Page 60 of What's a Duke Got to Do With It
He turned to Katrina then, and his eyes blazed with a righteous fire. “If you had any self-respect, Miss Denby, you would not subject the good people of Synne to further damage from your presence. Can’t you see what you are doing? Do you have no sense of decency?”
Once more Sebastian was before the vicar, though this time there was no barely leashed control. He grabbed the white cloth at Mr. Gadfeld’s throat, nearly lifting him off his feet. Katrina cried out, tightening her grip on Mouse’s collar.
“Please, Your Grace,” she begged, “don’t. It is not worth it.” Though what she truly wanted to say wasshewas not worth it. Not one bit. The vicar’s attack of Lady Tesh and herself was only what she had expected. She had hoped, hadprayed, that she was blowing the damage she was causing out of proportion.
Here, however, was proof she had not been. And it was not going to get better, was not going to go away.
Sebastian gazed back at her, equal parts fury and agony in his eyes before, closing them tight and expelling a harsh breath, he released Mr. Gadfeld.
The vicar stumbled back, face red as he adjusted his cloth and ran a hand over his balding crown. “You shall regret this,” he said, glaring at them all in turn. Then, striding to his horse and swinging himself up in the saddle, he thundered back down the drive.
They were all silent in shock for a long moment, the sounds of the horse’s retreating steps and the pounding in Katrina’s ears blending together until they seemed one and the same.
“Well, I never,” Lady Tesh said, frowning. “That self-righteous prig. He must have been quite busy this morning, convincing everyone to stay away.”
She looked at Katrina then, her expression showing merely annoyance. But Katrina had been with her long enough that she saw the unnaturally pale cast to her skin and the wild worry in her eyes beneath the mild expression.
“Miss Denby,” she said, “I do believe your pet is in an agitated state. Mayhap it would be best if you returned him to your room. And while you are there, you may as well take the rest of the afternoon off. I shall not have need of you, for I plan to nap until evening at the least.”
Tears sprang to Katrina’s eyes, but she purposely blinked them back. She knew just what the woman was trying to do. Lady Tesh was attempting to give her time alone to recover from the scene the vicar had made. She could not have loved the dowager more.
Nor could she have despised herself more. She ached to do as Lady Tesh suggested, to hide in her room and pretend everything was well and allow her employer to handle all the ugliness that would surely follow this horrible afternoon.
But she could not allow Lady Tesh, or anyone else, to take that burden on any longer.
“Thank you, my lady,” she murmured before, dipping into a curtsy, she started off for the house. She would use these next hours to take the proverbial bull by the horns and find a solution to this increasingly untenable situation. They could not go on any longer as they were.
Sebastian’s voice, however, stopped her cold.
“Mayhap I should accompany Miss Denby back to her rooms.”
No! The single word froze in her throat. She could not be alone with Sebastian right now. Her composure was hanging on by a frayed thread as it was.
Blessedly she did not have to give voice to her refusal, for Mr. Bridling stepped in and saved her.
“I have need to return to my room anyway, Ramsleigh. I’ll accompany Miss Denby.”
Before Sebastian could respond, Mr. Bridling was at her side, offering his arm. “Shall we, Miss Denby?”
She took it with gratitude, allowing him to lead her into the house. It was only when they were well out of sight of Sebastian and Lady Tesh that she felt she could finally exhale.
But this was still no time to let down her guard, she reminded herself brutally as she and Mr. Bridling and Mouse made their way up the stairs. Nor would there be time to fall apart. No, now was the time to take action. She had thought she could find a man to marry to salvage her standing in the Synne community. But each of those men had either been the wrong fit or had been chased off by Sebastian—or both. And now she was out of time. With the vicar fairly frothing at the mouth in his fury and outrage, Katrina’s time to act was well and truly past. Mr. Gadfeld was now openly in opposition to Lady Tesh, and her dear Honoria was no doubt suffering horribly from the fight and breach of trust with her father. Katrina had no other option: she had to remove herself from Synne and the lives of the people she cared for immediately.
But where could she go? The answer was clear, of course: Francis. But would he turn her away the moment she showed up on his doorstep? Would he make good on his threat to cut her off completely? Or would he finally, for the first time in his life, act like a true and proper brother?
Well, she thought bleakly as her grip tightened on Mouse’s collar, there really was only one way to find out, wasn’t there? She didn’t have any alternative, none at all. Unless some poor soul came forward and declared himself and begged to take her as his wife, she was out of options.
Just then she and Mr. Bridling reached her bedroom door. But instead of bidding her farewell and leaving her to her own devices, the man turned to face her.
“Miss Denby,” he began gently.
She blinked at the tender, earnest look in his eyes. If she didn’t know better, she would think Mr. Bridling had developed feelings for her.
But no, she told herself brutally, he was very much in love with his Miss Hutton. No doubt he was simply worried for her after the scene in the front drive. He was a sweet, kind man, after all, and though he had not been as vocal as Sebastian in defending her, he had stepped between her and Mr. Gadfeld. And he must see the physical proof of just how much that confrontation had taken out of her.
But no matter how she tried to excuse the way he gazed at her, there was no excusing the words that came out of his mouth as he moved a step closer.
“Miss Denby, surely you must have seen how deep my regard for you has become in these two weeks since my arrival on Synne. Your opinion is important to me. And now that the future my father is planning for me is at hand, there is only one question I have to ask you.”
