Page 51 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
She looked at him as if he were crazy. “I’m coming with you. I must meet Lady Katherine. It wouldn’t do for our first acquaintance to be after you’re already married.”
He swallowed. The last thing he wanted to do was inflict his mother on Lady Katherine at a time when she was probably already stressed. “I won’t be staying for long. I’m sure they’re quite busy today.”
She flashed her teeth. “A quick visit is fine with me.”
Damn, it seemed he wouldn’t be getting out of this.
“Fine. Be ready to go in five minutes.”
A short time later, Longley’s butler showed them into a receiving room where Kate and Lady Drake were waiting for them. There was a tray of tea with three delicate teacups. Upon seeing his mother, Lady Drake rose and called for a maid to bring them another teacup.
Theo bowed. “Good afternoon, my ladies. May I introduce you to my mother, Lady Blackwell. Mother, meet Lady Drake and Lady Katherine Drake.”
His mother nodded to them both respectfully. “I am so pleased to meet you. I feared my son would never marry again, so it is a relief to know that his future is now in safe hands.”
Kate smiled warmly. “I’m glad you were able to arrive on time. Would you like tea?”
“Yes, please, Lady Katherine. I take it with milk but no sugar.”
Kate poured tea for each of them, proving silently that she remembered his preference before handing a cup to each of them. They sat opposite her and Lady Drake, and Theo could tell his mother was practically vibrating with excitement. Not only was Lady Katherine a member of the aristocracy, but she was also beautiful and poised.
She was practically Lady Blackwell’s fondest wish for a daughter-in-law.
“Shall we run through the order of events for tomorrow?” Lady Drake suggested.
“I would be delighted to,” his mother replied. “I have some suggestions if it’s not too late to incorporate them.”
An hour later, they’d gone through the necessary details, and, to his eternal gratitude, his mother hadn’t made any unreasonable demands. She must have realized that it was too late for any significant changes, so she had only suggested ones that she thought they might agree to.
A maid came in with scones, jam, and clotted cream, and they took a break to eat. As Lady Drake was spooning jam onto a scone, Lady Katherine excused herself for a few minutes and Lady Blackwell took Theo aside, outside of Lady Drake’s hearing range.
“She’s very charming,” she murmured, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “She’s smitten with you too.”
His blood froze. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he snapped. “She is not.”
“Oh, but she is.” His mother looked so very smug. “As a woman, I can read these things.”
He bit his lip—hard—to avoid barking out the instinctive “She can’t be.”
Shecouldbe. They both knew it. He just didn’t want her to be. If she wanted more than he was capable of giving, then she’d be miserable, and he would find himself in the same place he’d been before, with an unhappy wife and no idea of how to fix it.
The last thing he wanted was for history to repeat itself.
There was movement in the corner of his vision. Kate wandered back into the room, her eyes finding his immediately and a sweet smile crossing her face.
Oh no.
His muscles tensed. That smile wasn’t one of someone who didn’t care a whit for him. It was the smile of someone who—at the very least—likedhim.
This was bad.
His mother squeezed his shoulder. “I told you so.”
All of a sudden, he wished he was in his boxing room, where he could beat the stuffing out of the bag and find a way to feel better. Unfortunately, there was no escaping this.
His mother rejoined Lady Drake, and he forced his feet to follow her. He picked up a scone and took a bite of it, but it wasall he could do to swallow. There was certainly no chance of him enjoying the treat.
They stayed for a while longer and made polite conversation. Every time he met Kate’s eyes, he was viscerally aware of the fondness in them.
