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Wilkins didn’t even blink when he opened the door. The man deserved a medal. “Shall I prepare for another guest?” he asked.
“Please do,” Claire said before Finn could open his mouth. “Mrs. Crawfield is a friend of mine, and she will need a room close to my bedchamber.”
Finn growled low in his throat.
“What on earth was that for?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” Finn muttered. “I trust the two of you can settle yourselves in with no assistance from me?” He didn’t wait for an answer, but turned on his heel and went toward the study.
Claire needed some time alone. She needed to plan. She needed to figure out what was going to happen next. But she had to settle Katherine in and be certain she was all right. She couldn’t let a woman like her down. Particularly since they were in similar situations.
Maybe there was a mission here for Claire after all. Perhaps it was saving Katherine Crawfield from herself. Claire hadn’t been on a mission in months. She missed the challenge.
***
“How long have you been in love with him?” Katherine asked as they walked slowly up the stairs. Claire stumbled over her own foot, and Katherine reached out to steady her.
“Beg your pardon?” Claire managed to spit out.
Katherine enunciated every word clearly as she continued to speak. “How. Long. Have. You. Been. In. Love. With. Finn?”
Claire forced a chuckle that she didn’t even remotely feel. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Katherine smiled softly. “A woman knows.” She waved a breezy hand in the air. “There’s definitely something between the two of you.”
There was a child, but she couldn’t tell Katherine about that. “You must be mistaken.” Claire absently fiddled with a loose string on her glove.
“I am never mistaken, not when it comes to matters of the heart.” She paused, staring at nothing. “That is, unless it’s my own heart that’s involved. Then I’m a complete idiot.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she waved a hand in front of her face as though to dry them before they even fell.
“Why Mayden?” Claire asked as she continued up the stairs. It was much better to talk about Katherine’s love affair than her own.
“He was charming. He made me feel like he wanted me more than anything. He’s very good at that. I wasn’t the only one he was courting. He was priming another woman for marriage, someone wealthy.” She laughed at herself. “Courting is the wrong word for what women like me do, isn’t it?”
“Not really. I imagine the courtship is very similar, is it not?”
Katherine shrugged. “Perhaps.” She heaved a huge sigh. “I didn’t realize
until after I’d given Finn the cut what a mistake I’d made. I should have stayed with Finn. He might never love me, but he did respect me. And he could afford me. That’s more than I got with Mayden.” She laid a hand on her belly. “I never wanted a child.”
“You’ll grow to love him with time.” Claire was already in love with the child she carried within her.
“A child is a liability in my way of life.” She looked haunted. “It’s difficult to convince a man that you’re irresistible with a child hanging on to your skirts.”
“Isn’t that what governesses and nurses are for?” Claire had pretended to be both when she was on her missions. And found that the upper class typically left their child rearing to the nannies and hired help.
“Nurses and governesses are for your class. Not mine.” She settled onto the settee in Claire’s private sitting room. “I suppose I can find a good family for it.”
“Do you have any family who can help you?”
She shook her head. “No one who will claim me.”
Claire felt similarly. “You can go to Lord Phineas’s house in Bedfordshire and retire for the rest of your time. Then make a decision.”
At least Katherine would get a decision. Claire’s own situation would depend on the nature of the child.
“Has he kissed you yet?” Katherine asked.
Claire sputtered. He’d done a lot more than that. And even more tonight. “Certainly not.”
