Chapter Twenty
Rupert had originally intended to visit old Mrs. Laurie the following day, but by the time he left the vicarage the morning after the excitement, he had convinced himself to kill two birds with one stone.
Mrs. Laurie lived in a slightly remote cottage in the woods between Chadbon Court and the main London road. So Rupert walked first up to the court in the hope of catching Kate before her departure.
An uncrested traveling coach he did not recognize stood waiting at the front of the house while a coachman and Chadbon’s liveried footmen tied on a trunk.
Inside the carriage, Grissy sat with her back to the horses, clutching a carpetbag on her knees.
She caught sight of Rupert and gave him a quick, possibly involuntary smile, even as she threw a few words toward the opposite bench.
Only then did he see Kate, who leaned forward as though surprised. At least she didn’t look angry. In fact, she pulled down the window.
“Rupert! You’ve just caught us. We are heading back to London.”
He took off his hat. “Just waiting for Sir Gilbert?” The name still felt odd on his tongue, but it was easier somehow than saying your husband.
“Oh, no,” Kate said airily. “Gilbert has gone already on another mission for His Lordship.”
Unease twisted through Rupert. “I hope I did not cause trouble, with the flask and, well, being me.”
Kate smiled. “Goodness, no. Gilbert quite understands how it was.”
Rupert had no idea if that was true, and it saddened him that he could no longer read his old friend. “Does Lord Chadbon?”
“I believe he is grateful to both of us. It could have been so much worse, after all. Sir Colin left last night with his sister. I think he’ll do the right thing, but Chadbon has ways of making sure.” Her lips quirked. She had pretty lips, wide and expressive. “Actually, so do I.”
This time, Rupert grinned with genuine amusement and her eyes answered, just as they always had.
The coachman strode past, saying, “All set when you’re ready, my lady.”
“Thank you,” Kate called.
Words galloped up Rupert’s throat. Are you well? Are you happy? But he knew better than to speak them. It was not his place to ask.
“I’m glad you were here, Rupe,” she said suddenly, thrusting her hand through the window. “You will keep in touch now, won’t you?”
He took her hand and bowed over it, resisting the foolish urge to kiss her fingers. “Be happy, Katy. Goodbye.”
He released her and stepped back, but not before he’d seen the understanding in her eyes. Of course they could not and would not keep in touch. The coachman urged his team forward toward the drive.
A very novel, incomprehensible ache began in Rupert’s chest. Until the silly chit pushed her head right out of the carriage window, clutching her bonnet with one hand and waving wildly with the other, her face wreathed in smiles.
He laughed, waving his hat back at her. Then she vanished, as though Grissy had dragged her back inside. Rupert was still grinning, because she was still Kate and the pain had gone. And because somewhere, somehow, he knew they would meet again.