A Taste of Honey

by Lindsay Kiernan

  “Is she taking it that badly?” Katherine asked, wincing at Winnie's implied sense of danger. She had not expected Robin to embrace her enthusiastically like Winnie had but at least some understanding. With Winnie's dour looks, that hope was quickly fading.

  “I haven't known her as long as you have, so I don't know if it is her usual temper or not.” Winnie sighed hopelessly. “I think she's hoping that she can still stop you and Garrett from getting married.”

  Katherine bit her lip with worry. “No one is going to stop us from getting married, not even Robin,” she assured Winnie. Katherine turned around to look at the door and wondered what type of doom she would have to deal with. She didn't want to confront her sister on the happiest morning of her life. Yet she would be a coward if she tried to hide from all of it now.

  “I think I should go talk to her,” she said before opening the door back to the hall. Winnie tried to follow her out but Katherine stopped her. “Thank you for offering to help, but if she starts throwing things I think I'd be better at dodging them.” She had meant it as a joke to lighten their mood but Winnie nodded grimly.

  “In case you need me, I'll keep my door open.”

  Katherine tried to smile, hoping that things hadn't gotten that bad. Down the hall she could hear no noise emanating from her sister's room. Even after she stood in front of it for a moment, the air remained silent. With a light knock on the door, Katherine entered and found Robin in her sitting room area, sobbing quietly with her body draped over a daybed. With her face buried amongst the pillows Robin couldn't tell who had entered. “I don't want to talk about this right now Victor. Just go away,” she said, not even lifting her head up.

  “Hello Robin,” Katherine said quietly as she stepped further into the room and took in the destruction that her sister had wrought. One of the curtains had been torn down and crumpled into an expensive pile of useless fabric. A few of the knickknacks and figurines had been taken down and lay in pieces on the floor. Had Katherine not know who was staying there, she would have sworn it was the housing for a woman who had gone mad.

  Finally Robin did raise her head to look at Katherine; the frizz of hair that had come out as a result of her sister's tantrum did little to change her impression that a crazed woman had destroyed the once lovely room. Wondering if she should have taken Winnie up on her offer, Katherine began to step back out of the room.

  Before she could get very far Robin jumped from the settee and hurled at her to stop her retreat. “No, don't go Katherine. Please stay with me.”

  Katherine couldn't think of another time in their lives when Robin had ever asked for her company with such a heartfelt request. With one arm around her sister's back she shut the door.

  “What happened here?” Katherine asked as she glanced over her sister's shoulder. “Was this about me and Garrett?”

  Robin looked around the room as if she too were shocked at what she saw. “No, I don't care about that anymore. I'm...” The words seemed to stick in her throat before she could say them. “I'm sorry that I told you not to marry him. You should marry someone who can make you happy.” Another sob escaped Robin's throat before she buried her face into Katherine's shoulder again.

  Pulling out a small beaded handkerchief from her sleeve Katherine tried to wipe at her sister's face. “He does make me very happy Robin. Why don't you sit down and tell me what all of this is about. Does it have something to do with Victor, or that man I saw you with last night?”

  Shocked that she had been caught, Robin finally nodded her head as she sat down on the edge of the daybed and took the handkerchief. “Yes, some of it.” Nosily blowing her nose in the soft linen she then dabbed at her wet eyes. “I don't think that I want to marry Victor.”

  Relief flooded Katherine who had begun to wonder if Victor would ever make Robin happy. Money would have only been a temporary solution to her problems without ever getting at the root of why Robin was unhappy.

  “Last night I was angry with you because you were happy and I wasn't. And Garrett because he could make you happy. And Victor because he's just a stupid oaf who can't even see that I'm unhappy.”

  Laughing at the long list of guilty people Katherine couldn't help asking, “Are those the only ones?”

  “No,” Robin admitted. “I'm angry with mother, and Mrs. Brentley and everyone else who thinks that I'm useless. I just wanted to prove that I could be something other than the failure that you all think of me as. I thought marrying Victor would prove that I could be better than all of you expected me to be. I was going to show that I could do something for once.”

  With all of the stress that had been put on her to be the best daughter, Katherine had never considered how difficult it would have been to be the 'other' sister. The one that people expected to fail. All of Robin's bad behavior could not be forgiven in one day but wasn't there always some path left open for redemption?

  “You don't have to prove anything to me, Robin. It doesn't matter who either of us marries, we'll still be sisters. I'll still love you.” It felt strange to say the words that Katherine had felt all of her life and it hurt her to see how shocked Robin was to hear them. There were so many things that were left unsaid between them that shouldn't have. Hugging her sister Katherine felt closer to Robin than she ever had before.

  “Will you and Garrett be getting married soon?”

  “Yes, I'd like it to be at his estate. Hopefully soon enough that any gossip from this won't have spread that far north yet.” Nervously she added, “I'd like you to be there.”

  “I will. I promise.” Robin surprised her by adding, “But before then, I'd like to be the one who visits mother and father to tell them about it. You'll have too much on your mind with planning for a wedding to think about how they will take the news. Besides there are some things that I need to look into.”

