Page 51 of One Bed for the Bluestocking
“It is, indeed.”
“Katherine Sterling.”He grinned at her over his shoulder.“It has a nice ring to it.”
A pleasant hum coursed through Kate’s body.“I think so, too.”
Nat stepped over a large rock, then held out his hand to help her.“Do you think it will take you long to grow used to being Mrs.Sterling?After a lifetime of being Miss Witherspoon?”
“Oh.”She abruptly stopped as she realized that she hadn’t told him.
Nat must have sensed something in her voice because his eyes creased in concern.“What is it?”
“I lied about my last name, too.It isn’t Witherspoon.”She swallowed.“I’m Katherine Weatherby.”
“Oh.”Realization washed over his face.“Oh.You’re Kenneth Weatherby’s daughter?”
“That’s correct.”
He laughed.“So that’s why you didn’t want to tell me what your father did for a living!”
She smiled.“Indeed.”
He shook his head.“It all makes sense now.I take it your father taught you to paint?”
Kate was careful to keep her expression completely blank.“No.No, he did not.”
Nat frowned.“But… Although I’ve never met your father, I’ve seen his work, and your style is uncannily similar.”
Kate couldn’t help it; she snorted.“Ourstyleis nothing alike.My father can scarcely draw a matchstick man.”
He squinted at her in confusion.“But, as I said, I’ve seen his work, and—” His face suddenly fell slack, and his mouth hung open.“That… wasn’t your father’s work.Was it?It was yours.”
“It was mine,” she confirmed crisply.“It was always mine.”
He shook his head.“I must have misunderstood.I had thought that both the research and illustrations were his.Clearly, I did not read the exhibition notes closely enough.”
“You understood perfectly.At least, you understood the impression he meant to create.He deliberately made no mention of me, leaving everyone to assume that the ‘K’ in ‘K.Weatherby’ stood for Kenneth.”
Something dark flared across his face.“He took credit for your work?”At Kate’s nod, his scowl deepened.“But that’s despicable!”
She inclined her head.“It is.”A laugh burst from her throat.“And to think, it’s not even the worst thing he’s ever done to me.”
Nathaniel stared at her a beat, as if struggling to process her words.“He did something worse thanstealing your work?”
Kate smiled at him, then tugged at his hand.“Come.We should get back to the shieling before it gets too dark.I’ll tell you about it on the way.You see, an opportunity arose to join an around-the-world expedition.I’m sure you’ve heard of it—the one being organized by Richard Smithers…”
She told him the whole sorry tale as they picked their way down the mountain.Nathaniel made all the comments people typically made, from “What do you mean, he sold your house?”to “But how could he abandon you?”
She was just concluding as they reached the shieling.“And so, you see, that’s why I was so interested in the position you advertised, even after our financial concerns had been resolved.Because I had discovered that I did not have a reputation in the scientific community.I wanted to establish one, to see if I could succeed on my own merits.”She bit her lip, peering at him out of the corner of her eye.“I’m sorry I deceived you.”
He waved this off, his expression distracted.“It’s perfectly understandable.And, as I said last night, I wouldn’t have you change a thing, because otherwise we might not have met.But Kate.”His eyes were urgent.“You just recited one of the most horrifying series of events I’ve ever heard as blandly as if you were recounting a stroll into the village to post a letter.Are you all right?”
“I am,” she assured him.“It was a near thing, to be sure.But, as I mentioned, my sister, Eleanor, married the Duke of Norwood.Jasper has been extremely generous to all of my sisters.We haven’t wanted for a thing since then.”
He shook his head.“That’s not what I meant.I’m talking about how it made youfeel.Those first few weeks must have been terrifying!”
Kate stiffened.She’d never been comfortable talking about her feelings.Maybeneverwasn’t the right word, but growing up, she had spent a great deal of time in the company of her father, trying to win his esteem by making herself useful to him as an illustrator.She had quickly learned that he had no interest in hearing her thoughts, much less her feelings.The less she spoke, the better his mood and the more he seemed to appreciate her.She had therefore trained herself to go all day without making any sound other than the scrape of her pencil.
But Nat was waiting for an answer.“It was… stressful,” she said slowly, choosing her words with care.“Especially at first.But perhaps not to the degree you might assume.I know you’ll find it difficult to believe, as you’ve never met my eldest sister, Eleanor, but I don’t think it’s an overstatement to describe her as indomitable.Even in my bleakest moments, I would tell myself,Eleanor will think of something.And it really was a comfort to me, because it’s impossible to imagine Eleanor failing at anything.”
