you otherwise?” Charlotte asked, gently weaving their fingers together. “More than anything in the world, I want you to be happy. I would not welcome Lucas into my home if I thought he had those sorts of feelings for me—if I thought he didn’t truly love you.”
Catherine raised her head and regarded her sister. “But how can you possibly know? You haven’t seen him since he left.”
“Because I know Lucas. It’s not any woman that could get him to leave his country and the running of his company to someone else.”
Catherine had no doubt her sister believed that just as she believed Lucas did. She sincerely wished she believed it. That she should find the man of her dreams, a husband she’d long despaired she’d never find. Would it not have been lovely to find marital bliss just as her sister and brother had? But that wasn’t to be.
“Lottie, you don’t understand. You have Alex. For you it has always been Alex and for Alex it has long been you—probably since before you entered society. You’ve not really ever had to doubt his feelings for you. How can I ever be assured that Lucas’s feelings for me are not borne of not being able to have you?” She stared at her twin and swallowed. “I would always wonder for I could never be sure. Would he feel differently about me if there were no Alex, no man who held your heart in the palm of his hand. Would he feel differently about you if you’d accepted his proposal and you were man and wife when he first met me?”
“But he never loved me like that,” Charlotte cried.
Catherine shook her head. “I just couldn’t. And I wouldn’t subject Lucas to such a marriage.”
“But Katie, you love him. You love him. And he loves you.”
The former she could not deny so she did not, offering nothing in response. But the veracity of the latter could truly never be known. Certainly not as long as her sister remained unavailable to him, which equated to the rest of her sister’s life.
“You are twenty-five years and have been in love only once. Another love like this may never come along. Believe me I know this to be true.” Charlotte’s eyes beseeched as she held tight to Catherine’s clenched hands.
Catherine swallowed around the lump that had formed in her throat. As if she needed any reminders of that fact. And deep inside, she’d always known that when she did love, the fall would be from a prodigious height and the landing, one she may not survive fully intact. That had certainly come to fruition.
Sadly, the man she’d fallen so hard for had wanted her sister first. And men who’d reached for a crown jewel would never be content with a defective imitation cobbled together with paste.
C HAPTER E IGHT
H is most excellent physician had once told him that sleep had a restorative effect not just on the body but on the mind as well. Lucas supposed it may have done had he actually been able to sleep and not fought and lost the fight as he’d wrestled with his bedding the majority of the night.
Sleep may have proved elusive, but the morning did not. The weak sunlight trying to peek through the tasseled curtains covering his bedroom windows didn’t help matters much. His disposition hadn’t improved one iota since he’d returned from seeing Catherine the day before.
In actuality, he hadn’t returned directly to the house. Unwilling to inflict his dark mood on his sisters and their chaperone, he’d found a tavern in town and planted himself at a small table for the duration of the night. He’d eaten a little around dinnertime and had drunk a fair amount throughout. But he hadn’t drunk enough that by the time he returned to the house late that evening, he’d been quickly able to find sleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
He remained abed until his valet knocked on his door at quarter to ten, only then did he force himself to rise and face the day. The prospect was ominous. His head throbbed dully behind his
Catherine raised her head and regarded her sister. “But how can you possibly know? You haven’t seen him since he left.”
“Because I know Lucas. It’s not any woman that could get him to leave his country and the running of his company to someone else.”
Catherine had no doubt her sister believed that just as she believed Lucas did. She sincerely wished she believed it. That she should find the man of her dreams, a husband she’d long despaired she’d never find. Would it not have been lovely to find marital bliss just as her sister and brother had? But that wasn’t to be.
“Lottie, you don’t understand. You have Alex. For you it has always been Alex and for Alex it has long been you—probably since before you entered society. You’ve not really ever had to doubt his feelings for you. How can I ever be assured that Lucas’s feelings for me are not borne of not being able to have you?” She stared at her twin and swallowed. “I would always wonder for I could never be sure. Would he feel differently about me if there were no Alex, no man who held your heart in the palm of his hand. Would he feel differently about you if you’d accepted his proposal and you were man and wife when he first met me?”
“But he never loved me like that,” Charlotte cried.
Catherine shook her head. “I just couldn’t. And I wouldn’t subject Lucas to such a marriage.”
“But Katie, you love him. You love him. And he loves you.”
The former she could not deny so she did not, offering nothing in response. But the veracity of the latter could truly never be known. Certainly not as long as her sister remained unavailable to him, which equated to the rest of her sister’s life.
“You are twenty-five years and have been in love only once. Another love like this may never come along. Believe me I know this to be true.” Charlotte’s eyes beseeched as she held tight to Catherine’s clenched hands.
Catherine swallowed around the lump that had formed in her throat. As if she needed any reminders of that fact. And deep inside, she’d always known that when she did love, the fall would be from a prodigious height and the landing, one she may not survive fully intact. That had certainly come to fruition.
Sadly, the man she’d fallen so hard for had wanted her sister first. And men who’d reached for a crown jewel would never be content with a defective imitation cobbled together with paste.
C HAPTER E IGHT
H is most excellent physician had once told him that sleep had a restorative effect not just on the body but on the mind as well. Lucas supposed it may have done had he actually been able to sleep and not fought and lost the fight as he’d wrestled with his bedding the majority of the night.
Sleep may have proved elusive, but the morning did not. The weak sunlight trying to peek through the tasseled curtains covering his bedroom windows didn’t help matters much. His disposition hadn’t improved one iota since he’d returned from seeing Catherine the day before.
In actuality, he hadn’t returned directly to the house. Unwilling to inflict his dark mood on his sisters and their chaperone, he’d found a tavern in town and planted himself at a small table for the duration of the night. He’d eaten a little around dinnertime and had drunk a fair amount throughout. But he hadn’t drunk enough that by the time he returned to the house late that evening, he’d been quickly able to find sleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
He remained abed until his valet knocked on his door at quarter to ten, only then did he force himself to rise and face the day. The prospect was ominous. His head throbbed dully behind his
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