Page 18 of Fortune’s Final Folly

Joshua’s eyes widened. “You know of Henry VIII, too?”

“Heavens, no,” Kate said. “I do not much care for the old king; however, I found it rather intriguing when my father grew passionate about a subject.”

Kate fell silent. The vicar hadn’t been fervent about anything to do with his daughter except insisting a pious, private lifestyle. It was a connection Kate had longed to share with her father, but he’d always kept her just out of reach. And Kate was uncertain why. In her youth, she’d believed it was because she was a mere girl. But as she grew older, she’d come to accept it was more than that, and something that would likely never change.

“Please, forgive me, Kate,” Joshua said softly. “I did not mean to cause you unrest.”

Kate lifted her gaze to meet his, blinking several times to clear her vision.

“You did not upset me,” she confessed. And he hadn’t; he’d only stirred feelings within her she’d suppressed for years. Without seeing her parents’ stark detachment every day, Kate had been able to dwell on the loving moments, the truly close moments they’d shared as a family. Unfortunately, those times were not nearly as numerous as she’d deceived herself into believing. “It is only that I cannot claim to know my parents any more than you, my lord.”

“Why do you say that?” Joshua leaned slightly forward, and a spiced-mint aroma floated toward Kate.

She swallowed, bringing her thoughts back to the conversation—a topic she’d never discussed with anyone. “They were my parents, certainly, but they never spoke to me regarding important matters. Or about themselves. I only knew both sets of grandparents were deceased, and both my mother and father were only children. They wed young, my father being twenty and my mother only sixteen, and they weren’t blessed to give their love to a child until later in life.”

To distract him from the topic, Kate shrugged and set about spreading jam on her toast.

Joshua must have sensed her unease as he turned his attention once more to his plate.

They ate in companionable silence for a stretch before the quiet in the room became too much for Kate. Her mind ran in circles in times such as these. She thought far too deeply into subjects she did not wish to dwell on, and the energy wasted would all be for naught because she’d still find no answers.

“While my sense of aloneness is greater now,”—Kate sighed—“it has always been present. I always noticed that I was different; as did many of the children in my mother’s school and in my father’s parish.”

Her skin tone wasn’t that of a normal English girl, her hair did not lay in large, bouncing curls but tight ringlets, and her eyes were not the muddy brown of both her parents. Everyone around them had taken note, especially Kate.

“I think in that regard we are much alike.”

Joshua’s words surprised her. How could the son of a duke feel alone or different? He’d been raised as part of the peerage, a class above Kate. He could afford things she never could. He was surrounded by servants, Dolly, and the man from his office.

“How can you feel different?”

“My desires for my future contrast greatly with those of my family.” He sat back in his chair, his plate empty and his cup drained. “I’ve set myself apart from them, and that has led to a very lonely existence, especially since my uncle’s and grandmother’s passing. I do not feel I belong among the ton, nor can I truly be a member of Cheapside. It is a position I accept, though.”

“My lord.” A footman entered the room, stopping to give a quick nod to Kate before addressing Joshua once more. “Your carriage is ready to depart.”

“Thank you, Smithe.” Joshua pushed back his chair and stood. “Miss Kate, please finish your meal at your leisure. I have a few things to gather in my study before we go. I will meet you in the front hall when you are finished.”

With a grin and a bow, Joshua departed the room, following after Smithe.

Kate had had much the same experience as he. She felt as if she didn’t belong in the place she’d spent her entire life. Certainly, for different reasons than his, but still, they shared a mutual solitude and a sense of not entirely belonging. Perhaps Joshua did understand her situation better than she imagined.

Glancing at her nearly empty plate, Kate knew she shouldn’t linger. She needed to see the damage to her building firsthand and decide how to handle it all.

Chapter 6

Joshua stood in the street outside his office, Kate by his side, as they both stared at her damaged schoolroom. The front window had been shattered in the fire brigade’s haste to extinguish the flames. The front door was missing, and Joshua had his driver and stable hand nailing wooden planks to the opening to keep vagrants out. Next, they would cover the large window. Through the gaping hole where the window had been, Joshua took in the burnt desks and ruined books.

The flames, thankfully, hadn’t damaged the building beyond repair or traveled much farther than the ground floor. However, Joshua was certain Kate did not possess the funds necessary to fix the building.

“You can stay at my townhouse until the building is safe again,” he offered. He turned slightly to find Kate assessing him, her cheeks rosy despite the cool breeze.

When she refocused on the schoolroom, Joshua fought the urge to take her hand and reassure her that all would be well—hopefully, in the not too distant future.

Joshua had no right to promise her anything, but at least in his home she would be safe, cared for, and fed.

Dolly, bless her kind soul, would see to that.

And he wouldn’t need to worry incessantly over Cuttlebottom. He’d thought on the matter of the cobbler all night. There was no proof he’d set the blaze, and the simple fact that he’d left his shop and headed down the alley on the far side of the schoolroom would not be enough to urge the authorities to take a closer look at the matter. It was possible the fire had been started by less nefarious means.