A Taste of Honey (17 page)

Garrett opened the door to the darkly designed masculine room and Katherine found herself immersed in deep plum colors and drifting towards a large canopy bed with similarly colored curtains.  She had not wanted to complain about the firmness of the one that she shared with her sister below, but as Garrett laid her in the bed and she sank deeply down into the soft sheets, she sighed at the comfort that enveloped her.

Garrett seemed uncomfortable as he looked down at her before shifting his gaze to the side.  “I'll try to find Winnie and send her in to help you prepare for bed,” he told her before leaving the room without glancing at her again.

Katherine knew that she should have thanked him before he left, but it just didn't seem right to thank a man for taking her to his bed.  Moments later Winnie arrived with her usual tray of hot tea and honey.  She didn't need to do such things herself but after the maids had gone to sleep she hated waking them up for something that she could do herself.

Katherine was disappointed when Winnie did not arrive with her brother again.  “Where's Garrett?” she asked as offhandedly as she could manage.

Watching Katherine closely Winnie told her that he had already left.  “He came to my room looking very worried and told me that you had been injured and to take care of you, but not to call a doctor.”

“I wasn't hurt very badly,” Katherine said avoiding Winnie's eyes that seemed to dissect Katherine's thoughts better than she should have.

“I don't think that he was really worried about your injury alone.”  Winnie looked her over.  There was a light flush along her cheeks that Winnie recognized from her own limited experience with men.  “Did you let him touch something other than you ankle?” she asked conspiratorially with a light wink.

“No, of course not I just...”  She felt the need to give in and discuss it with someone, since her sister was too preoccupied with Victor to listen to her.  Katherine finally broke down as she looked into Winnie's hazel eyes, so much like her brother's.  “Your brother thinks that there is something going on between us.”

“Oh,” Winnie didn't seem too surprised.  “He's been asking me some questions about you so I'd wondered if that was it.

Katherine explained that she had met Garrett in the alleyway at the inn, that they had kissed, that he had been chasing her ever since.  She skipped over most of the details but gave Winnie enough to know what was happening between the two of them.

“I've told him that I don't think that there is anything special between us and he's not what I'm looking for but it hasn't stopped him from trying.”

“Trying what?” Winnie asked.

“I don't think he just wants me to kiss him, he says that he wants to court me,” Katherine said as she sipped at her tea, letting it soothe some of the confusion and drift her into a calm state.

“You're supposed to be a husband hunter, yet you are being hunted instead,” Winnie laughed, despite Katherine's frown.  “You have to agree that it is quite funny to think of.”

Letting the humor slip past her barriers Katherine had to admit that she had not come to London expecting to be hounded at every chance by a waiting admirer.  As Mrs. Brentley's unmarried charge it was her role to hunt down the men that she wanted.

Winnie stopped laughing and looked thoughtful for a moment before turning back to Katherine, “Why isn't he what you're looking for?” she asked quietly.

It felt odd to tell a sister why her brother wasn't adequate or right for her to marry.  “Before I came here, I promised my mother that I would marry a titled man.  My father does not have much wealth or influence which makes her feel unprotected.  She needs me to marry well so that I can protect our family from any future problems.”  Katherine stopped, worried that she might have told Winnie too much.  She knew that Mrs. Brentley would not be comfortable knowing that her charges were indeed following their mother's wishes.

“Why do you have to be responsible for all of that?  Why isn't Robin searching for a titled bachelor?”

Katherine bit her lip for a moment as she decided whether or not to admit the unpleasant truth.  “My sister is not always responsible enough to consider what would benefit our family.”

“So that duty lands on you?”  Winnie stated rather than asked.  Mulling over the information for a bit Winnie patted Katherine's knee beneath the blankets.  “I won't tell anyone what you told me,” she promised as she started to clean up the tea tray.

