Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Kate stood before a mirror in the Queen’s Ruby.

Fretting.

It was all very well and good for Samuel to say men didn’t fret. But he was cruel to give her so much reason to fret herself. Nearly a week had passed since their night at the castle, and she hadn’t heard a word. While she had no reason to doubt his intentions, the longer she went without breaking the news to the Gramercys, the more of a liar she felt.

All week long the Gramercys had gone about making plans for Ambervale and Town. Parties they would host, places they would take her to see, people to whom she would be introduced. Kate tried to limit her responses to noncommittal nods and polite smiles, but she knew she was giving them the impression that she meant to come live with them forever.

Now it was the night of the ball. In a matter of hours she would be introduced as Lady Katherine Gramercy to all of Spindle Cove. To be sure, this was not exactly English high society—but word would spread to London, and soon. When she eloped to America with an enlisted man just weeks thereafter—wouldn’t that be a public embarrassment for the Gramercys?

And if her connection to the Hothouse ever became public . . . if the gossips of London ever learned that a onetime Marchioness of Drewe had lived as a Southwark opera dancer . . .

Thatwould be a scandal of the worst order. It could affect the entire family’s standing and destroy Lark’s prospects.

Kate knew she could spare them pain by leaving quietly with Thorne. The inheritance didn’t matter to her. But it must be done before they made her identity public.

She couldn’t wait for Samuel any longer. She needed to speak with Evan, tonight.

She twisted and turned before the small mirror, judging her reflection. The color had been Lark’s suggestion—a lush cobalt-blue silk with a lace overlay in a darker, midnight shade of indigo. The hue seemed rather daring for an unmarried lady, but they wanted her to stand out. And she always felt her best in blue.

“Oh, Kate. Aren’t you lovely.”

Aunt Marmoset entered the room. The older woman was dressed in a long, draped violet gown and matching gloves. An ostrich plume adorned her wispy, upswept hair.

Kate fidgeted with a curl at her temple, trying to arrange it just over her birthmark. “I can’t make this curl cooperate.”

“Let me try.” Aunt Marmoset plucked a hairpin from the dressing table, beckoning Kate to duck her head. “There now.”

Kate stood and looked in the mirror again. Aunt Marmoset had pinned the curl back, smoothing it away from her face entirely.

“Don’t hide the mark, dear. It’s what makes you one of us.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s an old habit, and I can’t help being nervous tonight,” she confessed.

The older woman came to stand beside her in the mirror, sliding an arm about her waist. The ostrich feather barely grazed Kate’s shoulder. “Lark always likes it when I stand beside her,” Aunt Marmoset said. “She says I make her look tall.”

“I don’t know about tall, but I do feel stronger when you’re near.” In the mirror, Kate watched a tentative smile spread across her own face.

“Ah,” said Aunt Marmoset. “I knew your appearance wasn’t quite complete, but I couldn’t place the deficiency. That smile was missing.”

“Thank you for helping me find it.”

“You might wish I hadn’t. I was on the verge of giving you this instead.”

Aunt Marmoset unclenched one frail, knobby hand. From it unfurled a slender gold chain. And at the end of the chain dangled a pendant.

Thependant.

“Oh my goodness,” Kate gasped.

A quick glance toward her mother’s portrait confirmed it. It was the same teardrop of dark blue stone, veined with amber and white. So distinctive, that stone, with its lacy, scalloped layers of light and dark. It reminded her of when Sir Lewis showed the ladies a bit of butterfly wing under a magnifier.

“Where did this come from?” Kate asked, amazed.

“I asked the servants to pack my jewelry from Ambervale and send it down for the ball. Evidently, the maid found this hidden away in the dressing table and assumed it was mine. But it isn’t mine at all, is it? It’s yours.”

“How wonderful.”

“Let’s have it on.” Aunt Marmoset fixed the chain about Kate’s neck.

Kate turned to view it in the mirror. The indigo-blue pendant dangled just at her breastbone.

“It’s lovely,” Aunt Marmoset said.

