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Luckily, Mr. Cain asked a question about the ship that had brought Gerard to Hull, and Kate was free to indulge in panicked thinking.
She was trapped. Trapped by her own lies. She’d flown so far from her past, and yet it was here again, and there was nothing she could do to change that.
“—didn’t you, Katherine?”
Her head jerked up at her name, and she realized she’d been concentrating on her tightly clasped hands. “Pardon?”
“I think perhaps I’d better take her home, after all,” Gerard said. “And after all your kind words about the shop, Mr. Cain, I find I can’t wait to finally see it.”
“Yes, yes,” Mr. Cain said, helpfully waving them toward the door. “Go and enjoy each other’s company. But I insist you return for dinner tonight.”
“We couldn’t,” Kate said quickly, shaking her head as she stood and backed toward the corridor.
“Nonsense,” Gerard offered with a hard smile.
“I’m eager to acquaint myself with your new friends. All of them.”
Even Lucy paled at those ominous words, though her father still smiled indulgently.
“Kate,” Lucy said too loudly, and Kate jumped at the sound. “I have the gloves my maid mended for you.”
“Gloves?” Kate whispered.
She nodded. “Yes, let me fetch them.” She grabbed Kate’s hand and pulled her from the room. Kate saw that Gerard wanted to follow, but he was stuck with Mr. Cain, who was speaking about the timber trade.
“What is he doing here, Kate?” Lucy whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“Does Mr. York know he’s here?”
Kate shot a nervous glance toward the door of the morning room. “Shh. Of course not.”
“Then I shall write and—”
“No! No, you can’t.”
Lucy took Kate’s hand between both her own. “Please, Kate. You look so scared. He can’t be a good man.”
“Katherine,” Gerard’s voice called. “Are you ready?”
Kate eased her hand away from Lucy’s. “It will be fine. Don’t worry. And thank you for being a friend to me, Lucy.”
“But if you—”
His shadow darkened the doorway, and Kate pushed Lucy toward the front hall. “The gloves!”
There were no gloves, of course, but surely Lucy must have a pair she was willing to part with. And indeed, by the time Gerard looped her arm through his and steered her toward the door, Lucy was rushing back with gloves clutched in her hand.
“Thank you,” Kate said. “Thank you so much.”
Lucy gave her a tight hug, but Gerard retrieved Kate’s arm as soon as her friend let her go. Kate allowed him to hold on to her until they’d stepped into the street and the Cains’ door closed behind them. Then she jerked away and stumbled a few steps back.
“Katherine,” he said in warning.
“Why did you pretend to be my husband?” she demanded.
“I needed to find you. What else would you have had me say? Surely not the truth.”