“Winnie, could I ask you a question?”  She wasn't even sure if Winnie would have the answer, but Katherine felt that it was worth a try and the mystery was still bobbing around in her head ever since her first kiss with Garrett.  “Who's Amelia?”

Although her back was turned, Katherine could see Winnie stiffen immediately.  “How do you know that name?” she asked quietly as she set the tray back down and came to sit on the edge of the bed.

“It was what Garrett called me when we first met,” she admitted.  “When he kissed me in the alley, it was because he thought that I was Amelia.  At the time I just assumed it was his wife.  I even kissed him, hoping that he wouldn't realize that I wasn't Amelia.  That's why I was surprised when he started to pursue me.”

“She was supposed to be his wife.”  Winnie whispered and glanced around the darkness of her brother's room as if she might awaken something nearby.  Finally she looked at Katherine with a weak smile.  Once she was sure that no unseen force was going to punish her for speaking about the woman, she continued.  “Amelia died three years ago.  She and Garrett were already engaged when it happened; they had been sweethearts for over a year before she died.”

It became difficult for Winnie to speak for a moment and Katherine waited patiently.  “I liked her very well.  Then after she passed away, Garrett refused to look for another wife again.  He said that he would never let her memory go.  Now everyone amongst his family and friends tries not to even mention her in front of him.  He gets very moody when they do and he usually goes to his friend’s house where they drink themselves into oblivion.”

Katherine gasped at the thought of how strong his pain must have been, and apparently still was.  He had believed her to be a ghost the night that they had first met.  It explained the strange fear that had been in his voice as he had held onto her, unwilling to let her slip though his fingers as if she were mist instead of flesh and bone.

“He hasn't been seen with anyone since her,”  Winnie admitted as her voice steadied,  “My mother has been trying to get him to attend some of London's events in the hopes that he'll meet someone, but until tonight he's refused to go to any dances.  I have to admit that I like the idea that he has found another woman that he likes.  Especially one that I enjoy spending time with,” Winnie said as she smiled down at her.

Katherine didn't know what to say in return.  She loved spending time with Winnie and had her brother been someone with a title she would have been happy to have her as a sister-in-law and Garrett as her husband.  But the way things were, that would never work.  It was pointless to allow herself to consider it as an option.  She had to put her mother first before she could consider the wishes of a potential sister-in-law.  “How did she die?” she asked, switching back to their previous subject.

“It was an accident,” Winnie said, unwilling to talk about it.  “It took only a blink of the eye before she went from a vibrant woman with life and a future, to gone forever.  That's why it was so hard for Garrett.  He saw her when it happened.  He couldn't accept that she could be gone so quickly.”  It was clear that Amelia's passing had not affected just Garrett; Winnie seemed truly shaken by the loss as well.

“Thank you for telling me,” Katherine said, signaling that she didn't need Winnie to tell her more.  It didn't matter if Amelia had been attacked by a robber or drowned in a river, she was gone.  That was all that mattered to the family who still seemed to mourn her.

“Would you let your mother and my sister know that I'm all right when they get home?  I didn't get a chance to talk with them before Garrett had me rushed back here.  Kent didn't even have time to say goodbye to me,” Katherine said, still upset with Garrett's high-handed nature in the matter.

Winnie stiffened at the name.  “Lord Kent?” she asked.

“Yes, I met him at the dance.  He was helping me before your brother arrived and became angry with him.  Do you know him?” she asked, wondering if Winnie would be a source for more information.

“I know him well enough to hate him,” Winnie answered primly sounding like her mother for the first time.  “I understand that you want to marry a titled man but trust me, you don't want that one.  To say that he is spoiled goods would only scratch the surface.  I've known him since I was very little, and I cannot say one good thing about him.”

Katherine was surprised at Winnie's strong dislike and distrust of Kent.  “Garrett also warned me against him, is he really that bad?  What did he do to your family?”  The handsome dark haired man that she had met seemed very different from the two warnings that she had gotten so far.  He had been romantic and daring, if not a little too bold in his actions.

