if unsure what to do. “I wonder why he’s here.”
“I’ll go down and see what he wants.” Willa stood.
“Let me.” Beth smoothed her dress. It was the first time she’d been out of sorts since they’d met at Mr. Hanes’s office. “He’s an old friend of my family. I’d like to see him.”
“Don’t mention me,” Kat instructed. “I don’t want Christian to find me.”
“But he could help you.” Constance said.
“I have no doubt he’d move heaven and earth to help me. But I must do this myself. Otherwise, people will believe that he sought favors of my behalf.” He couldn’t help. The best way to put a stop to Skeats was to tell the truth about her birth and her time in York before it was all over the gossip rags.
Today, she learned a valuable lesson. Even the proud and proper Duke of Randford was powerless to change her situation. Only she could.
She vowed then and there that Skeats would not win. Which led her to another valuable lesson. All’s fair in love and war.
Especially when one loved a duke.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Christian propped his elbows on his desk and rested his face in his hands. “Katherine is gone.” He rose from his desk and tended to the fire. Though it didn’t need another log, he threw another one in the blazing hearth for something to do. “Things became so hectic last night, we never had a chance to chat. I went by her home this morning and discovered she’s vanished.”
Grayson poured himself another cup of tea, then refilled Christian’s cup. “Beth wouldn’t tell me much. What about her workshop or the Beltic Arcade store? Someone must know where she’s gone.”
Christian turned and started to pace. It was the only thing he could control in his life right now. “Hanes was here before the crack of dawn. The staff hadn’t even finished cleaning the ballroom yet. Katherine’s marriage to Meriwether was a sham. The vicar who married them was thrown out of the church for some indiscretion.” Would his half brother ever quit making such a shamble of everyone’s lives? With this latest news, Meriwether had punched Katherine in the gut—from the grave.
“Do you think that’s why she left?” Grayson asked.
“I don’t know,” he mused. “Katherine is worried my reputation will be ruined if her past comes to light.”
“Well, she has a point.”
Christian stopped midstep and glared at his friend.
Grayson raised both hands in surrender. “Hear me out. What Katherine says is typically true of society. However, in your case, we both know that you don’t care.”
“Maybe it was the final straw, and she wants to be done with the Vareck family. Who could blame her?”
“Nonsense.” Grayson took a sip of coffee. The wisps of steam rising above the cup disappeared into thin air.
Much like Katherine.
“One thing I’ve discovered from this last Meriwether mess, I’m just like my father. He didn’t care what people thought of his wife and favorite son. I don’t care what people say about Katherine and me.”
Never in his life did he ever imagine claiming anything so foul as his father. Truth was, Christian was as selfish as his father ever had been.
For Christian wanted it all. He wanted Kat in his bed every night, serenading him with her sweet moans and quick intakes of breath as she reached her climax. When he kissed her, he wanted them to lose themselves in each other’s arms as their passion turned playful and slow and tender.
He ground his teeth as the truth pounded into him. He was exactly like his father—not in the lewd, perverse proclivities the previous duke had embraced. It was something more fundamental.
Katherine had taught him the importance of family and how to craft one from the friends who truly cared. She taught him where to find a place to belong. “She is more important than the duchy, my charity work, or even my reputation. She’s everything.”
If he hadn’t fallen in love with her, he’d still be trying to outrun his family and their past. He was free now to start his own future. He’d accomplish so much with Katherine by his side, and he couldn’t wait to see what lay ahead of them as they started their lives together. Today it was a distant dream. Why did she leave him without a word?
“Even the Prince Regent didn’t care after I shared that Meriwether had married three women.” Christian pointed to his desk, where a pile of papers littered the surface. “It’s all over London that he