A Taste of Honey

by Lindsay Kiernan

  “I have to correct you,” he said as he walked casually beside her at the same pace as her hurried one. “I know many lords who would have done much worse.” He leaned in closer, “And you would be scandalized if I told you what a duke would have done.”

  If he kept walking beside her, they would enter the dance together. Katherine couldn't risk being seen that way. “You can't go in there with me,” she told him, as he grinned unapologetically at her.

  “If you go in before we are finished discussing this, then I will have to.” He waited patiently for her next move, his lips crooking into a smile.

  “Then I'll stay out here the entire night, refusing to talk to you,” she threatened and turned around to return to her bench and prove that she was stubborn enough and willing to do so.

  “I'd rather stay outside as well,” he confessed, sitting beside her on the same bench and stretching his long legs out in front of him as if he had no other plans for the evening.

  Katherine sat quietly for a moment, trying to solve her problem. He wanted something and would not leave until he had received it, but should she give in? Letting him continue his little game did not seem like the best way to handle the situation. “If I let you kiss me, will you leave me alone forever?” she asked.

  “No. But if you kiss me I won't tell anyone about the other night. However, that does not mean that I won't try to see you again.”

  Katherine couldn't handle the thought of continued blackmail, the fear that he might decide to renege on their agreement and tell someone, but all she needed was a little time; time to find someone who would make her mother happy. If she was very lucky then she would find someone who would make her happy as well.

  Closing her eyes she cursed softly. “Fine, as long as you promise not to tell anyone about the other night, or tonight for that matter.” She then waited with her eyes closed for a kiss that never came. Opening them back up she peaked over at his face and saw the same smile that warmed her insides like a sip of hot tea and honey pouring down her throat. “Aren't you going to kiss me?” she asked, annoyed that he hadn't gotten it over with already.

  “The deal that you agreed to was that you would kiss me,” he told her and she thought back to the exact wording.

  “Well yes but... I mean... I thought you meant,” she sputtered, her face going red again.

  “I won't tell Mrs. Brentley anything about our two meetings, if you kiss me,” he said and leaned back, waiting for her reply.

  She just needed a bit more time, she reasoned with herself. Katherine tried not to shy away, even though his slouching figure meant that she had to nearly lay across him before her lips could reach his. Resting her hand on his chest for support Katherine set her lips briefly against his.

  Before she could pull away his arms came up around her waist like a vice and he bit gently at the tip of her ear before whispering, “You'll have to do better than that.”

  Trying to avoid the warning bells going off in her head Katherine brought her lips back to his, opening them slightly and licking his lower lip the same way that he had once done to her. A deep rich groan vibrated through his body and Katherine felt her own limbs drinking in the feeling from it. One of his hands ran up her back, settling in her hair as he titled her head to better plunge his tongue within her mouth.

  She had hoped that her second kiss would not be as intense as their first, that way she could tell herself that it had been a fleeting moment. Instead she felt more entranced and unable to stop herself from enjoying the feel of him beneath her.

  Deciding that her debt had been paid, he released his grip on her, allowing her to move off of him again so that she could straighten the skirts of her dress.

  “You swear that you won't tell anyone, right?” she asked extending her hand out to take his, and make their deal official.

  Taking the soft hand he pulled her closer before gently kissing the side of her cheek, “We are far from finished,” he whispered before releasing her.

  Katherine considered slapping him across the face, but the way he smiled at her, she knew that was what he expected her to do. So she stood up and fled from his sight instead, hoping that his threats to see her again would soon be forgotten or ignored.

  Chapter 6

  Katherine had been absent from the dance for much longer than she had intended. She hurried to re-enter the ballroom and discovered that no one seemed to have noticed her absence.

  Circling the room to reach Mrs. Brentley and her friends, she found that everyone's attention was instead riveted to a couple dancing in the center of the room. Even those on the dance floor were whispering and watching the pair as they moved about the room. With a sense of dread, that she already knew what she would find, Katherine peeked around a few of the people, trying to catch a glimpse of who was causing such an uproar.

  Victor Sullivan and Robin Wellings did not seem unaware of the stir that they were creating as they flaunted their disdain for society's rules by dancing together in the middle of the room. Robin, in particular, seemed to enjoy the shock and horror on everyone’s faces, including Mrs. Brentley who sat off to the side shaking her head.

  Passing through the people Katherine could hear clips of their conversations, all of which seemed to center on her sister and Victor. “I've never seen him dance at any of the events,” one of the ladies commented to the woman beside her.

  “I've always doubted that the men and women from that group even knew how to dance,” her friend whispered back, as Katherine quickly shuffled past them. Even she was getting looks now, for being the twin of such an outrageous woman.

  The way they were dancing also seemed to cause uproar, their bodies touched more often than the waltz called for. Victor's hand occasionally strayed lower than it should have, which made a few of the older women gasp when they saw it. It was true that Victor knew the dance, but he seemed to create his own pace with it, making wildly quick turns that would have been hard for most women to keep up with. Yet Robin had always possessed a natural sense of balance and perfect timing. She adjusted quickly to him, moving with his every step and never faltering.

