But she doubted that.
She had washed her face and tidied her hair by the time there was a tap at her door. When she called admittance, Eric poked his head in.
"Are you ready for company?"
She smiled. "Certainly. What do you need?"
He made a face, wandering into the room. "Must I need something? Can't I just wish to be with you?"
"Certainly," she repeated. She waited for him to come further into the room, but he stopped at the end of her bed, shifting uneasily from foot to foot. With a smile, she moved to his side and hugged him. With a pang, she noted that his head came just under her chin, when it had been at her breastbone only months before. He was growing up. What a shame they would never be able to send him to Eton or Oxford or give him any of the other advantages their father and stepfather would have wanted.
As Eric pulled away from her, his face was screwed up in obvious guilt.
"All right," she said, putting hands on her hips. "Out with it. What have you come to confess?"
"Nothing!" he protested, head shaking vehemently. When she continued to regard him, he shrugged. "Oh, all right. I lied. I do need you. We need you. There's something you must see in the War Office."
Katherine shook her head. "I have no desire to go there ever again. You may tell Bixby to pull down the pins and burn the notes."
"May I help?" he asked eagerly.
"Of course. But help only. We hardly need bonfires in the attic."
She thought that would put an end to the matter, but he took her hand and gave it a tug. "Please, Katherine, come with me. I promised I'd bring you, and a gentleman does not go back on his word."
His determination only reminded her of Alex. She resisted his pull. "What is all this about?"
He only tugged harder, managing to make her feet slide on the carpet. "Just come and you'll see."
She wanted to continue resisting, but she somehow doubted he would relent. He was too much like her in that regard. Reluctantly, she let him lead her back to the scene of her defeat. Constance, Sir Richard, Emma, and Bixby were waiting for her just inside the door to the War Office.
"What is this?" Katherine demanded.
Sir Richard snapped a salute and stood at attention with a grimace at the pain it obviously caused his leg. "Simply continuing our duty, Colonel. As you can see, we have another person under surveillance now."
She frowned, peering into the room. The arrangement of the papers had been changed. Moving closer, she saw that they were fresh sheets, hastily scrawled, the ink still dripping in places. She spotted Constance's elegant scroll, her uncle's scrawl, and Eric's painstakingly correct lettering. She could not tell what they intended.
"Who?" she asked. "Why?"
"I shall take the last question," Sir Richard replied, "and let the others take the first. The person in question is acting against her best interests and, as caring individuals, we must intervene."
Her brow cleared. "I have given up interfering with Constance's life. This is not necessary."
"I disagree," Constance put in with a smile. "I am not the person in question. This person is far more essential to the wellbeing of this family."
"Or at least just as essential," Sir Richard amended. "She keeps me from making a fool of myself on a regular basis."
Katherine offered him a small smile and started to protest, but the others were obviously not about to let her get a word in.
"She encourages me to take on responsibilities," her brother added proudly, "so that I may grow up to be a respected gentleman. That is a very good thing, even if I do grouse about it from time to time."
Katherine reached out to ruffle his hair. He ducked under her hand with a grin.
"She be none too proud to take up a kettle or sewing needle to help her family," Emma put in with a proud smile. "She does what's needed to see they be cared for, regardless of her own wishes."
Katherine found it harder to smile, even though her heart wished to do so.
Bixby had no such difficulties. "And she's not above a bit of danger," he added with a grin. "Particularly for the sake of others. She didn't balk at chasing a spy about in the dark. Nor did she balk at serving beside an old man who should have been put out to pasture long ago. She made him feel useful, gave him a purpose, a bit of excitement to liven up his retirement."
"And she helped a blind man see," Sir Richard said, stepping up to take her hand as she felt her tears start anew. "And a lame man realize he had more to give his country, and his family, than a pair of legs."