Page 67 of What's a Duke Got to Do With It
She seemed to have seen the confusion in his gaze, for she smiled slightly. “Mr. Gadfeld and I had a lovely talk, and things shall be different from here on out.”
“Oh,” he said again. All the while his heart expanded, somehow fitting more love into it than ever before. She had come here, had faced this man who had caused her so much pain and heartache, had somehow stood up for herself and changed things around.
She was incredible.
“Mr. Gadfeld was just about to bring me back to Seacliff,” she said before, her gaze drifting over his shoulder, she spied the carriage in the road. She frowned. “Is that Mr. Bridling’s carriage? But… he left for London.”
“You inspired him to return and face his father. He’s back at Seacliff as we speak. As is,” he continued, looking at the vicar, “your daughter.”
“Honoria,” the man said, lines of pain bracketing his mouth and eyes.
Katrina, kind soul that she was, laid a hand on the man’s sleeve. “You don’t have to accompany me as you planned,” she said quietly. “I’m certain everyone will understand if you postpone.”
“No,” the vicar said, straightening his narrow shoulders under his stark black coat. “That is kind of you to say, but this is something I cannot put off a moment longer. If I delay, the apologies will only become harder to give. Your Grace,” he continued, looking to Sebastian, “if you have room in your carriage, I would be most obliged to accompany you and Miss Denby back to Seacliff.”
“Of course,” Sebastian said. Then, giving a curious look to Katrina, he led them all to the carriage.
Katrina could not recall a time she had ever been more tired. And yet, she could not sleep. She lay wide awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, the events of the past hours playing over and over in her head.
Most of it had been straightforward enough. Mr. Gadfeld had apologized to Honoria and Lady Tesh, and later to his younger daughter and nieces when they had been called to Seacliff. There had been tears—on the Gadfeld girls’ parts, at least; Lady Tesh had been predictably dry-eyed, though there had been a sniffle or two upon seeing the Gadfeld family reunite. And then there had been further discussion when Honoria had shocked everyone and declared that, though she loved her family dearly, she would remain with Adelaide at the Beakhead for the foreseeable future. It would take time for the family to return to their typical closeness. But by the end of the evening—or, rather, the early hours of the morning, for they had remained talking well after midnight before they had returned to their homes—Katrina had been certain that a full reconciliation would not take long at all.
But that had not been the thing weighing so heavily on Katrina’s mind in the hours since their departure. No, that honor had gone to Sebastian. Or, rather, he and Miss Bridling. To say it had been a shock seeing that woman at Seacliff would have been an understatement of the first order. This was the woman who Sebastian was destined to marry, and here she was in the flesh. And much kinder than Katrina had thought she might be.
No, that wasn’t right. She hadhopedthe woman would be unkind, a veritable virago. Instead she had greeted Katrina with warm smiles—and Mouse with exclamations of delight and many, many scratches to his posterior, sending the dog into raptures—and had the audacity to actually make Katrinalikeher. Which, of course, lit a spark to the dry kindling of Katrina’s guilt. She had declared her love for the woman’s future husband and had taken him to her bed. Or, rather, his bed, but that was neither here nor there.
And now that woman was sleeping under the same roof as she and Sebastian while she waited to depart for London in the morning with her brother—who was thankfully still planning on returning to propose to his Miss Hutton. Lord Cartmel had retreated to the Master-at-Arms Inn before Katrina’s return to Seacliff, and so she did not know if the family would reconcile as easily as the Gadfelds had. But Katrina had witnessed firsthand the affection between the two siblings, and so she was consoled that they would at least have each other.
That did not mean it was any easier to know that Sebastian’s future wife was just down the hall. Or to know that, eventually, he would make a life with that woman. Expelling a harsh breath, Katrina flopped over onto her side and punched her pillow before hugging it to her and resolutely closing her eyes. But no matter how she tried to empty her mind, sleep would not come. And then Mouse, who had been snoring beside her in the bed, having refused to leave her side all night long, suddenly roused, a low whine escaping him as his attention snagged on the bedroom door. Katrina knew it was hopeless to attempt sleep any longer; she may as well rise and start her day. The sky was beginning to lighten just the barest hint, the blackest ink bleeding into indigo, a sure sign that dawn was approaching. And mayhap, if she kept herself busy enough, she would be able to get through it with a portion of her sanity—and her heart—intact.
But as Mouse leapt from the bed to pad over to the door, and she threw back the coverlet to rise, she finally saw what had captured her pet’s attention: a letter, on the floor.
Frowning, she went to Mouse, who was busy snuffling at the piece of paper. “What have you got there, darling?” she murmured, bending down and picking up the missive. Someone must have slipped it under her door. But who?
It did not take long to receive an answer to that all-important question.
Katrina,
Meet me where we shared our first kiss. And leave Mouse.
S.
Heart pounding like a drum in her chest, growing louder and louder the more she read over the short missive, she tried and failed to stem the rising tide of hope in her. No doubt there was a perfectly logical explanation for this. He must want a private place to officially say goodbye. After all, with Mr. and Miss Bridling returning to London in a matter of hours, Sebastian had no further reason to remain on Synne.
Yet that bit of reasoning did nothing to stop her heart from running away with increasingly wonderful reasons for his wanting to meet her at such a place. Mayhap he was finally going to declare himself.But then what, ninny?her mind scolded. Perhaps he wished to remain on Synne with her.And would you be his mistress?Possibly he wished to marry her.And lose his chance at saving the dukedom?Round and round her heart and mind went as she hurriedly dressed and gave Mouse a hug and a bid to behave himself before she snuck from the room and through the dark, sleepy house, a small lamp held aloft in her hands.
But when she finally carefully descended the steep path to the beach in the gray light of pre-dawn, and saw what awaited her, all those tumultuous voices quieted in an instant.
An array of soft blankets had been laid over the sand, pillows strewn in cushioned piles, lanterns forming a glowing halo of golden light around it.
And in the middle of it all, feet bare and wearing trousers and an open-collared shirt with sleeves rolled to his elbows, was Sebastian.
A quiet gasp escaped her lips. But, though she ached to rush forward and into his arms, she could not seem to move her feet. This was no goodbye, that she knew. But what it could be she could not—would not—try to guess. If she guessed wrong, it would destroy her.
He gave her a tentative smile, then stepped from the gilded circle of light and walked across the sand toward her. “I feared you would not come,” he murmured, reaching out to take her hand gently in his.
“I could not stay away even if I had wanted to,” she whispered before, nervously motioning to the blankets, she asked, “What is all this?”
“This,” he said as he tugged her toward the light, “is my attempt to convince you of something very important, in the hopes you shall be so dazzled by the display that you could not possibly say no.”