  “She won't be able to get that one up to scratch,” one of Mrs. Brentley's friends whispered ominously, once Katherine had reached the small circle of women. “Sullivan's been engaged before to women like her, but he drives them away before the wedding day.”

  “Why does he break it off?” Katherine asked, curious to hear that her sister was not the first woman from a good background to take an interest in him.

  “It's never been his choice, always the women who break it off.” The woman began shaking her head at Robin as if she knew that this one dance would lead to a life of scandal and heartache. “At least they get some sense in them before completely ruining their lives. Although by that point most of the other men view Victor's previous fiancés as ruined. Most of the women were married away shortly afterwards to other men, to avoid some of the scandal.”

  “How many times has he been engaged?” Katherine asked the one who seemed to know more than the others about her sister's new love interest.

  “I don't know, at least three times,” she said, as if the number did not matter.

  Katherine waited out the song, even refusing offers to dance in the hopes of talking to Robin once she had finished dancing with Victor.

  Instead of parting, as was customary after a song had finished, the two agreed to dance the next, and the next, and the next. It was as if they sought to break every rule set down by their society. Generally, no one was supposed to dance more than three dances with the same partner at any one event. To everyone's continued surprise Robin and Victor danced six in a row before even parting for refreshments. Katherine realized that she could not keep rejecting the men's offers to dance and she agreed to let Oliver lead her away to the floor.

  “I'm very sorry that my sister is causing such a stir at your father's party. I don't understand what she's thinking,” Katherine said, but she did know what Rob
in was thinking, and it scared her. Robin was now going out of her way to lay claim to Victor, and to let women like Mrs. Brentley know that she didn't care about their opinions on what she should do.

  Oliver looked her over sympathetically. “It's fine Katherine, you needn't worry,” he insisted. “I had been trying to choose which of you I should pursue with my attentions. This helps to clarify things for me. You have a more stable nature than you sister does.”

  Katherine tried to smile at what she was sure was intended as a compliment, but her lips ached from the attempt. Like everyone else, Oliver saw her as only a half, not a whole, and as usual, it cut her to think that she would always be viewed that way by the people around her. She reminded herself that the man that she had just met in the garden had been different. He had known right away and when offered Robin, he had rejected her. It offered her a small comfort that she might still find someone who would see her as being unique.

  “May I cut in?” a deep voice asked from behind Katherine and she craned her neck to better see him. The insistent pressure of Oliver's hand on her back made it difficult to turn and look and she realized that he was annoyed by the intrusion.

  “Not at this moment,” Oliver replied rudely before changing their pace to dance further into the crowds and away from the man. Katherine was only able to catch a short glimpse of the man with dark brown hair, wide shoulders, and vivid green eyes before she was swept away and he disappeared from her view.

  “I believe that we should start an official courtship,” Oliver said, returning to what he viewed as their previous topic. “You wouldn't have to be pestered by some of the other men who have come sniffing around.” He gestured to the area where the other man had just stood, while sneering mockingly.

  Katherine was taken aback by just how crude Oliver could be, and what a rich snob he was despite having no fortune of his own to speak of. “I don't believe that would be prudent,” she told him blandly. “I have not gotten to know any of the men courting me well enough to narrow my attention to just one.”

  Oliver frowned at her like a spoiled young boy who was being denied a precious toy. Well, let him find another girl for him to lay his claim to, Katherine thought before ending the dance and walking off to find Mrs. Brentley.

  “Where's Robin?” she asked, searching the room for her sister.

  “She's in the carriage,” Mrs. Brentley informed her. “I was waiting for your cloaks to be gathered so that we could leave.” The two stood in an awkward silence for a moment before Mrs. Brentley turned back to Katherine. “I would like to help persuade your sister to choose a better match than Victor Sullivan. Before I speak to her, I need to know whether or not you think she'll even listen to me. Is Robin a woman that can be reasoned with?”

  “Not often, I'm afraid,” Katherine admitted warily, wishing that she could speak higher of her sister than that.

  The carriage ride home was very awkward, and quiet. Mrs. Brentley did not scold Robin for going against her advice, but she did not praise her either. The few words she did speak were directed at Katherine who sat beside her. “I was happy to see you dance with so many partners tonight,” Mrs. Brentley said. “With Oliver Buckman too I noticed,” her brows knitted in a small frown. “When I spoke with him tonight he seemed a little...”

  “Empty headed,” Katherine said bluntly.

  Mrs. Brentley smiled with a small wink. “We'll find you someone better,” she promised and sat back in her seat, content that at least one of her charges seemed to be taking her advice.

  Robin refused to comment on any of the topics being discussed as she was clearly lost in her own thoughts of how the night had gone. “He's amazing,” she admitted once they had both closed themselves into their room for the night. “Victor is in a position where he doesn't have to care about what people think of him. Money can be very powerful, and he has more money than most of London's elite put together.”

