A Taste of Honey (18 page)

Throughout the day a few gentlemen came to visit Katherine and inquire as to how she was doing, but Mrs. Brentley would not allow any visitors to see her and Katherine was forced to lay in bed all day while Winnie and Mrs. Brentley accepted gifts on her behalf.

“Mother is playing this up a bit,” Winnie told her after adding a small vase of flowers to the room.  “Injured women attract more suitors so she's told them you are in a great deal of pain.  I think a couple might even check back tomorrow and the next day to see when you are better, but who knows, men like Oliver Buckman usually have short attention spans.”

The effect was that each gentleman who had passed by to check up on her seemed guilted into sending flowers.  Victor's had been the largest of the bouquets and Katherine was quite sure that she saw her sister pouting over the fact that the roses had not been for her this time.  “She's worried that since you both look alike and right now you are the big story, he might leave her for you.”  Winnie explained as to why Robin had not visited again after Victor had dropped off the flowers.

“They are going to the play tonight.  I'm sure he'll make things better then.”  Katherine had seen Victor coo over her sister enough to know that for his part, nothing was being faked and his attention would not easily be diverted away from Robin no matter how similar he believed that the two girl's looks were.

Mr. Buckman had sent a rather small bouquet and Winnie explained that Katherine's next dance after Victor had been promised to Oliver.  When she had not shown up, he had acted put out at the rejection.

“I was injured!” Katherine laughed, less worried about losing his affections than for his own fickle sanity.  She only wished that Garrett could be deterred as easily as Oliver had been.

“Mother says he might have found a new girl already but she is sure that he wanted to try for one of Mrs. Brentley's famous sponsors first; mostly as a trophy kind of thing.” With a sigh, Winnie shook her head.  “It has been a problem for some of her charges that men will seek them out just to say that they nabbed one of the famously beautiful charges kept by one of London's best husband hunters.  Being her daughter, I worry that next year might be even worse for me.”

Katherine could see her point and she did not envy Winnie the pressure that she would be under a year from now.  “I'll come back to London next year if I can.  I can help point out the insincere ones,” she offered.  Winnie nodded her head and smiled back before retreating downstairs to help her mother greet visitors.

The most exciting arrival of the day was that of Lord Kent.  Katherine could hear the occasional noises downstairs of doors opening and closing, letting her know when there was a new guest stopping by.  Upon hearing the front door downstairs open and then immediately slam shut Katherine had been intrigued and she sat up in bed waiting for Winnie to come tell her the news.

There were raised voices and after less than a minute she heard the door open and slam shut once more.  Running all the way up to the third floor Winnie burst into the room gripping her side as she tried to stop giggling.

“What happened?”

Gasping for breath Winnie
laughed
.  “Kent came here to bring you flowers!” She sat on the bed, but nearly fell off from laughing too hard.  “Mother tried to kick him out before he even stepped inside the door but he brushed past her and set the flowers down on one of the end tables.  When she tried to berate him for ruining the finish on her table, he called her an old hag and left, slamming the door behind him.  She nearly followed him back out of the door so that she could keep yelling at him.”

With a tiny smile Katherine realized that they had been right, Lord Kent was indeed a bit of a rogue, not that she had expected anything different after meeting him.  Katherine considered quelling her curiosity but finally she put on her best smile and batted her eyes at Winnie. “Can I have the flowers he sent?” she asked as kindly as she could.

Winnie raised her eyebrow questioningly but did not tell her no.  “Just remember what I told you about him,” she warned before leaving the room in a less pleasant mood.  However, with the next tray of tea that Winnie had brought up she had included the small bouquet of pink orchids that Kent had left behind.  Winnie set them as far away from Katherine's bed as possible as if they might contaminate her or set her under some spell.

After Winnie left the room Katherine got out of bed, and hobbled over to bring the bouquet closer to her so that they sat on the nightstand beside her.  Looking the bouquet over she smiled at the flowers.  It was the first gift that she had been given by the man that she was determined would be her future husband.

Although Winnie was not old enough to have to attend social events such as balls and parties, Mrs. Brentley allowed her to take Katherine's seat at the theater that night.  This meant that after a busy day of people running in and out of Garrett's room where she was staying, Katherine was at last alone in a quiet house and she could relax and rest for the night.

Drawing the thick blankets up against her chin, she sank deeper into the folds of the bed.  She pulled them up to her nose and caught the scent that drifted around her.  A comforting smell like that of the woods after a new rain mixed with the scents of brandy and something more subtle.  She had noticed it once before but only now did she realize that she recognized the scent as being distinctly Garrett's.  It was strong enough that Katherine was surprised that she had not made the connection before.  She reasoned that all day she had been too busy with Winnie's constant pampering to really sit back and relax.

Not much of the room reminded her of Garrett and she had been told by Winnie that he spent very little time in London, so he rarely stayed in the room.  But as the scent filled her nose, she remembered smelling something similar when they had first kissed.  It wasn't cologne or any other artificial liquid that had created the smell that lurked inside of the blankets.  More natural and simple than that, it was him, the essence of who he was distilled into the fragrance that lingered around her.

Indulging in her instincts, Katherine burrowed her nose into the sheets and breathed in heavily, enjoying the smell of him and the warm cocooning feel of the bed as she burrowed into it.  Shaking her head with a small laugh she remembered that she shouldn't be searching out things that reminded her of him.  She should be trying to forget what he smelled like, and how he had tasted each time that they had kissed.

