The Roguish Miss Penn (19 page)

“Indeed,” Katherine replied, smiling warmly on her brother. “I believe I shall stand in the center to get the feel of the final set. Oh, Teddy, is this not exciting?”

Teddy grinned, then wandered away to sigh over Miss O’Neill, her father notwithstanding.

Thinking how far the scene was from her current reality, Katherine strolled to stand beneath the fanciful set portraying the upper room of the castle where Belinda was held captive awaiting her evil count. It really was well done. Katherine could almost sense an impending doom, feel the threat of evil in the air. If the audience got the same foreboding of danger, she would be well pleased.

The door at the lane entrance slammed shut and Katherine whirled about just as the thud of a weight fell so close to her that it tore the flounce of her dress. She stared down at the weight, one used to help move the sets, and her hand slid up to touch her throat. Had it not been for that sudden sound, she would have been a few inches over and now likely crushed. Rather, she shook like a leaf while she noted the scrap of muslin protruding from underneath the weight.

Teddy rushed to her side. “What happened?” He seemed stunned when he caught sight of the weight so close to his sister. Turning to the man who ran to join them, he said, “Ramsey, look here. Must have been a poor length of rope. The weight landed just short of Kitty.”

“You little fool,” shouted Lord Ramsey to the pale-as-death woman who trembled before his rage. “If you had remained at home, as you ought, you’d not have been in this danger. No, you but must come and poke your nose in every corner.”

The cast had gathered in the shadows just off-stage. Even Cousin Sidney witnessed her humiliation.

“Why,” Ramsey thundered, “could you not trust another to see that all is as it should be? It is a retribution for your impropriety, Miss Penn.”  He turned to order Teddy to see his sister home before anything worse happened.

Eyes blinded with tears and shaking so badly she could barely walk, Katherine stumbled from the theater. She allowed Teddy to summon a cart to take her home.

Whatever had made her think she was attracted to Lord Ramsey? The man was an odious beast, a complete wretch. She burst into a flood of tears that continued all the way home, much to the consternation of the driver.

Chapter 11

By the following day Katherine had ceased to tremble at the close call she had suffered while at the theater. Cousin Sophia had alternated between cosseting her and predicting dire consequences for Katherine’s foolhardy behavior until she was quite prepared to scream.

“‘Tis the dress rehearsal today. I intend to be present, Lord Ramsey notwithstanding,” Katherine declared after another spate of words from Sophia. “I am fully aware of the debt we owe him. I shan’t know a moment’s peace until we have paid him off. Completely.” The final word was uttered with a loathing that revealed the depth of Katherine’s anger. Never had she felt so betrayed. The man she thought so teasing and lighthearted, even concerned for her welfare, had turned into a monster.

“There might be another reason, you know,” suggested Cousin Sophia from her chair by the window of the sitting room.

“And what might that be?” Katherine paused in her pacing about the room to stare at Cousin Sophia. “No, do not answer that. I do not wish to know what your explanation might be.”

“Closed mind, just like your father.”

“Do not speak of men just now, please. Any men!”

A stir in the hall heralded the arrival of her brother.

“I say, Kitty, are you bound for the theater today? I warrant you’ll want to see the dress rehearsal.” Teddy hovered in the doorway uncertain what mood he would find when he addressed his sister.

“Naturally I intend to go. I might,” Katherine added in a rather heavy attempt at humor, “need you to fend off his lordship. He may not be best pleased to see me there. I could be banished.”

“Rubbish,” Teddy replied with a deal more optimism than he inwardly felt.

“I shall fetch my cloak and be with you in a trice.” Katherine slid past her brother, giving him a reassuring pat on his arm before walking down the hall to climb the stairs to her room. Just as she placed her foot on the first step she heard a knock at the front door. Not wishing to bother the housekeeper and feeling very democratic today, she answered it herself. It was Lord Ramsey.

Katherine fell back a step or two, placing her hands carefully behind her as she went. She tilted her head, her heart-shaped face assuming a bland expression worthy of Cousin Sophia. “Good day, sir.”

He resembled nothing so much as a small boy who faces a very distasteful task. “Katherine, I must talk with you.”

She gestured to the small room off the entry, judging he wished privacy for his speech.

