Page 38 of Escaping the Earl
“Sabrina, I’m sure you won’t believe me, but the way I feel for you, it’s not like I’ve felt for any other woman.”
“I feel the same as you, but please don’t say any more. We mustn’t ruin this.”
He pressed a kiss to the crown of her hair and said no more.
12
Sabrina was alone when she woke. Part of her was relieved Peregrine had the presence of mind to leave her bed before an upstairs maid discovered them together. Yet Sabrina hadn’t wanted their night to end, and now it had. Morning had come.
A sense of melancholy settled over her as she forced herself out from under the covers. She pulled on her dressing gown and began laying out her traveling clothes on the bed. She was dressed before an upstairs maid came to pack her things, and then she went in search of her young charge in the nursery.
Isla was dressed and eager for breakfast, so they came down together hand in hand. Most of the other guests were finishing their meals, and Sabrina had a chance to say her goodbyes to her hosts and the rest of her new friends. She helped Isla with her breakfast, and Rafe found them in the entryway after they had finished.
“Well, we are packed and ready to depart, if you are prepared to leave,” he informed her.
She hesitated, wanting desperately to see Peregrine one last time, even knowing it was a terrible idea.
“Sabrina!” Peregrine appeared at the top of the stairs as if her thoughts had summoned him.
Rafe shot him a glare before turning to Sabrina. “Isla and I shall be outside.” He picked Isla up and teased her until she was giggling as they left the house.
Peregrine rushed down the stairs and clasped her hands in his. She should have stepped back for propriety’s sake, but they were alone, save for a single footman who was politely looking away.
“Please, let me speak to you.” He led her into the library, where they would have some privacy to speak. Once they were alone, he grasped her hands in his again.
“Sabrina, would you...” He held his breath. “Would you stay with me at Ashbridge?”
Her heart leapt, and she was suddenly dizzy. “Stay?”
“Yes. I could easily make a place for you. You and Celeste would be cared for the rest of your days. I would shower you with jewels, gowns, anything your heart desires.”
Her heart leapt with such joy that it startled her, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. All she could do was embrace the feeling of excitement for what he’d just asked her.
“Yes, I will marry you,” she answered quickly, too afraid he would change his mind. Perhaps that other woman he was supposed to marry had changed her mind? Or Peregrine had changed his and had broken off their engagement?
Confusion lit his eyes, and in that instant after she’d spoken, she realized she had made a mistake. Hewasn’toffering marriage.
“Oh... Sabrina, I...” He cleared his throat. “I can’t marry you.”
I can’t marry you.There were no greater words of pain and sorrow for a woman to hear from a man she loved. Yes, she loved him, and that fresh realization was only more agonizing knowing that he did not love her in return. He was still going to marry that other woman, the one Perdita and Alexandra had spoken of a few days ago. The enormity of what she had so briefly believed she was to have as her future and then to lose it—it all settled over her shoulders like a mighty stone, pressing down until she felt she couldn’t stand a moment longer.
“Sabrina,” he whispered and reached for her.
She pulled away before he could touch her. “No, please. Do not speak. We both said things last evening, and we should have left it at that. It was my mistake to think that I would be a worthy countess.” She hadn’t thought until just a moment ago that she might have such a life. Now it had been proven how silly that fleeting hope had been, to be loved and cared for by this man and to love and care for him in return.
“Mr. Lennox is waiting for me. I must go.” She started for the door, but he moved quickly, catching her arm, but he didn’t hold fast. Her arm slid through his grip until all she had left of him was the brief touch of their fingers before they separated. She fled the library and rushed out to the waiting coach, climbing inside and sitting opposite Rafe. She felt the tears well up, and she wiped frantically to clear them from her cheeks.
“I warned him to stay away from you,” Rafe said quietly and shot a gaze at Isla who was staring out the window, seemingly uninterested in their conversation. “Itoldhim not to seduce you.”
“He didn’t,” she whispered.
Rafe’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t want her to defend Peregrine.
“He didn’t. Truly. Please do not be angry with him.”
“Not be angry? He’s clearly hurt you. Of course I’m angry! Men should not go about hurting women, whether by action or by word.”
She tried to smile. “You act so gruff at times, yet you are the sweetest man I’ve ever known, Rafe Lennox.”
