Kiss Me, Kate (7 page)

“What’s happening?” Kate pushed one palm against the wall and grasped the edge of the seat with her other hand to hold her place as the carriage rocked and then came to a sudden halt.

They might be stopping for a number of reasons: a horse may have lost a shoe, they were much closer than he thought to their destination, highwaymen could be blocking the road, or Kate’s father had finally caught up with them. The last was bound to happen sooner or later, and he’d be a fool to think otherwise.

George pulled up the floorboard in the carriage and retrieved his rapier. There was no telling what state her father would be in, and he wouldn’t strike the old duke down, but he’d at the very least defend himself should the old man challenge him.

Kate looked white as a ghost. Did she assume it was her father, too?

“What if he’s come in force to take me away?”

“I won’t let that happen.” He handed her bonnet back to her, so she could hide her disarrayed hair. “You have to trust me, Kate.”

One of the horses, eager for the open road, stamped its feet and snorted. George drew the blind on the window, blanketing them in pitch black. “Do not leave the carriage, Kate.”

“I will not cower before my father.”

He reached out and clasped her cheek in his hand. “Everything will work out in the end.”

After a quick kiss, he said, “I will call for you.”

He thought she’d refuse when she hesitated to respond. “I will remain here as long as possible.”

He’d be back before she could do anything foolish. There was a possibility her father came with reinforcements and would be able to force his daughter to leave. Only George would never allow that to happen.

“Carleton!” someone called out in a thunderous voice from outside. “Show yourself this instant, you bloody blackguard!”

Kate gasped and stalled George’s leaving by placing her hand on his sleeve. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him shout a day in my life. He’s livid.”

To her, George said, “With me, darling, not you.” The he called back to her father. “I’ll join you in but a moment!”

The cool evening air kissed his cheeks and blew his hair back as he opened the door and stepped out onto the damp grass at the side of the dirt road. Kate’s father stood ten feet in front of his hired horses, foil drawn and pointed threateningly in George’s direction. 

“You’ve made a laughingstock out of me, you devil, and you’ve stolen my only child.”

George walked toward the man who would be his father-in-law, should either of them like it or not. “I tried to reason with you. I even went so far as to beg for your permission to marry her.” George didn’t point his rapier in the duke’s direction. This was a battle he would have to win with words if he wanted Kate happy.

“What is the meaning of this, Father?” Kate’s voice was shrill, angry.

He closed his eyes and sighed when he heard the creak of the carriage stairs. Kate’s skirts ruffled in the breeze as she walked toward them, her shoulders were back, her head held high, her sharp eyes full of determination.

The duke lowered his rapier at the sight of his daughter. It was an improvement. “You’ve ruined your name and made me a laughingstock, and now I need to deal with your muddied reputation.” The duke focused only on his daughter. “Come here this instant, Katherine.”

Kate was positive she’d never seen her father so angered in all her life. His ire radiated from him despite the fact that he’d lowered the rapier on her appearance and the red had dissipated from his face. A deep aversion marred his face when he looked from George to her.

What had she done to her relationship with her father by running away with George? Would her father ever forgive her? The answer to that question scared her more than the thought of her reputation being forever tarnished.

“Yet, Father, my reputation would still be intact if you had listened to my desires.”

She felt her heart breaking as she watched his face change from the rage that had overtaken him to the softer, loving expression of patience he’d worn for her all her life. Where should her loyalties lie? With the man who had raised her alone and without the aid of a mother? Or with the man she considered her best friend and loved more than anything? She didn’t want to choose.

The only problem was, if she truly respected her father, how could she possibly disobey his wishes in anything?

She looked from George to her father, then back to George.

If they had made the right decision in eloping, then why did she feel so terrible? Kate walked toward her father, a single tear slipping from her eye while George’s hand brushed over her arm as she walked past him.

When she was but a hand span away from her father, she said, “I have only ever wanted to marry one man, Papa. I can’t choose between you and George. Don’t ask it of me.”

