Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Kate could hardly contain her excitement when she arrived at a famous modiste on Bond Street. She smiled brightly and held her mother's hand, squeezing it every so often as the carriage pulled to a halt. Her joy made Lavinia grin as well, probably because she had not seen Kate act so light-heartedly for a very long time.

This time, she barely even noticed the carriage ride. The thrill of heading to the shops meant she was not focused on the road underneath her. Perhaps it was possible for her to move on with her life after the accident after all...

"Are you feeling all right?" her mother asked, with mild concern on her face, before they stepped out of the carriage. "You will tell me if your leg causes you trouble? If you are in any pain at all we may leave right away."

Kate mentally checked her leg before nodding. In all the excitement, she was not feeling too terrible. A dull ache was nothing too taxing for her. She could cope with that easily, even without the use of her walking cane, thank goodness. She had a feeling that this trip would be a positive one and she would return home unharmed, although possibly a little tired.

"I shall be fine, Mother, but if I am not, I will inform you right away. You do not need to worry about me."

Lavinia was handed out of the carriage by the footman first. Kate willed herself to descend gracefully, and managed to do so, though she leaned more heavily upon the footman's hand than she would have done in past days. She was determined not to stumble; she could not imagine that her hero, William, would be here to save her right now. His being at Gunter's was one thing because everyone loved a fruit ice, but being outside a boutique on Bond Street would be something else altogether. She could not envision a man like William in a place like this. Nothing about it suited the person she knew him to be...

However, she needed to keep reminding herself, she did not know the man fully yet. There was still much to learn.

Luckily, there was no need for a hero. Kate's feet made proper contact with the sidewalk, and she let go of the footman's hand. Before entering the boutique, she paused to see other people perusing the wares on offer. There were many shoppers enjoying the day, and Kate wondered if any of them, like her, were purchasing a new outfit for the thirtieth birthday celebration for the Earl of Embleton.

Kate felt lucky to find everyone else so involved in their own activities and conversations that no one looked her way. Perhaps the time had long passed since she was the center of all gossip, and now the ton had moved on. She surely hoped so.

"Shall we go inside?" Lavinia asked her daughter curiously. "Or is there something else you should like to do first?"

Kate shook her head and smiled. "I am quite ready to go inside, Mother. Thank you for checking with me, though."

Her steps were not as light as they had once been. Kate could definitely still feel a slight battle waging inside her body, but she continued moving. She did not allow the pain to beat her. After all, she needed to keep proving that she was strong.

"Oh my goodness." Several fabrics and ribbons caught Kate's eyes the moment she stepped into the store. She was immediately blown away and imagining the sorts of creations that could be made by the modiste. "This is beautiful."

Kate got so lost in the daydreams the fabrics allowed her to have, the images that filled her mind of dancing and beauty, that she did not notice the modiste until she gasped with shock and raced to Kate's side.

"Oh, my goodness. You are perfect," she gushed, her piercing blue eyes sparkling with delight. "Utterly perfect."

"I...I am?" Kate darted her eyes toward her mother, but Lavinia simply smiled back. "Perfect, how?"

"You have the exact body I have been looking for to fit my latest masterpiece. I think you will love it." The modiste could hardly contain herself. "I am terribly sorry if this comes across as pushy, but I would love you to at least see a particular garment I have here. If it is not what you have come today looking for, then I completely understand..."

"I would love to see it." If a dress made anyone this excited, Kate knew she had to lay her eyes on it. "Please."

The modiste nodded eagerly and led Kate through to the back room of the store, which was a treasure trove of creations, each one more inspired than the last. Kate did not know where to look because everything was so beautiful, and the colors captivated her. She had a feeling that she was going to absolutely love whatever the modiste had made. Especially if, as the lady had declared, she had the perfect body type for it. This felt a little bit like fate once more...

"Ah, here it is." The modiste pointed to a dress still hanging on the mannequin, which caused Kate to almost faint in shock. She had been expecting something rather lovely, but this was utterly divine. An emerald ball gown cascaded outwards toward the floor and had the most stunning intricate beadwork around the bodice that Kate had ever seen. "I am particularly proud of this dress, and I would love to see it on someone as pretty as you."

"You think I am pretty?" Kate could scarcely believe it. This modiste had to see many women all the time, a lot of them far prettier than Kate considered herself. But the modiste nodded eagerly.

"Why, thank you very much," Kate managed to say graciously.

"This dress...the material...it matches the color of your eyes, which is another reason I know it will look stunning."

Kate's pulse sped up. Something felt absolutely perfect about this dress, to her as well as the modiste. It called out to her and wanted her to wear it; she could almost feel it. She could only begin to imagine how this dress would look upon her. She reached out and allowed herself to lightly brush her fingers over the fabric, to feel how soft and smooth it was. Wonderful, like a dream. If it matched her eyes like the modiste had suggested, then there was a chance she would be very eye-catching at the ball.

She could catch William's eye, which she could not stop herself from wanting to do.

"You should try that on." Kate had not realized that her mother had followed her until she spoke. "That looks lovely."

"Do you really think so?" Kate was surprised by that. Her mother had always made her preference for softer colors obvious, particularly when it came to her daughter, but Lavinia really did seem keen.

"It will be rather a bold statement," Kate demurred.

"I think it will suit you greatly." Her mother nodded encouragingly. "But we shall not know until you try it on."

Putting the dress on was definitely not something that Kate could do alone. It required a lot of work, but luckily the modiste was more than happy to assist her. As suggested, the dress truly did fit Kate like it had been designed specifically for her. It clung to her curves and hung perfectly. The way the bodice shaped her was utterly perfect as well. Kate could not believe it. She had been fitted for many dresses in her time, yet this one, which had not been made with her body in mind, fit better than any of them. If this was not an interjection by fate, then she could not explain it at all.

