Page 61 of What's a Duke Got to Do With It
Before Katrina could squeak out even a sound, Mr. Bridling took her hand in both of his. As she gazed into his fervent eyes in a kind of fatalistic horror, she couldn’t help but think that she certainly never expected her prayers to be answered so quickly.
Chapter 20
Hours later and Sebastian was still cursing himself for his ham-handed way of dealing with the vicar. Had the man been a rude, cruel prig who had deserved to have his insulting words shoved down his holy throat? Absolutely. But Sebastian also knew that his own reaction to the man verbally attacking Katrina had been beyond the pale. While he could not regret putting himself between the vicar and Katrina, he knew he had been wrong to lay hands on the man. And now Lady Tesh’s own standing in the community had become a fragile thing. Or, rather, more fragile than it had already been.
But the dowager had not said a thing regarding his actions once Katrina and Bridling had disappeared back into the house—no matter how much he had deserved a good tongue-lashing. Instead she had quietly suggested he do as he liked for the rest of the afternoon, then had busily gone about her duties in seeing that the planned picnic was canceled. Now, hours later, having joined her in the drawing room in preparation for dinner, he knew he could not leave things unsaid.
“I am sorry, Lady Tesh,” he said, running a hand through his hair as he took the seat across from her, “more sorry than you can know that I embarrassed you in such a way. If I could go back in time and stop myself from grabbing the vicar I would.”
To his surprise, however, Lady Tesh let out a rude noise. “I’m not sorry,” she said, waving her hand in dismissal. “I only wish I could have done it myself. Mr. Gadfeld, for all his talk of doing good and right, is a pompous arse who needs to be brought down a peg or two and learn some humility.”
She set her gaze on him, eyeing him closely. “Though I admit I was surprised at the violence of your feelings. You must care for my companion very much to have been so affected.”
If she only knew how deeply he cared. Even thinking of it now, of the vicar’s burning, angry eyes on her and his hateful words rending the air, all directed to that person Sebastian loved the most in this world, he felt the same fury consume him all over again. Fighting it back, he cleared his throat and replied in as neutral a tone as he could manage, “Miss Denby is a dear friend. I could not allow her to be insulted in such a way. I daresay I would have done the same for anyone.”
Besides a thoughtful “Hmm,” Lady Tesh was silent for some minutes. Sebastian, however, didn’t dare look her way. She was terrifyingly smart, after all, and he did not want to give any of his emotions away to her. Katrina would have a hard enough time after he left, what with the scandal and dealing with the vicar, without her employer guessing that he was in love with her.
As if she had seen into his heart, however, Lady Tesh murmured thoughtfully, “Perhaps it is for the best that you will be leaving Synne soon.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, thinking she might have read his feelings on his face, he said, “My lady?”
The dowager sighed, her gnarled fingers listlessly dragging through the unruly mop atop her pet’s head. “Cartmel will not be happy that I subjected his son to such a scandal. He is all about appearances, after all. As you must be fully aware, seeing what he was forcing you to do to gain his approval of your marriage to his daughter.”
She looked at him fully then. “How happy you must be to leave this place behind, to get on with your marriage and move on with your life.”
I’m not happy, not at all.The words very nearly escaped his lips, the deepest truth of his soul. More than anything, he wanted to make a life with Katrina, to have children with her, to grow old with her. An image came unbidden to his mind, of him sitting with her late at night after their children had gone to bed, of her smiling with eyes gently lined from too many smiles, of him taking up her hand in his and placing a gentle, loving kiss on her knuckles…
Pain ripped through his chest, and he rubbed absently at the spot. But he could never have those things. They were impossible dreams, the taunting of his heart. So cruel they took his breath away. Pressing his lips tight to stave off the grief for what could never be, he looked down to his lap and fought back the tears that threatened.
Suddenly a heavy pounding started up on the front door. Sebastian was out of his seat in an instant, hands in fists at his side. Had Gadfeld returned to finish what he had started? Did he intend to renew his attacks on Lady Tesh and Katrina? He set his jaw, widening his stance as the sounds of the butler heading for the door reached them. If the vicar dared to attack either woman again, Sebastian was going to make certain the man met his maker much sooner than he no doubt intended to. Maybe then he would finally see the error of his ways.
But it was not Gadfeld at the door. No, a literal herd of feet sounded in the hall, heading their way, several voices mingled together in an anxious melee. And then Miss Honoria Gadfeld, the vicar’s eldest, entered the room, followed closely by Miss Peacham, Miss Athwart and her parrot, and the Duchess of Buckley.
“Dear God, it’s the Oddments,” Lady Tesh muttered as the newcomers all piled into the drawing room. “What in the world?”
“Lady Tesh,” Miss Gadfeld said, dropping into the seat beside the dowager, her face wan and eyes red-rimmed but otherwise looking as ferocious as a mother bear about to defend her cubs, “I cannot apologize enough for what my father said to you and Katrina. It is unforgivable, and I want you to know I will not stand for it. I have already moved out of his home and in with Adelaide at the Beakhead, and will not talk to him again until he apologizes to you both and makes amends for his horrible actions.”
“My dear girl,” Lady Tesh said, in a kinder voice than Sebastian could recall ever hearing from her, “you’ve no reason to apologize.”
“But I do,” the young woman insisted. “If I had stood up to my father from the start and let him know how foolish he was in waging this battle against Katrina and yourself, if I had not lied to him and snuck around behind his back, he would have never had cause to attack you all like that. And so you see, it is as much my fault as it is his—”
Her voice broke and she looked down to her lap, appearing as miserable as any one person could.
“It isnotyour fault,” Miss Peacham declared fiercely, standing close to her friend and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You know as well as any of us that there was nothing you could have done to change your father’s mind. He is incredibly bullheaded once he sets his mind on something.”
“Adelaide is right,” the duchess said, pushing her spectacles up her nose, looking as fierce as someone of her small stature and fay-like appearance could. “And we do not believe for one moment that you did not attempt to sway his mind on the matter. We know you better than anyone, and are fully aware that the battles you must have waged were brutal.”
“But we are women, after all,” Miss Athwart said, her tone bitter as she sent a hot glare Sebastian’s way, “and men are wont to look down on us and ignore us, though we know better most of the time.”
“I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug!” Phineas squawked from her shoulder.
“Oh, don’t attack His Grace, Miss Athwart,” Lady Tesh said with a small smile his way. “And you either, Phineas, for the duke was quite ferocious in his protection of us. Especially when Miss Denby’s honor was questioned.”
“Was he now?” Miss Peacham murmured thoughtfully, looking at Sebastian.
“Interesting,” the duchess said, her tone contemplative as she peered at Sebastian over the tops of her spectacles.
Even Miss Gadfeld seemed to have forgotten her self-imposed misery enough to perk up, raising her head to look at Sebastian. “That is quite heroic of you, Your Grace.”