“It’s a miracle.” Kate turned to the older woman and, bending low, kissed her on the cheek. “Your kindness is worth more to me than any jewelry, Aunt Marmoset. I don’t think I’ve thanked you properly for helping me feel at home in this family, but—”

“Bosh.” Aunt Marmoset waved off the remark. “You are at home in the Gramercy family. When will you accept that?”

I don’t know, Kate thought. I don’t know.

In her heart, she did believe that she was Katherine Adele Gramercy. She also knew herself to be the daughter of an unfortunate Southwark prostitute, as well as an impoverished orphan who’d been raised as the ward of a school. Perhaps all these things could eventually be reconciled into one existence, but . . .

But mostly, she was just a girl named Kate, in love for the first time in her life.

She loved Samuel. She missed him, terribly.

From the corridor, a call went up. “The carriages, ladies! They’re here.”

As they emerged into the corridor, Kate was startled by the sight of a ravishing woman in red emerging from a side room. She was quite sure she’d never seen this lady before. Her dark hair was piled high in a profusion of sensual curls. A thick rope of gold and rubies encircled her elegant neck.

The woman turned.

Kate gasped with recognition. “Harry? Harry, is that truly you?”

Her cousin smiled. “Of course, dear. Did you think I’d wear trousers to your grand introduction ball?”

“I wouldn’t ask you to be anyone but yourself,” Kate said, hoping her cousin would feel the same toward her.

Harry shrugged. Her ruby-red lips curved in a seductive smile. “I do enjoy a lavish gown on occasion. Sometimes I like to remind them all just what it is they’re missing.”

Lark appeared at her sister’s side, looking fresh and pretty in diaphanous white.

“Oh, Lark. I didn’t know if you’d be joining us, since you’re not yet out.”

The young lady smiled and blushed. “Evan’s making an exception tonight. So long as I don’t dance.”

Their loyalty was so touching. Look at all they’d done for her, Kate thought, tonight alone. Harry had put on a gown, and Lark was willing to undercut the excitement of her own debut. All this, at the end of a summer holiday they’d completely rearranged for the sake of spending time with her.

Little did they suspect that she was planning to bid them farewell in a matter of days. Forever. Would the Gramercys be able to understand her reasons for leaving, or would they feel betrayed?

She’d miss them, no question. But she had to be with Samuel, and he couldn’t stay here in England. He needed open land and the sort of opportunities England couldn’t—or wouldn’t—afford a man of low birth and criminal background. After the way he’d suffered, it was her turn to make the sacrifices, and she would do so gladly.

She owed that man everything. Everything. If not for him . . .

She couldn’t bear to contemplate her life if not for him.

Samuel, where are you?

Instead, it was Evan who stood in the Queen’s Ruby entryway, watching them come down the stairs. He pressed a hand to his chest and pretended to stumble. “What a stunning collection of ladies.”

Evan was rather stunning himself. Dressed in a black tailcoat and a waistcoat of embroidered gold silk, he looked every inch the marquess. And his black gloves . . . My, but the man always had the most elegant, exquisitely fitted gloves. They made his hands look ready for all manner of deeds—charitable, sensual, ruthless.

As Kate reached the bottom of the stairs, he offered her an arm. “All the other ladies have gone ahead in Sir Lewis’s carriages. There’s just the two family coaches left.”

They walked out into the front garden. Indeed, the two coaches emblazoned with the Drewe crest stood waiting at attention, drawn by perfectly matched teams of warmbloods.

Evan handed Aunt Marmoset, Harry, and Lark into the first of the coaches, then signaled the driver to be on his way.

“Will it be just the two of us, then?” she asked, surprised.

“Do you mind?” He handed her into the second coach, then followed and sat opposite on the rear-facing bench, out of deference to her skirts. “I was hoping we could talk alone. Before the ball.”

“Oh,” Kate said as the carriage rolled into motion. “Oh, good. I was hoping the same.”

He smiled. “I’m glad we’re in accord.”

