Emil nodded shortly. He looked past Mr. Carrington, clearing his throat. “Mrs. Carrington, I do beg your pardon.”
The color was high in her cheeks, and Katarina thought she too might have been contemplating a roundhouse punch. But Elizabeth Carrington said only, “I accept your apology, Herr Schwieger. At least provisionally. There must be a good reason for Maxwell to bring you here, and certainly I will not allow your presence to mar my joy at seeing my son or the friend I have missed so terribly these six months.”
She had missed Katarina terribly for six months? The five of them had so much history, and suddenly the fact that Katarina did not know any of it seemed like an unscalable obstacle. It was like being outside Jacob’s shop, staggering under the waves of changing time, flounderin
