4th Time Lucky

All the Wrong Things

Katherine thought a lot about Lady Danbury's ball over the next few days. She had made a lot of mistakes, but the worst one had to be the last two minutes.

When Duke Edgar Albrecht stopped her from leaving, and told her he wished she would attend more society events for the pleasure of her company Katherine had simultaneously melted and panicked.

She followed all of society's rules. Used his title. She carefully masked her expressions and was beyond polite. Emily watched from the circle of safety with the mother hens. The ladies approved.

But with each genteel word and demure glance where she inspected his shoes rather than meet his eyes, she could feel him wilt. Another doll to be propped up as a future bride, she ceased to be Katherine and became Lady Sachar. Bland and marriageable.

She wanted to apologize again and bring back whatever magic had occurred earlier that night, but he was so far out of her league Katherine couldn't bear the thought of pulling him down to her level. Edgar Albrecht. Eddie. She probably chuckled about that a half dozen times a day. One of the most influential families in the country, and one of the most sought after bachelors, and he introduced himself as Eddie.

Part of her loved him for it. Even as she knew any feelings in his direction were futile.

She was elbow deep in the heat of her volunteer work, boiling newly woven bandages at the public hospital, and in every curl of steam she saw Eddie's smile. Katherine wiped her brow with the back of one hand. The hand that he kissed - oh Gods what was wrong with her?!

She was looking for a comfortable, perhaps a bit lazy sort of man. Not a man that she would be murdered over. Three deaths was enough. Why did he keep invading her thoughts?

Katherine resolved to write to her top prospects after she debuted. Thomas, Gregory, Preston. She repeated their names in her head until they blurred together. It didn't matter which one she picked, she just had to get it done.

She scooped the bandages with a large wooden paddle, depositing them in the bucket below the wringer. She was grateful for physical labor. Whenever her mind was in turmoil, movement was the answer.

Wringing and rolling and hanging to dry, Katherine tallied everything she needed to do to be successful. Checking grandmother's boxes so she can die peacefully.

In each of her lives, Katherine had volunteered on top of running the business. It wasn't as though she had nothing to do. It was more about hating to watch others' suffering. It reminded her to be humble, be grateful, and created unlikely allies, like Marchioness Forrest and Miss Willoughby.

Five years from now they'd come to rely deeply on each other as the kingdom was - is? Will be? - ravaged by civil war. But for now, all of the hints leading up to it were dismissed as nothing but nasty rumors. For the fourth time, Katherine was going to pull her friends close so they could weather the storm together.

Nurse Sara Willoughby taught her basic medicine. They threw their body weight into setting bones and dislocations, practiced their sewing on open wounds, and played with the children and babies to help them forget their woes. In each lifetime, for as long as she was allowed to participate, Sara had become a dear friend.

Marchioness Forrest was the highest titled person who knew she existed (excluding the Duke, now, she supposed). Isadora Forrest was the primary patron of the hospital. She frequently toured the building, but never got her hands dirty. Twice they had sat down to tea before work, which was the closest Katherine had come to proper society up to this point in her life.

Although she seemed aloof, Marchioness Forrest had a lot of information churning away in her head. She recorded every good deed and every slight that reached her ears. She gathered data and judged accordingly, like society's vengeful angel of justice. She was vital to succeeding in Society, especially for someone out of the loop as she was.

Which was why, before she left for the day, Katherine had called a meeting of the minds.

Even though she had asked for it, she still found herself knocking at the Marchioness' office door.

"Come in!" a bright voice called out.

Katherine entered and closed the door behind her, practically skipping toward Sara. They embraced as much as was proper, then found seats on the sofa across from Lady Forrest, who was busy sorting the tea set on the table between them.

"I'm so excited to find out why you called us. You never start the conversation," Sara said, heaping sugar into her teacup. Her hair was kept in a neat twist under her nurses' cap, a fresh uniform on and ready for her double shift. Sara couldn't help but want to work; at home she was kept as a trophy in her room to for her newly rich family. Here she practically ran wild.

Lady Forrest was still and deliberate, like a proud cliff next to a storm.

"It's about my debut," Katherine said, carefully watching their reactions. "I need help selecting the right husband."

"It's much like buying a property," Lady Forrest mused. "You tour a bunch and take a look around, but then you end up picking the first one that interested you because you can't deny fate."

Sara had a different idea. "No, no. You don't find them, they find you. They're men, not houses. One of them in want of a wife will come to you. Chasing is for dogs, not classy women. We can listen out for some good ones for you."

Katherine tried not to think about the man she had met first and who came to her.

"I have a list of three names so far," Katherine said, as much to force her thoughts away as to corral theirs. Thomas, Gregory, Preston. Not Eddie.

The women pulled out their knowledge of the suitor's families, gradually shifting the conversation over to speculation about this years' season. Katherine settled in to the conversation like one might a warm pair of slippers.

"Do you think you'll speak with the Empress? I've always wanted to see her. You know, up close, rather than far away in a crowd. She wears the loveliest dresses, and always has her hair done up with gold...." Sara daydreamed outwardly, her propriety tucked away like her feet were on the sofa. Lady Forrest sighed like an indulgent parent, though she couldn't have been more than a couple years older than Katherine. If she remembered right, Sarah was the youngest of the three at 19.

"Aren't you also debuting?" Katherine asked.

Sarah fidgeted. "No, I don't think we can afford for me to do a whole season and have a dowry. I'll probably come out late and miss the palace's official start to the season."

"I'm sorry. I'll do my best to remember everything about my audience with her." Though she had already done so twice, she hadn't put in the effort to remember the details of the encounter. Katherine nearly missed the first time as she was in such a rush to get her life in order without a guardian to guide her.

Lady Forrest took a cursory glance at the empty teapot and sighed. She spoke so quietly Katherine wasn't sure she heard her correctly.

"She's just a person, you know."

Katherine blinked. "I know."

"You've been talking about her like she's a tourist attraction. She's a person."

Pieces were sliding into place behind the scenes. The title the Marchioness had was often restrictive. Where she could go, what she could do, and who her friends were. Katherine remembered a conversation from another life where Isadora Forrest had confessed her loneliness, and her gratitude toward Sara and Katherine for acting like real friends. Maybe Eddie didn't have many real friends. He probably couldn't have a balcony conversation without measured and stiff replies. Unless, of course, he withheld his identity.

Matching Lady Forrest's tone Sara whispered, "I know."

Katherine added another task to her list as she replayed the events of the ball one last time. Though a romance was out of the question, the least she could do was apologize to Eddie and let him know he wasn't alone.