Free The Engagement - Regency Brides 02 by Kimberley Comeaux Page B

society!” Theodora all but screeched as she jumped up, WlI,ving her arm about to emphasize her words.

    “Iʼm not. I-“

    “Yes, you are!” Theodora interrupted. “Are you going to let Lord Kenswick get away with what he did to you?
    Are you going to let him live an unscathed life with his wife and future children while you wither away as an old maid?
    Must he live a happy life while you suffer?”

    It occurred to Katherine she would still live as an old maid even if she did go along with the plan.

    But you could be happily wed if you forget the plan and decide to marry Thomas instead, a little voice sounded in her head. A voice Katherine wanted so much to follow but was afraid to.

    “I need time to think,” she cried softly as she arose from the ground and dusted the grass from her cream-colored morning dress.

    “My lady!” a voice called from atop the ditch by the castle wall, and Katherine squinted up through the bright sunlight to see her maid looking down at her.

    “Yes, Stevens, what is it?” she inquired, glad for the interruption.

    “His grace has asked to see you in his study,” she explained, but then added, “Mr. Thornton is with him, also.”

    “He has done it! He has come to ask for your hand!”
    Theodora crowed with delight, not caring that the servant was hearing every word.

    Katherine hastily dismissed the girl. “Tell my father I will be right up.”

    When sheʼd gone, Katherine glared at Theodora. “If you speak of such things in front of the servants, it will cause more gossip! Mr. Thornton could be here to see Cameron, not ask for my hand!”

    “Cameron is in town, so I do not think that is the reason,”

    Theodora countered, then added, “I have one caution to make before you speak with him, Cousin.”

    Katherine let out a breath of impatience. “What is that, Dora?”

    “If you are thinking of forgetting our plan, I would advise that you donʼt.” Her lips curved in a false smile. “Nothing stays secret forever. One day Thomas could find out the truth of what we were going to do, and the result will be the same.
    He will be devastated, and the whole Thornton family will be affected by it.”

    The impact of what Theodora was saying took her breath away. “Are you making a threat, Dora?”

    Her cousinʼs face was blank. “Of course not, Kate. Iʼm surprised you would have to ask!”

    But it was a threat, and Katherine knew it. What she couldnʼt figure out was why Theodora was so adamant they proceed with the plan. Why was the Thorntonsʼ ruin so important to her?

    Shaken and suddenly afraid, she turned and made her way carefully up the steep incline, for the first time in a long while praying as she went. She prayed with all her heart Theodora could not turn against her but feared that, given the right circumstances, she would.

    The moment Katherine walked into the castle, her mother was there, grabbing her by the arm and all but dragging her to her fatherʼs study. Though she was talking erratically and too excitedly for Katherine to understand every word, she did hear something about dresses, flowers, and posting banns.

    That was all she needed to hear.

    Apparently, Theodora was right.

    “Mama, please!” she protested, making her mother come to a stop. “Let me take a moment to catch my breath.”

    “Now you must listen to me, Katherine.” Her mother took both her shoulders in her hands, gripping firmly. “You are to say yes, do you understand me? Do not do anything to make this fine gentleman change his mind.”

    Katherine once again felt the pressure of what she was about to do. “Perhaps he is not the man for me, Mama.
    Perhaps he is not what he seems. Should I risk being shamed for a second time” she asked, her words spoken out of panic.

    “He is just a man, Katherine, and, of course, he probably has his faults, but that is not the point.” She let go of her daughterʼs shoulders and folded her arms across her chest, giving her a stem