  “What things?”

  Robin shook her head, refusing to answer.

  Explaining the engagement to her mother was not something that Katherine had been looking forward to right before her wedding and finally she nodded her head in consent. “Write to me as soon as you get there to tell me how father's doing. The last letter I had from mother wasn't very hopeful, but it's so hard to tell with her.”

  Robin agreed as she stood up to wipe the last of her tears. Pulling out a little valise she began packing her things and leaving behind the new items that Victor had bought her.

  “Are you going to break your engagement with Victor?”

  “Yes, but not yet. I have some things that I need to think about before I tell him.”

  Katherine could see no reason to continue the relationship with Victor when Robin had already decided against marrying him. In one night Robin's attitudes had changed causing Katherine to become suspicious. “There's something you aren't telling me, isn't there?”

  “I'll tell you later,” Robin promised. “Once I've figured out what I need to do next.”

  After taking a private breakfast with Winnie and Mrs. Brentley, it was decided that they should leave Victor's residence almost immediately since Robin had already left with Garrett's carriage to go see their parents.

  Katherine tried to explain to Garrett and Mrs. Brentley that Robin was trying to find a new beginning, but neither seemed very hopefully about it.

  “How long do you think it will last?” Garrett asked as they gathered their luggage to leave. “Has your sister ever signaled that she might be interested in a new start before?”

  Katherine didn't know quite how to answer. She had never before believed that she understood her sister this well. “I don't know. Robin may have decided that she hates who she has been, but that doesn't mean that she can simply quit who she was. She never talked to me about anything like that before, but growing up we rarely talked. I spent all of my time with my father and Robin was usually by herself or with my mother. I never realized how much what others thought of her might have affected her behavior. I should have...”

  But Garret
t cut her off with a brief hug. “You can't fix everyone's problems,” he warned her. “Most of it Robin will have to do on her own, if she wants to change.”

  Nodding her head Katherine smiled up at him. “You're right,” she admitted wearily. “At least Robin knows that I'm here for her now.”

  Winnie entered the carriage with sketches of wedding plans already planned out on several sheets of paper. For the rest of the day the three women continued to discuss the arrangements to be made. Garrett sat in the corner of the carriage for most of the day long journey, pretending to be busy with anything else.

  Slowly Katherine was finding her place in her new family's lives. She became excited about her future and even tried to forget the troubles that her sister would be facing that night and what kind of reaction her mother would have.

  Chapter 17

  Arriving at the Brentley's estate, Katherine could not believe the immense house that she would become mistress of one day soon, since Mrs. Brentley had already admitted that she did not want to be in direct control of the estate any longer. Garrett had been taking over many of the duties before and with a new Mrs. Brentley, she saw it as her time to step down.

  While the grounds were not as extensive as Victor's had been, the Brentleys’ boasted a lovely set of garden's surrounding the house with its own set of walkways and riding trails that she was excited to explore. Being north of London, the climate was colder than she was used to and Katherine decided that she would make a new set of warm shawls before the dead of winter hit in a few months time.

  Garrett allowed Winnie to accompany them while he showed her the house and grounds and introduced her to the many servants who dwelt within. Unlike the Sullivan estate, the furnishings were well taken care of and everything looked and smelled new just like the Brentleys’ other home in London. The final room they showed Katherine was the library that both Winnie and Garrett had tried to entice her with. Opening the large double doors, the three stepped into the opulent room that housed many bookshelves at least twelve feet high. A beautiful hand-painted globe rested by one of the desks and Katherine examined the delicate hand writing that labeled each of the countries.

  Garrett even took her to the small reading nook that Winnie had described and she could not wait for the wedding to be over so that she could wrap herself up in a blanket and read by the windows there. The house and everything in it was more beautiful than she had ever imagined.

  Most of their first day together, Winnie and Katherine spent in the family parlor sitting around in the large chairs and discussing the rest of the wedding plans.

  To keep an air of modesty and decorum, it was decided that Garrett and Katherine would announce their engagement as soon as they reached their small estate. But until they were married, Mrs. Brentley asked them to keep a polite distance as the gossip concerning that night had not yet reached their home town. Winnie had been asked to enforce her mother's new rules and she relished the thought of being her friend's chaperone around her brother.

  “No going to his room tonight. As your chaperone I have been told to keep you inside of your room.” Winnie lectured but smiled as she added, “However nothing was said as to whether or not Garrett could be in there with you.”

  Katherine laughed at Winnie's wicked thoughts. “We're getting married in six days. I think that Garrett and I can wait that long without sneaking into each other's rooms.”

  Creeping up behind her, Garrett slid his arm around Katherine's waist. He glanced around to make sure that no one could see them and then kissed the side of her ear and asked quietly, “What can we go without?”

  Katherine's blush was enough proof of what they had been discussing and Garrett looked at her reprovingly. “I don't want you talking about that with my younger sister. Winnie is an innocent young girl and she knows nothing about such things.” This time it was Winnie who blushed before she turned and rapidly exited the room.

