Page 44 of Escaping the Earl
“Well, in that case, I wouldn’t miss it. I shall be there.” Peregrine smiled, but while he would enjoy the ball as a distraction, it would be just that, a very temporary distraction.
“Excellent. I shall inform Zehra you are coming.” Lawrence mounted his horse, and the beast danced, eager to leave. Lawrence guided the horse to stay still. “Oh, and, Peregrine, bring a mask.”
“Why a mask?”
Lawrence grinned as he kicked his heels against his horse’s flanks. “It’s a masquerade.” He took off back down the sloping lawn and onto the road that led through the valley to his home. Peregrine glanced once more at the clouds, which still rumbled in the distance. Another masquerade... Another night to survive with a broken heart.
* * *
“It had better not rainduring my ball,” Zehra grumbled. She peeked out the window of the bedchamber she’d given Sabrina for the duration of her stay. It was a proper chamber, not too near the nursery this time, which made Sabrina both embarrassed and happy to know she was now a friend to Zehra just as she’d wished to be and not simply Isla’s governess.
Sabrina chuckled. “As much as anyone deserves to have the weather dictated by their whims, which you do, I sadly do not think the storm clouds will agree to your desires. They seem quite determined to dump an ocean over us.” She joined Zehra at the window and shivered as the late-summer storm moved ever closer.
“Oh well, at least it cannot rain inside.” Zehra turned away from the window. “Let’s get you dressed.”
“I really shouldn’t go.” Sabrina touched the faint swell of her belly.
“Oh, I insist,” Zehra said. “You asked me to let you stay here as your prize for winning the scavenger hunt. Now I’m asking you as a friend for a favor to keep me company tonight.”
With a sigh, Sabrina retrieved the old silver court gown that had belonged to her mother. She slid the fabric over her arms and onto her shoulders, and the gown settled into place. A shiver shot down her spine. The silver embroidered bodice glinted, and the hundreds of pearls sewn into the fabric seemed to draw in the light and glow.
“You look radiant. Truly ethereal,” Zehra said as Sabrina looked at herself in the full-length mirror. This was only the second time she’d worn her mother’s gown. The first time it had gifted her with a night of passion beneath the stars. What more could it give her? Surely there was no magic left in the threads anymore, not for her.
“Here.” Zehra placed the silver-and-gold mask in her hands. Sabrina hadn’t been able to part with the gown or mask, and she’d kept both ever since she’d fled from her brother’s home. She felt foolish, but some part of her believed the gown and mask contained the strongest memories of that night beneath the stars. Even now, as she brushed her hands down the gown, she could feel and hear everything she had that night...
Peregrine’s teasing laugh, the way they’d walked together in perfect step in the gardens, how it had felt to lie back upon his coat in the grass and surrender herself to him. Everything had been burned into her heart and mind, each second of the two precious nights they’d spent together. It would never be enough for her, yet she had to make it last, and if that meant carrying the gown and mask about with her as talismans for the rest of her life, she would.
“Let’s go downstairs.” Zehra retrieved her emerald-green mask from the bed and tied it to her face before she looped her arm through Sabrina’s.
They descended the stairs and joined a crowd of eager guests, all in exquisite costumes and wearing masks. Lawrence stood at the front of the crowd, his own mask resting on top of his head as he directed the mass of chattering attendees toward the ballroom. Rafe stood beside him, his mask also pushed back on top of his head, watching the proceedings with an unamused scowl.
“Ah, my darling,” Lawrence greeted his wife.
“Has everyone arrived?” Zehra asked.
“Almost. We should go ahead and start the first dance.” Lawrence gave Rafe a nudge and shot a look at Sabrina. Rafe dutifully held out his arm.
“Sabrina? A dance?”
“Yes, that would be lovely.” Sabrina let Rafe lead her into the ballroom. When they were away from Zehra and Lawrence, she leaned in to whisper, “You don’t seem pleased to dance with me. I release you from your obligation if you feel it is improper.”
“It isn’t that,” Rafe said. “I am displeased with Lawrence, but that is a private issue between us.”
“Ah, I shall not pry, then.” Sabrina was curious, but she knew better than to keep asking questions.
Rafe relaxed once they lined up to dance, and he even managed a smile. Sabrina enjoyed herself for several dances before she finally needed a moment to rest her feet. She found an empty seat in the corner and caught her breath, leaning back and stretching her feet out with a little sigh. The musicians played a few lively quadrilles that had the entire room buzzing with excitement.
“How about a waltz?” someone called out to the orchestra when they finished their last song.
Unable to help herself, Sabrina let her mind and heart drift back to that night at Lady Germain’s ball, to how she’d first glimpsed Peregrine in the crowd. He’d looked so dashing in a black mask, almost like a wicked highwayman, yet he’d been the most wonderful gentleman and lover.
Her heart gave a twinge, and she instinctively put a hand to her belly. Would their child favor him or her? No matter what, she believed their child would be a wonderful dancer and a master of riddles. Before she realized it, she was smiling. But the smile faded as something across the room caught her eye. A man in a black domino was watching her. Her heart jolted against her rib cage. She had to be seeing things.Hecouldn’t be here. Zehra would have told her if he was coming. She stood up, but her feet wouldn’t move.
He continued to stare at her as the waltz began. He was still like a statue, and she continued to question if this moment was a dream or reality. What did he see when he looked at her? To him, she might still be the mystery woman from the masquerade ball and not Sabrina.
Her heart quivered, still wounded. She held this man’s child within her, the spark of life created between them, and he didn’t even know it. Sabrina was torn between running to him and sinking to the floor in a puddle of tears.
He came toward her, uncaring that he disrupted the path of many young couples as they danced. He halted a few feet from her and slowly extended his hand. She put her hand in his without a thought or word. She dared not speak lest he recognize her voice.
