Page 76 of Drowned in the Pleasure of a Devilish Baron
If only Lord Ashton felt the same. Instead, he barely took his eyes off of Sarah throughout the meal, no matter who was speaking or what was going on around them.
As Victoria and John laughed about the guests at her dinner party where they had met, and Ladies Marlow and Hampshire subtly one-upped each other in a not-so-subtle competition of whose children were better, Lord Ashton put a discrete hand on Sarah’s under the table.
Sarah tugged it back, knowing she could be forgiven the etiquette in the face of his own impropriety.
“You shall have to forgive me, Miss Marlow, but I find you irresistible.” He leaned closer, and she could smell the oil in his hair. “I assume that your brother has told you of our news?”
“Our news?” she asked, putting a discreet hand beneath her nose to block the oily smell.
“Our news of our impeding marriage,” he said with a grin, and she felt her heart sink.
She fidgeted with her spoon. “Ah, yes, of course, My Lord.” She kept her answer vague, unsure of what exactly to say in response that would be neither rude nor dishonest.
“You will be the mistress of this household before much longer,” he said enticingly. “Can you imagine it?”
“I cannot,” she said honestly.
“I realize I have been very forward with you, but that is the sort of man I am. When I see what I want, I reach out with both hands to take it,” he mimicked the gesture with his hands. “What I want, I get. I do not believe in taking things slowly or asking permission.”
“Not even the permission of the lady’s hand you hope to obtain, I see,” she said, and regretted the tart words the instant they left her lips.
Unfazed, he boomed a laugh, drawing the attention of the others at the table.
“What’s so funny, My Lord?” Lady Marlow asked, shooting a triumphant glance at Lady Bell.
“Your daughter, Lady Marlow. I find her absolutely delightful.”
This effusive phrase seemed to surprise her some, but she recovered quickly. “Why of course, she is a delight.”
“I hoped to take her for a stroll in my maze now that we’ve ended dinner,” he said, and Sarah’s palms grew damp in her lap. He had taken enough liberties when they had been with a chaperone at her own home. She was quite certain she did not want to walk with him in the dark through his maze.
She could see from the look on her mother’s face that she was about to wholeheartedly grant her permission, but Lady Bell interrupted with a tinkling laugh.
“Why, Broderick, you are so naughty! Of course she will not allow that! It’s far too dark for a stroll, it would not be proper at all. You could get up to who knows what, lost in that maze in the dark. No, no, you’ll have to lead us inside now.”
The angry flash that lit his eyes told Sarah that getting lost in the dark with her was precisely what he had planned, and he had known her mother would have allowed it. She felt her fingers grow numb as she realized that it would have been everyone’s chance to ensure the match went through, if she had been caught in a compromising position with him while Lady Hampshire and her daughter were here.
The gossip would have spread like wildfire throughout theton,and she and Broderick Davis would have been married quickly as a flash. She thanked God for Lady Bell’s interruption.
I cannot be certain that was the plan, but I also cannot be certain that it was not. Oh please, let us go home.
Lady Bell had left no polite way to continue the party in the dark outside. Lord Ashton resumed the mantle of warm host, leading them through the house to the front, where their two carriages had been brought around.
As their party moved through the halls, she noticed John and Lord Ashton fall a few steps behind. She slowed her own pace to hear what they were saying.
“You have done your part, now I will do mine,” Lord Ashton was saying quietly. “As Sarah and I are to be wed, I will speak for you to Victoria’s father. I will tell him you are about to become my brother-in-law and hold a prominent position with my wine business. He will surely agree then that you can court Victoria.”
Sarah took this in as John let out a quiet whoop and they made it to the front steps. The Marlows’ carriage looked terribly shabby behind the Hampshire’s, but Sarah had never been so glad to see it before. When Lord Ashton had been heartily thanked for his hospitality, Sarah was left alone for a moment on the stairs. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek, causing her to shudder involuntarily. Rather than being offended, he laughed once more. “Oh my dear, I have such plans for you,” he said in a silky voice.
“Come, Sarah!” Lady Marlow called, and Sarah nodded farewell and almost fled to the safety of the carriage, Lord Ashton’s words ringing in her ears.
Chapter Forty-One
Felix waited until past midnight to sneak up to Sarah’s window. It was a new moon, and so the land around him was pitch black. He had a devil of a time getting Acorn to ride out, but the horse had ridden these roads a thousand and one times, and there had been no trouble getting here.
Now, Acorn was tied down the road, far enough from the house that his hooves would not wake its sleeping occupants. Felix lifted a handful of dirt from the ground, shaking out a few pebbles to toss at Sarah’s window. Before he had thrown even one, however, the stillness of the night was broken by the sound of her window opening, and her whispered call.
“I’m awake! Come up!”
