Book Read Free

Fortune’s Final Folly

Page 9

by McKnight, Christina


  Though she was resigned that if their search proved fruitless, she’d set aside finding out about her past. Kate was not positive that she could do the same where Lord Joshua Stuart was concerned.

  Chapter 8

  Joshua cast a smile to his left and nodded as his footman delivered their final course, dessert. He reached forward and served Miss Kate and then himself. Raspberry tart with a flaky, buttery crust, exactly as his grandmother had perfected decades ago with the help of her own mother. As she grew older and no longer pursued a pastime many called unsuitable for a duchess of her station, his grandmother had taught a few trusted servants to prepare the dessert.

  Kate sat rigid in her chair, though her gaze devoured the sweet treat.

  “It is as scrumptious as it appears, I assure you,” he volunteered in an attempt to break the silence that’d overtaken the room since she’d joined him for last meal. They hadn’t had much time following his impromptu kiss of her wrist to speak openly without a servant near. Even Dolly had taken to being close at hand when Joshua and Kate were in residence at his townhouse. “The crust is made with churned butter from the barn out back.”

  When she did not acknowledge his words, he thought about offering that the raspberries were from his family’s country estate, picked from bushes allowed to grow with wild abandon since long before Joshua was born.

  It would be for naught, he was afraid.

  Kate had been quiet and withdrawn since they returned from his office on Bond Street, and Joshua had summoned Henry to leave for Oxfordshire immediately with the missive he’d drafted for the Duke of Shrewbury. Kate needed funds to complete the repairs. With the vast amount already given to her family, Joshua hadn’t thought anything of his request for an additional payment of two thousand pounds to be issued with all due haste.

  It would be enough to see the building back to good standing, with enough left to repurchase all the books that had been destroyed and perhaps some supplies to fill Kate’s pantry.

  She’d thought the amount requested excessive. Yet, he’d explained it was only a starting point.

  The art of negotiation was something Joshua knew much about.

  He asked for two thousand pounds, and the duke would likely agree to fifteen hundred pounds.

  Not as much as they’d asked for, but plenty to see the schoolroom mended so lessons could begin anew.

  Joshua knew his father—or his brother—would not so much as sniff at two thousand pounds. It was a paltry sum for most wealthy lords.

  And then, perhaps when the matter of finances and repairs were duly in hand, they would have ample time to speak on the subject of what had transpired between them. If Kate wanted to discuss it. Of late, Joshua could not help but wonder if he’d made a grave mistake and manufactured an attraction and bond that did not exist on Kate’s part. But he couldn’t worry about that right now.

  “With luck, Henry will return by tomorrow evening with a note for the funds.” Joshua took a bite of his tart and waited for Kate to look up at him. “I will arrange for workers to begin repairs within a fortnight, two at the very most.”

  “What if the duke refuses your request?” she whispered.

  “Then we will manage until your next envelope arrives,” he said around another bite of tart. It did not escape his notice that she’d yet to even so much as try the dessert. “You can teach lessons in my office for as long as necessary.”

  Kate’s body tensed further in her chair, and much like their moment in the file room, Joshua wondered if he’d misspoke or misjudged the situation. He could not imagine the pressure and uncertainty that weighed on her, and he only wanted to assist her. In any way he could.

  “You have already done too much.” Her defeated stare met his. “This is all too much to expect from you. From anyone. If the duke denies my request, I will find the means to complete the repairs.”

  “I want to help.” Unsurprisingly, he meant every word. At some point, he’d begun to think of himself and Kate as a we, and the damage to her schoolroom their situation—together, not Kate’s alone. It had been many years since he’d truly felt in league with another. A true partner. “We will make the best of the situation. Before we know it, your home will be fixed.”

  Joshua had other means if the Duke of Shrewbury denied them. He could seek out his father for the funds. He’d asked for nothing from his father or the estate since he turned eighteen and attended Oxford with the assistance of his grandmother. The old man, as disagreeable as he was, could not turn his nose up at such a simple request. It was a paltry amount. Certainly, his father would relish the moment when his independent second son came begging for funds.

  “Come now, Kate, you must eat.” Joshua scooped another portion of dessert onto his plate, determined not to allow the prospect of possibly seeing his father dim the enjoyment of his meal with Kate. There was no guarantee how long he’d have her in his home, and Joshua planned to make the most of it. “We cannot have Dolly thinking we did not find utter delight in her raspberry tart. She will mourn for days on end.”

  “My apologies.” Her eyes focused on her plate as she took a bite of the tart. “I think I am simply exhausted from it all.”

  Being left without a home and few possessions was a fate Joshua would never wish on his worst enemy. He’d been grateful to inherit his grandmother’s townhouse. What would he have done had he finished school and been made to throw himself on his father’s mercy until he established enough coin to find his own lodging? With or without her schoolroom, Kate had nearly no income outside of the small quarterly stipend.

  Try as Joshua might, he was never able to be entirely rid of what came with being the son of a duke. He’d never be cast out onto the streets. He’d never need worry about where his next meal would be found. And he’d never be in a position where he was incapable of earning a living.

  Title. Wealth. Inheritance. Privilege.