“I’ve been thinking—”

They both uttered the words at once, speaking over each other. And then they both laughed.

He motioned with his gloved hand. “Please. You first.”

“Evan, I’m not sure you should announce me as your cousin tonight.”

He was silent for several moments, and Kate was sure she’d ruined everything.

“I agree,” he finally said.

“You do?”

“I’d prefer to introduce you as my future wife.”

Pure astonishment stole Kate’s breath. “What?”

“That’s the reason I wanted this time alone. I meant to ask you to marry me.”

“But why? You can’t be—” She tried again. “Evan, you don’t seem to have those kind of feelings for me.”

“I’m very fond of you, Kate. We have interests in common, and we get on well. If I didn’t think we could make a happy life together, I would never suggest it.”

“But there’s something else,” she intuited. “Some other reason you’re proposing now.”

“I won’t insult you with a denial.” He leaned toward her. “Kate, I’ve told you there would be an inheritance.”

She nodded.

“But I haven’t told you the precise size of that inheritance.”

“Well, what size is it?” She scanned his worried expression. “Precisely?”

He looked her in the eye. “You’ll have everything, Kate. Everything. I’ll keep Rook’s Fell—the one entailed property that comes with the marquessate. Aside from that, the entire Gramercy family fortune is yours. Eight properties. Several hundred thousand pounds.”

Kate gripped the edge of the seat. “But . . . I don’t want all that. What would I even do with such wealth? A fortune like that is a full-time occupation, and you’re the one who has always managed everything.” She blinked hard. “What of Harry’s income? Lark’s dowry? Aunt Marmoset’s living?”

“All yours as well. I set the money aside in trusts, but they’ll no longer be valid. Legally, the money was never mine to give away.”

“Oh dear. Oh, Evan.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “So now you understand, this is the quandary that’s kept me up nights.”

“Seething,” she whispered.

“Yes, seething.” He lowered his hand and gave her a bittersweet smile. “I will no longer make pretensions otherwise. I have been exceedingly worried over the future of the family. Not for myself, but for my siblings. The Gramercys have always been a queer lot, but we’ve been wealthy enough that we’re forgiven our eccentricities.”

“And that won’t be the case anymore.”

Kate was no solicitor, but she understood Evan’s dilemma. If she married Thorne, the entire fortune would be out of Gramercy hands. Evan would have no means to protect and support his family. They would all be her dependents—or if she married him, Thorne’s.

Thatwould be an awkward situation.

“If I’d only known about you,” he said, staring out the window. “We had other properties from my mother’s side. Foreign land holdings, mostly. In India, the West Indies. But then Bennett went to view them, and he came back . . . changed. I sold all the land at a loss years ago, wanting nothing more to do with plantations or slaving. The land here in England was more than enough, I thought.”

“You thought right,” Kate said. “You did right. And you needn’t fear. I won’t abandon you. We’ll find some way. Can’t I just refuse the inheritance, or give it all back?”

He smiled. “It’s not that easy, I’m afraid.”

“What if I went away?” This might be the answer to both their problems. She could go to America with Thorne, and Evan would remain the head of the family. “I could leave the country. Or stay here in Spindle Cove. No one needs to know I exist.”

“I will know you exist. We all know, and it wouldn’t be right. Kate, I want to secure my siblings’ future, but I refuse to destroy our souls in the process. We can’t simply deny your existence. To do so would be to deny your parents’ love for each other, to deny their love for you. You can’t want that.”

No. She supposed she didn’t.

“We wouldn’t want that, either,” Evan went on. “And what’s more, Kate, the solicitors know about you. Legal proceedings have been set in motion. If you were to disappear now . . . we’d have to wait seven years with everything tied up in court, and then petition to have you declared dead.” He made a grimace. “So please don’t think of it.”

“But it’s just so unfair,” she said. “You’ve been so generous and welcoming to me, and now you must pay this terrible price.”

“You are the one who has suffered unjustly,” he argued. “Never think otherwise.”

