criticised, as she felt an internal smile.
But where were they?
She had been on tenterhooks all day, thinking about seeing John again, and Phillip too. She was looking forward to seeing her brother as much as John.
Yet it was John she longed for.
She glanced at the clock and then the door again. She had missed him dreadfully. She had not even realised how precious those hours with him had been until he had gone.
She was standing to one side of the room, alone, a little apart from everyone else, playing wallflower. Her fingers clasped at her waist to keep them occupied.
Her mother was excluding Katherine as usual, ignoring her presence whenever possible. She and Jenny were standing on the far side of the room, with Mrs Ellis and her daughters.
At least earlier when people had been dancing Katherine’s omission had been less obvious but now the music had ceased and supper was being served, and she had no friends to sit with.
‘Katherine, shall we sit together?’ Except Richard, who was a good friend.
She turned to him with a broad smile, thanking heaven for his rescue. He had been talking with the Dawkins, another family her mother did not approve Katherine speaking to, and so she had not dared join him.
Reverend Barker had been kind to her since his arrival. She knew that riled her mother too, but Richard was one of the few who dared to ignore her mother’s disparaging looks and cutting words. Everyone else in the village gave the Spencers’ little orphan a wide berth as though the base nature of her origin was infectious. Richard had never believed it and he’d told her bluntly early on, she was to ignore her mother’s cutting words. ‘God does not judge any child by its parents’ sins,’ he had said.
Oh, how wrong he was.She had proved her mother right now. She had given herself to John in a way she should not have done and she had enjoyed every moment of it. Her mother had told her she was like her natural mother.
When her gaze met Richard’s guilt struck and her smile fell. ‘Thank you, Richard.’
Despite her denial to John, Richard probably did like her as more than a friend. He had never given any verbal indication, but sometimes she saw an appreciative look in his eyes; a look she had seen before in other men’s eyes, when they were building up towards an offer.
When she had seen the expression before, she had actively discouraged them. John had always occupied her heart. But Richard’s kindness seduced her soul a little, and at one point she had seriously thought if he asked she might accept. But she would not now. Now, she knew she could never evict John from her heart.
Richard left her sitting at a table in the corner and went to fill them both a plate. When he returned, his expression was stiffer. ‘The Duke of Pembroke and your brother have arrived.’
‘Oh.’ She felt instantly ashamed that for all Richard’s kindness she wished to leave him and go to John. Why had they come, now, when she was already seated?
She looked over her shoulder and saw John being greeted by her mother and Lady Ellis. Then Mrs Bishop, Miss Elizabeth, the Listers, the Dawkins and others all stepped forward for introductions.
She remembered his complaints about people pressuring him and always wanting something from him. She stayed where she was. Her mother would not wish her there anyway.
Katherine turned back and faced Richard’s intuitive eyes. ‘I shall wait and greet them later, my mother will only be angry if I interfere. His Grace has more important people to greet than me.’
‘And yet I have seen him single you out twice at church.’
She knew she coloured up.
‘Why do you think that is, Katherine?’ Her pulse suddenly raced, but she refused to drop her gaze and admit her guilt. Perhaps she was learning things from John, how to be brash and bold for a start, when she did not feel it.
‘I have known him since I was a young girl. He is a friend.’
‘A friend? Can a man in his position be your friend, Katherine? Have you heard that he laid Mr Wareham off without any explanation?’
She had not heard. ‘When?’ Mr Wareham had been at Pembroke Place for as long as she could remember. Even her mother looked upon him with respect. People treated him like a titled noble because he managed such a large estate. Why would John have dismissed him?