“I'm happy to hear that Garrett now admits that Kent is a bad example, they've been best friends for over ten years.  I had begun to think that he was blind to his friend's horrible nature,” Winnie stated.

“What did he do that was so bad?”

“He gambles, he drinks, and he keeps mistresses.” Winnie started rattling off the same list as her brother that sounded like many of the complaints that she had heard about privileged men before.

“Yes, unfortunately many men his age do those same things.  Even the perfect Oliver Buckman, that everyone seems to like, has kept a mistress before.”  Katherine said, with a feeling that there must be something more to the story for Winnie to hate him so passionately.  It was hard for her to imagine Winnie hating anyone.  “Did Kent do something to you personally?”

Winnie's lips had drawn into a disapproving pout that even made her look like her mother.  “He always picked on me when I was little.  Being Garrett's younger sister I was an easy target I suppose.”  She shook her head at the memories, “I just wouldn't recommend him.”

“But you would recommend your brother?” Katherine asked wondering if she knew about her own brother's possible ills such as kissing a woman against her will.  Well, mostly against her will.

“Of course.” Winnie smiled brightly revealing that she had full trust in her brother.

The next day Mrs. Brentley seemed unwilling to believe Katherine when she tried to assure her that her ankle was fine.  Some of the swelling had gone down but the bright purple colored bruise looked worse than ever. 

“You're staying in bed today, and at least most of tomorrow.  I'll have Garrett come back by to check your ankle and make sure that it isn't broken once all of the swelling is gone,” Mrs. Brentley told her charge who had been caught trying to go to her room and dress for the day.  Katherine had barely made it into the hall before Winnie caught sight of her, sent her back in and then sought out her mother.

“Garrett told me to keep you in bed so that you don't hurt your ankle,” Winnie had told her and Katherine felt slightly distressed that he was already trying to control her movements.  His mother and sister took anything he said as being a very serious matter that should be handled exactly as he had described.  It made sense because he was the head male of the family, but Katherine was still upset that he could control her through the two women.

“And everyone knows that you have a sprained ankle.  It would reflect poorly on me if I were to let you go to the theater tonight.  The crowds are far too thick for someone who can barely stand on her own.”

“How does everyone know about my ankle?” Katherine asked, perplexed.  She and Garrett had tried so hard to not alert everyone's attention so that it didn't spoil the dance for everyone else.

“That horrid friend of my son's came in and told me loudly enough that the entire group around us could hear.”  Her face pursed as she considered the event.  “Kent,” she hissed under her breath in the same manner that one might use a vulgar curse.  It was now officially the entire Brentley family who seemed to detest Kent as a possible suitor for Katherine, but she knew that she wouldn't allow that to stop her.

Of the many events that Mrs. Brentley had listed off, going to the theater was the one that Katherine had been looking forward to.  She didn't want to miss her first chance to see a London theater production, yet she also knew that Mrs. Brentley was as stubborn as her son.  If she didn't want Katherine leaving, then she would make sure that Katherine went nowhere, especially if her son recommended it.

Her absence at the theater was not going to prevent Mrs. Brentley from attending with Robin, who was excited at the prospect of seeing her new beau again.  When Robin had come to check up on her later in the day, after Winnie's fourth or fifth visit, she had laughed off Victor's unconventional dancing skills that had caused Katherine's injured ankle. 

“He's not the most graceful dancer, but he's rich enough to make up for it,” Robin said. “Once we are married I hope to not have to dance with him too often.  He is spontaneous and exciting but he has no grace.”  Katherine was becoming increasingly worried that any negative remark about Victor, be it his crude behavior or his fondness for foul language, was treated the same way by her sister.  Robin always smiled and replied that he was rich enough to make
up
for all of his faults.  Katherine found herself wondering how many mistakes and strange behaviors her sister was willing to ignore just because he was 'rich enough'.