Page 49 of Fortune’s Final Folly

“It is more than that.” A’laya shook her head. “Your hand, my daughter.”

Kate’s eyes widened, but she came forth and offered her bare hand to A’laya. Both had stripped their gloves when they began working, and the feel of her daughter’s soft skin against her rough, calloused, wrinkled flesh was welcome. Very welcome, indeed.

Straightening her shoulders, A’laya stared into Kate’s eerily familiar eyes and took in her creamy complexion—just the right strength of tea with milk. She did not want to let her go. She smiled, squeezed her daughter’s hand, and brought it closer as she traced the lines in Katherina’s palm.

“Ahhh,” she cooed. “Methinks you know more than you speak, Kate. Tell me, have you and the solicitor spoken of your connection?”

“Not in so many words.” The blush returned, only hints detectable high on her cheekbones as she averted her stare. “But, yes. And I think if things were”—she paused, lifting her chin—“different, mayhap we…”

“What, my dear girl?”

“Before…before I knew who I was or anything about you, I thought our stations in life were what would keep us apart.” A rigid kind of acceptance overtook Kate, and A’laya noted the way her daughter’s eyes cleared. “But now…now I know it is so much more. Not only do I not know who I am, but I do not know where I belong. How can I bring Joshua into that? It is not fair. Not to him and certainly not to you. We have only just met, and it is you who needs me.”

A’laya laughed, the chuckle rumbling deeply within her until her shoulders ached. She released her grip on Kate’s hand. “We have much time—years—to spend together. I will never leave you again unless you request it of me—”

Stark fear darkened Kate’s face. “I would never.”

A’laya lifted her hand to pat Kate’s cheek, something her mother had done to her when she became anxious in her youth. She let her hand fall to her side, uncertain if it was the right thing to do. “What I am attempting to say is that I will not leave you. But Lord Stuart, he is a kind and generous man. One with a heart larger than I’ve encountered in anyone since my father’s passing. You should not let anything stand in your way if he is the man you desire. And if it is love that draws your heart to him, do not wait another moment to tell him.”

If anyone knew how quickly life could change, and so drastically you might not even recognize yourself or your surroundings, it was A’laya. In the blink of an eye, she’d gone from an innocent young woman to a scorned wife, abandoned with a babe in an unfamiliar home. Before she’d been able to reconcile her new reality, that had been stolen from her, as well.

Fate was not always kind.

Fortune could not be counted on to be in Kate’s favor.

Neither fate nor fortune had treated A’laya well in the past. But Kate was not A’laya, despite both women having found men they loved. A’laya’s husband had been a selfish man, yet all she’d witnessed of the solicitor were acts of kindness and altruism. Pierce was a scoundrel who’d mistreated and betrayed A’laya. Lord Stuart was not the earl, and A’laya needed to make Kate understand that fact.

The open and honest encouragement from her mother—Kate still could scarcely believe she could call the older woman that—had Kate rethinking everything that pertained to Joshua. Undoubtedly, she felt a certain, unexplainable draw toward him; however, it could not be as simple as all of that.

Yes, she desired him. Greatly.

Yes, he had been her constant for longer than she realized.

Yes, their kiss had stirred feelings and emotions in Kate that far exceeded lust.

She’d noted him watching her on their ride into Cheapside. Though she hadn’t dared glance over her shoulder, she’d felt his eyes on her as she and A’laya had journeyed across the street to the schoolroom. Even in this moment, she suspected that if she glanced out the open doorway, she’d glimpse him in the window across the street.

Surprisingly, Kate felt comforted by his presence and attention. For the first time in recent years, everything was not her burden to carry alone. Never, not once, had Joshua given her the impression that she and her life’s circumstances were a hardship for him.

When had Kate begun to crave Joshua’s presence?

“Do you love him?” A’laya whispered.

Love? Kate had loved her parents, the vicar and his wife. She knew she was already coming to love the woman standing before her. But to love a man? Kate had never seen such a thing in her future. It was a dream she hadn’t allowed herself to believe could be hers.

Yet, the truth was undeniable.

No matter the uncertainty in her life, Kate was convinced of one thing: she was in love with Joshua.

Her mother smiled. “Oh, my girl. I do believe he loves you, too.”

“How can you be certain?” Kate wasn’t convinced her feelings for Joshua were reciprocated. Yet, A’laya, who’d only just met him the previous day, seemed confident.

“He looks at you the way my father did with my mother. He cares for you, thinks only of you, even when the easier decision would be to remain detached.” A’laya sighed, a forlorn sadness creeping into her expression. “He is everything I longed for in my youth.”

“Did my father…?” Kate swallowed, knowing that despite Walter’s letter, she needed to hear it from her mother. “He must have loved you at some point.”

“I thought he did.” A’laya’s smile was heartbreaking. “He was everything I’d dreamt of in a husband: handsome, dashing, charming, titled, and he lavished me with gifts. At least he did in those very early days of our courtship. It was all a ruse, a way to ensnare me, and, worst of all, punish his mother for withholding his allowance.”