  Everything he despised about the aristocracy, yet things he could not cut ties with no matter how much distance he attempted to put between himself and his upbringing.

  The trappings of noble birth were much akin to a noose around his neck.

  People such as Kate deserved such a life yet were excluded due to their social standing. It was unjust. Those born to wealthy, titled parents had the means to make their way in life, while those who weren’t had to fight for necessities like housing, food, and education.

  He wanted Kate to feel welcome and safe in his home; however, as their day progressed, especially after finding his uncle’s file, she’d only withdrawn more into her shell. He’d thought maybe she worried over residing in his home and had instructed Dolly to act as a chaperone. It had done nothing in the way of putting Kate at ease.

  It was as if she’d found something that scared her in those pages, and he’d been too dull to notice.

  “It is reassuring to know we hold the property deed to your building.” Joshua pushed his plate away, and a footman hurried forward to remove it. Hopefully, a change in topic would pull Kate out of her silence. “I’d meant to ask after it a few days ago, but it slipped my mind.”

  That was true enough. After he’d gone to see Cuttlebottom and demanded he leave Kate be and stop his quest, he’d all but forgotten about the paper. In truth, Joshua had been doing everything in his power to assist Kate, not only because she was a friend, but also for the fact that he worried the fire was a direct result of his embroiling himself in the situation between the neighbors. If he hadn’t gone to the shoemaker, especially after Kate had asked him to leave the situation alone, perhaps Cuttlebottom wouldn’t have been sparked into retaliation. If, indeed, the cobbler had anything to do with the blaze.

  Joshua should have confessed his possible hand in the fire from the beginning, even knowing very well it could push her away.

  No. Once her building was repaired and she had a place to go, he would tell her.

  Joshua had made a mess of everything.

  “I was worried that my fa
ther had made an agreement with Mr. Cuttlebottom, and he possessed the deed.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Joshua asked. “I would have helped you search for it—”

  “Where?” she questioned, leaning back in her chair. “Until today, we didn’t know a file for my parents existed, nor who was financing my mother’s schoolroom. They kept much from me. Why should it surprise me that my father might have given my home away?”

  Joshua was struck by her question simply because it was something his father would have done to him if he’d had the upper hand. “You cannot think that way.”

  “I most certainly can—and do.” A new tension brought her upright in her seat, and Joshua noted her anger. “They never thought to speak to me of the money. They never valued me enough to tell me who the mysterious Duke and Duchess of Shrewbury are, or why they decided to move to Cheapside after I was born.”

  Joshua remained quiet. Sometimes, it was necessary for people to talk, to say all they’d been keeping bottled up inside, and when it was all out, a new peace and rationale would come. He’d spent many years angry at his father, desperate for a meaningful relationship with the man, only to discover time and again that it would never be possible for them.

  “Joshua, they left me. Both of them left me to fend for myself, but they did not give me the information I needed to do that. The funds in the account will be depleted soon, and then what shall I do? What if the duke doesn’t send what we need? I am without a room to teach the children. Where will they go? Their parents cannot afford proper tutors or a fancy London school.” She took in a deep breath before continuing. “What will happen to Sally Ann and the others? I can only pray that their parents see to their future, but what if they do not? What if one of my students is left like me, without the benefit of a home to call their own? Will the girls be forced to wed or sent to a workhouse? The boys…will they turn to pickpocketing and beggary to make their way in the world? If I cannot repair the building, their options will decrease even further. I cannot live with that.”

  Finally, she slumped back, the intensity and fire leaving her eyes.

  Joshua wanted to tell her that everything would work out—he would make sure of it, no matter what he needed to do to accomplish it. It wasn’t what Kate needed to hear in that moment. Neither was it something she would accept.

  He also suspected that she didn’t need someone to fix everything for her, though she hadn’t told him what she sought from him. Things had shifted after she read the file. No longer was it all about gaining the funds from the duke. It was something more. Joshua didn’t understand it, and perhaps he never would. If Kate were anything like her father, she’d want to forge ahead on her own, see the work completed to her specifications, and not accept his help.

  One thing was very clear: Joshua would not stop until everything was set to rights for Kate. Whether that included simply repairing her building and making sure the children resumed their education, or discovering everything that was behind her parents’ connection to Shrewbury, Joshua would see it to the end.

  If Kate allowed him to be part of it.

  They only need wait until Henry returned from Oxfordshire.

  After that, they would either have the funds or…

  “I think I shall retire.” Kate made to stand, and his footman stepped forward to pull her chair back. Every inch of her seemed weighed down by some unseen force, and Joshua desperately wanted to relieve the pressure. Yet, he was bound by what Kate would allow. “Thank you for the meal, and please give Dolly my appreciation for her lovely tart.”

  She dipped her head, refusing to meet his stare.

  “Sleep well,” Joshua said, standing. To himself, he wished her a peaceful slumber and a few hours reprieve from everything that weighed on her.

  Kate nodded and hurried from the dining hall, her footsteps sounding in the corridor as she fled.

  Tomorrow…tomorrow Henry would return to London.

