Hattie Wilkinson Meets Her Match

by Michelle Styles

  ‘Sir Christopher Foxton for you, ma’am.’ Mrs Hampstead gave a loud sniff.

  Hattie stood up, determined to be gracious, rather than resentful. She held out her hand and ignored the way Moth ran immediately to him. ‘Sir Christopher. How good of you to call.’

  ‘Shall I stay, ma’am?’ Mrs Hampstead asked, giving Kit a fierce glare.

  ‘I believe I can handle Sir Christopher.’

  ‘Very well, ma’am.’ Mrs Hampstead picked Moth up and tucked her under her arm.

  The silence when she left threatened to suffocate Hattie. She gulped a breath of air.

  ‘Harriet.’ Kit came forwards, his arms open wide as if he was going to enfold her in his embrace.

  Hattie held up her hand and he stopped immediately. Standing close enough to touch if she reached out her hand. Hattie kept her arm rigidly at her side. ‘You wished to see me, Sir Christopher?’

  ‘You are angry with me. You need to know that I did not want it to be this way. I fought against it. This thing, this connection between us, was not supposed to happen. I conduct my affairs by strict rules. Always and without exception. But with you, I find myself breaking them.’ He shook his head. ‘Before you become angry, think about what this is doing to me. What agony it has been.’

  ‘I have every right to be angry.’ She swallowed hard and struggled to maintain control. The last thing she was going to do was to give him the satisfaction of seeing how deeply he affected her. She hated confrontations, but this time she had to do it. ‘You were appalling. I never asked you to fight against anything.’

  ‘I listened to you, Hattie.’ He gave one of his smiles that had the power to turn her insides to mush. ‘You see. I did as you asked. I met my mother. Surely that means something.’

  She took a steadying breath. ‘I’m supposed to be impressed with this sacrifice of yours?’

  He tilted his head. ‘You’re not?’

  ‘I am busily wondering what sort of game you are playing. You’ve suffered some minor inconveniences and now expect the world to bow down in gratitude.’

  ‘I’m not playing any game. Your words reached me deep inside.’ He thumped his fist against his chest. ‘You made me realise the sort of man I wanted to be. Last night, I wandered the fells, unable to rest. I thought a lot about how my life was going and what I wanted from it. I most definitely didn’t want my mother to die without me having taken the opportunity to meet her properly. I intend to do that. I am staying.’

  ‘Good.’ Hattie crossed her arms. What did he want—a medal for doing the right thing? ‘I am sure your mother will be pleased to have you here.’

  ‘Harriet, I’m staying. I want things to continue between us.’ He put his hands on her shoulders.

  Her heart thudded. He called her Harriet again.

  ‘Are you seriously suggesting that everything is forgotten? That we go back to what we had before?’ Hattie crossed her arms. ‘Summer is over, Sir Christopher.’

  Kit watched her much as a cat watched a mouse. ‘And your objection is?’

  ‘What we had was destroyed. I have no wish to go back to that.’

  ‘What do you want from me, Harriet?’ His voice was soft and insistent. ‘Tell me and it shall be yours. I’ll even marry you if it will make you happy.’

  Hattie knew if he touched her again, she’d melt. And nothing would be solved. Kit might only want a physical relationship, but she wanted more. She deserved more.

  ‘I don’t want anything from you, Sir Christopher.’ She hugged her arms about her waist. ‘I explained why we must part. My reasoning has not changed. We agreed the rules when our affair began.’

  ‘Rules are made to be broken.’

  ‘Really?’ She lifted an eyebrow. ‘Rules should be broken only when it suits you. I don’t live that way.’

  Kit visibly winced.

  ‘I was an ass. It was wrong of me. I know what is important.’ He held out his hand. ‘I didn’t want to feel like this, Hattie. I fought against it, but it happened. I have accepted that now and stopped fighting. I want to do the right thing with your help.’

  He didn’t want it to happen. He accepted it. Hattie rolled her eyes. She was supposed to think this was an apology? Or, worse still, some sort of lily-livered offer? ‘Fight harder and you will get over it. I promise.’

  ‘What if I tell you that I am prepared to stay in

  Northumberland? For as long as you like?’

