Page 13 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
Lady Drake looked at Kate. “What is she talking about?”
“It was nothing. There has been a misunderstanding. We weren’t alone for more than a few seconds. I’m sure someone from within the room could see us most of the time we were out here. There is no need for all of this fuss.”
“She was alone out here with that—”
“Lady Talbot,” Lady Drake said sharply. “Please allow me to speak with my daughter in private.”
Lady Talbot’s expression soured, but she stepped aside as Lady Drake put her arm around Kate’s shoulders andwalked with her back through the double doors, around the refreshments table, and into the ballroom.
Kate was beyond relieved to find that the dancing was still in mid swing. Lady Bethel must have already begun spreading word of what had happened, though, because she could feel eyes on her as she passed clusters of chattering women. She felt like a scolded child but knew that the consequences of her misstep could be much, much worse than anything a child would do.
Beside her, Lady Drake kept her chin high until they’d bustled out through the exit and sent for their carriage. Kate did her best to do the same. All of this had been blown wildly out of proportion, but if her mother didn’t wish to speak until they were alone, then she’d honor that.
The carriage pulled up in front of them, and Lady Drake ushered Kate inside first, then followed her. They remained silent until the carriage had pulled away from Wembley House.
“What have you done?” Lady Drake asked softly.
“I tripped,” Kate lied, keeping her gaze down so that her mother wouldn’t see the guilt in her eyes. “I needed some air, and a gentleman assisted me. When we went out to the balcony, there were two other women there, so we weren’t alone. They left at some point, and I didn’t notice, and then when Lady Talbot and Lady Bethel came out…”
Lady Drake sighed. “It looked as if you were having a private assignation.”
“We were nowhere near each other,” Kate protested. “We weren’t doing anything scandalous.”
“Sometimes, my dear, it doesn’t matter what the truth is—it only matters how the situationlooks.”
Kate knew this, but had it really looked so terrible?
“Who was the gentleman in question?” Lady Drake asked. “Was he elderly? Infirm? Anything that would render him harmless?”
Kate’s teeth sank into her lower lip, and she squirmed. “I’m afraid he didn’t tell me his name.”
Lady Drake’s eyebrows flew up. “You weren’t previously acquainted with him?”
“No,” Kate admitted, slumping into the seat, wishing it would swallow her up so she would no longer have to deal with her mother’s disappointment.
Lady Drake pinched the bridge of her nose. “Then we are in even more trouble than I’d feared.”
“Mother, I’m—”
“Shush. Let me think.”
The quiet pressed in on Kate as she closed her eyes and mentally replayed the evening, wishing she’d never spotted the gentleman and asked Sophie to distract their mothers. She’d considered the ball a relative success until that point. She’d met at least one gentleman she’d been interested in getting to know better. But now…. Had she ruined it all?
The carriage slowed to a stop outside Longley House, and Lady Drake shepherded her inside. Kate held her tongue, certain that anything she might say would only make things worse.
Boden opened the door, his expression impassive. “Lady Drake, Lady Katherine. I trust you enjoyed your evening.”
“It was a shambles,” Lady Drake declared. “Please bring the earl and countess to the drawing room. There is something I must discuss with them at once.”
Worry gnawed at Kate’s gut, and she skulked behind her mother into the drawing room. The housekeeper hurried in and lit several candles, clearly having not expected this turn of events.
Kate perched on the edge of a chair and buried her hands in her skirt, twisting them in the fabric the same way anxiety was twisting up her insides. The clock ticked, painfully loud with no conversation to drown it out.
Lady Drake sat on a chaise and folded her hands on her lap. Minutes crawled by.
When Andrew and Amelia joined them, Andrew wore sleep clothes and was disheveled, while Amelia’s nightdress was covered by a robe.
“What’s going on?” Andrew asked, walking deeper into the room.