  From there, it would be clear how Joshua would need to proceed. They would have money from the duke, or Joshua would set out for his father’s townhouse for the first time since he departed for Oxford. A part of Joshua suspected meeting with his father would likely be easier than convincing Kate to accept the money.

  Joshua rubbed at his temples as his head started to ache.

  Perhaps he needed rest as much as she.

  Chapter 9

  Kate entered her bedchamber, closing the door in her wake and removing her cloak. Tossing the garment on the bed, she took off her gloves, noting the ash that marred the material before setting them atop her overgarment. The room, with its muted blue hues, dark furniture, and bay windows was meant to be calming and inviting. The issue Kate had found with the space was that it was precisely that…peaceful to the point where she found herself forgetting who she truly was and where she belonged. It had progressed so far and fast that Kate had begun to truly see the room as hers—the gowns in the wardrobe, the clean linens, and the tiny, feminine writing desk…all hers.

  This reprieve in Cavendish Square with Joshua was only temporary.

  She allowed her bare fingers to trail down the fine fabric of the bedding on the mattress, the material soft to her touch.

  She belonged in Cheapside with her pupils, and Joshua belonged in a place like his Bond Street office—or in his fancy townhouse.

  Yet, each time she discovered something new of the man, she found herself drawn to him even more. Before it had been something Kate was able to push to the back of her mind, but living and working in such close proximity made that impossible—even more difficult than it had been when she’d had her own residence to reside in. She hadn’t been able to truly trust another without reservations since her parents’ passing. In her heart, Kate knew Joshua would never betray the trust she’d placed in him. His optimism was unparalleled, and she often wondered where a man gained such confidence that things would work out as dictated.

  She slowly spun in a circle. She was faced by a small table holding a pearl-handled brush and comb, a deep wardrobe closet with only her meager belongings inside, and a long, low bookshelf filled with stories Kate had never read. She removed each of the volumes carefully and perused their titles before replacing them on the shelf, making a mental note on a few to see if Albert’s Bookshop carried them. She would not fall into the trap of reading any of the books here because there was no way of knowing if she’d be in the room long enough to finish one.

  Her living quarters above the schoolroom were nothing compared to Joshua’s home. And he moved about the house as if he belonged, while Kate feared tracking soot onto the newly polished floors or spilling her tea on a priceless rug. The thing she’d noted both in her home and his was that they possessed warmth. No matter the size, these walls had seen much love, kinship, and laughter, just as hers had. That feeling only deepened Kate’s sense of peace while in Joshua’s townhouse.

  Their time alone had only further pushed her thoughts and emotions to a place Kate wasn’t prepared to explore. She’d barely been able to meet Joshua’s stare after he kissed her—even though it had only been her wrist. Her heart had fluttered, and her nights had been filled with images she longed to experience while awake. It made their morning drives to Cheapside all the more uncomfortable for Kate. Could Joshua sense her wanton thoughts? Did he know her pulse raced every time she even so much as thought about his palm caressing her arm to take her hand?

  When she wasn’t allowing her daydreams to overtake her every thought, Kate was worried about what she’d learned regarding her mysterious benefactor. Or, more appropriately, what she hadn’t learned from the file.

  The Duke and Duchess of Shrewbury.

  Pierce De Vere, the Earl of Holderness.

  Who were these strangers, and what did they have to do with her past, her family? And, more daunting, how would they impact her future?

  It was something she’d wanted to speak to Joshua about, but she was at a loss for how to bring up the matter.

>   There was no way he could understand how she’d felt all her life, the sense that she hadn’t truly belonged. As a part of her family but also an outsider. Not because they treated her as such—or at least Kate hadn’t felt such a way until quite recently. It hadn’t helped when she discovered that her father might have struck an agreement with Mr. Cuttlebottom to sell her home. That uneasiness and uncertainty had grown and been made worse when she read Joshua’s file on her parents. These strangers in Oxfordshire… Her parents hadn’t thought her worthy enough to discuss them with her. Had they thought to live long enough the mysterious funds would run out and they’d never have to tell her? Did they think to marry her off to some blacksmith or merchant in Cheapside and the money would no longer be a necessity for her?

  Her parents had sheltered her to the point of Kate thinking herself truly breakable. She’d been schooled by her mother alongside the other children in the neighborhood. She’d never been allowed to walk to the bookshop or her father’s vicarage without her mother or father at her side. She’d never traveled outside of Cheapside until Joshua had brought her to his townhouse.

  The worst part was that she’d accepted it all without question.

  She’d trusted and valued her parents enough to never say nay to their decisions and always abide by their rules. It had been so all-encompassing Kate hadn’t seen them as rules at all but rather her parents’ loving way of guiding her.

  In truth, they’d lied to her all these years.

  A lie of omission was still very much a lie.

  And to make everything worse, the only people who could give her any answers were dead, and there would be no additional money sent.

  As long as her mother smiled upon her, and her father held out his hand to her when they walked to his parish, Kate had been happy and content to believe every word they said. Had they spoken of her gullibility while she was fast asleep in the next room? Had they conspired to keep the truth of their and her past from her? Had they thought she’d continue to live in ignorance all her life?

 

‹ Prev