"I shall get you a mirror," the modiste declared happily. "It fits exactly as I thought it would. Maybe even better. I knew as soon as you walked into my boutique that it would look wonderful on you, and so it does."

Kate glanced at her mother, who had happy shining eyes. Lavinia pressed her fingers to her lips and nodded, seemingly unable to speak because she was so emotionally overwhelmed. Kate giggled with joy.

She knew this day would be a glorious one, her excitement was not all for nothing.

The modiste put a mirror up in front of Kate and instantly she could see why her mother was pleased. Even to herself, she looked beautiful, like a princess. The dress was too much for her really, she did not feel that she could do it justice, but at the same time, she could not get enough of looking at herself in it. She was a vision.

"Oh my goodness, we are going to buy this dress," her mother declared with a smile as she reached out to touch the gown surrounding her daughter's body. "It will be perfect for the ball at Embleton Manor. You will be the belle of the ball."

Kate got butterflies. The thought of William seeing her in this dress was a little wonderful. Nerve wracking but lovely. She wondered what he would think of her in this dress, if he would like her and wish to dance with her...of course she might not be able to dance if her leg was still as painful as it had been, but with a bit of luck she would be doing better by then.

She would get to feel his hands on her waist, the heat of his body near hers, that twinkle in his eyes would shine down on her...

Kate gulped fearfully, worried that she might be getting a little carried away with herself. But this was nothing like the childish notions of romance she had experienced once upon a time; this felt much more intense, real, raw...

"Are you sure?" Kate whispered to her mother. "I do not wish to be an inconvenience to anyone."

Her mother made no fuss over paying for the dress, which left Kate extraordinarily happy. The day had turned out to be one of her absolute favorites. She was starting to daydream again, a little like she used to, about being someone special.

Kate could not stop herself from smiling as her mother led her out of the store and back to the carriage which was still waiting for them. Kate was so lost in her excitement of what was to come, that she did not recognize the familiar face until the man stood right in front of her, and he had bowed to greet them both.

"Good afternoon, Duchess and Lady Langley. It is wonderful to see you after such a long time."

That voice...that face...Kate felt sick to her stomach.

Kate did not know what to say. Douglas was the last person she wanted to see but, of course, because they were out in public, it was expected that she be polite to him. She could not strike him even if she wanted to.

Oh dear, how she wanted to. She would have loved to cause him even a smidgen of the pain that he had caused her. Just to see how the man reacted to it. He might not have cared about her, but he would certainly care about how the ton saw him, and a loud slap in the middle of Bond Street would certainly set tongues to wagging.

But that was not the sort of behavior expected of her, so she pushed that thought from her mind completely and averted her gaze.

"Good day, Marquess," Lavinia said quickly, stepping in front of her daughter to ensure the conversation remained respectable. "Of course, it is always lovely to see you also." She said it in a tone that Kate almost believed. "What brings you to Bond Street this afternoon?"

"Business." Douglas nodded but gave nothing more. "And you?"

"Shopping."

The air was thick with tension. They might have been behaving pleasantly on the surface, but the shared pain bubbled underneath. Kate sensed the eyes of several onlookers watching her, whispers surrounding herself and Douglas, which made her wish that she had never left her bedchambers at all. This one meeting had ruined a perfectly lovely day, stealing all the joy from Kate.

Why did they have to see the Marquess of Fairbridge here now of all times? It was not fair.

"You are looking very well, Lady Katherine." Kate recognized that sickly sweet tone of voice. It used to work on her, but she would never fall for it again. "It is nice to see you out and about once more."

"Yes," Kate whispered back. She wanted to say more; she knew that he was expecting it, but she had nothing. She did not want to speak to this man, so she could not work up the energy to find the words.

"I see." Douglas stared at her curiously. Kate felt uncomfortable under his gaze. He seemed to be seeking something from her, but she had nothing left to give him. Everything she ever had for him died in the carriage collision, which was entirely his own fault.

Now, all she wanted was for him to leave her well alone.

"Since you have business here, I suppose we should let you go," Lavinia interrupted. "We bid you a good afternoon."

Douglas bowed once more, but he did not look keen to leave the conversation. Thankfully, he did not push it, though because Kate was not sure how much more she could stand to even look at him. It was a relief when he backed away and left. She sincerely hoped that would be the last she had to see of him. Not that it was likely. The more time she spent in public, the greater the risk of running into him would be.

Was it even worth the risk? That was a real battle inside Kate's mind. Back and forth, she went between hiding away to avoid him, and simply pretending he did not exist so he could not trouble her again.

"Thank you, Mother," Kate whispered once they were alone. "I could not have done that without you."

Lavinia grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "You are stronger than you think, my darling. Truly, you are. I am terribly proud of you."

Kate smiled gratefully, but she could hardly hide her discomfort. She honestly was not sure what she had previously enjoyed about being around him. His shallow hypocrisy rolled off of his shoulders in waves. She had simply been blind to that before.

No longer, though. Now, it was crystal clear.

"Thank you, Mother. But I am very ready to go home now."

"I agree." Lavinia laughed. "That has been quite enough excitement for one day. At least we have managed to get you that truly beautiful dress. You must be rather excited now about the ball. I know that I would be, should I have a dress as beautiful as that one to dance in. What luck to find something so glorious already made."

Now, that much was true. Kate could not quite believe the beauty of the emerald gown which the modiste had created. She felt incredibly lucky. Running into Douglas was not going to change that.

He was a man she no longer needed to worry about. He did not even exist to her any longer. She really did need to go down that road and ignore him as much as she could because, as tempting as hiding away was, it was no longer viable.

The future did not involve the Marquess of Fairbridge. It was all about the Earl of Embleton and his thirtieth birthday party...