Page 69 of An Offer for a Spinster
“I’m afraid for me, too,” Katherine responded, her voice small. Suddenly, she had no energy, and sank down onto the sofa again. Elizabeth moved over to sit beside her, reaching out to take her hand.
The two women sat there for a long moment, the grandfather clock ticking away the minutes.
Would it be the worst thing in the world,Katherine thought hazily,if I just sat here forever? No deadline ticking away from me and my family, no fortune hanging over our heads. No Mother, slinking around, resenting us all, no William going slowly mad, no angry Henry, no drunk Alexander. No Lord Barwood dragging me towards the altar.
She let out a tiny, stifled sob before she could stop herself.
“Oh, my love,” Elizabeth murmured, pulling her into a tight hug. “Oh, Kat, you can’t marry him.”
“I must,” Katherine sniffled. “It’s just… well, if I wasn’t in love with somebody else, perhaps I could bear it.”
She’d expected surprise from Elizabeth, perhaps questions, maybe even demands. Instead, her friend simply tightened her arms around her.
“I know, sweetheart,” Elizabeth murmured. “I know, I know. Please, at the very least, talk to William.”
“William won’t force me into anything else, but I know that we need my marriage. All of us need that. So, I’m going to go through with it. No point waiting to see if this… this other man might offer for me. I can’t do that, Elizabeth. I can’t do it to my family.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I know you’ll do what’s right, Katherine. You always do what’s right.”
“Yes, I know,” Katherine responded sourly. She had already decided that she would stay here another ten minutes, not a second more. It was time to go home and face her fate. No point in hiding. No point shrinking away. She was no coward, and she wasn’t about to start acting like one now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Timothy!” William said, surprised, getting to his feet. “I… I wasn’t expecting you. Did… did you not get the message I sent you? At the club? I would have liked to meet you, but I can’t spare the time today…”
“I did get it,” Timothy said, breathless. An overturned cart had brought traffic to a standstill, including the stagecoach, so Timothy had paid his fare and run the rest of the way, barging into the Willoughby house and into William’s study.
William lifted an eyebrow. “Is… that is, can I help you with something?”
Timothy drew in a breath. He’d planned to spend the journey here rehearsing what he would say, but the frantic rush here had knocked it all out of his head. So, he just started speaking, letting the words spill out the way they did when he was writing.
“Lord Barwood is only marrying Katherine for her money,” he said abruptly.
William’s eyebrows climbed higher. “But he’s a rich man.”
“No. No, he’s not. He has debts, lots of them. Investigate if you don’t believe me. I overheard him talking about it in the club today.”
William sucked in a breath. “You… truly? He said that about my sister?”
Timothy nodded. “I heard him. He doesn’t care for her, and he’s making no secret of it. He’s celebrating right now, with his friends. He thinks he’s got it made, and I… I can’t let that happen.”
William passed a shaking hand over his hair. “I can’t believe it. I should have known, I should have…”
Timothy bit his lip. “How did this happen?”
William gestured bleakly for him to sit, and Timothy sat heavily in the seat opposite.
“I was scared for her,” William said simply. “Scared for all of us. You know how much there is at stake. I let her pursue the courtship with Lord Barwood, because I thought that was her only option. Stupid, really. I should have been protecting her, doing my duty, instead of…”
“This isn’t your fault,” Timothy said quietly.
“Oh, you’re sure? Let me tell you this. The man asked for my consent, and I gave it, and told him to talk to her first. The next thing I knew, he was standing up at the dining room table, announcing their engagement. I had no idea. Neither did Katherine, for that matter. He’d never spoken to her about it. I should have intervened then and there, should have thrown him out of our home and set the record straight. Instead, I just sat there and let him say what he wanted. I’m disgusted at myself, Timothy. Do you still feel so sympathetic towards me?”
Timothy bit his lip. “You’re still not to blame. I… I have some things to tell you, Will.”
“Go on.”
Timothy drew in a deep breath, steadying himself.
