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Catherine had been strong, but the moment Mary and Lydia enveloped her, she felt her hard outer shell cracking.

So much had transpired, with nearly none of it being good.

With what had the making of a long and difficult discussion before her, she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

She did not have time for tears. There were things to do.

“One of the maids will bring up some tea, Jane’s special blend.

I have a feeling we may need its soothing influences.

” Tucking Catherine under her arm, Mary walked with the group into the sitting room.

“Lizzie will be upset that she was not here, but she was needed at her charity and she and Georgiana should be back soon.”

Catherine noticed that Lydia kept up with her sisters but occasionally turned back to glare at Theodore. Lydia had always been determined to protect her loved ones from pain. “I would very much like to know why my sister has come home from her walk in the park looking dazed.”

“Do not worry, Lydia,” Darcy said confidently, “we will be told in quick order.”

The room was large enough to seat the gathering of people with ease.

Catherine found herself sandwiched in between her sisters.

They each reached for one of her hands, offering their immediate and unwavering support to their cherished sister.

There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone looked at one another, trying to figure out how to start explaining all that had gone before.

Catherine could not stand the building anxiety and so she blurted out what first came to mind.

“I stabbed Lord Deerhurst in the park with my penknife.”

“Lord Deerhurst, the gentleman from the rumor circulating about you that claims he attempted to drag you onto the balcony at a ball?” Mary spoke up from beside Catherine. “What did he try to do this time?”

“He admitted he had been paid five thousand pounds to compromise me. Furthermore, he had devised a scheme to marry me and seize my dowry. He continued to say that he would blackmail William for whatever else he could get out of him. I managed to keep him from following through on his threats by stabbing him in the thigh.”

Lydia's arms encircled Catherine’s arm, her eyes burning with determination as she surveyed the group. “He should be glad it wasn’t me. I would have stabbed him somewhere he would have regretted more.”

“Yes, Lydia, we all know that anyone who tried to hurt you or your sisters would regret it.” Reaching out, Mary patted her hand. “What happened after he forced Kitty to defend herself?” Mary asked the room her brows raised.

“Selene and her brother came upon me and Lambert, and shortly after that, Theodore and young Timmy arrived.” Catherine's voice cut through the tension and filled in some of the gaps for the people in the room.

Theodore took over from there. “Timmy had noticed Deerhurst following Catherine and came to get me, hoping that I could help her.”

“Theodore, I assume that you did not leave him to go free,” Darcy questioned as he settled into his chair, his brow furrowed in deep concentration.

“He stupidly pulled the knife from his thigh, causing some pretty severe damage to himself and almost bled to death before help could arrive. Mr. Burgess went for help while Catherine and I went about trying to save his worthless life.” Theodore let out an audible grumble, clearly frustrated.

“A physician arrived to take care of his wound. Several Bow Street runners also came and took him in hand. I told them I wanted Deerhurst to be charged with whatever possible.”

Mary's brows furrowed, a look of confusion crossing her face, as she turned to her sister and asked in a hushed tone. “Kitty, you mentioned that someone paid Deerhurst to harm you. Who could want to hurt you that much?”

Clearly noting their hesitation, Darcy spoke up. “May I presume that the fact the Burgess siblings left means you know who paid the dastard and we will not like it?”

Rising from his seat, Theodore made his way to the sideboard and carefully poured himself a finger of smooth, amber-colored whiskey.

Taking a long gulp, he sighed heavily and then made his way back to his chair, drink in hand, to give his response.

“In an attempt to sabotage our relationship, my mother paid him to compromise Catherine.”

“Lady Matlock did what exactly?” Elizabeth questioned. She had just come in the room and had only been present for the tail end of the conversation. Rushing over to her sister, she dropped to her knees in front of her and inspected her for damage.

“I am fine, Lizzie, or at least I am doing better than Lord Deerhurst. I told him he would regret bothering me. He said he never had bad ideas, but I fear he was wrong.” Catherine's giggle escaped her lips, but it carried a hint of sadness, as if it were on the verge of turning into a sob.

