Page 14 of Drowned in the Pleasure of a Devilish Baron
It wasn’t until he was climbing onto Acorn that the darkness registered. With a glance up at the sky, he knew it was far too late to call on her, particularly with a message as important as this one. Resigned, he slid off and put Acorn back in her stall.
He would just have to go first thing tomorrow morning, the moment he could get away. Cook would be here, she could help keep an eye on Mrs. Clay. He slowly returned into his house, ready to see to his poor housekeeper and then go to bed himself.
* * *
Sarah’s mind was racing.
What could have kept him from me today? Why would he not have come?
She had driven her brother and mother mad with her pacing and short temper. As the day had lengthened, they had offered her no mercy from their barbed remarks.
“I suppose this Sir Felix is not a man of his word,” her mother had said, one thin eyebrow lifted, as if she had not known Felix the entirety of his life and his parents before him.
“Perhaps it was a joke, Sister.” John had said with a mean smile. “Our poor little Sarah fell for it.”
She had not dignified either comment with a response.
I know Felix. I know him better than I know myself. If he hasn’t come today, it’s because something came up that wouldn’t allow him to. He is a good man, the best there is. He would not have toyed with my heart for fun.
Her inner voice was firm and unquestioning, but in her heart, doubts whispered.
He’s changed his mind. Who would want you? He never meant to come at all.
As the sun brightened and then began to fade, she waited.
John, normally too busy to spend an afternoon in the drawing room, sat with Sarah and their mother there throughout the day, seemingly so he could keep an eye on her. Sarah knew the truth, which was that this was too much fun to miss.
“Think he’s on his way yet, Sarah?” he asked, his voice thick with false kindness. “Or maybe he’s lost his way? Shall I send the coachman after him?”
Their mother laughed delightedly. “Oh yes. The Andrews family has never been the brightest, my dear. He may just need a bit of help.”
Though the Andrews family were not so different in status from the Marlows, their mother had always disapproved of the friendship between the four children of the two families. To her approval, John and Felix had drifted apart as they had grown up. Sarah’s refusal to do the same was just one more wedge between her and her mother.
Doing what she could to silence the doubts racing through her heart, she did not give up hope until the sun had set, marking the end of his opportunity to call.
When it came time for dinner, Sarah declined. She did not believe she could sit looking at their two gloating faces at the table. As much as she had grown accustomed to the judgement and barbed remarks from her little family, they still hurt. She went to bed early, and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.
Chapter Seven
Mrs. Clay woke up in the dead of the night. Felix had fallen asleep on the couch across the room, worried if she awoke she would hurt herself trying to figure out where she was and what had happened.
When he heard her thin, distressed call in the predawn hours, he was glad that he had.
“Where am I?” moaned Mrs. Clay. “What’s happened to me?”
Felix was awake at once, crossing to her side and putting a calming hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right, Mrs. Clay. You’re in the drawing room. You took a bit of a spill.”
She attempted to sit up, but the motion caused her to cry out in pain.
“Don’t get up,” he said, helping her lie back down. “I’m going to get you some water. Stay here and I’ll be right back.”
He helped her so she could sip the water slowly. She still seemed disoriented, but she remembered who she was and what day it was. He had thought to ask, after his own recent experience with a gentleman suffering a head wound and forgetting most everything.
She fell asleep and he managed a few broken hours of sleep himself. When the sun rose, he heard Cook enter the kitchen and went to tell her the news.
The moment that he felt that Mrs. Clay was in good hands and he could get away, he did so. Mounting Acorn, he was down the road before he could fully pull his hat on.
I just hope Sarah will understand why I could not come yesterday.