  ‘And I am supposed to believe you? Just like that? The great Sir Christopher shows up at my house, gives a highly reluctant marriage proposal and I fall into his arms? Is that the way it works?’

  A wicked glint appeared in his eyes. ‘It sounds like a good scenario to me.’

  ‘If that is all you wish to discuss, I shall bid you good day. You must leave, Sir Christopher. We have nothing further to say to each other. Ever.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘What is going on here?’ Kit asked when he arrived back at the Lodge and saw a stand off between Rupert and Johnson. Rupert physically blocked the door to his bedroom while Johnson glowered at him. Kit controlled his temper. The last thing he wanted to do was to have to deal with Rupert and Johnson. All he wanted was his bed and sleep. After he rested, he knew he’d come up with a viable plan to win Harriet.

  ‘A slight misunderstanding, sir,’ Johnson said. ‘Mr Hook wishes to prevent me packing your things.’

  ‘Returning to London would be a mistake, Kit. I beg you to reconsider.’

  ‘Sir Christopher never reconsiders, Mr Hook. I have explained this to you several times,’ Johnson said with a long-suffering sigh. ‘I know my gentleman, begging your pardon. You should allow me to do my duty.’

  ‘Unpack the bags, Johnson. I want the rose bedroom made ready as well.’ Kit looked hard at his manservant. ‘We are staying...for the foreseeable future.’

  Both men’s jaws dropped open. Johnson recovered himself first.

  ‘Very good, sir. The rose bedroom will be made ready.’ Johnson bustled off, shaking his head.

  Kit fought hard not to laugh. He had never seen his manservant as flummoxed before. Seeing Johnson shaken out of his usual reserve was the sole moment of merriment he’d been able to derive from the catastrophe.

  ‘We are not going to London?’ Rupert squeaked.

  ‘Are you deaf, Rupert? To repeat myself—we are staying.’

  ‘Truly?’ Rupert’s voice cracked. ‘We are staying. Here in Northumberland? I’m about to start believing in miracles.’

  Kit raised an eyebrow. Miracles? Right now he needed one, but he would not allow himself to lose hope. He intended to prove to Harriet that he was worthy and worth taking a risk on.

  ‘I simply saw the error of my ways,’ Kit said in a tone that allowed for no further questions. ‘I regret that I haven’t been able to speak to you about the lecture before now. Perhaps going on about the mating habits of the newt while staring directly at Miss Parteger was not the best strategy. There was rather a shocked ripple which ran through the crowd. Next time, think about your audience’s sensibilities.’

  Rupert had the grace to flush. ‘I adore her. The words came tumbling out.’ He pressed his hand to his heart. ‘Kit, do you think I have a chance? Her parents want a title and I have none.’

  Kit pursed his lips. Once he would have told Rupert to forget Miss Parteger and move on, but now knowing Harriet, he knew that moving on was the wrong tack. There were times in a man’s life when he had to dig in and fight.

  ‘You are determined on this course?’

  Rupert gave a slow nod.

  ‘Titles are not everything, Rupert. It is more important that you two get on. Sometimes you have to hope.’

  ‘Without a title I am nowhere.’

  ‘Your great-uncle might die without an heir. You’d have a title then.’

  Rupert looked dubious. ‘He has just married a woman young enough to be my sister.’

  ‘It remains a distant possibility, I grant you, but it mig
ht get you a hearing.’

  ‘How will I convince her father and, more importantly, her mother of that? Mr Parteger only found the lecture of passing interest.’

  ‘To a truly determined man, you should see this as an opportunity rather than a door closing in your face.’ Kit repeated the words he’d told himself over and over on the way back to the Lodge.

  ‘She is an angel, Kit. I swear. Every man jack will be after her when she has her Season.’

  ‘Then you shall go to London when she goes, but for now, you can remain here.’ Kit gritted his teeth. London right now held no attraction. He had to hope that Harriet would see sense before he had to take Rupert to London. ‘I promise, Rupert.’

  Rupert nodded, digesting the news. ‘Who is going to use the rose bedroom?’

  Kit noticed the distinct change in subject. A small prickle of concern went through him. What precisely was Rupert planning? ‘My mother.’

  ‘Your mother?’

