Page 20 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
From what she could recall, the viscountess had supposedly died as the result of a carriage accident, but the couple had been seen arguing heatedly beforehand about her lack of ability to produce an heir. Add to that fact that no one had witnessed any such accident, and that several people had spotted the disheveled viscount carrying his wife’s limp, bloody body a short time later, and it didn’t look good for the viscount.
Yet perhaps she didn’t need to worry about that particular fate. Lord Blackwell obviously wasn’t inclined to marry her, or he wouldn’t have fled at the first opportunity. Andrew could challenge him to a duel to force his hand, but she didn’t want her brother to put himself in danger, and also… well, she’d prefer a husband who hadn’t been marched to the altar at gunpoint.
The door opened, and Boden stepped inside, his iron-gray hair smoothed carefully into place and an inscrutable expression on his face.
“My lord.” He addressed Andrew directly. “There’s a caller here for Lady Katherine.”
Kate inhaled sharply. Could it be Lord Blackwell?
Had he seen the papers and decided he ought to do the respectable thing? Her feelings were so mixed up, she didn’t know whether she wanted that or not. Part of her was furious at being put in this situation when absolutely nothing untowardhad happened, but a larger part of her feared that she was about to lose many of the things she held dear.
Andrew nodded. “Bring them in.”
Kate swallowed. She supposed they were doing this, then.
But a few seconds later, it was Sophie who raced through the doorway, not the harsh-faced, well-dressed gentleman from the ball.
Sophie’s eyes glittered with unshed tears, and she threw herself at Kate. “I’m so sorry!”
Kate opened her arms and wrapped them around her closest friend. “I’m all right.”
“No, you’re not.” Sophie drew back, scowling. “You’ve been compromised. Oh, I should have protected you from that dastardly man.”
Kate’s lips twitched as, for the first time in hours, amusement flashed through her. “Alas, I didn’t need protecting from Lord Blackwell, but rather from the vultures of society. He didn’t lay a finger on me in any untoward manner, Sophie. It was simply unfortunate that we didn’t realize our companions on the balcony had left before Ladies Talbot and Bethel came across us.”
Sophie blinked rapidly, her eyelashes dark against her milky skin. “Are you sure you’re unharmed?”
Kate grimaced. “Well, my reputation is very much muddied, but I myself am unharmed.”
Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s something, at least. What will you do now?”
“I don’t know.”
Andrew rose and indicated to the door. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
He grumbled something under his breath about needing to send a strongly worded note, but Kate couldn’t make out his exact words.
“Please don’t challenge anyone to a duel,” she called after him. He wasn’t usually the hot-tempered type, but she couldn’t be too careful.
He made a gesture she couldn’t interpret and disappeared around the corner.
Perhaps sensing that some time alone with her friend would help Kate more than having them all hovering there, her mother nudged Amelia and nodded toward the exit. Kate sent her mother a smile of gratitude as she guided a confused Amelia out with a suggestion that they check on baby George.
“Must you marry him?” Sophie asked, angling herself toward Kate.
Kate drew in a deep breath. “I don’t even know if that’s an option. He ran like the devil was on his tail when he realized we’d been caught alone. I could be mistaken, but that doesn’t seem like particularly gentlemanly behavior.”
Sophie hesitated. “Do youwantto marry him? I know you were interested in talking to him, but I wish I’d never agreed to help. This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not,” Kate assured her. “It was my poor judgement.”
“But it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t distracted our mothers. Did you know who he was when you…?” She trailed off.
Kate shook her head. “I didn’t have a clue.”
Even if she had, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t have wanted to meet him.
All right, so she’d probably have thought twice about venturing onto the balcony with him, but she’d always been a touch whimsical, and there was something intriguing about a man with a black reputation.