From where she knelt on the floor, Elizabeth turned to Theodore.

“I apologize for the unfortunate revelation of your mother's malicious intentions. I know you and William will need to talk, but I think I should get Kitty into a hot bath and then bed.” Standing, she wrapped her arm around Catherine and ushered her from the room.

Darcy narrowed his eyes as he watched his much-loved cousin.

Theodore was obviously distressed and rightfully so.

The revelation of his mother's involvement likely left Theodore with a storm of conflicting emotions.

Darcy found it difficult to decide what to say.

On the one hand, he wanted to comfort him, but on the other, he had hurt Catherine only days before.

When Catherine had come back from speaking with Theodore in tears, her sisters had quickly united to find out what had happened.

Catherine had been piled with hot chocolate and biscuits while the sisters had bad mouthed Theodore’s behavior for the rest of the day.

It was an understatement to say that they had all become quite angry on her behalf.

He knew Theodore loved Catherine, but that did not negate that he had shattered the poor girl's heart into a million pieces. Elizabeth had been so very upset when she found Catherine sobbing that it was all he could do to keep her from marching across the square to confront Theodore.

“Have you realized how much of an idiot you are yet?”

Running his hand through his hair, Theodore sighed in frustration.

“I realized that evening, but I have been trying to figure out what to do to fix things in the meantime. My mother was behind the gossip, and I realized I had to put my foot down. I told her she had to apologize in public and change her behavior.”

“You know that your mother will never do that. She is too proud.” Darcy stretched his feet out in front of him, his gaze fixed on his cousin.

“I acknowledge that, but I wanted to grant her the possibility of changing her behavior. I told her she had two options: behave how I want or move to Wales.” Theodore sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“I gave her the chance to be a better person, and she plotted with Deerhurst to ruin Catherine.

It seems like her choice is clear. It's time for me to reach out to my solicitor and initiate the necessary steps to have her removed from my home and my life.”

“I am sorry it has come to this. I know you were hoping that with the loss of Cedric, you could grow closer to your mother. She has proven herself unworthy of the title. Do you have a timetable in mind?”

“That is actually hard to say. I told the Bow Street runner that I did not want her to hide behind her position and he should prosecute my mother and Deerhurst to make an example of them. No one should be able to feel they are above the consequences of hurting someone.” Slumped over with his head in his hands, Theodore seemed to have lost his normally positive demeanor.

“I cannot bear the thought of her in my home, but I will need to find out if she needs to stay here for a trial.”

Darcy started to tap his finger on his leg, pondering how he would be able to help his cousin out of his morass of problems. “That does complicate things. Do you have a plan on how to proceed from here?”

Theodore started using his fingers to mark off the tasks he had in mind.

“I need to speak with the solicitor and the man from Bow Street and see how things will proceed.

My biggest priority, however, is to talk to Catherine and admit how foolish I've been. I have to make amends and try to win her back.”

“At least you have your priorities straight now. I must tell you, however, that it may be more difficult to win Catherine back than to deal with your mother and Deerhurst. Elizabeth and her sisters are probably going to close ranks. You may have to get through them before you get a chance to speak to her.” Darcy stopped and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“You may come this evening. I am hoping that the situation here will have calmed down sufficiently so that you will be able to find an opportunity to speak with her.”

Catherine lay ensconced in the softest blanket she had and surrounded by her sisters.

She was clean of all the blood from the morning's trials, but that did not mean it was not invading her mind.

Deerhurst had attempted to hurt her—ruin her, in fact—effectively steal her dowry, and blackmail Darcy.

Why was it that she still felt so guilty washing his blood from her hands?

Years ago, she had faced similar turmoil when she had shot the horrible Wickham with an arrow to protect her sister.

It had felt different, though. Though she would never hesitate to shield someone she cared for from harm, prioritizing her own safety felt less innate.

The experience of protecting someone else was somehow different from the experience of protecting herself.