  ‘Even I have a mother, Rupert,’ Kit said drily. ‘She was lost and now she has been found again. I intend for her to live out the remainder of her days in comfort. And I shall be making my home here, for absence of doubt.’

  ‘And Mrs Wilkinson? The way you cut her at the lecture was the talk of the village.’

  ‘I never discuss ladies, Rupert, you know that. Now get on with your studies. You have a reputation to maintain.’

  Rupert’s face broke into a wide smile. ‘You are right.’

  Kit turned away. Rupert might have a reputation to maintain, but he had a reputation to change. Right now, he wasn’t sure which was the harder task.

  * * *

  Late the next morning, Hattie discovered Stephanie in her drawing room, with a cloth over her eyes as she lay on the chaise-longue.

  After Kit left, Hattie had been unable to summon the energy to do little more than sob. The sobbing had given way to steely determination late in the night. Going and unburdening herself to Mrs Reynaud was now impossible. She shuddered at the thought of explaining the situation to Kit’s mother.

  The only real option had been to go to Stephanie and hope she could bury herself again in trivial tasks, anything to keep from thinking and wishing that it could have been different, that Kit had really meant his proposal.

  ‘You are bold coming here, Hattie,’ Stephanie pronounced without removing the cloth when Hattie announced her presence. ‘After what you did!’

  ‘Is there some problem?’

  ‘Yes, my nerves are torn to shreds.’ Stephanie waved a hand. ‘Yesterday, dear Mrs Hampstead informed me that Sir Christopher was at your house late on the night of Mr Hook’s infamous lecture on the habits of newts. You entertained him. Goodness knows how many other people saw him go in. Your house can be seen from the road. Imagine what would happen if this news gets out! You can’t claim that he was being heroic this time.’

  ‘I’d rather not think about it.’ A shiver went down Hattie’s spine. Of all the times to be seen and remarked on. Right when she was finishing with Kit. She pinched her nose. It was, though, another explanation of why Kit felt the need to offer. ‘It wasn’t what you think, Stephanie.’

  Stephanie tore the cloth from her eyes. ‘You promised, Hattie. My sister! Think about what this will do to poor sweet Livvy!’

  ‘You are not waiting to hear my side.’

  ‘I have been comforting Mrs Hampstead, who is in floods of tears. She told me all about how you used to go out riding and return with grass stains. She thought she knew you!’

  ‘Mrs Hampstead should have spoken to me. I would have explained.’ Hattie removed her bonnet with a trembling hand. Never had she been so angry with herself. She had been foolish in the extreme to think the affair would remain undiscovered.

  ‘Your lover reappeared yesterday morning and you entertained him alone.’ Stephanie’s lip curled. ‘Not content with the other night, was he? He had to make doubly sure that everyone knew what sort of loose woman you are. My sister! You were a widow with a spotless reputation until that man came along. One come-hither glance and you forget your principles. Everything that is important to you.’

  Hattie summoned all of her dignity. Stephanie had no right to speak to her like that. Ever. But screaming at her like a fishwife wasn’t going to solve anything. ‘Sir Christopher made an offer of marriage.’

  ‘And you accepted?’ Stephanie clapped her hands and her entire face changed. ‘You might have said,

  Hattie, you sly puss. I have been worrying so. I couldn’t eat all yesterday and my head pains me. You were really too bad not to think about my nerves.’

  Hattie waited a heartbeat. ‘I refused.’

  ‘You...what?’ Stephanie’s shriek could be heard in two counties. ‘Are you destined for a room in Bedlam?’

  ‘It was an infamous offer, made in such a way that he knew I had to refuse.’ Hattie tapped her foot, feeling her hard-won self-control starting to slip. ‘What sort of woman did he think I was?’

  ‘It was an offer, an offer that could have saved your life.’

  ‘I know the difference between a genuine offer and a pastry crust, easily made and easily broken off, Stephanie. Sir Christopher’s was one of the latter.’

  Hattie lifted her chin proudly. ‘I told you after Charles died that I had no intention of marrying anyone and I meant it.’

  ‘I declare, Harriet Wilkinson, you carry your devotion to your dead soldier too far. I know Charles was the love of your life, but you are facing ruin. Ruin of the most public kind. You couldn’t afford to turn him down. Livvy can’t afford to have you turn him down.’

