Page 35 of Drowned in the Pleasure of a Devilish Baron
“The day is gone, the night’s our own,
Then let us feast the soul;
If any care or pain remain,
Why drown it in the bowl.”
These words came through thick with added meaning, with desire. He pictured the two of them, with the day gone and the night their own, to spend as they wished, and a deep tug of demanding desire pulled him from within.
“This world they say’s a world of woe,
That I do deny;
Can sorrow from the goblet flow?
Or pain from beauty’s eye?”
She had not taken her bright blue eyes from his as she asserted these lines, that the world was a good place, that life was worth living. He longed to cross the room and feel her singing lips against his.
Both of their attentions were grabbed by a sharp clap from a lady he had not noticed, sitting in a chair facing the piano and Sarah.
“Pardon me, Miss,” Now, Felix recognized her. It was Sarah’s lady’s maid, Rebecca. “But do be careful with these lines. My old mistress, the renowned Lady Haverly,” here she lifted her voice, to ensure her connection with the singer was clearly heard, “always used to say to temper yourself mid-song, lest you tire yourself for the important final verse.”
Sarah merely nodded, and the piano began again, allowing the song to continue. This time, her eyes met Felix’s with an added tone of wisdom to the songs she was singing.
“The wise are fools, with all their rules,
When they would joys control:
If life’s a pain, I say again,
Let’s drown it in the bowl.”
Just a few evenings prior, Felix had worked his way through a number of wine bottles with the help of only two other gentlemen. But this moment with Sarah, he knew the feeling of being truly drunk. Her tone, her words, her added meaning behind each of the lines, they wrapped him in a net of enchantment, and he could not see anything but her.
“The wise are fools, with all their rules,”she sang, and all he could think of were her family, thetonitself, keeping the two of them apart, and for what? Simply to “control joys”. Watching her pink lips form the words so appropriate for the two of them, for the lives they were leading now, had him more determined than ever.
I will marry you, Miss Sarah Marlow. You will be mine, no matter the cost.
He must have made some sound that announced his presence, for all at once, Juliet turned over her shoulder and Rebecca sat upright and turned to face him from her chair. He cleared his throat. “Good afternoon, ladies,” he said, knowing that if Rebecca returned home to her mistress reporting that he had arrived to see Sarah, it would mean the end of their stolen trysts with one another. “Juliet, I wanted to speak with you.”
Juliet, understanding the situation at once, rose from her seat at the piano. “What a surprise to see you here, Brother!” she exclaimed, a bit overdoing it in his opinion. “Of course, let us speak in the other room.” As she moved to the door, she said to Sarah and Rebecca, “I shall have some tea sent in for you.”
In the hall, she gripped Felix’s hand tightly. “Well played! If Rebecca knew you had come just to see Sarah, well…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “There would be trouble, certainly.”
“I do not know what to do now,” he confessed. “I suppose I should just return home.”
“No, don’t do that,” Juliet said, pausing in front of the dining room. “Here is what we will do. I will ask Rebecca for help with Baby George. That way at least you and Sarah can steal a few moments together alone.” She smiled at him. “You both deserve that, at least.” Then her face turned serious. “But do not take too long, I can’t promise that I will be able to keep her away without her becoming suspicious.”
Felix nodded, grateful for the chance to have even that much time with Sarah. He had been thinking of her all morning, and all the previous evenings since they had last seen one another. She had become an addiction, and every moment without her near became more and more difficult to weather.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Of course. Now, when I say, ‘Up here, Rebecca’, you will know that she and I are heading up the stairs to the nursery. That’s your signal that it is safe to go to the back room and be with Sarah.”
At his signal of understanding, she swept back down the hall toward the back room. He ducked into the dining room, listening carefully. Though he could not make out clear words, he could hear the rise and fall of Juliet’s voice, a low murmur from Rebecca, and nothing at all from Sarah.
At last, he heard footsteps into the hallway, and then sound on the stairs.
