Page 35 of Escaping the Earl
Rafe grinned back, but his expression was dark. “Naturally.”
Sabrina leaned in toward Peregrine. “What do you suppose is the usual way?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. And frankly, I’m afraid to ask.”
Lysandra peered around Peregrine’s other side. “They will both drink until the first man collapses.”
Sabrina blinked. “What? But that is...”
Lysa rolled her eyes. “Idiotic? Yes.”
“I suppose that’s where us men will be after you ladies retire,” Peregrine sighed, clearly not in the mood for such behavior. Sabrina wanted to tell him about the note, but hopefully she would have a chance to mention it after dinner.
When the meal was finally ended, the ladies left the gentlemen and gathered in the drawing room. Each evening during their stay, Sabrina had managed to slip away. Even though all the ladies had made her welcome and had formed friendships with her, Sabrina still felt unsure as a governess where she ought to be at times like this.
Zehra caught her arm as she tried to leave. “Sabrina, stay. I enjoy talking with you so much. You need not run off. Lawrence and I view you as a guest, not part of Rafe’s staff.”
“You really are too kind to me.” Sabrina could deny Zehra nothing. She’d become so fond of Lawrence and his quiet, intelligent wife. They’d provided a companionship she wished she’d had while she’d been so isolated at her family’s cottage.
Zehra led her over to a settee. “Come, sit beside me.” The other ladies gathered to play cards at a table a little ways behind them.
“Now, tell me, will you be staying?” Zehra asked in a hushed voice.
“Staying?”
“With Lord Rutland.”
“What?” Sabrina swallowed hard.
“You and...” Zehra paled. “Oh heavens, Sabrina. I thought you and he had come to an understanding and had become secretly engaged. Please accept my apologies for the assumption.”
“No, it’s fine. I...” Sabrina wasn’t sure what to say. But she knew she could not admit to having a relationship of any kind with Peregrine. It would make Peregrine and Rafe look poorly in the eyes of the others.
Zehra reached out and clasped Sabrina’s hand. “Please say you forgive me. I wouldn’t have said it if I hadn’t thought...”
“There’s nothing to be forgiven, honestly.”
Zehra artfully changed the subject. “So you are to go to London with Rafe. Tell me, is he really as good a father as he appears to be?”
“Believe it or not, he is. There is something wonderful about watching him and Isla together, like a strange sort of magic.”
“Two lost souls finding each other—a man born to be a father and a child who deserves him.” Zehra touched her stomach and then leaned in. “I’ve been thinking so much of babies of late, and if what I sense is true, I will gift Lawrence with our first child soon. We have been at the task quite earnestly.” She blushed, and the two women dissolved into giggles.
“That’s wonderful, Zehra. I’m so happy for you both.”
Zehra’s blue eyes gleamed. “I admit, I am rather excited at the prospect. Raising children here in the country would be wonderful.”
“You must write to me in London and tell me of how it all goes,” Sabrina said.
It would be so good to receive letters from someone she had come to see as a friend. Until this week at the Russell house, she had never realized how alone she felt, but she did feel very lonely. For so long she had been trapped in a quiet, desperate life that she’d never been able to escape from until Lady Germain’s ball. Coming to live with Rafe and Isla had alleviated some of that loneliness but not all of it. She would always be a governess, and she wanted to be something infinitely more…just not to Rafe.
“Well, I should retire. I need to be rested for our trip home.” Sabrina didn’t want to leave her new friends here, but she also didn’t want to miss Peregrine if he did come to her room tonight.
The other young ladies gave her warm hugs before she made her way upstairs. She paused halfway up the steps and listened to the men, who were drinking and smoking cigars in the billiard room. She sent a silent thought out, hoping he would somehow hear.
Please come to me, Peregrine. Give me just one more night of joy...
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