“You look as though you enjoyed that,” Zach said, glancing at the prostrate Brown, who was screaming about his broken wrist.
“Immensely.” He crouched beside Katrina, who was now sitting up. “How are you?”
“Very relieved to see you. How did you find me?”
“We’ll explain later. But first we must get you back to Sheridan House. Your father is there and very anxious about you.”
“You take her in the carriage, Nate,” Zach said. “Garner and I will lock Brown in somewhere until we can have him taken in charge and decide what to do about our friend here,” he added, nodding at the parson.
“He was being manipulated by Brown as well,” Katrina said. “But he refused to marry us unless I agreed. I didn’t agree, even when Brown threatened to kill me. Then he threatened to kill Mr. Mason here as well, and I knew he would do it.” Her lower lip trembled. “I had no choice, but in the end I just couldn’t go through with it and tried to run away. That’s when he stabbed me.”
Katrina burst into tears. Delayed shock, Nate thought.
“Take her back now,” Zach ordered. “We’ll bring the horses and will be right behind you.”
Nate carefully swept her into his arms, keeping her injured side away from his body and carried her to the carriage. The startled jarvey responded to Nate’s curt authority and drove them back to Berkeley Square at a spanking pace. The door opened as soon as they stopped outside and Heston was the first one through it, closely followed by Lady St. John.
“Is she all right?” Heston asked, looking beside himself. “I’ve been out of my mind—”
“Just a little scratch, Papa,” Katrina said, her voice weak.
“Send for a doctor, Faraday,” Nate said. “Lady Katrina has a cut to her side which is not too deep but which might need a stitch or two. Which chamber should I use, Mother?”
“Put her in the blue room, Nate.” The duchess smiled at Katrina. “I am so glad you are not seriously hurt, my dear.”
“I’ll come up and help her,” Lady St. John said. “Where is His Grace?”
“He’s dealing with the mess we left behind us,” Nate replied as he headed for the stairs. “He will be back directly.”
Nate carried Katrina into the blue room and reluctantly passed her into Lady St. John’s care.
“Thank you,” she said, fresh tears brimming as she looked up at him. “Without your intervention I’m not sure—”
“Shush, it’s over now and you’re perfectly safe.” He touched her face and then turned for the door. “We will talk when you’ve rested.”
By the time Nate returned to the drawing room, Zach was there.
“The parson was indeed a distant relation of Brown’s,” he told his audience. “He’s a weak man and was terrified of Brown. Apparently there was some unpleasantness at his last parish, something to do with embezzled funds which he swears was nothing to do with him. Brown somehow managed to exonerate him but holds evidence, fabricated or otherwise, that would point to him if he chose to release it.”
“Unbelievable,” Heston said, shaking his head. “He had me completely fooled. I had no idea he could be quite so conniving.”
“When he left London to return to Brussels last week,” Nate said, helping himself to brandy, “he clearly went with the intention of marrying Lady Katrina, forcibly if necessary, the moment he returned. He had arranged a special licence for that purpose and forged your consent, Heston.”
“What will happen to him now?” the duchess asked.
“He ought to be prosecuted for abducting Lady Katrina,” Romsey said, “but unfortunately he knows too many government secrets for that to be possible.”
“Just a minute!” Nate said hotly.
“Don’t worry, Nate,” Romsey replied. “He won’t get away with what he’s done. As we know, he isn’t above using a little blackmail to get what he wants and we won’t give him that opportunity. He’s now in Foreign Office custody and I think it safe to say that none of us will ever see or hear of him again. That is all any of you need to know about the situation.”
“And is more than enough for me,” Nate snarled.
Lady St. John re-entered the room.
“How is she?” asked several voices.
“The doctor has dressed her wound. It isn’t serious but she’s exhausted.”
“Can I see her?” Heston asked.
“It would be better to wait until the morning. She will most likely sleep until then.”
***
Katrina opened her eyes and had absolutely no idea where she was. This sumptuous chamber was not the one she occupied at Park Street. She felt sore, yet rested, and it was a moment before she remembered the terrible events of the previous day. Had she dreamt them? She touched her side, found a heavy dressing on it and realised she had not.
“Ah, you’re awake, my dear. How do you feel?”
