Page 55 of An Offer for a Spinster
“Lord Barwood!” the Duchess gushed, bouncing to her feet. “What a pleasure. Come in, come in. We’ll have some tea ready directly. Did you enjoy the masquerade last night?”
“I did,” he said, laughing and settling down on the sofa beside Katherine. “Although some of the costumes were franklyridiculous. One gentleman – I forget his name – came dressed in a sheet, and said that he wasApollo, can you believe it? Ha, ha!”
He shot a quick, sideways glance at Katherine as he said this, indicating that he did remember who it was, after all.
“Well, I was Athena,” Katherine found herself saying, “So I think Timothy and I were well-matched.”
“Oh, was it young Timothy Rutherford?” the Duchess said, her nose wrinkling delicately. “A pleasant boy, but rather strange. Do you know, he moved out of his family home and took upapartments? I’ve heard they’re rather squalid. What is the boy thinking, can you imagine?”
“Well, it serves us to know whose acquaintance we should encourage, and which friendships should be left in the past,” Lord Barwood said. His voice was pleasant, but there was an edge to his voice that Katherine did not like. “Do you not agree, Lady Katherine?”
“I think that if a friendship is worth preserving, everything that can be done to preserve it should be done,” she said calmly.
This, apparently, was not what Lord Barwood wanted to hear. He pursed his lips, shooting a knowing look at the Duchess. The Duchess gave a little shrug, then picked up her embroidery, pointedly looking away. The implication was clear – she was chaperone only, and Katherine and Lord Barwood would be on their own, conversation-wise.
Wonderful,Katherine thought tiredly.
“Do you recall that gig of mine, Lady Katherine?” Lord Barwood remarked, leaning back against the sofa and spreading out his arms and legs. “The one we went promenading in?”
Katherine did remember being dizzyingly high up, with high-spirited horses plunging here and there, while Lord Barwood laughed and cracked his whip at a few beggars as they trundled by. She remembered hanging on so tight her knuckles stood out white in her hands.
“I recall,” she said lightly.
“Well, I broke a spring, can you believe it? Shocking thing. But I have another, similar style, but a little faster, you know. Now that I’m used to the new gig, the old one seems unbearably slow. I must take you out in it. I went so fast around one corner that some old fool of a man, ready to step out into the road, threw himself back with a shout, and landed in a wheelbarrow of manure. It was the funniest thing. I laughed until I was almost sick.”
“Was he alright?”
“Eh?” Lord Barwood said, missing a beat.
“The old man. Was he alright?”
“I have no idea. How should I know? I went on, of course – places to be. Served him right for being such a fool.”
Katherine jabbed her needle into her embroidery, trying to pretend it was Lord Barwood’s hand.
I can’t do this,she thought, as he waxed eloquent about his new gig and what he intended to do with it.I can’t marry this man. Who am I fooling?
But I must. If I don’t marry, we lose everything. There’s no arguing with that. Father knew this, he did it deliberately. I can’t just wait. If the Season ends, I’ve lost everything. Lord Barwood will marry me, and it’s not as if anyone else is courting me.
Can I possibly spend the rest of my life with him? A man who talks of nothing but money and curricles, who makes awful comments about people at parties, and thinks it’s funny to run old men off the road?
What is my alternative?
She squeezed her eyes closed when the embroidery started to blur before her eyes. She could not cry. Not here, not in front of this man. She risked opening her eyes, drawing in a few deep, calming breaths, and glanced up.
Nobody had noticed. Lord Barwood was still talking about himself – he was talking about a hunting expedition now, one where he had apparently shot more birds than anyone else and was complimented by all – and the Duchess was absorbed in her sewing.
“Are you going to Lady Amelia’s soiree tonight, Lord Barwood?” Katherine said desperately, interrupting him.
His eyes tightened at the interruption, but he composed himself and smiled indulgently.
“Yes, I believe so. You ladies and your soirees! I’m afraid you’ll be obliged to talk with Timothy Rutherford again, since he is the lady’s nephew.”
“I don’t mind, I like Timothy,” Katherine said firmly. The Duchess’ head went up, eyes flashing a warning. Katherine ignored it and continued. “We have the same taste in novels, you see, and a great deal in common. We’ve known each other since we were children.”
Lord Barwood eyed her, clearly annoyed. “I imagine you’re just like brother and sister, then,” he said bluntly. “As if he were William, or Alexander.”
Katherine smiled smoothly. “That’s not at all how it is.”
