They passed a number of guests who nodded polite greetings while they walked down the stone staircase and scanned the gardens before them.
‘Where shall we go first?’ Sarah asked.
Katrina’s new bonnet shielded her eyes from the sunlight as she looked to her right. An archery competition was taking place in the shade of a large tree, between six stylishly dressed gentlemen in tailcoats, breeches and boots. Ladies and gentlemen stood about in small groups, offering their encouragement. Her heart ached.
Afraid of seeing Julian, she looked to the left and allowed her gaze to roam around the rose garden, which was enclosed with a low boxwood border. It was there that she had spoken to Madame de Lieven earlier in the day. It seemed to be where she was still holding court. Speaking with the woman once today had been enough.
The safest destination was probably ahead of them, where an enormous thick privet hedgerow divided the vast lawn in half and directed the eye to the garden’s maze off in the distance.
Katrina waved towards the hedgerow. ‘There are paths on either side. Which one should we take?’
Sarah chose the one on the right, and they started down the gravel path as a soft breeze blew against Katrina’s cheeks. She kept her attention on the maze instead of on the carefree people strolling around the lawn, afraid she would see Julian or Mr Armstrong.
‘You cannot avoid Lyonsdale for ever,’ Sarah said, adjusting her parasol.
Katrina ripped a leaf from the hedgerow and tossed it aside. ‘I am not avoiding him.’
‘You’ve hidden yourself away in your room for three days.’
‘I was absorbed in some good books.’ She plucked another leaf.
‘Katrina, soon you will return to New York and meet a man who will become so captivated with you that you will consume his thoughts. He will not be afraid to do whatever is necessary to be with you. You will fall in love, and you will forget all about Lyonsdale.’
Just the sound of his name was like a foot crushing the pieces of Katrina’s shattered heart.
‘And you know this for a fact?’ Katrina certainly did not.
Sarah gave her a reassuring smile. ‘I do. You will find love, Katrina. Of that I have no doubt.’
She had found love, only her love wasn’t returned.
She could not discuss this with Sarah. Not here. Not now. Possibly not ever. How she wished they had never left the safety of the terrace.
They walked side by side in silence as the gravel crunched under their feet. The maze was still a distance away. If she got lost inside it, could she remain in there for ever? Spending the rest of her life trying to find her way out might keep her from thinking about Julian and recalling every moment they’d spent together.
She needed to keep her thoughts from drifting to him. ‘Madame de Lieven has been so kind as to inform me that Mr Armstrong is in attendance today.’ She plucked another leaf. ‘She even saw fit to say that he had accepted today’s invitation with the express desire to see me.’
Sarah scanned the grassy lawn to their right. ‘It would be easier to avoid him if we knew what colour he was wearing.’
‘Men like him should wear garish shades to match their personalities.’
‘If only it were proper to run away if we see him approaching.’
Katrina plucked yet another leaf and tore this one is two. ‘Whoever drafted these English rules of conduct must certainly have been a man.’
‘A very boring man,’ Sarah amended, adjusting her parasol.
Katrina looked past Sarah and immediately wished she hadn’t. Madame de Lieven was strolling with Mr Armstrong, and from the way she was examining the ladies around her, it was apparent she was searching for someone in particular. The woman was much too persistent. Katrina feared that in a moment of weakness she might agree to allow Madame de Lieven to chaperon her on an outing with that windsucker.
She needed to reach the maze—and she needed to do it quickly.
She grabbed the handle of Sarah’s parasol and tilted it, obscuring their faces from the guests on the lawn.
* * *
As Julian walked down the gravel pathway on the back lawn of Hipswitch House with Hart, he tugged at the brim of his John Bull hat to shield his eyes from the sun. They walked in silence, each consumed with their own thoughts, and Julian stared at the garden’s maze in the distance.
He had not attended any social engagements since the day he had been humiliated by Cruikshank’s caricature. He had tried to convince himself it was because he needed to spend time learning the issues surrounding Britain’s North American territories. But he knew the real reason he had not ventured out was because it would have been agonising to see Katrina again.
Days had gone by since his agreement with her father—days when Julian had worried over whether he had made the right decision. They might have been married by now. Instead he had sat alone in his study, reading every word of Katrina’s father’s book and searching the text for anything that might have been a reference to her. He had even tried reading the remainder of Frankenstein, but it was too painful a reminder that now he was all alone. Never again would her lemon scent drift towards him as she leaned on his shoulder while they read together.
The nights were worse. He would toss and turn, and dream about losing her all over again. He hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in days. If this continued he was certain to drift off in the middle of his next speech. That was why he had decided to come here today. Seeing her from a distance might somehow put his decision to rest.
‘Do you have a destination in mind?’ Hart asked, breaking into his thoughts. ‘Or are we to continue to pace this path all day?’
‘There is no need for you to remain in my company.’
Hart tipped his hat to some passing gentlemen they often saw at Tattersalls. ‘Winter and Andrew suggested I join them for archery. However, Lady Morley has been enquiring about you for weeks. Fortunately for you, my reputation is not nearly as impeccable as yours. She will never approach you with Lady Mary while I’m near.’
The thought of conversing with Lady Morley made his head pound. ‘Perhaps it’s time I become accustomed to her company.’ He ripped a leaf off the hedgerow of privets that ran along the pathway to his right.
‘And perhaps I have a desire to have leeches suck my body dry.’
‘I think it’s time I offered for her.’
The silence between them was deafening.
‘That is what you truly want?’
Julian continued to stare straight ahead of him. ‘It’s time.’ The maze in the distance was getting closer.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Hart shake his head.
‘That is not what I asked.’
‘I