He stood by the door, watching as she gracefully walked across the room to stand by the window. “About yesterday . . .“ he began.

“Have you thought of another way in which to tell me I am a silly fool, perhaps?” She spun around to pin him in place with an accusing glare.

“You aren’t making this any easier for me,” he muttered. Since she had no intention of doing any such thing, she merely inclined her head in what she hoped was a regal manner.

“I was upset, you might have been. . .“ he began.

Katherine sputtered, interrupting what apparently was an explanation of his behavior to declare, “You were upset? Why, I was as calm as a dead duck.”

“Kate,” he warned to no avail.

“That horrid weight came crashing down, tearing off a part of the skirt of a favorite gown and nearly killing me in the process, and you got upset. My, my,” she finished in a soft but effective voice.

“That tears it,” he muttered, striding across the room to clasp her arms. Staring down into her face, he continued, “I was frightened out of my mind when I realized what might have happened to you, you foolish girl.” With those words he bent his head and kissed her with none of his previous tender regard.

Katherine wilted under the onslaught. This was no mere kiss; it constituted an entire pronouncement, although of what, she had not the faintest idea.

Bewildered, she drew back once he had released her to gaze at his face with troubled eyes.

“It was an accident,” she said, seeking his reassurance. “It will never happen again. Will it?” Her hands had lifted of their own accord to clasp his arms and now she exerted a slight pressure on them in emphasis.

“I have had everything checked and rechecked. I believe you will be as safe there as anyplace.”

“Splendid,” she replied in a subdued voice. She dropped her hands when she realized that she had been shamelessly clutching him, backing farther away from his far-too-appealing self.

“I say, Kitty, are you never coming?” Teddy queried from the doorway before catching sight of Ramsey. He stopped, warily eyeing the other man and trying to assess the atmosphere in the small room.

“I take it you were about to depart?” Ramsey looked from one to the other, his brows raised in query.

She nodded. “I was just going up the stairs for my cloak when you knocked on the door.”

“I am pleased I did something right, at any rate. I am glad you have the sense to wear it.” He backed away from her, allowing Katherine free access to the door.

Ashamed of her harsh words, Katherine threw up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “You have, for the most part, been a kind and generous partner in this undertaking. I am most grateful to you.” Head bent, she walked to the door. “I shall be but a moment, Teddy. We shan’t presume upon his lordship’s time.” Glancing back at Ramsey, she added, “I am going to the theater, I hope in time for the rehearsal.”

The two men watched the quiet young woman march up the stairs, her back as stiff as an iron rod. “Offhand, I’d say she is still a bit annoyed,” ventured Teddy with the sort of knowledge that comes of long-standing proximity.

“I hope she gets over her pique.”

“It was an accident, sir,” Teddy reminded in a respectful manner.

“I suppose so,” murmured his lordship, reluctant to inform the brother that the new rope had been cut, not frayed.

“Well, once the rehearsal is over with, perhaps we can get her away from the place.”

“Away? Her? What do you suggest?” The wry expression on Lord Ramsey’s face amused Teddy, for he chuckled.

“Take her for a boat ride on the Cam. She’d be trapped, if you get my meaning.” Teddy winked.

“I do, I do. Perhaps we can even slip the chaperone?” Ramsey wore a suspiciously pleased smile when Katherine returned, her cloak around her and reticule in hand.

She wished to ignore the hand offered by Lord Ramsey and far preferred to walk the two miles from town.

“Don’t be a clunch,” Teddy said as he nudged her up into the carnage. “If you want to get there promptly, best accept the transport offered. And say thank you,” he reminded quietly.

Katherine shot his lordship a resigned look and repeated after her brother, “Thank you, kind sir.”

On the way to the field where the fair was located each year, Katherine espied Amelia Bonner. She stood on Trumpington Street chatting with a man, a circumstance scarcely unusual, as that was Melly’s chief occupation when she wasn’t emulating her mother at gossiping. What shocked Katherine was the identity of the gentleman. It was Mr. Michael Weekes! A flutter of fear crept up into her heart. Melly chasing after Mr. Weekes? The prettiest girl in all of Cambridge seeking the attention of the man most likely to get the prosperous living from Lord Ramsey?