“Did you know all along? Even when you first came to find me, did you know that I could be taking the entire fortune?”

He nodded. “I suspected.”

“But you came to find me anyway. With no hesitation.”

“Yes, of course.” His intelligent brow lifted. “Family above everything. That’s the Gramercy way.”

He was so very decent and good, and under different circumstances, she should have been overjoyed to marry a man like him. But she was in love with Samuel. She was committed to Samuel. She’d been intimate with Samuel. There was no way she could marry Evan now.

He took her hand. “Kate, if you’ll marry me, I swear—I will devote everything to giving you the life you deserve. The life you always deserved. And together, we will help our family.” He gave her a half-joking smile. “If you won’t have me, I’ll be forced to pursue some obnoxious heiress with social-climbing parents.”

But would he be able to find social-climbing parents who’d eagerly support unconventional Harry, or decrepit Aunt Marmoset, or Bennett, off wandering the Hindu Kush? And poor Lark, losing her dowry just months from her debut.

Kate cast a desperate glance out the carriage window as they pulled up in the Summerfield drive. This was intolerable. To have found her family after all this time, to feel so loved and accepted by them . . . only to destroy their lives and happiness?

“So,” he said, preparing to exit the carriage, “which will it be? At midnight, will I be introducing you as Lady Kate? Or may I introduce you as the future Lady Gramercy?”

“Evan, I—”

“You need some time,” he finished for her. “Of course, I understand. I’ll come find you before the midnight set.”

And then he was out of the carriage and extending his hand to help her alight, and there was no privacy to discuss it any longer. Before them, the golden candlelit splendor of the Summerfield great hall beckoned. They were being watched by many sets of curious eyes.

“Smile,” he whispered, offering his arm. “And be happy. This is your night.”

As she entered the Summerfield ballroom, Kate scanned every corner and alcove of the hall. Her heart skipped every time she caught a flash of red. There was one militiaman she was particularly hoping, against all odds, to see.

She didn’t find him, but she found the next best thing.

“Kate!”

“It’s us. Over here.”

She whirled on the heel of her slipper, heartened by the familiar voices.

“Susanna. Minerva. Oh, it’s so good to see you.” She embraced her friends warmly. Until Susanna’s arms went around her, Kate couldn’t have realized how desperately she needed a hug.

She could use some friendly advice, as well.

“I’d no idea you’d be here.” She looked from one friend to the other—Susanna, now Lady Rycliff, with her flame-red hair and freckles, and Minerva, the darker, bespectacled middle Highwood sister, recently married to Lord Payne.

“We all came down from London together,” Susanna said. “Papa was growing desperate to see his first grandchild.”

Minerva added, “And I knew I couldn’t deprive Mama of her new son-in-law much longer, either. But in truth, it was our husbands who suggested we make the trip.”

“Truly?” Kate asked, incredulous. “Lord Rycliff and Lord Payne wanted to come? To Spindle Cove?”

“I think they secretly miss this place, though they’d never let on,” Minerva said.

Susanna winced a little.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.

“Oh, nothing. I’m just a bit achy, that’s all. When the baby hasn’t nursed for a few hours, it’s uncomfortable.” She looked to the ceiling. “Perhaps I’ll just slip upstairs to the nursery.”

“Can we come with you?” Kate asked. “I’m dying to meet little Victoria myself, and . . . and I’d very much appreciate the chance to talk.”

“She’s so beautiful,” Kate whispered. “Her hair is just like yours.”

“This is the only time she’s quiet,” Susanna said, gazing down at her suckling babe. “Unless her father is holding her. Bram has some secret method of calming her that he refuses to share, the impossible man.”

“I’m so glad Colin’s happy to wait on the childbearing score,” Minerva said. “He’s recently taken control of his estate. I’ve so many scholarly works in progress. We’re not at all ready for parenthood.”

“But, Min, how . . .” Kate lowered her voice. “How can you be sure you won’t conceive?”

