Page 10 of Katherine the Vixen

She did not need to keep any for herself. Here at the castle, she was fed and housed, all at Siaspar’s expense. The money she would earn had always been intended to be sent back to England.

“Rest assured that everything has been done.”

As Lady Malpas did not offer any more details, Katherine had to satisfy herself with this vague answer. Short of shaking her, there was no way of extracting any more information out of her. The woman did not seem to realize what was at stake—or rather she knew it only too well, since she had used it to force her little scullion to do something despicable and deceitful. But she didn’t seem burdened by guilt.

“Thank you. I expected nothing less from you,” Katherine replied. A little flattery would be better than suspicion, though she did not mean a word of it.

“Was there anything else I should know? We did not have much chance to talk last night. What else did my dear husband do to me?” Lady Malpas gave a jarring kind of laugh at what she imagined to be a witty question.

“No. I have told you everything.”

Except for the part about her being a cold fish and him being unable to perform. The whole thing was humiliating enough. She would not dwell on any unnecessary details.

“You are confident that he did not suspect anything? This is what matters the most.”

“I don’t think he did. It was pitch dark and I did not say a single word, as agreed. In any case, he never asked me anything. He just did what he had to do.”

“Good. Good. With any luck, he will leave it at that for a while. No doubt he has scores of mistresses to keep him entertained at night, though what they see in him passes my understanding.” Lady Malpas went to the window and waved her dismissal, just like she had the night before. “Very well. You can go.”

After a quick curtsy, Katherine left, fighting her increasing unease. She should have tried harder to impress on Lady Malpas how thoughtful her husband had been. After the way he had behaved last night, she felt she owed it to him to try and make his wife see that he was not the monster she took him for.

Still, it was out of her hands now. When he next wanted to bed his wife, Lady Malpas would have to go herself. The deception could not go on forever. At some point, Siaspar would want children. No one would be able to produce them but his wife. Or did the lady mean to pretend she was barren or feign a mysterious illness to avoid doing her marital duty? Dear Lord, but what a mess the Welshman had gotten himself into…

It was then, when her mind was full of him, that Katherine was afforded her first glimpse of Siaspar ap Morgan.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she walked straight into a broad-shouldered man who was coming the other way

She was wondering who he could be when he spoke, betraying his identity.

“Careful here.” He steadied her and though, up until that moment she’d had no idea what Siaspar looked like, Katherine recognized his deep voice, which seemed branded in her memory. This was the man who had made love to her last night, she was certain of it.

“Forgive me, my lord.” Though she was desperate to get a proper look at him, she lowered her eyes to the floor, as was proper for a scullion.

“Don’t worry, there’s no harm done.”

Though Siaspar was inwardly seething, he was doing his best to hide his ire. He could not let the woman suspect that he knew what she was plotting with his wife.

But the truth was that this encounter, which would appear entirely fortuitous to her, had, in fact, been contrived by him. The girl could not have avoided walking into him, as he had made sure to place himself in her path. After what he had heard outside Lady Malpas’ room, there had been no other choice.

After a punishing morning ride, he had gone to her, intent on seeing if they could start their marriage on a better footing, but as he’d neared the door, he’d heard the end of a most enlightening discussion.

You are confident that he did not suspect anything? This is what matters the most.

Siaspar clenched his jaw. Suspect anything.

In other words, suspect that last night he had not, contrary to what he’d thought, bedded his wife.

He’d been thoroughly duped. The woman in front of him right now, whoever she was, had taken his bride’s place in bed on his wedding night. Together, the two women had made a mockery of his efforts to secure an alliance with an Englishwoman. As a result, his marriage was not secure. It still had not been consummated, as the woman he had made love to was not the one he had married.

But who was she? That was what he needed to find out.

When Lady Malpas had dismissed her mysterious accomplice, Siaspar had retreated to the shadows at the bottom of the stairs to lie in wait. He could not let the girl slip away before he had seen her face or, even better, spoken to her. Just as he’d hoped, a moment later, she walked straight into him, initiating the confrontation he had hoped to provoke.

What struck him first was that this was not a lady. Siaspar was relieved, as he had for a dreadful moment feared that he might have been tricked into bedding Lady Helen’s very young daughter, Maud. Because, who else would have agreed to go along with this outrageous scheme? But no, the dull attire and, more pointedly, the discreet demeanor of this woman pointed to her being a mere servant, and one of the lowliest rank. This was surprising. He had not known the English retinue had included maids.

But perhaps the reason this particular servant was here was not so mysterious.

Because the second thing Siaspar noticed was that the woman in front of him was eerily similar to his wife both in proportions and coloring. It was not hard to see why he had been fooled. Her clothes were dirty and the light in her blue eyes was one of respectful obedience rather than loathing, but in all the ways that mattered, she was identical to Lady Malpas. In the dark she would easily pass off for her mistress.