A Duke in Time (The Widow Rules #1) - Janna MacGregor Page 0,124

her back turned and was in a conversation with Morgan. As if she sensed Kat’s staring at her, she turned and shrugged in apology.

Christian called out to Morgan, “Why don’t you take Willa in Miss James’s carriage?” His gaze slid to hers. “I’ll take Miss James with me.”

A coolness, almost an icy veneer, seemed to encase him. It reminded her of the first time they’d met. He was that man again, the one she’d first been introduced to at the solicitor’s office.

He helped her into the carriage, then let go of her hand immediately. She sat in the forward-facing seat, and he across from her. Without a word exchanged, he knocked on the roof. The jerk of the carriage caught her off guard, and she placed her hand on the bench beside her to balance.

“Where are we going?” she finally asked after several minutes.

“Wherever you’d like,” he answered. The reserve in his voice became unbearable.

“I’d like for you to stop the carriage.”

He complied instantly by knocking on the roof. Katherine swung the door opened, then turned his way. “I think we should walk. It might make the conversation easier.”

“For you?” he asked.

“No, for you,” she answered. “It might loosen you up a bit.” Without waiting for Christian to exit first and help her down, Kat took Iverson’s hand and carefully stepped to the ground, then strolled to a copse of trees. If memory served her correctly, an orchard of some type was on the other side. When they were far enough away from the carriage, she turned to face him.

Christian leaned against a tree. His gaze dropped to his hands. Almost in slow motion, he removed the leather gloves finger by finger. When his hands were free, he looked her way. “I take it that your business is completed?”

“It is, and I was successful.” She took another step closer. The air hung heavy. That had to be the reason they weren’t rushing into each other’s arms. She would not allow herself to think anything otherwise. “May I tell you about it?”

“If you’d like.” His brown eyes flashed with an emotion she couldn’t identify.

Close by, several wrought iron benches looked over a small stream that bordered one side of the orchard. The sound of the flowing water offered comfort. “Would you sit with me? You were my first stop when I returned to London.”

He held up his hand, inviting her to precede him. She sat on one bench and waited for him to join her. To her utter disappointment, instead of sitting next to her, he chose another bench directly across from her.

“I suppose I should be honored that I was to be your first,” he said.

Those words reminded her of when they’d first made love. He’d been so tender and loving toward her then. But the man before her and his attitude were a mystery right now. She had no idea what he was thinking. If she lost him … She wouldn’t allow herself to finish the thought.

“I had hoped … you’d be as delighted to see me as I am to see you.” Though his eyes were hungry and seemed ready to devour her, she wouldn’t look away.

“You have no idea,” he murmured. “You’re all I thought about since the night of the soiree. It’s been torture. Pure hell.” He glanced over his shoulder at the horizon. “Skeats came to see me. He told me that you had an exchange that night.”

“We did. That’s why I left.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He stood abruptly, then started to pace. “We’re to be married, and you didn’t deem me worthy of sharing your travel schedule?”

“You were deep in conversation with the Prince Regent. I had to move quickly.”

“For what purpose?” he asked.

“To protect everyone I care about,” she answered, then lowered her voice. “Especially you.”

“Me?” He stopped as if surprised at the response. “What could that sniveling coward have done to me?”

Katherine let out a tremulous breath. “Skeats told me if I didn’t give up the contract and leave London that night, he’d ruin you. He threatened to run to the gossip rags with the information that I was a convicted thief who was embezzling or worse, stealing from your charity.”

His eyes softened. “That’s why you left? To save my reputation?”

She nodded briskly. “All I could think about was who would be the next to hurt you by threatening me.” She looked into his eyes, and those damnable tears clouded her own. “I couldn’t let anyone, especially Skeats, hurt you because