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“He had his money! Thirty-thousand pounds and another five for every year of the marriage, wasn’t that it? A suspiciously high price for a bit of used goods like me.”
Another gasp. Shock for the sake of propriety, but none for Kate herself, it seemed.
“And when Father realized just how mercenary it would appear, to have sold his daughter to a man so far outside polite society that even his friends had shunned him . . . when he realized how that would appear, he demanded it be kept quiet. But he did not ask for me back.”
“What could he do?” her mother whispered. “It was done already.”
“Yes,” Kate said softly. “It was done. But I would still have liked to come home.”
“I’m sorry, Katie,” she said. The words were sincere, but still helpless, as if she could not fathom why Kate couldn’t understand the issue. “But Mr. Gallow would never have sent you back.”
Kate nodded, a ghost of an agreement. Even with the new governor in place, David had needed her as a shield. An excuse for people to pretend they saw nothing. “I should go,” she breathed.
“But you’ve only returned! And you haven’t told me what happened!”
“What do you mean?”
Her mother looked sideways, as nervous as if they were in a roomful of people who might overhear. Then she leaned forward, eyes wide and secret. “We received a letter from your husband’s son. And a visit from his solicitor.”
Kate’s skin turned to brittle ice. It was nothing more than what she’d suspected, but it still stunned her. “Whatever he’s told you is a lie.”
Her mother’
s voice dropped to a childish whisper, her eyes like saucers. “He implied that you . . . encouraged . . . your husband’s death.”
“And you believed him,” Kate said flatly.
“No! I never did! And your brother didn’t either. He said you weren’t capable of it.”
Well, more fool he. She’d smashed Gerard over the head and left him to bleed. She was capable of killing, but she hadn’t been capable of killing David. They’d reached a truce, she and David. After the accident, when his legs had ceased to work properly, Iniya had moved into the big house to help care for him. And Kate had begun to see him as a human being instead of a monster.
David had been almost as trapped as she, because he’d truly loved Iniya. He would’ve married Iniya if he’d been able. He’d done everything but marry her, and that had been his mistake. He’d been shunned, mocked, reprimanded. And when he’d become an embarrassment to the English community of Ceylon, he’d been threatened with imprisonment. The governor had taken David’s household as a personal affront. He’d made it his mission to see it changed. So David had made it his mission to replace the governor, and Kate’s family had been his means to do that. That was all. It hadn’t been personal in the least, even when he’d occasionally taken her to his bed.
The same accident that had scarred her cheek had broken David’s spine. And though his health had improved over the years, he’d never truly recovered, and Iniya had stayed in the house. Kate hadn’t found it in herself to resent the obvious love between them, but it hadn’t helped her loneliness. Nor had it helped Gerard’s resentment.
“I must go, Mother.”
“But where have you been? Where are you living?”
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t be there long. But perhaps I’ll visit again someday. You look well, and I’m happy for that.”
“Oh. I see. Be careful, dear.” Her hands fluttered as if she were helpless to say more.
Kate rose and kissed her mother’s cheek before leaving. The scent of faded roses enveloped her, but she turned and walked out, ignoring the awful tug at her heart. She should stay the night, but she couldn’t bear it. She needed to return to Hull and leave that place before she missed her chance.
David Gallow had been poisoned, and Kate couldn’t prove she hadn’t done it. She had no choice but to flee, and there was nothing to hold her back anymore.
Chapter 27
She woke on the train, disoriented and weary. The rocking kept her submerged in a half-sleep, and the dim light of dawn urged her to close her eyes again. There was so much to do when she got back to her shop. She couldn’t simply walk away or she’d lose every cent of her investment. Better to sell everything outright. Even if she took a loss, she’d leave with something.
As she floated along through the countryside, she tried not to think of Aidan. She was almost glad for her current predicament, because she had no time to feel all the hurt and guilt and doubt.
But the next time she opened her eyes, he was there with such a sweet, sharp intensity that Kate gasped. Not him, but a man who looked almost exactly like Mr. Penrose staring at her over one of the seats. Kate jerked around to check behind her, certain that Aidan must be close by. Why would Mr. Penrose be on this train with her alone?
But Aidan was nowhere to be seen, and when Kate looked again to the man dropping hurriedly back into his seat, she wasn’t entirely sure it was Mr. Penrose. This man, after all, was missing his hat, his hair looked as if it had been mussed and then matted down, and his normally pale skin was beet red . . . or at least the shell of his ear was. He hunched deeper into his coat.
Frowning, Kate checked behind her one last time before concentrating all her attention on the man ahead. A whole minute passed, maybe two. Then finally, his head poked slowly up, and he arched a look over his shoulder. When he saw her watching, his eyes widened, and she knew it was him.
