Nothing But Time (31 page)

“There he is!  There he is!” Nathan yelled as Brand came into view a
couple
of hours later.

Today
,
they’d managed to gain a spot for their carriage on the bridge to watch the races and Nathan, who was perched up with the coachman, had an excellent view of the competitors approach
ing
in the single sculls. 

As they
’d
made their way back to
Henley B
ridge
that morning
, Brand said his goo
d
byes and left them after gaining their promises that they would all cheer for him.  Since t
ime was
plentiful
before Brand’s race, Kate and Susan each took one of Nathan’s hands and the trio wandered back up Hart Street to let the boy play some games
leaving
the coachman behind
to work his way onto the bridge
in hopes of securing their view
.

The announcement of the race several minutes before had given the news that Harrowby for the Leander Club would be racing in the Buckinghamshire lane against his competitors, Playford and Labat, both from the London Rowing Club.  Since there was just one rower per boat in the singles, the race itself would be longer in dur
ation when compared to an eight
or four-man team.  With their disappointment
evident
upon hearing Harrowby’s lane assignment, Kate, Susan and Nathan all waited for the appearance of the boats, sure that Harrowby would be running last.

“Where is he, Nathan?  Can you tell?” Kate asked from her place on the bridge.

“Yes!  Yes!  He’s in the lead!” Nathan cried out excitedly, jumping up and down on the carriage.

Though Kate and Susan had urged him to go up
on
top
of
the conveyance in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the previous day, Kate couldn’t help but wonder if they had merely set him up for a greater mishap
.  H
er concerns were driven away
, however,
as the competitors finally came into view through the lingering mist.

Brand was, indeed, in the lead!  Gripping Susan’s hands, Kate bounced up and down cheering for him with all her might
and Susan even gave in to do the same as the racers neared the finish line.  It was a close one, all three boats coming
up
even as they came out of the turn that provided
the
advantage to the Berkshire side boat.

“Come on!  Come on, Brand!” Kate screamed at the top of her lungs.  “You can do it!  Yes!  Yes!  Woo-hoo!”

Brand crossed the finish line just a nose ahead of his competition and drooped over his oars as the crowd went wild over his performance.  Residual momentum kept his scull drifting along as Brand caught his breath before twisting about to look up at the bridge which was just behind him. 

Kate, Susan and Nathan all waved and he returned a casual salute and a smile as he drifted under the bridge where he would then return to the bank to pull his boat ashore as he had the previous day.

Nathan climbed down from the rig and prepared to run off before Susan caught his hand and reined her son in to walk by her side.  Duties relieved, Kate followed slowly behind the pair, watching at a distance as they congratulated Brand
who,
as the victor
,
received the same from his competitors and all the other spectators gathered to deliver more of the same.

A barker called attention and announced that the Earl of Harrowby had marked a new course record at nine minutes and sixteen seconds and announced him the winner of the Diamond Challenge Trophy for single sculls.

Congratulations renewed and Brand was momentarily lost in a sea of well-wishers
pounding at his back and reaching for his hand.  Brand good-naturedly accepted their
accolades
though his eyes scanned the crowd from the vantage point
his height
allowed him until he found Kate lingering near the bridge.

Eyes sparkling, Brand beamed at her.  Kate smiled back bursting with pride and, unable to help herself, thr
ew
a kiss back to him prompting his grin to widen even more.

“Miss Kallastad,” a piercing voice sounded behind her
a few minutes later
and Kate jumped.  Turning
,
she found Simmons, Mrs. Ryder’s personal
companion,
just behind her.  “Mrs. Ryder would like to see you for a moment, if you please.”

“Right now?”
Kate cast a glance back to Brand who was now on his haunches next to Nathan showing the boy his trophy.  “But Nathan…”

“Is well in hand
.  One of the footmen will let them know where you are
,” the maid finished and turned away with the assumption Kate would follow.
With a momentary flash of rebellion, Kate felt the urge to resist but curiosity won out and she followed the maid into the
Red Lion Inn, which backed the Stewards’ Enclosure, and from there into a small parlor. 
Simmons waved her in briskly and shut the door behind her.

Kate found Mrs. Ryder alone in the room looking out the window over the crowds gathered outside. 
Given the angle of the w
indow, Kate realized that Belinda Ryder had been able to see everything that had just happened. 
The silence stretched out leaving only the muffled voices from outside to soften it.  Just when Kate was certain Mrs. Ryder had only brought her in there to toy with her, the older woman spoke in her icy tones, though her gaze remained focused outside. 
“I’ve been watching you, Miss Kallastad
.”

“Really?” Kate responded lightly
though the tone of Mrs. Ryder’s voice spoke of more than what she saw through the window.  What did she know?  Or was it simply suspicion?
  “See anything interesting?”

“I have seen enough to know that
you are to blame for my
recent difficulties with Harrowby,” the woman volleyed back.

Refusing to acknowledge any accusation until it
was
directly leveled, Kate bit her tongue against voicing any excuses. 
However faced with the woman’s impersonal labeling of her offspring, Kate could
n’t
help but innocently return,
“Harrowby?  Oh, you mean your son, Brandon.”

The woman finally turned to face her,
pierc
ing Kate with a frigid glare. 
“Don’t be smart with me, Miss Kallastad.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, ma’am.”

