Katherine's morning had not been the best. First it had been breakfast with her mother; Miles had decided late the previous evening to go off for a few days with some of his friends to hunt, and Georgina had hardly refused, instead feigning delight at spending alone time with her daughter. But that, Katherine knew, was a lie. No sooner had she sat down to breakfast with her mother than Georgina herself had risen, prepared to go do a spot of shopping that would surely last the day. She told Katherine not to bother coming, code that Katherine had deduced meant that she was visiting one of her men.
Well good on her, then. Good on her leaving Katherine alone in the house when all she needed was a distraction. She had not been entirely calm since Lord Hurst's hunt, and for a number of reasons. There was the obvious subject of Eward, but Katherine managed to keep him from her thoughts most of the day. And there was Lysander, too, and she was feeling even more confused about him after he had visited. Eward quite obviously was unnerved by his return, as he ought to be, but what should she feel? How should she react?
As Katherine left the table, having sat there for a good hour after Georgina's departure, she heard the unmistakable sound of a knock at the door. She had already dismissed the maid and butler for the day - she had no need for them when she was by herself - and so attended to it herself. Unbolting the lock, Katherine pulled the door open, her eyes nearly burning with shock. She simply stood at the door, not sure what to make of the unexpected appearance of the man on her doorstep.