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“And yet, you talk of maintaining propriety whilst sleeping under the same roof as me?”
“Amberwood and his marchioness will also be staying. Everything is perfectly proper.”
“And you won’t sneak into my room tonight?” She batted her eyelashes.
“Absolutely not,” he deadpanned back.
Kitty opened her mouth to deliver some kind of retort, but a soft knock on the door interrupted her efforts. “Yes?” she all but barked out, becoming only more irritated as Sebastian chuckled. Halston quietly opened the door, cautiously poking his head in as if worried about interrupting them. If only, she thought with an inward snort.
“Miss White is trying to pack your belongings and has humbly requested your guidance on the matter, as it is too short notice to take all of your things just yet.”
Here it was, then. The time to talk to her mother had arrived. She swallowed a bout of nerves, her stomach only settling due to the silent but solid stroke of Sebastian’s hand on her shoulder. “Tell her I’ll be there in a moment.”
**
Several minutes later, Kitty found Mary in her bedchamber, a selection of day gowns draped along the bed that the woman gazed at in contemplation. Kitty paused in the threshold of the door before deciding to stop being a coward and get on with it. She cleared her throat, and Mary looked up with a hesitant smile.
“I was just organizing your clothes, but I am unsure which dresses you would like to bring to Haverston House. I’m sure His Grace will provide ample funds for a new trousseau, but you need some things to hold you off until then.”
“Mary…” Kitty began.
The woman ignored her, shuffling the dresses around with fidgety fingers. “I think it will be fine if you only bring your day dresses and a dinner gown or two, I doubt you will want to be going to any entertainments any time soon.”
“Mama,” Kitty said softly, the word feeling foreign on her lips.
Mary dropped the clothing back onto the bed. After a moment, she inhaled and squared her shoulders, turning around to face her. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, truly.”
“But why didn’t you?” Kitty had gone her entire life without a mother. The fact that such a gap in her life need not have been stung.
Mary clenched her hands at her sides, eyes downcast. “I wanted it to be kept a secret until you were safely married. I was too afraid of the truth getting out and ruining your prospects. Charles said I was being ridiculous, but I…I cared too much about the both of you to be so selfish as to reveal myself. The entire family would have been ruined.”
“I wouldn’t have cared,” Kitty replied bitterly, the sound reasoning behind Mary’s explanation being overshadowed by anger at being denied the comfort of a mother.
“I would have,” Mary replied sternly before softening her features. “I did my best to be there for you, despite the circumstances.”
“You did just fine,” Kitty replied, a lump forming in her throat as the reactionary anger faded. Mary had been there through every important milestone of her life from the moment Kitty had left her arms and made her first toddling steps. “It just would have been nice to know.”
“I know that now. I should have told you a long time ago.” Mary bit her lip, a nervous gesture the both of them shared. The two of them had a similar appearance when one took more than a cursory look, and Kitty wondered how she had missed the signs of their familial connection. Mary held out her arms, a hesitant glimmer in her brown eyes. “Could we perhaps begin again?”
Kitty walked forward, grasping the woman’s trembling hands in her own. “I would like that very much.”
Her mother gave her a wobbly smile. “I am glad.” She backed away with a sniffle, running her sleeve over her face before brightening her countenance. “Now then, let’s pick these dresses out, shall we?”
“You don’t have to be my maid anymore, you know,” Kitty replied gently, even if the thought of Mary leaving her side distressed her.
Mary shook her head with a smile. “I want to, if only until you are settled at Haverston House and I can be sure His Grace won’t be a bounder to you.”
Kitty laughed, relief building within her. “He is fine. We’ve worked things out.”
Her mother tutted. “The man has a mouth on him. You’d best show him his place once you’re married.”
“Oh, I’ve already given him dressing down. He is quite contrite.”
“I’d expect nothing less. It does speak well of him that he insisted on staying here to protect you, even if Charles was rather put out by it.”
“Are you and father lovers?” Kitty asked bluntly, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“When we can manage it,” she replied with a sad smile as she went back to organizing Kitty’s clothes. “He’s asked me to marry him dozens of times, the obstinate man.”
