Page 79 of Drowned in the Pleasure of a Devilish Baron
Lady Marlow sighed loudly. “Now really, Sarah, must you ruin this happy moment? If you cannot nicely congratulate your brother, then go upstairs.”
“What do you mean by that?” John said.
“I mean that I overheard you and Lord Ashton speaking after his dinner party. I know that this match is only possible because you are selling me to him.” Sarah’s voice rose as she spoke. “What I mean is, that you and Mother have sacrificed me in order to open up opportunities and wealth for yourselves, not for me. And that is why I say that it isyouroyster and notours.”
The happy flush from John’s cheeks faded in the face of her words. “Now, Sarah, I know that you think you understand what you heard—”
“I am not a fool, nor am I a simpleton, John.” Sarah set down her untouched glass and stood. “Please do me the grace of telling me the truth, rather than forever attempting to make it seem as if what you are doing is for the best for me. I stand to gain nothing from this but a lifetime of misery. You will gain a fortune, a respected gentleman’s place in a world-class business, and who knows, you may even gain yourself a title. At least be honest that you are doing so by throwing your sister to the wolf that is Broderick Davis.”
She threw her napkin down onto her plate, as the two looked on at her with mouths agape. “I will skip dinner tonight. I find that I am not very hungry of late.” Without giving them time to speak a word, she went upstairs, closing the door just a touch too loudly.
Chapter Forty-Two
Felix slept little the night he returned from Sarah’s, too excited by their plan to make himself relax. He awoke before dawn and got out of bed, before any fires had been lit or tea made, to put together a bag of things they would need.
He had the idea that they would disguise Sarah as a man, so they could ride together right out of town. Anyone looking closely at her face would not be fooled, of course, but hopefully no one would get close. He set aside a set of his well-worn but clean riding clothes and imagined her in it, with her hair tucked up beneath a hat, and couldn’t hold back his smile.
To any other lady of theton,the idea of dressing like a man and riding a horse into a destination unknown would be like suggesting they live in the barnyard for the rest of their life—disgusting and frankly, incomprehensible. But Sarah, he was sure, would be delighted by the challenge.
The sky had only just lightened when a single rider came tearing up the little road leading to his cottage. He heard the rapid hoof beats from his dining room and went out to the drawing room to look through the window. Seeing the rider, he rushed outside to meet him himself, rather than wait for the proper order of things. Lately, he found himself more and more unwilling to do things properly just because they were deemed to be that way.
The rider pulled up when he saw Felix. “An urgent letter from Lord Cunningham,” he said, passing down a folded piece of paper.
“Are you to wait for a response?”
The rider nodded in affirmation. Felix unfolded the sheet to read the brief letter.
Felix,
Cast has written that he has discovered something. He wants to speak with us as soon as possible. Can you come at once so we can ride to London? My man awaits your reply.
Leonard
Felix looked to the rider, stuffing the sheet in his coat pocket. “Tell Lord Cunningham I am coming directly.”
“I will, Sir.” He turned on his horse and loped off the way he had come.
Felix ran inside, glad he had awoken and dressed so early. He drained the last of his tea in one pull and went to get Acorn. He was on the road at a gallop to Cunningham Manor within mere minutes of receiving Leonard’s message.
At the Manor, Leonard was waiting for him outside, standing by the door of his carriage. Felix knew he was terribly anxious to discover who had come against him so forcefully, and worried about leaving Juliet alone. There were many more guards than he had ever seen patrolling the grounds.
As Felix approached, he noted the grim determination in his friend’s eyes. “Keller! Take Felix’s horse!”
A man came forward to take Acorn’s reins. Felix dismounted and entered the carriage, Leonard on his heels. “I was not sure what we might face today, and though our horses would be faster, they would also tire more quickly. Better to bring the carriage just in case.”
Felix could see the sense in that and nodded. Though he longed to tear into London atop Acorn, he also knew his horse would tire as they got closer to the city and slow them down. So they were off, on their way to London to discover what it was that Cast had learned.
* * *
It was after lunch, and Sarah was idly embroidering a spare piece of cloth in the sunny drawing room, simply to have something to do with her hands while her mind was on Friday, when she heard a troop of footsteps enter through the front door. That was interesting in and of itself, as they rarely received more than one or two visitors and even those were rare. But these footsteps were also heavy, and… in step?
She stood, setting aside her needle and the cloth, and approached the door. Two large, stone-faced men appeared in the doorway, blocking it completely from the hall.
Her brows drew together. What was this? She came a step closer.
“Good afternoon,” she said, waiting for them to speak. They had not been announced, and where were her mother and brother? She attempted to look around them, but their bulk obscured anything past the doorway from view.
They did not respond to her greeting, only staring steadily in. They were dressed as guards, but John had to let go any guards they’d had, they were an expensive employee to retain. Besides, why would they be here in the drawing room?
