go as I please, and I won’t have you dictating where I do and don’t go.”
She pulled away from him and walked out from behind the desk so that she could pace. “In case you’ve forgotten, I own a newspaper. I’ve been to crime scenes as a reporter. I’ve followed these cases in the press from the beginning. I might not have seen more than one body, but I know enough. And I’m not going back to that sheltered sphere where men insist that ladies belong. Where we don’t know what really goes on in the world. Where we’re kept ignorant of our own bodies, or what happens between men and women in the dark corners of the city. It’s all pretense anyway. Well, I’ve had enough of pretense to last a lifetime and I won’t go back. And you can’t make me.”
Eversham thrust a hand through his hair in frustration. “I want you safe, Katherine. I’m not trying to put you on a pedestal. I want to make sure you don’t meet the same fate as Jones and Green. Is that so bloody wrong?”
Something in his expression must have revealed the depth of his genuine fear, because what began as surprise in her expression turned softer. “No, no, it’s not wrong.”
She stepped toward him, and before he even knew what she was about, she’d slipped her arms around him and tucked her head beneath his chin. On a sigh, he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “Was it very awful?” she asked softly.
He didn’t have to ask to what she was referring. He knew she meant Green.
He would never tell her exactly what had been done to the man. Some things she didn’t need in her imagination no matter how she might insist she was strong enough to see the darker side of the world.
“It was bad,” he said. “And I couldn’t bear it if someone did that to you.”
Speaking that thought aloud meant something, he knew. Some change in what they were to one another that neither was willing to talk about just now. But something about telling her he was afraid for her loosened a knot in his chest that he hadn’t realized was there.
“Nor I you.” She lifted her face to look him in the eye. “But I feel safe when I’m with you. When we’re together.”
“I’m only one man.” He was flattered that she seemed to think he was strong enough to keep her safe from the sort of madman who would do what had been done to Green. But he could only protect against that which he could see coming. So far this killer had appeared and disappeared like a ghost in the night. “I can’t be everywhere at once.”
When she brought her lips to his, it was a kiss of comfort. There would be time enough for exploring what was between them. Now she only sought to reassure him.
“I know,” she said once she’d pulled away to rest her head against his chest. “I don’t expect you to be a magician. But I need to help you with this case.”
He pulled back to look at her. “Why is it so important to you? As far as I can tell, you’ve never gotten involved in an investigation like this before.”
With a sigh, she tugged away from him and turned to face the bookshelves. He watched her strong back as she seemed to struggle with some inner turmoil.
Finally, she said softly, “If Caro and I hadn’t published the interview with Lizzie Grainger, then you wouldn’t have been removed from the case and Mr. Jones and Mr. Green might still be alive.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kate held her breath as she waited for a response.
She’d admitted her fears about the repercussions of that Lizzie Grainger interview to Val and Caro, but she’d never fully admitted her guilt to Eversham. Not really.
Self-doubt was something she’d struggled with when she was younger, when her every move had been scrutinized by her parents, who were often critical of everything from her choice of attire to her taste in friends. She’d hoped that marriage would remove her from the worst of it, but George Bascomb had turned out to be more controlling than she could have imagined. Throughout the duration of her marriage, she’d come to question her every decision, lest her husband find fault with her and punish her for not meeting his exacting standards.
His death, however, had ushered in a kind of freedom that was almost too