A Taste of Honey (23 page)

With only a few hours to rest before she would be called down to dinner, Katherine decided to walk along the grounds to relax before having to face Garrett again.  Seeking a back exit out of the house, she opened one of the doors in the hall before hearing the voices inside.

“Do you like this?” the thickened voice asked.  After her experiences with Garrett it was easy for Katherine to recognize the sultry tone to the man's voice when he was trying to seduce a woman.

“Yes, oh yes,” the woman purred back at him.

Katherine colored at the sound of the hushed voices.  It reminded her too much of the last time that she had seen Garrett.  How she had squirmed against his fingers, begging for him to touch her.

“Give me your tongue,” the man demanded before Katherine could hear the sound of rustling clothes and heavy breathing.  She turned to withdraw from the room when she heard another whimper, one that sounded very familiar.

“Robin you feel so small in my arms,” the other voice said, halting Katherine's withdrawal.

Peeping around the edge of the door frame she found her sister locked
in
Victor's arms.  He seemed to overpower her with his size.  His hand grasped at Robin's backside as he lifted her off of her toes.  Thoroughly embarrassed Katherine spun back around and nearly screamed as she bumped into someone who stood behind her.

Garrett laid his finger over her lips to keep her silent before pulling her back out into the hall and quietly shutting the door.  Her heart took an unexpected leap at seeing him again and she tried to tamp down the moment of happiness, replacing it with humiliation at having listened in on her sister's rather private conversation and been caught.

Looking back at Katherine, Garrett took in her flushed face.  “What were you doing in there?” he asked quietly, watching her struggle for composure.

“I was just...” she began but trailed off as he stepped closer.

“Were you looking for tips for our next time?” 
His gaze flew to her lips. 
She could sense how badly he wanted to reach out and touch her, mostly because she felt it to
o
.

“Don't touch me Garrett,” she pulled away from him slowly. “And I thought you were angry with me about the last time that we saw each other.”

Her movements were slow and he took advantage by reaching out and running his finger along her wet lip.  “Of course not Kat,” he told her softly.  “All you ever have to do is ask and I could forgive you for anything.”

Katherine longed to reach her tongue out to lick the tip of his finger, but at hearing the nickname she frowned and pulled back until nearly the entire width of the hallway separated them.  She couldn't allow anything to happen, not again.

“I'm sorry about last time.  I was...” she paused, unable to find the right word to describe just how she felt. Giving up she sighed, “But that doesn't mean that I'm going to give up my goals just so that we can do things like that.  I simply can't.”

Ignoring her statement he gestured to the closed door.  “I assume they will be engaged soon.  From what I've heard, she might have agreed to it already.”

Nodding uncomfortably Katherine considered where she should run to and if he would follow her if she did try to flee.  Seeing him again was too much.  She wanted to yell at him that he should be angry with her, but she kept her mouth shut.  Maybe it hadn't meant that much to him and he had just been staying away from her because he had been bored with her.  Yet he didn't seem bored now, he seemed ready to pounce as soon as he was released from some invisible cage.

“It would be even more important for you to marry a Lord after Robin marries Victor.” Garrett commented and Katherine nearly nodded before she realized what he was implying.  “With Robin married to a rich man, you would need to keep the family respectable and well positioned.  Am I right?” he continued watching her as her eyes widened.  How could he know, she wondered.  “You really are too transparent for such schemes,” he told her.  “Was it her idea or someone else’s?”

Katherine wondered again about running but held firm with her chin up.  “It was mine,” she said.  “I'm the one who's always wanted a title.”

“Liar,” he whispered
.
  “It's clear that your sister is the conniving one, not you.”

Garrett stepped closer and Katherine found that she could back up no
further.  It was time to keep her
ground or run away frightened.

“Are you that afraid of yourself when I hold you?”  Garrett was nearly touching her as he took one last step.  “Or are you really looking for a Lord like you've said?”

“I'm...I uh...”  Katherine stammered at his nearness.

“If I had been a lord, would you have chosen me?” he asked softly.  “That would have made everything easier for us.  I've never wanted to be part of the aristocracy but for you, it would have been worth it.”

She couldn't answer that an
d he knew it.  He knew that the
only thing that stood in their way was a stupid title that her mother demanded she receive.

“If the only reason that we are apart is some conniving plan that someone else has forced on you, I will easily break that barrier down,” he whispered, inching closer.

She blinked at the threat but stood her ground as he narrowed in like a vulture.  “That is far from the only reason that I've rejected you.  You need to leave it at that,” she told him before turning quickly and running away from him.

Katherine was pleasantly surprised when she discovered Kent sitting next to her at dinner that night, and Garrett placed much farther away with a solid frown wrinkling his brow.  It would allow her to talk to Kent at greater length and discover what all they had in common since so far she had found nothing.

“Do you keep any animals other than your horses?” she asked as they waited for the second course to be served.

“No.”

“Not even hunting dogs?”  He shook his head.  Katherine was surprised, she had never heard of a man of his station not keep
ing
at least one hunting dog.  “Then you don't hunt?”

“Not very often, no.” He remarked on the brilliance of her eyes and Katherine simpered politely before diving back into her questions.  She didn't care that he thought she was pretty; she needed to know if they could have some things in common to build a friendship on.  He was handsome, she was handsome, but that wasn't enough for a good marriage, as her mother and father had proven to her with their constant bickering.  “Do you enjoy horseback riding?” she asked.

Shoving his fork into the pheasant with raspberry sauce, Kent kept his eyes from meeting hers.  “I was trained on it, but I am not fond of long rides, no.”