Katrina turned towards the kindly, cultured voice that addressed her, not immediately recognising it. She was astonished when she encountered the Duchess of Winchester smiling down at her.
“Your Grace?”
She wanted to ask what she was doing sitting beside her. Then remembered this was her house. Nate’s house. He was in it somewhere, perhaps wondering about her.
“The doctor gave you something to make you sleep. You have been here since early yesterday afternoon. It’s now Thursday morning.”
“Goodness.” She cautiously sat up. “What happened to…to—”
“Shush, don’t worry about that now. Your father is downstairs, anxious to talk with you. Do you feel up to receiving him?”
Did she? She was still angry and upset that he had not told her the truth and would prefer not to confront him on the matter from her sickbed. It would put her at a disadvantage “If you don’t mind, Your Grace, I would prefer to get up and see him downstairs.”
Katrina expected the duchess to protest. She did not. Instead she merely nodded her approval. “I expect you’re hungry. I shall have some breakfast sent up to you. Then you can have a bath and Frankie sent some of your clothes over.” She stood up and smiled down at Katrina. “It won’t hurt the gentlemen to be kept waiting for a little longer.”
Gentlemen?
An hour later she made her way cautiously down the winding staircase and was shown into a small salon by the butler, who appeared to have been awaiting her appearance. To her disappointment, only her father occupied that room. He stood as soon as she entered it, his expression delighted yet wary.
“My dearest child,” he said, looking close to despair. “I am so very sorry for what you have been through. It’s entirely my fault.”
Katrina didn’t attempt to deny it. “Tell me all about it,” she said instead, seating herself in front of the fire.
And he did. Katrina’s mouth fell open when she heard her rigidly formal parent speaking of his passion—a passion that the years appeared to have done little to lessen.
“I was foolish and have paid for that folly for the past forty years,” he said. “I convinced myself that Brown was not a bad man and that you would grow to like him. He fooled me into believing his character was good but I can’t help wondering now if I thought that because I wanted it to be true.” Tears glistened in his sapient eyes; a situation Katrina had never expected to see and which dislodged some of her anger and disappointment. Her beloved father, who could do anything he set his mind to, was fallible.
“How could you have done that to me, Papa?”
“I was ashamed but thought I could protect you from making the same mistakes as me.”
“You still should have told me,” she said, slipping her hand into his, unable to hold his behaviour against him because she had never seen him so vulnerable before. But forgiving him…well, she was unsure if she would ever be able to do so, not completely. When she considered what might have happened to her, that he would have seen her married to that monster Brown because of his own youthful folly, her eyes misted with tears of anger.
“There are many things I should have done differently,” he said, shaking his head. “I can only thank God that Sheridan got me out of the muddle.”
“Lord Nate?” Katrina blinked up at her father. “He did this?”
Katrina listened, astounded, as her father told her all that Nate had actually done.
“No wonder Brown was so keen to have me marry him yesterday. He knew the document was gone and he had no further hold over you.”
“Sheridan was furious for not having considered that possibility.”
“It wasn’t his fault.” Katrina took a moment to absorb all she had just learned. “How did he and the duke know where Brown had taken me?”
Her father explained about Whitechapel and Brown’s relationship to the parson. “The poor man. I hope he will not be chastised. He tried to stand up for me, even though he was terrified of Brown.”
“No, I believe nothing is to be done about him.”
“Why did Lord Nate put himself to so much trouble?” she asked after a brief pause.
Papa smiled. “My dear, I think that’s a question you had best put to him. He’s anxious to speak with you.”
Papa kissed her brow and left her sitting where she was.
A short time later the door opened again and she knew who was there without even looking around. The musky, exotic aroma she associated with Nate assailed her nostrils. She turned slowly and there he was, looking as suave, as impeccably attired as always. A lock of dark hair fell across his brow and a slight smile played about his lips as he regarded her for a prolonged moment. Then he stepped forward, took her hand and softly kissed the back of it.
“Don’t get up,” he said when she attempted to do so. Instead he took the seat beside her. “How do you feel?”
“Not so very bad, thanks to you. I am very grateful to you for coming to my rescue. Again,” she added, thinking of Lord Avon. “Had you not, I dread to think what—”
“Hush, don’t think about it.” He placed a chastising finger against her lips. “I put you in danger so it seemed only fitting that I should extricate you from it.”