“Look at yourself,” Mrs. Ryder sneered.  “
You want only what Harrowby can give you.  You’re nothing but a hanger-on and social climber.”

Kate couldn’t bite back an amused huff of disbelief. 
And you’re not
?
she wanted to ask in return.  Sarcasm wouldn’t get her far in this fight where Kate held no position to defend herself from Belinda Ryder’s venom.  Refusing to be lured into a fight, Kate pressed her lips together.

The woman’s eyes narrowed
as if displeased by Kate’s self-control
, her spiny fingers curled into fists
.  “
Have you no
self-respect?  Or do you simply
not care that my son has made a whore out of you?”

“Excuse me?”
Kate replied with wide eyes.

But the woman seemed to have a laundry list of complaints and no interest in lingering on just one. 
“A woman like you has no place in Harrowby’s life or in my grandson’s.”

“A woman like me
just
saved your grandson’s life!
” Kate shot back feeling anger begin to tighten her throat.
 
“
Or have you forgotten about that?”

“You did nothing that another couldn’t have managed,” the woman whisked the argument away with a flick of her wrist.  “Now, I want you to leave Harrowby and my grandson alone.”

“You just can’t accept that he’s finally taking control of his own life,
can
you?” Kate asked
, crossing her arms over her chest
. 
Any semblance of subservient behavior slipped away in the face of Mrs. Ryder’s sore lack of maternal love. 
“I hate to tell you, Mrs. Ryder, but it has very little to do with me.  Brand is his own man, he knows what he wants and he’s managed to avoid you for two years so that he could do things his own way without unnecessary input by you.  I think the only reason you are finally seeing it is because you’re actually here where you
can
see it for yourself.”

“Why
,
you impertinent harlot!  What I see is that Harrowby refuses to marry so that he can carry on an illicit affair with you right in his very home under the auspices of retai
ning you as my grandson’s tutor,” came her venomous accusation.
 
“
A female tutor!  I should have known right from the beginning that there was more to it!”

Kate’s feet propelled her forward then to stand
nose to nose with the woman.  “First off, if you call me harlot one more time, you and I are going to have a serious problem.  Second, I’ll have you know that I easily have a hundred times the brain and education you could ever dream of having and, third, I am not having an illicit affair with Brand!  I love him!”

“You think I care how you feel?”
Belinda Ryder
sneered.  “
You think he cares?  He is Harrowby and you’re nothing but a convenient release for him.  H
e would never marry a woman as low as you.  With his wealth and connections, Harrowby could have any woman he wanted.  Someone with status and grace.”

“An ice princess with a cold heart and even colder bed?” Kate shot back
though the woman’s words did what evil did best, taking root in her mind.  True enough, other than desire and perhaps an inkling of
friendship, she wasn’t certain w
hat Brand felt for her
.
Was it just lust or was it more?  Did it even matter?  Hurtful words aside, Kate knew that what she wanted was Brand’s happiness and what
his mother wanted was a
far cry from
that.  It might not be Kate. 
Deep inside,
she knew that.
Either way, she would defend him with her last breath. 
“Don’t you see that Brand wants someone to love?  He wants a warm, happy family.  The last thing
he wants to
do is marry a woman who’s just like you.”

Mrs. Ryder’s hand shot out and caught Kate across the cheek sending Kate staggering to the side with the force of her blow.  Cupping her face in her palm, Kate stared at the woman in shock.  Mrs. Ryder’s face was flushed red with anger as she waved a finger at Kate.  “That’s quite enough from you, Miss Kallastad.  I’m finished with this d
iscussion and
with you.  You have done enough damage and
are dismissed and I don’t mean simply dismissed from my presence, you are dismissed from your position a
t
Ramble H
ouse.  I want you to pack your bags and leave immediately.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Yes, I can.”

Stunned, Kate
’s mind wouldn’t function any fu
rther than
to give in to
her desire to leave the woman’s hateful presence
.  Sh
e
strode from the room still holding her cheek tenderly
, her mind swept blank by the shock of the woman’s actions
. 
Kate knew she shouldn’t have phrased her words in such a fashion but surely such a rebuttal was a disproportionate response! 
She’d never b
een struck before.  At least now
here other than her rear end when she was a child.  Despite
seeing
it time and again on Jerry Springer or Desperate Housewives, Kate had never before realized how much it hurt or how utterly humiliating it was.  She burned with anger and mortification. 

Though Kate knew she shouldn’t have gotten into a verbal confrontation with Brand’s mother, she
wondered
h
ow they
had
been reduced to such a level that
it
had turned
physical
.
  In her life, Kate had never hated anyone with the passionate abhorrence she held for
Belinda Ryder
.  More than how greatly she loathed the vicious name-calling of moments ago, Kate hated how Mrs. Ryder treated her son, how she couldn’t care about his wants or desires.  It was wrong.
  She would revile the woman for that alone.

Because Kate loved
Brand
just as she’d admitted so rashly moments ago
. 
Shit
, she thought as she made her way
out of the inn and back outside
.  W
hen had that happened? 
How
had that
happened?  Falling in love wasn’t a part of her master plan for at least another decade.  It wasn’t time yet.  There were things she wanted to do.