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Alden chuckled. ‘Very well, old boy, you may believe what you like, after all.’
James was outraged at his friend’s smugness, but could find no argument to counter it with that would not lead to Alden being even more convinced he was in the right.
How vexing,James thought with pique.But he is quite wrong. Despite that fleeting moment of foolish longing, which was only a result of allowing my fancies to get the best of me, I have no intention of courting Lady Katherine. None at all.
Kate
Despite how exhausting the previous day had been, Kate found it quite impossible to rest on the morrow. In the morning she busied herself with tending to Aunt Mary, who had been apprised of the astounding news of Kate’s identity by her husband before he went out to tend to his herds. After Lt. Alden left, she tried to keep busy about the house. This would have presented no problem on a normal day, for there was always plenty of work to be done, but she could not seem to keep her attention on any one task for long.
That afternoon, she was outside, watering the herb garden, when she heard a whinny that took her attention to the road. There she saw Uncle John speaking with Edmund Suggitt, who was leading his horse.
The two men glanced toward the house as they spoke, and Kate knew that she must be the topic of conversation, but it was too far to make out their expressions or anything that was being said. She waited until Uncle John took his leave and Edmund began to walk again, and she hastened to intercept him.
‘Good afternoon, Edmund,’ she said with a smile.
His shoulders tensed and he stopped walking, then turned to her, a strange expression on his face. After a brief hesitation, he pulled off his hat. ‘Good afternoon,’ he said. ‘I suppose I should be calling you Lady Katherine now, eh?’
Kate gave a nervous laugh. ‘It sounds absurd, does it not?’
Edmund scratched the back of his head with his hand. ‘What news. Who’d have ever thought all those years you was puttin’ on airs, twere for good reason after all.’
‘Putting on airs?’ Kate breathed. She felt her face warm.
‘Always acting like you was better’n the rest of us. Turns out, you were.’
‘What can you mean by that, Edmund? I never thought I was better than anyone!’
He scoffed. ‘Of course you did! How many times did I tell my mother I liked you, and she said “No, Edmund, that Kate’s not for you. She thinks she shines everyone else down, don’t she? She may make a tempting armful, but she’ll never be a fit wife.”’
Kate’s hand flew to her mouth in horror. ‘She said that?’
‘Sure. And all the other girls was always saying similar to me, how you thought yourself a duchess, and wouldn’t be friends with the likes of them, and I thought they was exaggerating, didn’t I?’
‘I don’t understand how you can say such things, Edmund! I have always been glad to see you, and walked with you and visited, and now you claim I have put on airs—’
‘It don’t matter no more, anyhow. You truly are an earl’s daughter, and you’ll have no call to speak with the likes of me now.’
Tears came to Kate’s eyes but she found that she felt more anger than grief, and she dashed them away. ‘I’m not the one who thinks herself better than another, Edmund Suggitt! ’Tis you who looks down your nose at me!’ she declared. ‘I should have liked to remain friends, no matter what, but now that you know where I come from, you are the one who won’t speak to me!’
Edmund gave her a shrug, his eyes shifting away from her with an expression of unease.
‘I take my leave of you, mylady,’ he said, and began to walk again.
Kate let out an inarticulate cry of frustration and whirled around, stomping back to the house, but she stopped in her tracks as a rider appeared, thundering past Edmund and into the courtyard of the farm.
Her heart began to race as she walked up to him. The rider, a young man with light hair, dismounted, opening a satchel at his side and pulling out a letter.
‘Are you Lady Katherine Alden?’ he asked.
Kate nodded mutely, her heart thudding.
‘This is for you, then. I was charged with delivering it into your hands.’
‘You may say that you did so, sir,’ she replied, taking the letter.
‘Very good, my lady,’ he said, and he swung himself back into the saddle and was off.
My lady.
