Kaitlin tipped her head to one side as if in consideration, as if she hadn’t anticipated the request. ‘Two personal questions—as long as I have your promise that your coverage will focus on what is most important here. And that’s not me.’
‘Deal.’
‘Then go ahead.’
‘Have you heard from Prince Frederick?’
‘That one is nice and easy. No, I haven’t.’ For a moment disquiet touched her; they had agreed to keep in touch, to co-ordinate publicity. She’d kept her side—had emailed him a schedule of her plans—but there had been no word from the Prince.
‘Are you feeling any regrets?’ came the next question.
‘No. Of course it’s sad when a relationship doesn’t work out, but I feel confident that we made the right decision for us right now.’ Irritation touched her—those words left the whole thing open, and she knew it—it seemed as though she was following her parents’ dictum on automatic. ‘And I am focused on moving on with my life.’
‘Right.’ Daniel stepped in. ‘The two questions are over and now Lady Kaitlin will demonstrate her kayaking skills.’
It would be fine.
As long as she didn’t think about the water. Better to focus on the existence of the tandem kayak—on Daniel’s aura, his reassurance and his strength. Those images crushed the slithering doubt, propelled her forward to the group of teenagers who stood in a suspicious huddle by the waterside.
A couple looked enthused, but the majority looked sullen, despite the efforts of the woman who accompanied them to chivvy them along.
Empathy stirred—memories of being told to pose, to smile, to act like a Lady when inside she had felt shrivelled and unclean after the kidnap.
Maybe these kids didn’t feel like smiling—mayb
e being a recipient of charity didn’t always inspire gratitude. Maybe they felt out of their depth, thrust into doing an activity they didn’t want to do with Lady Kaitlin Derwent—a woman they probably despised as being a stuck-up, upper-class snob.
‘Hey, guys. I’m Kaitlin, and this is only the second time I have kayaked in my life. I have never been an outdoor person—I’m a city girl through and through—and I sympathise if you don’t actually want to be here. I had some serious doubts too, and as Daniel will attest when I kayaked for the first time yesterday I capsized. If you’re lucky it may happen again.’
A few tentative smiles, and even though she was well aware they were more laughing at her than with her it was still a step in the right direction.
‘The good thing, though, was that I was wearing a lifejacket—and whilst I am aware it won’t be winning any fashion awards, I was glad of it. So everyone please buckle up.’
Cue a few groans.
Then one boy who had been glaring at her said, ‘So you don’t kayak and you don’t like the outdoors. Whatcha doing here, then? Come to lord it over us poor little delinquents so you can feel good about yourself?’
‘No.’ Kaitlin stepped forward so she was near enough for him to sense her sincerity but not so close that his space was invaded. ‘I was born into the family I was born into, just like you were born into the family you were born into. That’s the lottery of life. But it doesn’t give me the right to “lord it” over anyone, delinquent or not. Just like your family background, whatever that may be, doesn’t give you the right to be a delinquent. I’m here because, rightly or wrongly, my presence here does get publicity—and I think you deserve a share of that publicity. At the end of the day if you wish to talk directly to the reporters you can. And feel free to give your honest opinion on the day and me.’
Even as she said the words she knew the offer was nuts—a publicity gamble of the most stupid kind. But she didn’t care. It had felt...right. Even if her parents would condemn it as foolish beyond belief.
With one last smile she turned and walked back to Daniel, who was eying her with curiosity and more than a hint of admiration, as well a touch of surprise.
‘Lady Kaitlin in action. They all look a lot more enthused than they did a few minutes ago, and that boy is definitely less hostile.’
‘I told you: I do the research, I do the groundwork—I agreed to do this and I’ll do it to the best of my ability.’
‘It’s more than that. You didn’t need research to achieve what you just did—that was you, Kaitlin, not your preparation, faultless thought that was.’
‘Thank you.’ Absurdly, warmth encased her at his approval, sufficient to embolden her as she stared into the depths of the canal. ‘Let’s kayak.’
Two days later
Kaitlin ached, but it was a good ache—the kind of ache that spoke of outdoor exercise, clean air, mountains and glens.
A twinge of nerves was accompanied by more than a hint of anticipation as she hesitated outside the lounge door. The past two nights she had scurried to her room with a take-out sandwich, needing time alone to erase the Daniel effect. It was ridiculous, given her genuine absorption in the activities and the teens, and yet the whole time her body had hummed with a constant awareness—one she knew mirrored his own. She’d sensed it in the way his eyes rested on her, felt the tension vibrate from him when they were close together.
So the obvious answer was not to get close.