He said, “You need to ask yourself one important question. If that family is truly your family and they’re so very understanding . . . why did your mother never go to them? Before Simon died, why didn’t he tell anyone about his child?”
“Perhaps there wasn’t time. And like Aunt Marmoset explained, their parents never approved of their love. But Evan was only a boy then. Times are different now. These Gramercys are different. They will not abandon me.”
“What if they do? If you’re turned out of the Queen’s Ruby—and after spending the night with me, you likely will be—you’ll have no living whatsoever. How will you support yourself?”
She shrugged. “I do have friends. That may be a foreign concept to you, but there are people who will help me. Susanna and Lord Rycliff would take me in.”
“I’m certain they would. But Rycliff’s my superior officer. If I acquaint him with the circumstances, he’ll agree we must wed.”
She turned and stared out over the green-blue sea, looking desperate and forlorn. His chest ached.
“Katie,” he said, “I am trying to do the honorable thing.”
She swung a fierce glare on him. “Well, you’re a year too late!”
He knew he deserved that. “It’s unfair. I know it. You were too softhearted to leave me last night, and now you have to pay for it with your future. It’s the way of things. Acts of kindness come with costs attached.”
This was one lesson life had taught him well.
But he’d do it all again. He’d swallow an entire nest of live adders if it meant sparing her a moment’s pain.
He tried to put something soothing in his voice, rather than the usual blend of sawmill grist and impersonal authority. “Come. Let me take you home. You’re tired.”
“I am tired. Tired of secrets, tired of lies. But most of all, I’m weary of living with uncertainty, feeling pulled between two pasts, two futures. I’m going to speak with Evan and tell him everything. Exactly what happened and didn’t happen last night. I’ll tell him all about Ellie Rose and the Southwark brothel. We’re going to have this all out in the open, and then I’ll hear what he has to say.”
“Why should you trust Drewe to make the decisions? You’ve only known him a few weeks. He hasn’t—”
“I said, I’ll hear what he has to say,” she replied. “I will make my own decisions. I’ve allowed you to decide far too much ever since the Gramercys arrived in my life. I’m paying the price for it now, but I will not make the same mistake again.”
“I’ve only been—”
“Looking out for me? Oh, yes.” She spread her arms and indicated her rumpled gown. “And a fine job you’ve done of it, too.”
“My intentions were decent.”
“Please.” She jabbed a finger in the center of his chest. “You betrayed me, Thorne. You lied to me. You can’t fathom how to love me. I am not marrying you. Not today. Not ever.”
He exhaled slowly.
Not ever.
Once a woman made her wishes that clear, a man would be a villain to keep pursuing her. She understood the risks. She did have friends, if she needed help. If she wanted him out of her life, Thorne would leave it. Today.
“I’m going home to the rooming house now.” She backed away. “Don’t follow me.”
“I’ve arrangements to make in London,” he said. “I’ll leave this morning.”
“Good.” She crossed her arms over her chest, turned and strode off down the pathway. The wind gusting in from the open sea whipped her hair and gown in all directions, but her own path never swerved.
Thorne watched her go—until a high-pitched canine whimper drew his attention.
Badger stood waiting at his heel, tail thumping. The dog whined anxiously as he looked to Miss Taylor’s retreating form, then back to Thorne.
“Go on,” Thorne said, releasing Badger to chase. “Watch over her for me.”
As Kate walked back to the village, she reached a forked pathway. The left-hand path continued into the village, and the right led out to the main road.
She turned right and stared into the distance. Perhaps she should just keep walking—make her way to some other village and start over. She could look for music pupils again, or become a governess. She could board a ship and go anywhere in the world. Surely braving Australia would be easier than sitting down with Lord Drewe and explaining the events of last night.
No, no. She muzzled the irrational voice urging her to flee. Starting over in a strange place wasn’t a prudent idea for a single, unprotected woman.
Ellie Rose, whoever the poor soul was, had probably fostered high hopes of taking her baby and doing just that. And look where she’d ended.
Kate took the left-hand path, trudging toward the Queen’s Ruby in the early light of dawn. She couldn’t stomach any further evasion, deception, or half-truths. It was time to make a clean breast of it with everyone and hope for the best.
As she neared the center of the village, a hiss from an alleyway startled her.
“Kate.”
“Who’s there?”