Page 58 of One Bed for the Bluestocking
He waited until the sound of Andrew’s footsteps had faded, then stood.In three quick strides, he had his door closed, then locked.
He sank back into his chair, burying his head in his hands.What on earth was he going to do?Back on Lewis, in those heady days of discovering that “Kit” was Kate and they could be together, it had felt so much like fate that he hadn’t considered an outcome other than everything working out.He would get the professorship, they would marry, and then they would live happily ever after.
Alas, life was rarely that accommodating.He felt like such an idiot for not considering the possibility that he might not get the job.But here he was, and now he needed to figure out what to do.
If Kate was pregnant, he would marry her.Obviously.He would have to give up his fellowship, as it required the holder to remain unmarried.This would mean leaving the university—a bleak thought, but abandoning Kate was not an option.
Of course, they could survive thanks to her dowry, but that wouldn’t do in the long term.He needed to secure some sort of employment.Of course, his first choice would have been a job in the natural sciences.But if he couldn’t have that, he found that he would prefer another form of productive work.Anything was better than being a drain on society.
But what could he do?What was he qualified for?Not much.He wasn’t a layabout, but he might as well have been, and at the moment, he felt worthless.The thought that his parents would be… not disappointed in him, precisely, but would regard him as the family failure, no better than some London dandy who had married for money, was an additional source of shame.
But what if Kate were not pregnant?Could he ask her to wait?To carry on posing as a student?He didn’t want to, but it was common for couples to wait years to be able to afford to wed.Of course, this was different because they had anticipated their vows.And, unlike most couples, every day he asked Kate to wait for him was a day she had to spend passing herself off as a young man.Surely at some point, someone would see through her disguise.Could he really ask her to continue her ruse, possibly for years?
Then there was the fact that his prospects as an academic were ill-defined.Were he a physician or a barrister, his training would have a set period of time.He might be able to tell her he needed two years to finish his schooling and another two to establish himself in his profession.
But in his case, jobs were so few and far between that he had no idea when one might become available, and even if one did, there was no guarantee that he would receive it.Professor Kerr was probably in his sixth decade.It was possible that his professorship would become vacant in the coming years, but it was also possible that he would work for another two decades.The thought of spending twenty years without Kate as his wife felt unbearable.
Groaning, he lay his head on his desk, wondering what on earth he was going to do.
Chapter28
It felt strange to be back in a chemistry classroom and pretending to be a young man.Frankly, after sleeping rough on Lewis for weeks on end, it felt odd not having grass in her hair, but Kate was trying to adjust.
Colin, Arthur, and Roderick had been eager to hear how her trip had gone.They were huddled together, admiring Kate’s sketches while waiting for Professor Hope to arrive and begin his lecture.
Kate flipped a page.“This was the first chick to hatch.”
Arthur swiveled his head for a better view.“You actually saw it hatch?”
“We did,” Kate confirmed.
“How close were you, to be able to see this much detail?”Colin asked.
“Maybe seventy-five feet?”Kate guessed.“We used spyglasses to be able to…”
She trailed off as a shadow fell over her sketchpad.She looked up and saw Iain Galbreath regarding her with a smug smile.
Her stomach twisted.It had been easy to forget about Iain while she was two hundred miles away on a remote loch.But now, she would have to deal with him, and she didn’t care for the gleam in his eye.
He nodded toward her sketchpad.“Are those from your recent expedition?”
She tried to make her voice steady, to sound natural.“Indeed.We were able to observe a nesting pair of golden eagles.”
“Hmm.”He didn’t give the sketch even a cursory glance.His eyes were fixed on Kate.“And it was only you and Mr.Sterling, out there by yourselves?”
He was speaking in a carrying voice.Around her, curious heads began to turn their way.“That’s right,” Kate replied.
“Sleepingtogether,” Iain added.Kate’s heart sank at his lurid tone.He knew.She’d been all but certain of it before she left.She’d thought perhaps he would use that information to get her dismissed.
He obviously had something much more public in mind.
Still, she had to try to brazen it out.She forced a chuckle.“That’s a curious way of putting it.”
“Not at all curious.”Iain turned, his gaze sweeping the lecture room, where several hundred students now regarded him with rapt attention.“You see, gentlemen, Mr.Witherspoon is not what he seems.”
He turned toward Kate.It struck her that his eyes were more predatory than those of the eagles.“Or should I say,MissWitherspoon is not whatsheseems.”
Kate was frozen.Her instinct was to deny it, to say something in her defense, but what was there to say?It was true!
