Chapter 18 Katherine—Dawn Is Still Dark for the Outcast #2
“But fertile. That’s the requirement.” I sip my tea. “Have you considered how to tell if she will be good to Lydia? Will she smile in your face until she’s the Duchess of Torrance, and then take advantage when either of you are sick?”
His breathing shifts. I see anger in his eyes. Then the strategist smiles. “That’s why we must work together. Lady Hampton—”
“Katherine. It’s Katherine. Katherine and Jahleel.” I stare at him and dare him to try to pretend we are cold and distant, not when my skin still vibrates from his lips.
“Katherine, let’s set the rules for you to be my mistress—”
“And to help you find the perfect wife, while we find my wonderful husband.”
“Da. I’ll help you and provide a dowry to attract a respectable husband, one who will overlook these nasty headlines.”
I lean forward and wipe crumbs from his mouth. “We’ll be busy selecting mates, while we are lovers. Is that right? What is in Scarlett’s tea? Is it the right type of weed?”
He sits back. “I’m serious, Katherine. I’ve been alone for too long. I want my new wife to feel treasured, cared for like a man should treat a woman. You will be an experiment. You can teach me. I don’t want the next wife to walk away.”
“We wouldn’t want you to be abandoned. That could hurt your ego again.” Lada purrs as if to warn me of what’s coming next. Good kitten. “So you’ll be a scientist. What are the rules for this laboratory, your bedchamber?”
“In this room, we shall have only the truth. There’s no condemnation. Neither of us can change the past.”
“So I can tell you how much I hate that waistcoat, and you’ll not be bothered.”
He tugs at this emerald-patterned thing that does nothing to draw out the color of his eyes. “If that is how you feel, but your taste is sometimes suspect.”
“Will this experiment and search keep you and my daughter in London for six months? That is the last of my terms.”
“Katherine, is this the motivation to be my mistress? To keep us in London?”
“Yes. You like sweets, Jahleel. If your appetite is full, you’ll not go anywhere.”
He folds his arms, but his expression seems to be of admiration. “My, that’s pretty mercenary of you.”
“I’m a desperate woman. My only living child hates me. The father of my child kisses me like he misses me. I need more time to figure everything out.”
“So I have to stay for you? Is that what you are saying?”
I don’t like how this is all coming out. “What is between us is between us. I want time with Lydia as much as I can have.”
“Though you have done everything to keep her from me, I’ll not do the same to you. We don’t need a deal. Lydia and I will stay for three months, before we travel.”
Slipping out of my chair, I kneel and put Lada into his hands. “I need the deal, because I need a new husband to be respectable again. And I’d like a say in who will become the new duchess. She will be Lydia’s stepmother.”
My hands land on his thighs. The muscles feel thinner, atrophied. I make a note to talk to Scarlett right away about Jahleel’s diet. “My logic may be ridiculous, but I will be ridiculous. I can’t fight the newspapers or the ton without you.”
My kitty puts kisses on his hand, but Jahleel glares at me.
Juggling Lada, he reaches out and covers my palm. “I accept. We have a deal for three months.”
“Three months, Jahleel?”
“Three months. That should be long enough to find you a man worthy enough to be your husband, and me a new wife. We will confer on prospects. And you’ll entertain me as my generous mistress. Then I, the princess, Lydia, and my new bride will go to St. Petersburg in the autumn.”
This was a compromise. All these changes in three months. I don’t know if it’s possible.
The door to his bedchamber bursts open.
Lydia barrels inside. She shrieks, pointing to the empty bed.
In a blink, I’m running to her. “Calm, dearest.”
“You said he was better. You lied.”
“No, darling.” I hold her against me. “He’s right there. Your Papa is doing much better.”
“Lidochka! Come to me.”
She breaks free of my embrace and runs to him.
Jahleel puts Lada on the floor but struggles to pick up Lydia. “I’m alive.”
“Papen’ka.”
His arms wrap about her like she’ll disappear. He sobs. “I never thought I’d hear you say that again.”
He’s weaker than he’s pretending to be. Though he lives this time, the sickness keeps ravaging him. I wanted to believe he was fine, but I’ve robbed him and Lydia. There’s no way to give back time.
My kitten knows I’m about to implode in grief. She nips and purrs at his shoes. My throat closes as I bend and pick up my kitten. I squeeze out, “I’ll let you two enjoy each other.”
Lydia wraps her arms around his neck so tightly that I almost fear Jahleel can’t breathe. Then I hear my child, my baby girl, say, “Make her go. Banish her. She’ll find a way to keep you from me.”
“Don’t say that, dorogaya. And I don’t have those powers here.”
“What about St. Petersburg? Take us there. You talked about how happy you were when you were there.”
His gaze lifts to me. “I have to fix things here before I go.”
Was that another way to say he’s still going to die?
Head bowed, I go to the door. “I accept our deal, Jahleel.”
With tears dripping down my face, I leave them. Any time is better than none.