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T his was going to be harder than Mary Kate envisioned.

It wasn’t uttering the words “I am sorry” with conviction that worried her—it was the fact that she had unknowingly been striking out at Melinda Garahan.

A woman who had been victimized and mistreated by her own family.

A story so close to Lady Calliope’s that it hurt Mary Kate’s heart to know that she was the one who had been causing strife in Melinda’s life, and more—hurting the woman’s heart.

At Calliope’s suggestion, Mary Kate carried the tea tray into the small room at the end of the hallway and placed it on the table set out for their use.

She couldn’t sit. Waiting had always been something Mary Kate did not do well.

She paced until she heard a light footfall.

Bracing herself, she stood where Melinda would be able to see her as she approached the door.

“Oh.” Garahan’s wife stopped in the doorway. “I didn’t expect you to be waiting for me. Am I late?”

“Not at all,” Mary Kate assured her. “I’m early. Won’t you sit down? Mrs. Romney has prepared this lovely tea for us. Lady Calliope will be joining us shortly.”

Melinda hesitated, then entered the room and sat down. Relieved that Garahan’s wife had not ignored her request to join her for tea, Mary Kate sat across from Melinda and poured her a cup. “Would you like cream and sugar?”

The other woman did not answer right away. She seemed anxious, leaving Mary Kate to wonder if she had caused her to feel that way. Needing to get the hardest part over with, she set down the teapot and quietly asked again, “Cream? Sugar?”

Finally Melinda replied, “Yes, thank you. Er…Lady Calliope said that you had something you wanted to talk to me about.”

After passing the sugar and cream to Melinda, Mary Kate picked up her teacup, sipped, and set her cup back on its saucer. Not knowing how to begin, she simply blurted out, “I am so sorry!”

Melinda blinked and set her cup down. “For what, exactly?”

Mary Kate had no idea what to say at first and wondered if the other woman was baiting her.

But the perplexed look on Melinda’s face had her replying, “I should not have constantly brought up Garahan’s rescuing me months after it happened.

After he rescued you, it was obvious he was in love with you.

And then after you married—” She bit her lip and shook her head, unable to continue as guilt plagued her.

Mary Kate glanced up only to find Melinda was not looking at her, but staring down at her lap.

Needing to explain, she rushed out, “I had been treated so abominably by Lady Kittrick’s cook and her other servants that I felt as if I were constantly being ridiculed…chastised…meant to feel as if I were nothing more than a scrap of dirt they tried to wipe off the soles of their shoes.”

Melinda looked up at that. “How did you find the courage to leave?”

Mary Kate sighed. “I didn’t.”

“But you said James rescued you,” Melinda insisted. “I don’t understand.”

“Lady Kittrick was in a rage over something…come to think of it, she was always angry. That particular day, she took it out on her cook, who took it out on me. One thing led to another, and before I realized what was happening, Cook had me by the arm and was dragging me down the hallway to the side door. She shoved me out onto the sidewalk.”

She glanced up and noticed that Melinda was still looking at her, listening. She’d best get the rest of her apology out. “I landed hard on my hands and knees and was still in a state of shock that I’d been booted out—without a reference. I had no idea how I would find another position without one.”

Melinda reached across the table and patted the back of Mary Kate’s hand. “That’s when my James found you.”

A tear formed and slid past Mary Kate’s guard. She cleared her throat. “Yes. That’s when he found me, coaxed me to my feet, and led me over to the earl’s carriage.”

“And he took you to the duke’s town house, where Mrs. O’Toole took care of you?”

“Yes, the duke’s cook is the kindest of women. I was unsure if I should be going anywhere with a man I did not know, but there was something about Garahan. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but—”

Melinda interrupted her, “There was something in his manner that immediately had you trusting him.”

“Yes.”

“I felt the same way, though I fought against trusting him. I’d trusted too easily before, and it landed me in an untenable position of working for my cousin, who wanted me to…” She trailed off.

Mary Kate, seizing the opportunity, reached for Melinda’s hand and squeezed it. “You do not have to say another word. Garahan convinced you to go with him, promising that he would find you a position with better pay in a respectable establishment.”

Relieved not to have to continue, Melinda nodded.

“Can you forgive me for harping on it for so long? I should have let it go, but the longer I thought about it, the more convinced I was that it was a turning point in my life. He had been there at the exact moment that I needed him to be. That he passed me off to O’Malley to drive me to the duke’s townhouse was the part I am forever forgetting to mention. ”

Melinda’s smile was brilliant. “James has a way of making you feel as if you are the only person in the whole world when his eyes meet yours. I know. He has the power to turn my mind to mush—and when he kisses me…”

Mary Kate smiled. “The last time Seamus kissed me, every thought just leaked out of my brain.”

Garahan’s wife stared at Mary Kate for a moment before speaking, “You really do care for Flaherty, don’t you?”

“I do, though God only knows why after what he said to me.”

“Oh, but you have to forgive a man when he’s suffering from wound fever. Sometimes they say awful things…and sometimes wonderful things. It depends on the type of wound.”

“I have never heard anything more preposterous,” Mary Kate mumbled.

“Garahan was saying crazy things the last time he got knocked on the head.”

Mary Kate chuckled. “I understand that is a regular occurrence with the men in His Grace’s private guard.”

“True,” Melinda admitted. “But sometimes he’s not affected by a good whack on the head, like when he and Michael O’Malley are sparring, practicing their bare-knuckle skills.”

“I see.” At least, Mary Kate thought she did. “Has Garahan ever suffered from wound fever?”

“Not to the extent that Flaherty has. You must have been beside yourself with worry for him.”

She felt her throat tighten with emotion she could not give in to. She could cry later. “I was.”

“I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive Flaherty. From what I’ve heard Garahan and Michael say, he would never treat a woman that shabbily…especially one he has been courting since that day I first met you at the duke’s town house.”

Mary Kate felt herself flush, remembering the way Seamus kissed her—that first time. Her brain had simply shut down. “Maybe I should.”

“Don’t let your misplaced pride or sense of injustice hold you back from the man you so obviously care deeply for.”

“Am I that transparent?”

“To someone who is in love herself?” Melinda asked. “Yes, you are. Give him a chance to apologize and make it up to you. You will not regret it.”

Mary Kate sighed. “Will you forgive me for being so unkind?”

“I already have.”

“You have?”

Melinda nodded. “You do not have a mean bone in your body. Mayhap a thoughtless one or two, but not a mean one.”

“Er… Thank you.”

They were both smiling and chatting amiably when Lady Calliope arrived with Mrs. Romney, who was carrying a fresh pot of tea. Calliope’s eyes lit up. “I am so happy that you two have had a chance to finally speak to one another and correct this misunderstanding.”

“We have,” Melinda replied. “Now all we need to do is send word to Flaherty that Mary Kate is ready to speak with him.”

Mary Kate hesitated, but a direct look from Lady Calliope had her changing her mind. “Yes. I believe that would be best. Thank you for forgiving me, Melinda. I will be forever in your debt.”

Melinda shared a glance with Lady Calliope. “Not if you send word right away that you need to speak to Flaherty.”

How could Mary Kate refuse? She looked at Lady Calliope and asked, “Is it too much trouble to send word?”

Calliope beamed at her. “Not at all.”

Two hours later, Mary Kate found herself waiting for Seamus Flaherty to arrive.