Page 35 of A Rogue to Resist
The boy considered this seriously, then held out his wooden horse. “Would you like to see my horse gallop?”
Drake found himself smiling genuinely. “I would indeed.”
Thomas proceeded to demonstrate his toy’s capabilities with great enthusiasm, while Katherine watched with an expression Drake couldn’t quite decipher.
“Will you make our house better like Mrs. Parsons’?” Thomas asked when his demonstration concluded.
“Yes,” Drake answered without hesitation. “Lady Katherine and I will make sure your house doesn’t leak anymore.”
The boy’s face lit up.
“Lady Katherine always helps,” he declared with absolute certainty. “She brought medicine when I was sick, and a book with pictures.”
Drake glanced at Katherine, who seemed mildly embarrassed by the child’s frank admiration. “Did she indeed?”
“Mmhmm. And she reads stories better than Mama because she does all the voices.”
Katherine cleared her throat.
“I believe your mother is calling you, Thomas,” she said, though Drake heard no such summons.
The boy seemed to accept this nonetheless.
“Goodbye, my lord. Goodbye, Lady Katherine!” He ran off, his wooden horse “galloping” alongside him.
“You do the voices when reading stories?” Drake couldn’t resist asking as they continued toward the Bennetts’ cottage.
Katherine’s cheeks coloured slightly.
“The children enjoy it,” she said defensively. “And during the fever outbreak two winters ago, it provided some comfort while they were recovering.”
“You nursed them yourself?” Drake asked, genuinely curious now.
“Not precisely nursing,” she clarified. “The village has a perfectly capable midwife who attended to the medical aspects. But I visited regularly, brought supplies, and yes, occasionally read stories to restless children confined to their beds.”
It was so far from the behaviour Drake had expected of Edmund’s widow that he found himself continuously reassessing his understanding of Katherine Halston. The woman beside him, with her practical boots and her knowledge of which herbs Mrs. Parsons valued most, was nothing like the cold, calculating aristocrat he had initially imagined.
They reached the Bennetts’ cottage, where the situation was less dire than Mrs. Parsons’ but still concerning. The roof had multiple leaks, and the ceiling showed signs of water damage that, if left unaddressed, would eventually lead to collapse.
Mrs. Bennett greeted Katherine with obvious relief and Drake with cautious respect. She was a careworn woman of perhaps thirty, with four children including young Thomas, who had apparently raced home to announce their arrival.
“My lady, my lord,” she curtseyed. “Thomas says you’ve come about the roof?”
“Indeed we have,” Katherine confirmed. “Lord Greythorne is implementing repairs throughout the estate, and your cottage has been identified as a priority.”
Drake noted how carefully Katherine worded this, ensuring he received credit for the decision while omitting the fact that she had been the one to place the Bennetts’ home on the priority list.
As they inspected the cottage, Katherine engaged Mrs. Bennett in conversation about her family’s needs and concerns beyond just the roof repairs. Drake found himself watching their interaction with growing admiration. Katherine listened attentively, asked perceptive questions, and offered practical solutions that balanced the family’s needs with the estate’s resources.
When Thomas and his siblings returned from playing outside, their reaction to Katherine was telling. They approached her with the easy familiarity of children who knew they were welcome, showing her their toys and clamouring for attention.
Katherine responded with natural warmth, kneeling to their level despite her fine gown, laughing at their stories and complimenting their accomplishments.
Drake found himself standing to the side, observing a scene that challenged everything he had assumed about the Dowager Countess. This was not a woman playing at charitable responsibility for appearance’s sake. This was someone who had built genuine relationships with the estate’s people, who knew their needs and concerns, who had earned their trust through consistent care rather than occasional condescension.
As he watched Katherine laugh at something Thomas whispered in her ear, her face alight with genuine amusement, Drake felt something unexpected stir within him. It was more than mere admiration for her competence, though that was certainly part of it.
It was the unsettling recognition that their collaboration might be more essential—to Greythorne and to himself—than he had ever anticipated. The thought was unwelcome. Drake had spent his life building his own success, priding himself on his ability to manage enterprises effectively and fairly. He had approached Greythorne with the confidence of a man accustomed to mastering new challenges. Yet here was Katherine, demonstrating an ease with the estate and its people that he could not hope to match for years, if ever.
