herself from his arms and moved away. ‘What is a scandal in a family of lower degree is merely eccentricity in a ducal household, I understand that,’ she pointed out. ‘But I feel so ashamed.’
‘But why? To be angry and disappointed with him, that I can understand, but to be ashamed?’
‘I am his elder sister,’ Katherine said helplessly, recalling the hours she had spent agonising over how to help Philip break away from his self-indulgence, make him face up to reality and his obligations. ‘I should have been able to influence him for good.’
‘Impossible,’ Nick said firmly. ‘Nothing you could have said or done would have helped. An elder brother might have been able to steer him right.’ He stopped abruptly and Katherine saw his eyes darken. ‘I should have been here for Robert; it is my good fortune that he has a goodness of character I never had.’
Arguing against that was not going to help, Katherine saw quite clearly. Nick was going to have to deal with his guilt at staying away so long in his own way. ‘He had your father,’ she said encouragingly.
‘Er, yes.’ Nick grinned. ‘Fortunately Robert appears to have exhibited none of the tendencies that would cause our father to deal with him as he did me.’
‘Do you mind very much?’ she asked, distracted from her own preoccupations.
‘No, if you mean do I resent it. I was hot at hand, thoroughly wild, thought I was in love—which, coming on top of a fairly convincing showing as a rakehell, must have seemed highly improbable. Father, not unreasonably, put his foot down and I was in no mood to accept it.’ He shrugged. ‘It was an interesting six years. Now, shall we go riding?’
‘Not until you explain these settlements,’ Katherine said firmly, planting herself between Nick and the door.
‘Well, Wilkinson will explain them better than I—’
‘I do not mean that and you know it, Nick! Why have you settled anything on me when we are getting the marriage annulled?’
‘We are doing no such thing. You may be if I cannot persuade you otherwise. And what would happen if I fell off my horse and broke my neck?’
‘Exactly what would have happened if you had fallen off a scaffold and broken it,’ Katherine said crisply. ‘I will go and earn my own way in the world.’ She regarded his rueful expression and fought against letting her feelings show on her face. ‘But I suppose I need the pin money at the moment, so I will simply add the allowance to the amount I already owe you.’
She expected a fight the moment she mentioned repayment, but her infuriating husband merely nodded amiably and reached round her to open the door. ‘I think, if you come with me, you will find that your new bedchamber is ready and that you will be able to change so we can have your first riding lesson.’
Katherine meekly allowed herself to be shown the way to her new rooms, refraining from pointing out her lack of suitable garments. She tried to pay careful attention to the route. Some paintings and a large Chinese vase looked familiar. ‘Is this near your rooms?’
‘Yes, Kat, next door.’
Her gasp was cut off as he flung open a panelled door and let her step through. ‘Less modern than the lakeside wing where you were before; this is an older part of the house and you should be more comfortable here until we can move into the Dower House.’
Restrained by the discovery that not only Jenny but another maid were in the room, Katherine could not retort that neither sleeping next door to him nor the prospect of moving into the Dower House made her feel the slightest bit comfortable.
Both young women were sitting on the bed, a garment with long flowing skirts spread out between them. The unknown maid was industriously whipping stitches along the hem and Jenny was just biting off her cotton, having done something to the waist.
They both jumped to their feet and Jenny said, ‘I think it will be a very tolerable fit, my lord, now we have taken the skirt up an inch and narrowed the waist.’
Not only was a very handsome riding habit being shaken out before her eyes, but a pair of boots and a dashing veiled tricorne hat were also on display.
‘And where did these come from?’ Katherine enquired dangerously.
‘Cousin Augusta. I thought there was sure to be something somewhere in the house, but I did not expect anything quite so à la mode.’ Nick flicked the intricate frogging with one finger. ‘Gussie apparently had this made, convinced that, even after presenting Lord Pickforth with a petit pacquet six months ago, she would still retain exactly the same waist measurement. Apparently this was not the case and she discarded it while visiting last month. The boots might be a little large, but nothing to worry about. I will see you in the front hall in an hour.’
It was tempting to pick up the boots and throw them at his retreating back. Instead Katherine smiled pleasantly at the maid. ‘I am sorry, I do not yet know your name.’
‘Eliza, my lady.’
‘Well, thank you, Eliza, it seems that you and Jenny have done an excellent job. You may go now.’
The minute the girl had shut the door behind her Katherine swept across the room, tossed the tricorne off the dressing table stool on to the bed and sat down with a thump. ‘Oh … bother the man!’
‘Who, Miss Katherine?’ Jenny caught Katherine’s smouldering eye. ‘Ah, the master.’
‘Everything I want to do he forestalls and everything I don’t want him to do he just goes ahead and does,’ Katherine grumbled. ‘He has paid my debt, and Philip’s debts and given me an allowance. At least I can pay you and John. And now he says I must learn to ride, if you please.’
‘That’ll be nice, Miss Katherine,’ Jenny said, a quaver of what sounded suspiciously like laughter in her voice. ‘You’ll see John then, I expect he’s down at the stables.’
Katherine allowed herself to be buttoned into the habit, which, although a little large over the bust, was a tolerable fit. It was certainly a flattering colour. The boots, as Nick had predicted, were slightly large, but the hat was delightful. Jenny bundled her hair into a coarse net at the nape, set the tricorne at a rakish angle, secured it with a large pin and lowered the veil.
Katherine stood up and practised walking up and down with the long skirt looped over her arm. ‘Cousin Augusta, whoever she is, certainly has excellent taste.’ She was looking forward to discovering what Nick thought of this fine outfit; it was almost enough to distract her from thinking about having to get on to a horse.
He was certainly appreciative as she walked down the great staircase. ‘You look very dashing, Kat.’ He walked round her, studying the effect, which made her blush. ‘Come along and meet your new mount.’
The stable block was magnificent with carriage houses, rows of loose boxes, its own farrier’s shop and numerous open doors through which Katherine could glimpse racks of saddles and bales of hay. Horses were standing looking over the doors of many of the boxes and Nick stopped at one of them.
‘My father’s new bay hunter, if I’m not mistaken.’
‘Aye, my lord, and his Grace’s pride and joy,’ the groom who was just sliding the bolt across