Her father opened his arms to her for an affectionate hug; it reminded her of the times when she was little and would fall and scrape her knees or hands. He was the person who was always there to kiss her better. 

“I’m doing this for your own good,” he said.

She reached for her father’s arm and gave it a light squeeze. “But what of my mother? You and she were a poor match from the beginning. If Westmoore and I are in the same situation, how do you know marrying him is for the better?”

“You’re my daughter. Have I ever failed you in anything?”

She shook her head. He hadn’t once failed her.

The desperation tinging her father’s voice had her hesitating in her decision to elope. It was then that she knew she couldn’t marry anyone without the support of her father.

“Papa.” Kate gave her father a sad smile. “Give us your blessing. If there is one thing I can promise you, it is that George will grow on you in time. You’ll see what I see in him. Can you trust me to make the right decision this once?”

Her father hunched his shoulders forward in defeat. “I had hoped to take you home tonight.”

“I can’t go with you now.” She turned to look at George; his expression was worried. It was then she realized neither man knew what choice she was about to make. She wasn’t sure how to choose between them, either.

When Kate stretched out her hand in a bid for George to come forward, he didn’t hesitate, though he kept the rapier at his side. Once he took her hand, she turned back to her father. For a moment, he thought he’d lost her when she walked past him and toward her father. Doubt had filled him.

“I know with all my heart that my life should be with George. I love him, Papa. But it’ll destroy a big part of my soul if you should refuse me the one thing I want most in my life.”

“I’m not ready to let you go, child.” The duke shook his head in disbelief and, to George’s surprise, dropped his foil to his side. “You’re all I have left.”

“Marrying George was never about losing me, it was about gaining a son. Come over the border with us. Stand proudly by my side, Father, as you watch us take our vows.”

He could feel the hurt radiating off Kate’s as she waited silently for her father to give them some sort of consent. Her hand tightened around his and her shoulders dropped.

George spoke when no answer seemed forthcoming. He would try his hardest to give Kate the one thing she wanted most—her father’s approval. “Ride next to our carriage. Join us before we leave on our honeymoon. It would be a great honor to have you witness our nuptials.”

Again, Kate’s hand tightened in his, and he knew without a doubt that she might regret their decision to elope if her father was absent from the ceremony.

“Your Grace,” George said, going down on one knee. “I’m begging you for your approval. Grant us your company while we stand before God in holy matrimony.”

“It’s difficult to refuse my daughter only because I know her heart better than anyone.” The duke took a step forward. “This doesn’t mean I will forgive you, Carleton.”

It was difficult for George not to smile as he stood up. “I understand, and will do what I can to prove to you that this is the best choice for your daughter.”

Hesitantly, the duke answered, “That’ll have to do for now.”

Kate flung her arms around her father’s shoulders with a squeal of relief. The duke rubbed her on the back before stepping away and giving George a long, hard look.

The duke’s blue eyes pierced George to the spot. “I’ll ride next to your carriage,” he said. “And I’ll see my daughter off properly before you steal away on your honeymoon.”

“Thank you,” Kate said, and hooked her arm through George’s as they all walked back to the carriage. “My two favorite men in the whole world will be with me on a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I love you both.”

The duke mounted his bay, saying to George, “Marrying my daughter does not mean I approve of you.”

“I will endeavor to prove to you that I’m as good a man as Kate paints me to be.”

Her father turned his horse to ride at the front of the carriage.

George guided Kate up the stairs, squeezing one round globe of her rear as he helped her up. She turned and narrowed her eyes. “Lord Carleton, you are a rogue.” 

He grinned at his bride-to-be. “Why ever would you think that? Now, tell me, dearest, would you have gone with him had he been dead set against our marriage?”

She laughed, grabbed his hand, and hauled him up the steps with a happier disposition than he’d seen all week. “I really should keep you guessing.”

“You’ve a cruel nature about you when the mood strikes.”

She leaned forward with her hands on either side of his thighs and her face level with his. “I love you, George Langsley, and should you ever doubt that, you are a fool.”

“A fool for you, love. Always a fool for you.”

And then he kissed her.