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“Well, I hope he won’t be cross with me for long,” sighed Katherine, picking up a macaron from a festive tray of them. “I’m sorry to say it, Aunt Antoinette, but George is very trying when he’s out of sorts.”
“You don’t need to persuade me of that. Ah, but here is Jack, and we all know that nothing puts Jack out of humour. In fact, Jack, you were a great restorer of spirits when you were a regular visitor to us, and your mama has told us the same thing, since. You can’t know how it will break her heart to see you sail away on Monday.
”
“But it’s a great opportunity,” Katherine’s mama said, smiling. “It will make a man of you, Jack, and with your fine qualities, I predict you’ll not only make your mama and uncle proud, but you’ll return a man of great wealth and substance because you’re not afraid of hard work.”
Katherine was interested to see Jack blush at the praise. “That’s kind of you, Lady Fenton.”
“And then you can have your pick of any bride you wish,” interjected Aunt Antoinette, waving to catch the attention of a footman who was carrying a bottle of champagne. “You’ll no longer be the foundling boy who was given a home by generous benefactors, but rather a man of wealth and standing in your own right. That is what I predict.”
“A man of wealth and standing,” Katherine giggled when she and Jack found themselves alone after their elders had been claimed by their respective husbands. “Doesn’t that sound grand?”
Jack stared at the table of half-eaten food. “I’ve a long way to go before that will happen,” he said ruefully. “I have employment to go to where I’ll be offered a roof over my head, but other than the belongings I can fit in a couple of trunks, the clothes on my back, and the money I have in my pocket, I’ll be penniless.”
“But your parents are rich.” Katherine patted his arm.
“They are my adoptive parents with many natural children of their own. I don’t want to be a further drain on their resources when they’ve already been so good to me.”
“I’m sure you’ll find great success, whatever you do, Jack. And when you return, you’ll be considered a great catch and will have your choice of bride,” she said brightly.
The long, level look Jack sent her made her heart plummet to her feet and her insides go very wobbly. “Ah, but you’ll be long married, Katherine,” he murmured.
Of course, she had to make light of it, waving her hand carelessly as she said, “Indeed I will. I’m looking for a titled husband at this very moment. One who is both rich and handsome. Lord Derry is the most eligible contender, but Mr Marwick is in line to inherit a viscountcy and I did enjoy kissing him, so perhaps I’ll be Lady Marples when you return.”
“Lady Marples,” he repeated, his former air of gravitas dispelled by a return of his usual pleasant spirits. “I shall await news of your marital conquest with interest. Oh, and I haven’t forgotten your earring. Indeed, I consider that my evening’s most important mission. If Mr Marwick does not have it on his person, I shall personally go to wherever he does, and bring it back here.”
“Oh, Jack, you are my true hero,” Katherine told him. And she meant it.
Chapter 9
It was two o’clock in the morning when Katherine was taken, forcibly, by her mama, and led to bed.
“Tonight has been a great success, darling,” said Lady Fenton, hooking her arm in her daughter’s and walking her towards the double doors of the salon, which opened to admit them to the passageway and then the elegant sweeping staircase. “You have garnered a great deal of interest, and it appears you have not been averse to that shown you. Why, there was Lord Derry and Mr Marwick, and then, I could not help but notice Lord Minnow and Mr Sage seemed equally taken.”
“You are observant, Mama!” Katherine laughed. “I shall have to be careful.”
Her mother patted her cheek. “You behaved with the utmost decorum, I’m glad to say. Not a whisper of scandal to taint your chances, and that’s made me very proud.”
Chatting companionably, Lady Fenton accompanied Katherine into her daughter’s bedchamber so she could help her out of her clothes, as Mary, the maid, had been given the evening off.
“What was your first season like, Mama?” Katherine asked. “Aunt Antoinette has told me often enough you had two.”
“No doubt she phrased it somewhat differently. I presume she told you that it took me two seasons to find your darling papa, whereas she was fired off during her first—and to an earl, to boot.”
Katherine smiled as Lady Fenton undid the buttons at the back of her dress. She liked it when her mama was more relaxed, and, therefore, honest with her—like Aunt Antoinette, though her mama would never tell her all the details Katherine wanted to know and that Aunt Antoinette thought fit to give her.
“Yes, I rather thought that was the case.” Her mother turned Katherine around and smiled at her. “But now, tell me about you and what’s in your heart, my lovely girl. It’s all very well to garner a lot of attention, but you mustn’t rush headlong into a romance that doesn’t have all the right ingredients so necessary to see you happy twenty years from now. And I’m speaking from experience.”
Katherine sighed. “I really want to be happy like you and Papa, but I wish I knew what I should feel right here.” She touched her chest, now clad in the new style of corset which her mother began to unlace.
“You’ll know, my darling.”
“How will I know? I mean, I like Mr Marwick as much as I like Lord Derry. And now I think I like Lord Mace and Mr Alexander just as much as both the other two gentlemen. Should I just throw all their names into a hat and choose one?”
Her mother took her hand and sat her on the bed next to her. “You don’t have to choose in the first week, darling. You have plenty of time. You’re very young. You can wait until next year if you’re not sure.”
Katherine nodded, not very heartened. She’d wanted to marry in her first season, not be considered a failure amongst the young ladies of her acquaintance who’d found husbands in their first season. She wanted to establish her own household and be revered by her husband as an object of…Well, the way George claimed he would revere her, except the last man she’d ever consider as her husband was George.
