A Taste of Honey

by Lindsay Kiernan

  “Next year is my coming out, since I am nearly old enough, Victor invited me to join his party as well.”

  Kent actually looked shocked to realize that she was that old already. “Next year,” he mumbled as Winnie brushed past him.

  Katherine pulled at Kent's arm before he could say something more to upset Winnie, who was already seething as she began to stomp away. He definitely wasn't making things easier for her to sneak away and see him; Winnie was their only chance for cover.

  Victor's tall figure came striding over to them and he grasped Robin, kissing her hand tenderly before acknowledging his other guests. “I have installed you in the upstairs family quarters,” he informed them. “They are much nicer than most of my guest rooms that the other guests will be staying in.”

  Robin beamed up at him. She enjoyed being treated differently than everyone else. It helped confirm that she was as special as she had always thought herself to be.

  “Are there enough rooms in the family suites?” Mrs. Brentley asked as she took a survey of the house behind her that extended for rows and rows of perfectly placed large windows.

  “The house contains six family suites, nineteen guest rooms and a separate building for the bachelors, which I believe should be adequate,” he told her. While Mrs. Brentley had not tried to hide her opinion of Victor, he was already well aware that she felt he was beneath her charges despite his wealth and possessions.

  Katherine was pleased to hear that she would not be sharing a room with her sister. Any more of Robin's tales about his wealth might cause her to become physically sick.

  Victor hurried them past the other groups of guests and led them into the large empty grand hallway. He gestured to some of the antique fixtures that looked old and had suffered through irregular polishing jobs.

  “I purchased the house and property from an impoverished Duke and so far I have kept almost everything the same. Clearly some of the rooms could use some updating and I have the finances but not the required taste to redo the entire estate.” He was quickly greeted by Robin's suggestions on what he could do to improve the house. She could have told him keeping wild animals and hay in each room would have improved it, and he still would have beamed at her as if she were the smartest woman that he had ever met.

  After walking up two flights of stairs and twisting through a few long hallways, they were shown the family quarters where they were to reside for the next week. The servants broke off, each of them taking one of the ladies to show her the suite of rooms that she would occupy. Katherine couldn't help thinking during her own tour of the rooms that everything Victor bought seemed to be too large and gaudy, maybe Robin's help and advice would be needed. Her suite consisted of three rooms. The first was a small sitting room, designed for private guests and was built with a small reading nook by the window.

  The second room was the bedroom with a large canopy style bed that Katherine had come to associate with only the very wealthy. Each pink cotton cover looked new and the drapes smelled clean and fresh. She was surprised at what lengths he had gone to just to impress Robin's friends and sister. Maybe given his past of broken engagements he was serious about trying to impress all of her relations to insure that the woman did not leave him again.

  Finally, the third was a small powder room just off of the bedroom. A claw foot tub sat in the corner and outside of the window Katherine could see a perfect view of the stables. The large barn alone looked larger than most houses that she had entered back home.

  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 too.

  “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 and 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 keeping 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?r />
  “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?

  As much as Katherine tried to ignore Garrett and her feelings for him, she had to admit the truth; she was starting to fall in love with him. Would the comfort of knowing that she had pleased her family be enough for her to forget the regrets of not marrying for love when she had been given the chance?

  “Yes that would make mother happy,” Katherine answered grimly and left her sister alone so that she could seek out Lord Kent. Walking past the sound of male laughter and the thick scent of cigar smoke, she peeked her head inside to look for him. In the far corner she could make out his darkly handsome features.

  Unlike the other men, he sat alone, swirling his brandy before each idle sip from the glass. Lost in his thoughts, he looked like a grumpy young child and slightly hopeless as if no one could fix all of his many problems. The half empty bottle beside him did not seem to be doing the job. She knew he had been through a parade of mistresses, was it all just for fun or was Kent a man looking for something? Could she really accomplish what so many bottles of brandy and countless other women could not?

  Katherine had become drawn to him as a safer path than if she were with Garrett. Watching him drink deeply from the bottle she began to wonder if he saw her the same way. If they were married, she would let him live with his secrets, how could she not when she was hiding her own secrets from him already?