Kiss Me, Kate by Tiffany Clare Page B

she’d never seen her father so angered in all her life. His ire radiated from him despite the fact that he’d lowered the rapier on her appearance and the red had dissipated from his face. A deep aversion marred his face when he looked from George to her.
    What had she done to her relationship with her father by running away with George? Would her father ever forgive her? The answer to that question scared her more than the thought of her reputation being forever tarnished.
    “Yet, Father, my reputation would still be intact if you had listened to my desires.”
    She felt her heart breaking as she watched his face change from the rage that had overtaken him to the softer, loving expression of patience he’d worn for her all her life. Where should her loyalties lie? With the man who had raised her alone and without the aid of a mother? Or with the man she considered her best friend and loved more than anything? She didn’t want to choose.
    The only problem was, if she truly respected her father, how could she possibly disobey his wishes in anything?
    She looked from George to her father, then back to George.
    If they had made the right decision in eloping, then why did she feel so terrible? Kate walked toward her father, a single tear slipping from her eye while George’s hand brushed over her arm as she walked past him.
    When she was but a hand span away from her father, she said, “I have only ever wanted to marry one man, Papa. I can’t choose between you and George. Don’t ask it of me.”
    Her father opened his arms to her for an affectionate hug; it reminded her of the times when she was little and would fall and scrape her knees or hands. He was the person who was always there to kiss her better. 
    “I’m doing this for your own good,” he said.
    She reached for her father’s arm and gave it a light squeeze. “But what of my mother? You and she were a poor match from the beginning. If Westmoore and I are in the same situation, how do you know marrying him is for the better?”
    “You’re my daughter. Have I ever failed you in anything?”
    She shook her head. He hadn’t once failed her.
    The desperation tinging her father’s voice had her hesitating in her decision to elope. It was then that she knew she couldn’t marry anyone without the support of her father.
    “Papa.” Kate gave her father a sad smile. “Give us your blessing. If there is one thing I can promise you, it is that George will grow on you in time. You’ll see what I see in him. Can you trust me to make the right decision this once?”
    Her father hunched his shoulders forward in defeat. “I had hoped to take you home tonight.”
    “I can’t go with you now.” She turned to look at George; his expression was worried. It was then she realized neither man knew what choice she was about to make. She wasn’t sure how to choose between them, either.
    When Kate stretched out her hand in a bid for George to come forward, he didn’t hesitate, though he kept the rapier at his side. Once he took her hand, she turned back to her father. For a moment, he thought he’d lost her when she walked past him and toward her father. Doubt had filled him.
    “I know with all my heart that my life should be with George. I love him, Papa. But it’ll destroy a big part of my soul if you should refuse me the one thing I want most in my life.”
    “I’m not ready to let you go, child.” The duke shook his head in disbelief and, to George’s surprise, dropped his foil to his side. “You’re all I have left.”
    “Marrying George was never about losing me, it was about gaining a son. Come over the border with us. Stand proudly by my side, Father, as you watch us take our vows.”
    He could feel the hurt radiating off Kate’s as she waited silently for her father to give them some sort of consent. Her hand tightened around his and her shoulders dropped.
    George spoke when no answer seemed forthcoming. He would try his hardest to give Kate the