At this, Mrs. Burke turned hateful eyes to her. “You have no proof. We were identical, such a story could never be believed because it couldn’t be proven one way or the other. You’re grasping at straws.”
It was then that Catherine lowered her chin, a predatory expression spreading across her lips. “There’s a spot of proof…” She pointed to the freckle just below Mrs. Burke’s ear. “You are Lord Bircham’s mother.”
Mrs. Burke flinched.
“Don’t worry. He knows the truth now,” Catherine added as a parting swing.
At this, Mrs. Burke’s control snapped, and she stood, her voice shrill. “You witch!”
“Now, there’s no need for name-calling.”
Catherine spun at the sound of Quin’s voice, her heart hammering with relief, joy, and surprise. Lord Bircham stood beside Quin, a fading bruise circling his eye and adding a rather pirate-like effect to the usually impeccable gentleman.
Mrs. Burke stilled, her gaze darting from Lord Bircham to Quin to Catherine and back, as if the rest of her was paralyzed.
“So where are we in the conversation? Clearly, we’re late,” Quin added with some levity as he crossed the room to stand beside Catherine.
His warm hands circled her waist and pulled her close, then he placed a tender kiss to her head. “I missed you,” he murmured.
Catherine closed her eyes and melted in to him, her earlier tension dissolving like sugar in tea. As if just thinking of tea had conjured it up, the maid brought in the service and apparently sensing the tension in the room placed it quickly on the table and left with alacrity.
“Well, it would seem there needs to be some clarification.” Lord Bircham approached Mrs. Burke, his expression cool. “Because I for one would like to know the truth.”
He took a seat and motioned for Mrs. Burke to do the same.
“From the beginning, if you please. You owe me that at least.”
Thirty-seven
They had ridden through the night, leaving the evening before in order to get to Cambridge as quickly as possible. Once Lord Bircham had reconciled himself to it, he had come to the conclusion that he needed to talk to Mrs. Burke directly, and given the rumors, he felt it necessary to have Quin accompany him should Catherine be present at any point.
Quickly agreeing, Quin had made the necessary arrangements and, sooner than he had hoped, relished the expectation of seeing Catherine. He had missed her, like his very soul was hungry for her presence. When they arrived at Mrs. Burke’s residence, Lord Bircham had been given the familial access to the home, and the butler hadn’t hesitated to conduct them to Mrs. Burke.
Quin hadn’t heard much, but it appeared as if Catherine had hit a nerve, given the resounding epithet thrown at her. It had been a struggle not to hurl his own insult at the older woman, but he had been able to see by Catherine’s expression that she was holding her own. He knew that she was quite capable of delivering a proper setdown when needed. Some women wanted a knight in shining armor to protect them. But Catherine fought her own battles and did it well. So, with a squeeze, he’d held her waist with his arm and drawn her in close, giving her room to be herself while reminding her he would stand beside her always. Because some day she’d do the same for him.
“From the beginning, please.” Lord Bircham waved to Mrs. Burke and then nodded to Quin.
Mrs. Burke had nearly shriveled at the sight of her son, as if all the bluster and bravado were sucked from her body at the understanding that he knew the truth.
“I’m not sure. That is, it’s all hearsay—”
“Please, do not toy with me.” He gave a frustrated groan.
And then Mrs. Burke crumpled into the chair, her head in her hands, and began to spill out the truth.
Quin listened in silence, noting that the details of the story were the same as what Lady Greatheart had said, save one difference.
“I wanted a child, and I knew my prospects for marriage were small. We didn’t have much of a dowry, and it was only luck that my sister married before our parents died.” She added, “And to a lord, no less.”
Lord Bircham nodded.
“So when it was discovered that Sara couldn’t bear children, Lord Bircham became distant, and it broke her heart. He began drinking more heavily, and then one night I was in my bedroom reading and…” Her gaze darted to the floor. “I don’t know if he realized it wasn’t Sara or if he was too drunk to care. But you can guess what happened.”
“He forced you?” Lord Bircham asked coldly.
Mrs. Burke met his cool regard. “The first time.”
Quin felt more than heard Catherine’s intake of breath.