It was fully a week before Mr Blackwood presented himself at Morton Lodge. He excused his absence, which he explained was due to his being called away to town on urgent business. Mr and Mrs Hannard accepted this explanation as those with no reason to suspect otherwise would, but Katherine suspected that his failure to present himself sooner was due more to their unfinished business than to his more mundane business.
Indeed, while the week of separation had allowed Katherine to more or less recover physically from the exhaustion that had attended her particular exertions, emotionally she had grown in suffering as her imaginings had developed as to how Mr Blackwood might enforce her promise that she would do anything. In her more rational moods, she realised that whatever he might ask of her, it could not be as bad as the anticipation of it, and she persuaded herself that this anticipation was deliberately introduced as part of his game.
It was with a mix of relief and anxiety therefore, that Katherine accepted Mr Blackwood's invitation to join him in a walk to Morton Hall. The walk passed pleasantly as they strolled in the sunshine, discussing the weather, the wildflowers and any other cheery subjects that came to mind. Once at Morton Hall, however, Mr Blackwood lost some of his loquacity and Katherine's anxiety began to return. An observer would have noticed that their pace increased and neither looked around as much as they had before entering the grounds. Indeed were it not for the gardener standing and doffing his cap to them, it is unlikely that they would have noticed his presence at all.
"Good afternoon Thomas," Mr Blackwood greeted the young man. A short conversation followed on the subject of what to plant on the West side of the house, the conclusion of which was missed by Katherine as her thoughts returned to the debt she would soon be paying. As Thomas returned to the beds he was attending, Mr Blackwood led Katherine into the house and upstairs. They entered a room which, despite the brightness of the day, was dim, due to the heavy curtains which were drawn across the window.
"You remember what you told me before I left you last week?" asked Mr Blackwood.
Katherine nodded. "I remember."
"And you intend to honour your promise?"
"Of course." Katherine intended her reply to sound strong, defiant, but she felt sure that Mr Blackwood had noticed her voice quaver slightly. Certainly he smiled as he heard the words.
"Good." He sat in a chair, his hands resting easily in his lap, his eyes on her, a half smile on his face that unsettled her more than she had expected. "You may remove your clothes."
The calmness in his voice did nothing to calm Katherine's nerves. She could feel her heart thudding in her chest as she fumbled at the button of her dress. Her hands were clumsy which added to the sensation of being in a dream, made all the stranger by Mr Blackwood's calm attention. As she pulled the dress off one shoulder, though, revealing one lovely breast, she thought she discerned a slightly sharper than usual intake of breath from her observer, and a shift in position that suggested his hands were not merely resting in his lap but shielding from view his involuntary response to his game. As Katherine let the dress slip to the floor, she saw Mr Blackwood's half smile turn into a more lustful look of concentration. She bent down to remove her shoes, but Mr Blackwood stopped her.
"No. Leave them on. I like you just like that."
Katherine stood before Mr Blackwood, naked apart from her shoes. She deliberately held her arms by her side, allowing him to see her fully, refusing to allow him the victory of seeing her try to cover her bare flesh.