Lady Unlike Any

6. The Other Side

"The greatest fools are ofttimes more clever than the men who laugh at them."― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of swords

"Because you are foolish," He said bluntly.

"You bastard," Kathalina said her anger flaring, "How dare you call me foolish!"

William stayed silent, his countenance revealing she ought to think what she had been doing till now. No matter what he thinks she was not being foolish, well she might have been a bit of a fool but what else could she do, sitting and doing nothing was never her way. But he wouldn't understand not with his position and power. If she wanted William Kentshire to help her she had to do this calmly.

"It is very ungentlemanly of you to say that a woman is foolish," She said gritting her teeth.

"Everything you have done till now is very unladylike, so it doesn't matter" He countered.

"I am not foolish. I know what I am doing," She said turning her away from him pouting like a child.

"What are you doing is wrong!" He said.

She ignored him and strolled around his office while his eyes followed her every move. This was getting ridiculous.

"What are you doing?" He asked annoyed.

"Trying to find the clues," She said nonchalantly.

"My lady, do you really think I would leave clues this easy for you to find out," He said plainly. Why was he even keeping up with her?

"I have to try," She said still looking around.

"My lady, please think about this carefully," He said calmly, "A day before you were convinced I was the one who was behind this and now you want my help to find out the culprit. How can you trust me so easily?"

"I do not," She said straightening up, "I do not trust you, my lord. I know better than that but do I have an option. I have no idea where to begin, and since you haven't thrown me out or ratted me to my father it is enough for me to move forward because others won't even listen to me."

He didn't understand her reasons and he didn't want anything to do with her but a flash of vulnerability in her eyes when she uttered the last words made him want to know more.

"What will you do after you caught that person? How will you make them pay?" He asked.

"I do not know," She said after a moment of silence.

"My lady, it will be best if you forget about this whole thing. The ton will forget soon enough and once there is another scandal they will stop talking about it entirely. We need not lose our sleep on such frivolous things," He explained warmly.

"It might be frivolous for you, my lord but I am sick of everyone ridiculing me," She said exasperated, "Every time someone starts ridiculous rumours about me and this time Ledger went too far to publish them in order to get to my father. Every time someone mentions how I am still unmarried, I see my father getting a bit more disappointed in me."

"I need to ask you is the rumour true? Because it is really a very lame one," He said.

"Why does it have to matter? What I read in the confines of the library is not of concern to anyone," She said.

William found it surprising. He had never liked her parents and the circles they ran in. They were such a traditionalist and her parents had especially spoken against the choice of his brother's bride. For their daughter to be found with such an infamous book, he thought they must have kept her locked inside a tower.

"You have to consider all the possibilities, my lady," William said, "Starting with I might be the one that could be behind this..."

She chuckled making him stop in his words.

"If that is true, you are awfully bad at it," She said, giggling. The only thing on William's mind was to drive her out of his office. If anyone recognizes her, he was doomed.

"We need a plan," She said after a moment of thought.

"I have better things to do," William said dismissing her, "Please see yourself out."

Kathalina was more stubborn than William had ever imagined but she was not aware of just how much he was stubborn himself. So, when she sat down in front of him challenging him, he too ignored her presence. Kathalina was getting irritated, he was acting like she wasn't in his office.

She was getting impatient. It must have been so long they sat in silence when her eyes bored into him and he simply kept working. A young unmarried woman was defenceless and he was like a stone.

"Are you impotent?" She thought out aloud. William turned to her with a murderous glare. Definitely not the stone, he looked like he was the devil incarnate. She bolted up and left without a glance backwards.

Her idiotic self had put herself at disadvantage again. She ought to be more graceful like a lady, but alas she had never been good at it. She should be grateful he was an absolute gentleman except occasionally running his mouth too much. He never attempted a move on her. Well, no surprise there she had never met a man who found her desirable.

She was annoyed that her adventure had to end for today. She had to go back to the estate where her mistress was waiting for her to teach her how she should be more ladylike. It was embarrassing, she should have been married by now, have a child or two like all the women her age except for those who wanted to be spinsters.

She never wanted to spend her life alone. She wanted to be loved and marry a good man but she didn't know there was a lack of so many good men. All those that courted her only bear with her because of her dowry and would either give up or attempt to suppress her. She could only be true to herself, she was happier this way.

It was a relief her parents never forced her to get married but even if they don't speak it to her directly being their only child, she still could sense their happiness when men would show interest in her. And hide their disappointment when the man rejects her or she drives him out of their life.

Her mistress has always asked her to hide her true self and act as the man in front of her wants her to. Her mistress has always asked her to be grateful she was born into a rich titled family and her dowry was enough for men to pay attention when she was not desirable at all.

She had one less thing to worry about with William Kentshire. The man and his brothers who were always surrounded by the most beautiful of the women would never have any interest in her. But she ought to be careful with her heart because William Kentshire was one handsome man.

His onyx eyes complimenting his dark hair, and his confident stance with the grace of a true lord made him stand out even more. The god needs to send the most beautiful of his angel because no one else was worthy enough to stand by his side.

Kathalina waited patiently before she would meet up with William Kentshire again. The number of times he had warned her about himself and never harmed her in any way and saved her from her father, she knew she could trust him and she felt like she could count on him.

She needed to formulate a plan. It could always be a possibility he was behind it but without facing him she will never find out. She was awfully bad at planning, she mostly did whatever she thought in a moment. This was going to be difficult but she was never the one to back out.

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