Chapter 20
Two simple words.
Light as air.
Sharp as a blade.
They sliced through the final, fragile thread of hope Katherine hadn’t even realized was still inside her.
She looked at him.
Then, suddenly, she smiled.
It was a beautiful smile.
And completely without warmth.
Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
She did not argue. She did not scream. When the officials stepped forward, she pushed back her covers, got out of bed, straightened her thin night robe, and walked toward them with her back straight.
As she passed Nicholas, he reached toward her instinctively.
But his fingers only brushed the corner of her sleeve before it slipped away.
“Katherine…”
His throat was dry, but whatever he meant to say came too late.
She never looked back.
The day and night that followed were the longest darkness of her life.
Pain blurred with exhaustion. Shame blurred with cold. Her body became a thing that only suffered, and her mind clung to one image over and over again: Nicholas’s hand pointing at her.
The next day, she was displayed publicly.
Crowds gathered.
Voices drifted up around her, curious and cruel and indifferent.
Isn’t that Mrs. Padilla?
She’s pretty enough. What a stupid thing to do.
Serves her right.
Katherine bowed her head. Strands of hair hid her face. She closed her eyes and shut out the world until, sometime near sunset, consciousness finally slipped away.
When she woke again, she was back in her remote little courtyard.
Every inch of her body hurt as though it had been broken and rebuilt badly.
A guard stood nearby. When he saw her awake, he bowed.
“Mrs. Padilla, Mr. Padilla left these for you.”
He pointed to a table piled with velvet boxes.
“Jewelry, silk, medicine. He said Miss Lester was frightened by what happened, so he took her to the countryside for a few days to recover. He said when he comes back, he’ll make it up to you.”