  Katherine laughed as she realized that his sister was holding onto some secret that she refused to tell them. “You shouldn't tease Winnie like that,” she chided even as she allowed Garrett to turn her around until she faced him. He placed a gentle kiss across her lips in between each of things she said. “She's less than a year younger than me. She really isn't a child anymore. Winnie is a grown woman who will likely be married by this time next year.”

  Garrett winced at the idea of his sister being old enough to marry. “It's different with Winnie. She will always be my little sister no matter how old she is,” he protested before he rested the palm of his hand against Katherine's breast, smoothing the fabric with the tips of his fingers until her nipple budded against the surface.

  Knowing that he did not intend on stopping soon, she tried to put an end to his teasing. “Garrett, we can't do this here,” Katherine said as she gestured to the small family parlor and tried to gently push him away.

  “Then where?”

  “No where. Not until the wedding.”

  “Why not? Our chaperone is gone and my mother went to town to post the banns for the wedding. Who is here to interrupt us?” he asked. Each flick of his fingers against her breasts, mixed with the swirl of his tongue along her neck, ears and into her mouth made Katherine's resolve drift away slowly until she could only think about the feel of him and she nodded her head sheepishly. “Oh all right, but we can't do this tomorrow,” she insisted as he led her away and towards the guest bedroom that she would occupy until their wedding.

  It all seemed to happen so quickly, but Katherine welcomed the rush of new people and responsibilities, hoping to then create an air of normalcy after the wedding was finished. Winnie did her best to make Katherine feel at home and forget about her family's absence. The lack of news from Robin was the most troubling thing on Katherine's mind.

  When a letter could be posted in Dublin and received in London the next day it was hard to understand why after three days Katherine had no news from her family that lived only a couple counties away.

  Garrett continued to avoid most of the discussions concerning wedding items; however he stopped by often to kiss Katherine and try to lure her away with suggestions about how they could better spend the time before their wedding.

  Life was comfortable with the Brentleys who had been so quick to accept her. She loved spending time with them and learning about them on a more personal basis. While Mrs. Brentley had been a somewhat stern sponsor, she was a kind and welcoming mother in law who lavished praise and gifts on Katherine.

  “I liked you as soon as you and your sister sat down,” she admitted one morning over breakfast. “I watched the way that you tried to manage Robin's outbursts and your mother at the same time.” She laughed warmly at the memory. “I never expected that you would marry Garrett though. To be honest I'd started to lose hope for him. Now that he's about to be married I only have to worry about who Winnie will find.”

  Katherine had seen how much more relaxed Mrs. Brentley could be when she was out of London's busy streets. It was easy to see that like many of the women she had sponsored, Mrs. Brentley was ready for a quieter life in the country. “Are you still planning to retire your help after Winnie is married? Don't you think that you will miss attending events in London?”

  “No,” Mrs. Brentley said a tad too quickly. “I've helped enough women already. If I knew someone who I could trust to chaperone Winnie, I wouldn't go back next year either. It was an exciting time in my life, and I don't regret it. But I'm older now. I'd like to focus on my own family again and take time to spend with my grandchildren.” The last was said with a little wink and a smile.

  Two days before the wedding Katherine ran out to the front lawn as she heard a carriage and hooves pounding closer. Winnie drew up beside her as well and they waited together to see who it would be. “I'm sure it's a letter from Robin,” Winnie said, giving Katherine's hand a tight squeeze.

  It was not a letter, but something infinitely better. “Father!” Katherine cried out as she saw his head pop ou
t of the carriage window. His grizzled white hair was possibly a bit thinner but other than that she could detect no illness as he leapt down and grasped her in a tight hug. “You must be feeling better than mother worried. But when did you recover?”

  “I was never sick.” Mr. Wellings admitted with a worried frown on his face. He closed the door, signaling that there were no other occupants to step out. “Since Robin's arrival there have been many discussions in our house between your mother and I. I'm afraid that your mother has not been completely honest with you and your sister about some things. She thought if you believed me to be sick you'd be more likely to listen to her.”

  Leaning against her father Katherine closed her eyes against the pain of her mother's betrayal. The length that her mother had taken to deceive her children and worry them was more than hurtful. It showed to what depths their mother had wanted to influence Katherine's choice of husband. “How angry was she when she found out? Do you think that she'll forgive me for marrying Garrett?”

  Mr. Wellings shook his head. “I don't care about what she does. I am very proud of you and that is all that matters right now.” Katherine's week smile did not convince him that she was equally less worried. "She needs some time," he explained. "But she has always been proud of you in her own way. One day she will accept that you are happy and she will be ready to be forgiven by you, if you are willing to let her apologize."

  Nodding her head slowly, Katherine looked up at her father. "I know that she was doing what she thought was best. I'm just happy that I came to my senses before marrying someone that I could not love. I hope that Robin has too." Wiping at a bit of wetness that had formed under her eye, Katherine turned to introduce her father to Winnie, Garrett and Mrs. Brentley who had also gathered outside to greet him. Taking the small package offered by Garret, Katherine held it out to her father as a present.