“By getting back Papa’s incriminating document. I should thank you for that too.”
“I didn’t properly consider the consequences of my actions. When I knew Brown had taken you I was furious with myself because I knew why he must have done it. I should have anticipated he would do something desperate.”
“You couldn’t possibly have known.” She smiled at him. “Why did you ask Lord Surrey about my father’s past and then visit the lady he had been in love with?”
He sent her a heated smile. “Oh, Katrina, do you really need to ask me that?”
“You never said a word to me about it.”
“It wasn’t my secret to tell. It was just that Brown seemed so wrong for you, I simply had to know why your father was set upon the match. And once I started uncovering the truth, I couldn’t stop until I knew it all.”
“Then I am very much obliged to you.”
“So formal,” he said with a teasing smile.
“My family has been a dreadful trial to you,” she said, staring into the fire. “I cannot imagine what you must think of us.”
“What I think of you, my love, is difficult to put into words.”
Her head jerked upwards. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You really have no idea, do you?” He shook his head and gently touched the curve of her face. “I think that’s part of the attraction. You see, I fell in love with you, sweet Katrina, almost the first time I laid eyes on you.”
“Love…me…you—” She felt totally bewildered, even as her heart swelled with happiness. It was too good to be true. Recent experience had taught her to be cautious. There had to be some mistake. “Are you absolutely sure?”
Nate chuckled. “Absolutely.”
“But my father murdered a man.”
“I almost emulated his example yesterday.” Nate shuddered. “When I saw that Brown had stabbed you, how I restrained myself from killing him is still a mystery to me.”
Katrina stifled a smile. “You broke his wrist.”
“It ought to have been his neck.” Nate picked up her hand and laced his fingers with hers. “However, we were speaking of my feelings for you.” He gazed into her eyes, looking nervous and very unsure of himself, a situation she had never anticipated witnessing. “I ought to have given you more time to recover from your ordeal before declaring myself but you must make allowances for a man who is desperately in love. Too desperate to wait.”
“For what?” she asked, blinking nervously.
“I love you, Katrina, rather passionately as it happens, and I was hoping you might feel the same way about me.”
“Is this because I am no longer under obligation to Mr. Brown and you are worried about my reputation?”
Nate looked shocked. “Is that what you really think?”
“Don’t imagine I don’t realise the damage Lord Avon could do if he chose to reveal my presence at that masquerade. It’s typical of your gentlemanliness that you would try to prevent that by sacrificing yourself.”
“Hardly a sacrifice,” Nate replied, caressing her with his eyes.
“We hardly know one another,” she said, moistening her lower lip nervously with the tip of her tongue as a maelstrom of scintillating emotions surged through her. Could it be that her dearest wish, her most prized fantasy, was on the verge of becoming a reality? Dare she…well, dare to hope?
“You really shouldn’t do that with your tongue,” Nate warned her, sending her a scorching smile. “You have no idea how compelling I find the gesture and if you do it again you will most likely finish up being thoroughly kissed. I promised myself I wouldn’t give way to that particular temptation until I’ve extracted an answer from you.”
“You haven’t asked me a question yet.”
“You’re right, my love. We have not known one another for long, but long enough for me to know what’s in my heart. Long enough for me to know I want you for my wife.”
“Your wife!” She opened her eyes wide in astonishment.
“What else did you think I had in mind?”
“But…but I have to take care of Papa.”
“Not that he deserves it after the way he treated you, but I can understand why you feel that way.”
“He did what he thought was best for me. And for himself as well, of course. It will take me a long time to forgive him, but I can understand why he behaved in the way that he did.”
“Very well, we shall live in Jacobs Well.”
“You would not mind that?”
“Not so long as you are there. I know that two gentlemen have tried to force you into matrimony this past week. I won’t force you to do anything you would prefer not to. But I will lay my heart at your feet and trust you not to break it.” He touched her face, his fingers catching a tear that slipped from the corner of her eye. “What do you say, my love? Will you agree to be my wife and allow me to spend the rest of my days worshipping you?”
She threw her arms around his neck, not caring about any potential damage to her wound that the sudden movement might occasion. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I love you to distraction, Nate, and would be honoured to marry you.”
The End