The sky was darkening and with a small pout Katherine wondered why he had seemed so worried about her last night, when today he hadn't stopped by.  Garrett hadn't even bothered to send her flowers.  She didn't need his flowers, she told herself, but it would have been nice all the same to know that he was still concerned about her.

Her thoughts slowly spun to a quiet halt as sleep finally overtook her and she dreamed of beautiful gowns and lush gardens, her sister's fairytale London.  Yet behind each hedge a frightening form loomed and she kept turning away in fright trying to find safely.  Finally one of the times that she turned around she was caught at last by Garrett's strong arms as he pulled her against his body.  She became unsure whether he was there to save her from the darkness or draw her further into it.

Garrett knew that if Katherine opened her eyes and saw him watching her sleep, she would have been upset.  She might even scream at him.  However it didn't stop him from doing so.  He watched her as she slept like a tiny child, with one hand curled under her delicate chin.

The many vases of flowers on the table beside her caught his attention.  He knew at least one of them had come from Kent.  Garrett had tried to visit his friend just as he had been preparing to leave his house to give her the pink flowers.  “You won't be allowed in the door.” Garrett had warned darkly.

Kent had smiled confidently in return.  “I'll find a way to get them past your mother and to Katherine.” Watching Garrett's face closely he had added irreverently, “She is such a pretty piece,” and was rewarded with a glimpse of Garrett clenching and unclenching his fist at his side.  “I had no idea until last night that you wanted her for yourself.”

There was a gleam that lit Kent's eyes as he watched his friend respond.  Garrett knew that he was hoping to turn the quest for Katherine's hand into a game between the friends.  Kent enjoyed such things and had even tried to turn Amelia into a contest between the two of them, but then Garrett had always known he would win.  With Katherine he couldn't be so confident which created a more level playing field.

Garrett frowned at the determined look on his friend's face.  “Leave her alone Kent, she's mine.”

“She didn't seem to think so last night,” Kent said a little too casually, “In fact I think she was rather annoyed that you had interrupted us just as things had gotten interesting.”

Garrett tried to tamp down the desire to punch his friend in the face.  Kent should have known when it was time to step aside and not try to make everything into a competition, but Kent had never been good with his timing.  “Kent this isn't another one of your games that you can enjoy winning and then gloat about.  She is more than that to me,” he confessed.  “So leave her alone.”

Jovially picking up his hat and cloak Kent smiled at his friend.  “Haven't you considered that she is more to me than the usual game?” He left the room without another word.

For the first time in Garrett's life, he was happy of the fact that his mother and sister both disapproved of Kent so much.  “He won't get past the door,” he had told himself.  Looking over at those pink orchids he realized that he should have given his friend more credit than to simply give up because of his sister and mother.  Kent was rather adept at dealing with angry females.

Garrett picked up each vase of flowers, moving them to the other side of the room, while Katherine slept on in the engulfing bed.  Then he placed close to her a small set of his own.  Her other suitors had sent her deep red roses and sensuous orchids that most women would have liked.  However, Garrett had tried to think of what she might like, instead of bringing her the usual fare.

When picturing her face and trying to imagine what would make her happy, with shining pale blue eyes, and her earthy soft brown hair, he had seen the bold color of yellow daffodils and had searched the entire town until he could find a flower vendor who carried them.  Instead of trying to use the flowers to seduce her, he wanted them to be a truce offering between them. 

Her fear of him last night had set him back and he realized that there was one thing he still needed to establish; her trust.  He was in no way willing to give up, quite the opposite.  Yet if he wanted more than one night with her, he had to work harder than he had been, to think about what she needed and wanted, to care for her as he would if she were his wife.  Then he would have to try to fulfill every part of her that wanted, becoming whatever she needed the same way that she had become what he needed in his life.

There had been a trust that she had given him that night in the cloaking dark of the alleyway.  At that moment she had experienced no fear of the consequences and she had let a secret part of herself come forward.  Garrett needed that trust back before he could have her in the bright light of day instead of just their stolen moments in the dark and away from prying eyes.  He wanted her.  All of her.

But he knew that one time would never be enough. Garrett did not want her just once but always.  Once he had gained her trust, she would be able to enjoy their moments of passion without the fear that she felt now.

Garrett understood all too well where that fear came from.  Even to him, an experienced lover in his own right, the electricity of their touch had sent him reeling back, causing a stirring in his heart, head and body. Things had changed and it was freeing him in a way that he never could have expected, not only from the ghost of Amelia but from himself.

Since meeting her that dark night he had not been able to remember the exact color of Amelia's hair.  He had forgotten to which side she had tilted her head when she became upset and looked at him through slitted eyes.  For three years he had heard Amelia's voice in his head and had seen her out of the corner of his eye, although each time he had turned around she was always gone.  At first it had frightened him to think that he was slowly forgetting the pain he had clung onto after her death, but he knew it's what Amelia would have wanted.  To keep a hold of her memory like a ghost that slipped through his grasp, no one wanted to become that.

Sliding the note that he had written her under the vase of bright daffodils Garrett left the room and closed the door behind him softly.  He must have spent too much time watching Katherine sleep because when he turned around he found Winnie standing guard outside.

“What is going on?” she demanded with her tiny fists on her hips as she glared up at him.  “I tried to check up on her before bed just now to find you in there watching her.  You know she wouldn't like that.”

Garrett tried to shrug her off as he walked past her and towards the stairs but Winnie stopped him by standing in front of him again.  “I don't want to talk about this Win.”

“I don't care what you want.  Katherine is my friend and I'm worried about her.” Pulling at his sleeve she added more quietly.  “You can't want her to live in Amelia's shadow; it's not fair to either of them.”