Chapter Eighteen
"IT EXCEEDED ALL expectation," Mildred said after she had embraced Lady Katherine. Having completed her dress, she was finishing the last of her packing that Bhadra had begun last night. “It was a night I shall not forget.”
Lady Katherine took a seat. "I am thrilled to hear it. But tell me, if you will, who has made it so memorable for you?"
Mildred blushed. "You would not believe it, my lady, and I would not hesitate to tell you save that…he may wish to preserve his anonymity."
"You mean Andre?"
Mildred's eyes widened. "He told you?"
Lady Katherine straightened, but there was no vexation in her voice. "He scolded me, is what he did. He admonished me for bringing you here in the first place, then explained that he had to keep you safe from the other rogues and rakes. I gathered then that he must have been in your company for most of the night. And as you have revealed that it was an unforgettable night, well, my conclusion was an easy one to draw."
Mildred eyed Lady Katherine carefully, looking for signs of disapproval, but found instead a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Did you know that he was going to be here?"
Lady Katherine drew in a breath. "In truth, I did. What he would do, I knew not. But I suspected he would not allow his cousin to fall in harm’s way."
"You would be the only person to hazard such a thing! I don't think anyone would have bet upon Alastair having a conscience."
Lady Katherine smiled. "Surprised you, didn't he? Well, I did see to the boy’s upbringing. I didn't do the best of jobs at it, but I don't think I was a total failure either."
Mildred did not know whether she ought to be sick to her stomach. Though she and Alastair were cousins, she was still much beneath his station. Would Lady Katherine truly condone a venereal relationship between them?
"I knew you would find your heart's desire at Château Follet,” her ladyship continued, “and I hoped it would be Alastair who provided it to you."
"Truly?"
"Are you appalled, my dear?”
"Not appalled but surprised."
“Are you so certain you would not have wagered upon his decency?”
“He wanted, at first, to act honorably.” Mildred sank onto the bed. “Till I browbeat him into feeling sorry for me.”
“Dear Millie, Andre does what Andre wants.”
“But I was quite insufferable! And a little inebriated. I cannot recall all that I had said. You would have been proud of his resistance. My behavior must have been monstrously intolerable and wore him down.”
Lady Katherine was quiet for a moment before responding, “Well, he deserved all of it. Had he been agreeable and granted your wish on the matter of the dowry, none of this would have come to pass.”
Now it was Mildred’s turn at silence. Now that last night had come to pass, she did not regret his rejection of her request. Would she trade all that had happened last night for freedom from an unwanted engagement?
She shook her head. It was madness that such a question should even find pause before an answer!
“What is it, child?” her ladyship inquired. “You appear pensive. What troubles you?”
“My cousin is convinced that I will come to regret what has happened.”
“Will you?”
Mildred shook her head. “Only if it irrevocably harms our kinship, but I do not see how, lest he suffers from regret and shame.”
“I cannot see those sentiments attaching themselves to Andre.”
“I shall not see us differently and shall continue to have the same regard as I have always shown my cousin.”
Only now she knew him intimately. She had seen him naked, had held his most private member in her mouth, had joined her body to his in congress.