  Hattie stared at her sister, torn between laughing and crying. What she felt for Charles was a schoolgirl crush that had long since vanished. The Kit-shaped hole in her heart would take far longer to mend. Until the night of the lecture, she’d really believed in him. But there was little point in explaining this to Stephanie. Stephanie only heard what she wanted to hear.

  ‘He made the offer with the expectation that I’d refuse,’ she said carefully. ‘He knew my feelings on marrying again.’

  ‘Was your first marriage that idyllic?’ Stephanie snapped. ‘People get married for reasons of duty and then make the best of it. Will you ever marry again, Hattie? Do you truly require perfection?’

  Hattie regarded her hands. The old Hattie would have simply allowed the assumption to stand, but it was time she stopped hiding behind a façade. ‘You were always wrong about my marriage to Charles. It was a sham from start to finish and I only found out too late.’

  ‘Sham?’ Stephanie looked perplexed. ‘You were so in love with him.’

  Rapidly and with as few words as possible, Hattie explained about her discovery and what she had done about it. Stephanie listened in absolute silence. Telling her proved far easier than telling Kit.

  ‘And now you see why I can’t marry Kit,’ Hattie finished.

  ‘Oh, Hattie, you should have said something!’ Stephanie held out her hand. ‘You are my sister. You should have trusted me enough to explain. I want the best for you.’

  ‘There was nothing you could do.’ Hattie gave a shrug. ‘And I thought if I pretended that it had never happened that it would go away.’

  Stephanie rolled her eyes. ‘Perhaps you were right. If I had known, maybe I would have been more determined that you marry.’

  Hattie glanced at Stephanie. A huge weight fell from her shoulders. Stephanie was behaving remarkably well. And she was right. She should have had enough courage to say the words years ago. ‘I most definitely wouldn’t have wanted more matchmaking. You’ve done enough as it is.’

  Stephanie tapped a finger against her lips. ‘Do you love Sir Christopher?’

  ‘Yes...or rather I thought I did. I thought he was a different man.’ Hattie pressed her hands together. Her feelings for Kit were all jumbled up. She wanted to hate him, but a tiny piece of her kept trying to convince her that he was the sort of man for her. ‘Don’t you see, Stephanie? I have done the same t
hing again—fallen in love with an illusion.’

  ‘Sometimes, Hattie, you have to take a chance. You would have done everyone a favour. Think of the doors which would have opened for Livvy.’

  Hattie shook her head. Trust Stephanie to be thinking of herself and her family’s advancement. ‘I refuse to marry simply to satisfy society, Stephanie.’

  Stephanie pressed her lips together. ‘This is the first time Sir Christopher has offered marriage?’

  ‘To me? Yes.’ Hattie pleated her skirt between her fingers. ‘He only did it because of his mother, I am sure. He was adamant two days ago in his opposition to marriage. It is the only reason I can think of. Imagine being married because his mother forced the issue.’

  ‘His mother?’ Stephanie made a face. ‘Surely Sir Christopher is old enough to decide what to do without his mother’s input. Who is she that she commands such respect? If Sir Christopher is half the man he seems to be, he will have made the offer because he is worried about your reputation. This is typical of your excuses, Hattie. You see problems where there are none. You must trust me on this. I am your older sister.’

  ‘Mrs Reynaud is his mother. They are no longer estranged.’ Hattie clasped her hands together to stop them from trembling. Stephanie had to understand why she had refused the proposal. She was not some desperate young miss grateful for the smallest crumb to fall from his table. ‘You should have heard the proposal—all about how he didn’t want this and how he was breaking all his rules. It was ungracious. He expected me to refuse. It certainly deserved a refusal.’

  Stephanie sat in silence. ‘And where is Sir Christopher now?’ she asked finally. ‘I would like to speak to him.’

  ‘Do not interfere, Stephanie. Allow me to run my life for once. I am a grown up and fully capable of doing so.’

  Stephanie opened and closed her mouth several times. ‘If that is what you desire, Hattie. I wash my hands of you. I will not interfere again, even if you go on bended knee to me.’