  “He didn't seem very well liked by the others at the party,” Katherine warned. She was worried that her sister's rich husband could alienate her from friends and acquaintances. Not to mention that if Robin continued her scandalous behavior it could hurt Katherine's chances of marrying a titled gentleman, which appeared to be the only way to make her mother happy.

  Since everyone saw her as Robin's other half she worried that after tonight's display, most of the people in the room would view Robin as a piece of rotten fruit; one that could spoil the other ones around it. With Katherine as her sister, many might assume that she too had already been affected by her sister's inappropriate behavior and was beyond consideration for higher society.

  “I think that Mrs. Brentley is right about her worries. If you married Victor I don't know that you would be treated very well in public.”

  “I told you, it doesn't matter what other people think. People will always be jealous of those who have more money than they do.” Robin pulled out the large rose she had set in her hair for the dance, before undoing the rest to ready herself for bed. “Besides, no one will be able to ignore the sister-in-law of a rich duke or lord. As long as you marry someone respectable, neither of us should have anything to fear.”

  “There are not very many titled men,” Katherine protested.

  “You don't even have to find a rich one. I'm sure that Victor would be willing to set up an allowance for you if I asked him.”

  Robin seemed to have full confidence in her power over her new beau and spoke of financial matters as if they had already been settled. Katherine wondered how much of Robin's enthusiasm for Victor was solely due to his money. She had not heard anything about what similar interests they might have and whether or not Robin was even attracted to him.

  Her new obsession with Victor had also apparently erased all thoughts of Katherine's meeting with the stranger in the Buckman's garden. She was grateful that she did not have to explain to her sister that they still were not fully rid of the man, yet. It was only then that she realized she still did not know his name. After he had made it clear that he was not titled, and therefore not a possible choice for her, Katherine had forgotten to ask him who he was. Now she wondered if he had not told her on purpose.

  There was one thing that Katherine did agree with Robin about. If her sister did marry Victor, it would be all the more important for Katherine to try and marry a titled man like her mother had demanded she do. Again, she felt the weight of having to be the more responsible sister, if only to please her family. Any more late night kisses with her handsome stranger were strictly forbidden, as any form of relationship with him could not help her accomplish her mother and sister's goals.

  Bursting into their room the next morning, Winnie ran over to Robin and nearly jumped in the air when she tried to stop. “You must come and see this!”

  Before either girl could react, Winnie was out of the room again. Katherine and Robin quickly followed, running down the stairs to the first floor and over to Winnie who stood guard outside of the door to the breakfast nook.

  “They're beautiful!” Winnie exclaimed, before stepping aside to allow both girls in. In the middle of the side table, laden with various breakfast dishes, was a vase of roses. The blooms were larger than any Katherine had ever seen and too perfectly shaped to not be from the hot house. “They're the same color as the one I put in your hair last night,” Winnie reminded them. “They must be for Robin, but there was no note to tell who they were from.”

  Running over to smell the fresh bouquet Robin giggled with joy. “They must be from Victor; he was admiring the little rose in my hair last night.” Although Winnie had not heard about Victor she was delighted that her mother's charges were receiving gifts so early in the season. Winnie insisted that she had to hear every detail about him while they ate breakfast together. The girls were so excited by the flowers that they entered the room without noticing that it was already occupied.

  Katherine bent over to sniff one of the roses when a familiar laugh from the corner of the room stopped her
cold and she refused to turn around and look at its source. It couldn't be, she thought as both her sister and Winnie turned to greet the noise.

  “Garrett! Don't laugh at us,” Winnie cried as she moved to hit her brother who stood in the corner with his plate of food in hand.

  “So you girls really do go crazy over flowers. I thought it had become cliché by now,” he said and brought his arm up to deflect another of Winnie's weak attempts to hit him.

  Katherine found his eyes already twinkling with delight as he watched her expression of shock and disbelief.

  “Katherine, Robin, this is my horrid brother Garrett,” Winnie said as a quick introduction before going to fill her plate for breakfast.

  She realized that he must have known last night who she was, that she was staying with his family. He had planned all of it out, so that after forcing her to kiss him, she would be confronted with his presence at breakfast the very next day. Only then was she allowed to find out who he was.

  Katherine wanted to kill him for all of the humiliation that he was causing her. When he had threatened last night to see her again, she had not believed that it would be this soon. Only he had known, which gave him all of the power.

  Walking closer to her, he smiled smugly at her shock. “Since the roses were for Robin, that would make you Katherine,” he said casually as if it were the first time that they had met. He passed by her, and pulled aside a chair for her to sit in. A fresh cup of tea and a small jar of honey had already been placed on the table in front of the chair. Katherine sat down cautiously, knowing that she was in some trap that he had set for her. Setting his plate beside hers, Garrett sat down in the chair next to hers, his thigh even brushing against her skirts lightly, as if by accident.

  It was too much to take in all at once. She stood up quickly, as if the chair had scorched her skirts. “I'm not hungry this morning,” she told her sister and friend as she turned to leave.