KATHERINE

"No, not that elegant dress. Pack more practical things. Yes, yes, that riding outfit is fine." I instructed the two maids packing my essentials for this crazy trip.

I walked toward the window while they carried out their duties.

The night had deepened outside, so dark that nothing could be seen beyond the shadows cast by the large lanterns.

Where was the Duke, and why hadn’t he returned yet?

A heavy concern weighed on me. Was he at his mistress’s house? I needed to find out who she was. She was surely a beautiful woman, one who matched his status.

Is he in bed with her right now? I raised my thumb to nibble on my nail.

Anxiety churned inside me, the insecurity gnawing at me that she could get pregnant and threaten our position here.

All I had left was my father’s old house—not even the farmland.

Rossella had sold everything. We would be left with nothing.

Suddenly, through the night’s mist, I heard the distant neigh of a horse galloping up the entrance path.

Without even bl