Page 47 of The Marriage Debt
‘Good.’ Theo leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. ‘You think altogether too much. Stop managing, Kat, and relax.’
Kat jerked back as if he had bitten her. ‘You said you wouldn’t make love to me.’ She scrambled backwards and out of bed.
‘I said I wouldn’t last night. And that was simply a good morning kiss for my wife, perfectly chaste.’ He hauled himself up against the pillows and regarded her silently until she began to fidget with embarrassment.
‘What is it?’
‘I was thinking that for once I agree with my father. Heremarked that you make a most unusual marchioness.’
‘Well of course I do. His grace is quite amazingly forbearing not to add ineligible and utterly unsuitable to that description. If you would only stop teasing me for just one minute you would realise what a totally impossible position I am in unless you agree to this annulment.
‘Why did you not tell me, Theo? Why did you let me come here without telling me that your father was a duke? How can I trust you now?’
She threw on her wrapper, wrenched open the door and ran down the corridor before Theo could untangle himself from the bedclothes and get out of bed.
A door started to open as she rounded a corner; Katherine skittered past it and round another bend before whoever it was emerged, and subsided panting on a window seat to scan the view. No sign of the lake, so she was not even on the correct side of the house, although she did seem to be on the right floor.
Her wrapper was not fastened. Katherine drew it close, tied the cord and walked briskly down the corridor again. Surely if she kept going long enough she would eventually see the lake from the windows? She walked on, round another corner, still only endless parkland, no hint of water. With a little sob of frustration Katherine broke into a run again. The corridor narrowed and began to curve so she must be in one of the turrets. She was just wracking her brains to recall how many there were, and on which façade, when a door opened and she collided hard with a tall figure in riding dress, gloves, whip and hat in one hand.
‘Your Grace.’ Katherine fought back the instinctive curtsey. It would look ridiculous in night attire. ‘I am…I got…lost,’ she finished lamely.
‘Good morning, Katherine, you are a very early riser.’ Not by a flicker of an eyelash did he betray any surprise that his daughter-in-law should be running along the corridoren negligée.‘I was just going for my morning ride before breakfast. Neither of my sons could ever be persuaded to join me at this hour, perhaps one morning you would care to. Ah, no I forget, you do not ride yet, do you?’
‘No, Your Grace. Your Grace…’
‘You want the way back to your room? Of course, this way.’ He offered her his arm and began to stroll back the way she had come, through a door she had missed in the white panelling and into the Long Gallery. Katherine was convinced that every portrait figure in the room swivelled in their frame to regard her with horror.
‘I know the way from here, Your Grace. Please, do not let me keep you from your ride any longer.’ She freed her hand, shot him a tentative smile and hurried down the endless room, her knees knocking.
‘I will see you at breakfast, Katherine,’ he called after her, but when she turned he had gone.
She arrived at her bedchamber door at the same moment as Jenny who was carrying a cup of chocolate. The maid’s eyes opened wide with surprise, then her face broke into a broad smile. ‘You spent the night with the Master. Oh Miss Katherine, that’swonderful, I knew it would be all right.’
‘Oh,ssh.’ Katherine bundled Jenny through the door and shut it with a thud behind them. ‘It wasn’t like that at all.’ She took the cup of chocolate and began to sip thirstily as she recounted the story.
‘The duke? Oh my goodness.’ Jenny stared, horrified. ‘What did he say?’
‘He behaved as though we had met in the middle of the morning and I was fully dressed. Goodness knows what he must think of me, not that it could be much worse than what he doubtless thinks already.’ She put down the chocolate and staredblankly across the room.
‘But he is so polite to you,’ Jenny pointed out.
‘It is part of his style to be imperturbable, I think. And very courteous. And I suppose he does not care to show me the door after learning that I had saved Theo from hanging.’ The two regarded each other miserably, then Katherine shook herself, got to her feet and announced, ‘Ring for hot water, Jenny. I am going to get dressed, be on my best behaviour – and do my utmost to make Theo see reason today.’
There was a peremptory knock on the door. ‘Please see who that is.’
The voice made it quite clear. ‘Lord Seaton, Miss Katherine.’
‘Please tell his lordship,’ she said, making sure her voice carried clearly, ‘that I will see him at breakfast.’
‘Yes, Miss Katherine. My lord…’
‘I heard, thank you.’ Theo sounded furious. Katherine suddenly found the humour in the situation. He must have imagined her lost goodness knows where in this great pile and had set out to rescue her. Unfortunately for him, she did not need rescuing.
Katherine made a leisurelytoilette, paying particular attention to her hair and her choice of a gown. She felt she should spare the duke any further shocks to his system that morning. She also felt, but would not admit to herself, that looking as elegant as possible would disconcert Theo.
The duke was entering the breakfast room as she approached the door and his two sons were already there, engaged in what sounded like a vigorous argument. ‘If you do not tell him, I will,’ Theo was saying.
‘Good morning. Ah, Katherine, good morning, my dear. Will you sit here, and be so good as to take charge of the coffee pot? And who, might I ask, is the person apparently being kept in the dark?’
