Page 104 of Kathryn

“Er, Your Grace? Is aught amiss?” Everett asked, anxiously peering up at Gerrit.

Gerrit’s eyes slid from Everett to his wife. “A house party,” he repeated, sounding demented to his own ears.

“Chatham’s house party,” Kathryn said, cutting him an odd look. “They host one every summer.”

Gerrit grunted, his gaze moving back to Everett. The man was handsome in that golden-haired, blue-eyed vapid sort of way that women seemed to like.

Did Kathryn admire such a man?

Everett swallowed, his cheeks turning darker the longer Gerrit stared.

“Oh, those are fascinating,” Kathryn said.

Gerrit wrenched his gaze off Everett and saw that his wife was pointing at the partially excavated piece that Mr. Scott had been working on, prior to fraternizing with Gerrit’s wife.

Kathryn looked up at Gerrit, her green eyes especially vivid today. “They are like the ones you have in those shadowboxes, but enormous.”

He felt a twinge of pleasure at her observation. “People have been unearthing ammonites for centuries in this part of England, but the size of this particular specimen is remarkable.”

“His Grace has donated spectacular samples to dozens of museums both here and abroad,” Everett said, making Gerrit feel a twinge of guilt for wanting to thrash him only moments earlier.

“That is very generous of you,” Kathryn said.

It was tempting to bask in her approval, but…

“Specimens of such size and clarity should be available to the masses,” he said. “It would be wrong to hide them away in a private collection or profit by selling them.” Good God, he sounded like a pompous arse!

“I saw them for sale in Lyme Regis in a shop operated by a woman who—”

Mr. Scott guffawed. “Ah, you mean Mary Anning. She’s something of a moneygrubbing nutter who—”

“Miss Anning happens to be one of the foremost authorities on marine fossils in Britain. I daresay she has forgotten more about the specimens found in this part of the country than most of us will ever know,” Gerrit said coolly.

Both men’s jaws sagged at Gerrit’s rebuke, and Kathryn’s lips curled up. No doubt she viewed Gerrit’s scolding as rude. Too bad.

“As for Miss Anning selling what she finds,” Gerrit went on, “she does so to support not only herself, but also her widowed mother. Scarcely moneygrubbing behavior.”

Mr. Scott’s face was bright scarlet. “Er, just so, Your Grace.”

Kathryn set her hand on Gerrit’s arm. “Will you show me what you have been working on, husband?”

A muscle in Gerrit’s eyelid twitched at the word husband. Her lips were curled up slightly at the corners and she was regarding him with the oddest look. A look that made his collar feel too tight.

“Er, yes,” he stammered, sounding like an idiot. He cleared his throat. “This way.”

***

As Katie followed Dulverton, she pondered his reaction to her visit. Although he had glared at poor Alby and Mr. Scott with a rather violent glint in his pale gaze, she did not think he was displeased that she had paid a visit to his dig.

Katie’s foot slipped as they ascended the terraced slope.

“Allow me,” Dulverton said, taking her elbow and slowing his pace to help her up the hill.

“Thank you,” she said, flustered by the slight touch. “I wouldn’t be so clumsy if I did not have this heavy skirt.”

“Mind your step,” he said, leading her around a deep depression and stopping before a large, level area.

“Oh, my,” she exclaimed when she realized there was a pattern to what had been unearthed. “What is that?”