Taking his reserve as shyness Katherine jumped at the next activity that she thought he might enjoy.  “Are you a great reader then?”

“No,” he said simply as he took a large bite of the meat and rolled it around his mouth.

Becoming slightly frustrated with his unhelpful attitude Katherine nearly screamed, but instead of giving up she kept her face controlled as she asked him, “Then what is it that you do in your spare time?”

Grinning wickedly, he admitted, “Nothing good.”

Could he really be that depraved?  Unwilling to give up on him, she smiled brilliantly and then returned to her food.  She could work with it, she told herself.  Any man could be fixed if he wanted to be and the fact that he was looking for a wife must mean that he was willing to change.  Right?

Looking across the table Katherine felt sorry for Winnie who had been set between an old man who only talked about accounting methods and an even older man who appeared to be deaf and occasionally seemed to be sleeping through a few courses of the meal.  Winnie could hardly enjoy her first formal dinner when she was surrounded by such doddering old men.

Katherine tried to keep her entertained from across the table but each time they started to talk, the accountant gave his opinion and then attempted to draw Winnie into another conversation about his practice.

By the end of the dinner Katherine was unhappy to find that Kent was not the type of man to open up much about himself.  If they kept their conversations focused around their present activity at the dinner table, or other events that they were looking forward to over the weekend, Katherine could enjoy a lively chat with him.  But any mention of his past shut him up quickly.  Just how bad had he been, she thought to herself as he avoided another question about his estate and his habits.

After dinner, the party split up with some of the ladies taking tea, some gentlemen retiring to the library for brandy and cigars, others seemed to sneak quickly outside to the gardens for a few romantic moments.  Walking past the garden doors, Katherine considered taking a short walk but noticed Garrett standing right outside the doors, waiting for her.  Instead she hurried on towards the room that the ladies were gathering towards.

Katherine noticed Victor joining the men and after a few minutes Robin passed by.  She pulled her aside to an unoccupied room and looked around to make sure that no one was listening in.

“I caught you and Victor kissing earlier today,” she confessed.  Robin blushed a little at her sister's stare and Katherine had to wonder if she had only just seen the beginning to something more torrid, like what she had done with Garrett.  “Do you think he's going to propose soon?” she asked.

Robin nodded.  “Yes I think so, maybe even before the ball.  That would be nice because then I could start planning it with these grounds in mind, I think it would be best to have it here rather than at his London house.”  Leaning in close she whispered, “One of his ex-lovers told me that his place in London looks like a richly designed brothel.”  Looking around the hall Robin took notice of all the antiques and aged woods.  “This house looks much more respectable for our wedding, despite all of the work that it needs.”

Katherine's jaw dropped as she stared at her sister, unable to believe what she was saying and then quickly trying to gloss over.  “You met one of his old lovers?”

“Of course, she's here tonight,” Robin said.  “Actually a few of them are here tonight, I'm not quite sure how many,” she said offhandedly.

“And that doesn't matter to you?  How did you even find out who they were?”

Robin laughed at her sister's shocked face.  “Victor is very open about his past exploits.  I asked him and he told me, besides he isn't engaging in any now and I don't know that I'd mind if he did.  Many young men have mistresses.  That way they bother their wives less often,” she assured her sister.

Katherine could not imagine being so nonchalant about other women that her future husband had kissed.  Just thinking about Garrett having ex-lovers made her anger rise, and she didn't even want him to marry her.  She suddenly wondered if it would bother her less with Kent than it did with Garrett.

“Victor has such an appetite for that sort of thing that I wouldn't want him to depend on just me,” Robin said.  Looking at her sister's expression she laughed.  “I'm not marrying Victor for love; I'm marrying him because of what he can give me, money.”

“What about the kiss that I saw?  You seemed to be enjoying that.”

Robin made a face before laughing.  “I fake it for him.  Victor's the one who likes that stuff.  I just try to play along for his sake.”

“Then you don't like kissing him?”  Had Garrett been holding her that same way, speaking the same words, she would have smoldered into a pile of ashes, she would not have been able to hold back.  Could what he had told her be true, were they different from many of the other couples in that they did desire each other?

“Like it?  God no!” she laughed.  “His tongue feels like a slug and he's always tilting my head when we kiss like I can't pick the right angles and he has to show me.”  Wrinkling her nose she added, “I really don't know why the other women did it willingly with him, some of them he didn't even pay.”

There must be something wrong with Robin, Katherine decided.  It was the only explanation that made sense.  Yet she remembered that it had been the same for her mother with her father.  Maybe when they were young they had shown affection towards each other but how long ago had that been?  How could it be that not all women felt a physical attraction with the man that they were married to?

“How are things going with Lord Kent?” Robin asked, “I watched the two of you at dinner.  I think he might be interested enough if you catch him soon.” 

Kent was everything that her family wanted her to find.  She thought back to the few talks that she'd had with her sister when they were younger about what kinds of husbands they wanted.  Why had they never discussed if they would have the same interests as their future husband, or what falling in love would even feel like?

“We don't have much in common but yes, he is a very nice man,” Katherine agreed with a sad attempt at a smile.

“And titled.” Robin leaned in to hug her sister briefly.  “If we play this right, we could both be securely married within a year.  Think of how that will make mother feel.  She'd be proud of both of us.”

Guilt stabbed Katherine as she thought of her mother and how it would feel to be told that she had disgraced their family.  What about their father who could be dying at that moment?  She had always done what was best for her family and without question that would be marrying Kent.  Then why did this duty seem much worse than anything else that they had ever asked of her?