“Well, one can never be completely sure. But we take precautions. Colin’s had some experience on the male side of things. You see, when a man spends his seed—”

Susanna gave her friend a look. “Min,” she whispered, “perhaps we could save the specifics for another occasion.”

“Right,” Minerva said apologetically. “You know me, I speak of natural topics at all manner of inappropriate times. Anyhow, Kate—there are ways. Susanna’s given me some herbs. Those help, too.”

“How clever of you both,” Kate said.

She was glad for Samuel’s caution the other night. It wasn’t as though she disliked the idea of bearing his child. Nothing would make her happier, someday. Thinking of him as a father, cradling a tiny babe in the crook of his arm . . . it made her heart float. But with so much uncertainty now with the Gramercys, a pregnancy would be ill-timed.

Especially since the father of the child had disappeared.

“Kate, what’s wrong?” Susanna asked. “You look so troubled.”

Kate paused, biting her lip. And then she took a deep breath and told them everything. All about the Gramercys. All about Thorne. The portrait, the melon, the snakebite, the inheritance, her night with Samuel, and Evan’s proposal just now in the coach. Everything.

“My goodness, Kate,” said Minerva, adjusting her spectacles. “You’ve been busy.”

Kate laughed at the absurdity of the statement, and it felt so good. This was what she’d been needing—her best, closest friends to listen and help her see everything clear. Susanna and Minerva would not be on Thorne’s side, or the Gramercys’ side.

They were on her side, unequivocally.

“I always knew that someday you’d have your fairy tale,” Susanna said. She called in the nursemaid and handed her the now-sleeping babe. “I didn’t predict this, of course. But we all adored you so. I knew you couldn’t go unnoticed for long.”

“I never did go unnoticed,” she said. “Not really.”

Samuel had noticed her, even that very first day in the Bull and Blossom, when she pulled her India shawl tight around her shoulders and turned the other way. He’d always been looking out for her, asking nothing in return.

She cast a wistful glance at the darkened windowpane. Where was he now?

“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “Samuel has vanished. The Gramercys are depending on me to save them all. Evan wants to know whether he can introduce me as Lady Kate or his soon-to-be Lady Gramercy. Meanwhile, I feel like a maid who pilfered her mistress’s gown and stole into the ball. I don’t know how I’ll manage as a lady of any sort.”

“The same way we do,” Minerva said. “Look at Susanna and me. A year ago we were confirmed spinsters, never the belle of any ball. Now she is Lady Rycliff and I am Lady Payne. And we may be a bit awkward in the roles, but society will just have to struggle on despite it.”

“We’ll form our own club, Kate. The League of Unlikely Ladies.” Susanna came to sit beside her. “As for what you should do . . . I’m certain you already know, in your heart.”

Of course she did. She loved Samuel and wanted nothing more than to be his wife. But if at all possible, she must find some way to help the Gramercys, too. They were her family, and she couldn’t abandon them.

Minerva bent over and stared Kate in the bosom. “I’m admiring your pendant.”

“Do you know what sort of stone it is?” Kate asked eagerly. “I’ve been wondering, but I’d never seen its like.”

“This is an easy identification.” After peering for a moment through her spectacles, Minerva released the teardrop-shaped stone. “It’s called blue john. A form of fluorite. Quite a rare formation, only found in one small area of Derbyshire.”

Kate clutched the pendant. “It was my mother’s. She was from Derbyshire. She must have worn it always to remind herself of home.”

How strange, then, that Elinor would have left it behind at Ambervale. Perhaps she’d worried it would be lost during travel.

Minerva patted her arm. “Kate, I don’t think you should worry overmuch. I have a strong suspicion your problems will work themselves out, and in hasty fashion.”

“I hope you’re right,” Kate said. But despite her natural bent for optimism, this was one situation where she had a difficult time seeing an easy solution.

“Well,” Susanna said, standing. “I suppose we’ve hidden ourselves up here as long as we dare. We had better go find our men before they create some mischief.”

“This is a Summerfield ball,” Kate agreed. “There seems to be something in the ratafia that makes male passions . . . explosive.”