As Katherine reached the landing, she saw Marie closing the door behind Lord Burnbridge, and her thoughts began to wander. She had heard her mother talk about him on more than one occasion, and they had met briefly in the past, but Katherine could not decide if he was one of her mother's lovers or not. It was entirely possible he was not, but she never could tell. And regardless, her mother never told her friends or her lovers to come by the house unannounced, and always let them know when she would be away, lest they decide not to listen to her.

Katherine gathered her thoughts and curtsied to her guest. "Lord Burnbridge," she acknowledged him, casting a wary glance at Marie, as if asking her to stay lest she need her, and the maid nodded back with an uncomfortable look of her own. "To what do I owe the honor?"