Abruptly she turned from the sight that actually didn’t upset her nearly as much as it ought. She attributed that odd reaction to her nearly being killed the day before. A shock like that was enough to put a girl’s emotions all out of order. Yet she was curious enough to inquire of his lordship. “Have you decided quite definitely on who is to fill the vacancy? Or am I out of turn in asking?”

“Not at all,” replied Lord Ramsey, watching carefully to observe her reaction to his words. “I believe your father is correct. Mr. Weekes seems quite suitable.”

“Oh, I say, jolly good, Ramsey. Weekes is a dashed good teacher and I’ll wager he does well at the preaching end as well.” Teddy beamed an approving smile.

“Katherine, are you pleased?”

“I know how many of the fellows anxiously hope for a living to become available. I’m sure that Mr. Weekes is an admirable choice.” But she wondered. He had been so unattainable before. Now, quite suddenly, since he would be able to marry, he seemed to have lost some of his romantic appeal. Perhaps not to Melly. But as far as Katherine was concerned, she was not in raptures as she had fully expected to be. How odd. Was she a fickle creature, after all?

They sped along the Newmarket Road to where the theater sat across from the cheese stalls. Lord Ramsey jumped down, then assisted Katherine. Teddy rushed off ahead of them,

Katherine looked after her brother, then gave Lord Ramsey a rueful smile. “I beg your indulgence. I rather imagine he is going to see how Miss O’Neill does today.”

When Katherine and Lord Ramsey entered the theater, it was to find total chaos.

“What is going on?” Katherine said, with no fear of being overheard in the din.

Lord Ramsey strode across the stage to consult with Miss O’Neill and Ninian Denham. The remainder of the crew subsided, but still Katherine could not overhear what was being discussed.

In a short while Lord Ramsey returned to Katherine’s side to report. “They refuse to do the rehearsal. Miss O’Neill is superstitious about your being here. At least for today. We still have a few days before the fair opens, come this Wednesday. Perhaps it will be best to go off for the day and come back tomorrow?”

Looking about her with an even more subdued air, Katherine could see the hostile looks being sent her direction. “I expect you have the right of it. It seems the outside of enough that I should suffer again for that stupid accident.” She glanced up at the ceiling where fresh ropes hung in loops.

Lord Ramsey exchanged a warning look with the stage worker who stood nearby when the man was about to speak. “I believe things will be better tomorrow.” Lord Ramsey looked to Teddy, who frowned, but nodded back his agreement of the suggestion from Ramsey.

In short order Katherine found herself bustled from the theater and back in the carriage again.

“I suppose I had best head for home,” she said with no enthusiasm at all. Her disappointment was all too clear, she feared. Michael Weekes didn’t enter her mind at all, which would have been peculiar had she thought about it. Her only concern was for the production. Pray that the cast’s superstition ended before Wednesday. The alternative was for her to remain outside, a thing she found insupportable.

The driver followed his instructions to the letter and soon Katherine found that rather than heading back to Cambridge, they made their way along Garlic Row toward the place on the Cam where the ferry docked. There were other boats to be found there as well, especially now during fair time. She glanced wistfully at a shallow boat, the sort the young lovers used to take an afternoon’s ride down the river. They were large enough for three, the couple and the required chaperone.

“I think a change of scenery is in order, Katherine. Your brother suggested you might enjoy a pleasant, relaxing trip down the river.” He assisted her from the carriage, then led her past the pottery booths to the edge of the river.

A slow smile crept over her face. Would she? The grin she bestowed upon Lord Ramsey was the sort given by little girls about to be given a treat. “I should like that very much, I believe,” she said primly, her sparkling eyes revealing just how much she would enjoy such a treat. Then her smile dimmed. “However, Cousin Sophia is not present.” A mischievous look crossed her face. “We need not tell, I suppose.”

Before long Lord Ramsey had arranged to take one of the boats, a pretty little thing painted a soft green, for the rest of the day. “That way we do not have to be worried about returning it precisely on time, you know.”

Katherine did not know what he meant, but she was too intent upon settling herself in the back of the boat to worry overmuch about it. Pillows appeared from the carriage, a fancy white parasol was handed down to her.