Page 72 of The Duchess' Replacement

Of course, Charles picked the most inopportune time to become social. The tea came sputtering out of Sarah’s mouth at his idea.

“What?” She asked as she blotted the tea dripping from her chin onto her dress.

One side of Charles’s mouth tipped up into a sly smirk. “I simply said I would love to join you both on your picnic. The lake is a favorite of our family’s and I think you should see it. A summer afternoon is the perfect time.”

Nora bounced her chair. “Yes, please do come, Charles!” She turned to Sarah, joy pouring out of her. “It is a beautiful place, especially in the summer. There’s a willow tree that hangs low that is just lovely to sit under and the reeds blow in the wind. It’s so peaceful. It reminds me of the lake by my home. The one with the ducks, remember?”

Sarah was finding it difficult to not look at Charles. His admission surprised her and the ease in which he joined the conversation startled her.

Did their time together last night finally move things in the right direction between the two of them? It wasn’t like their normal intimate interactions, but perhaps him seeing her in a state of distress unlocked something for him.

Regardless of the reasoning she was happy with the thought of spending an afternoon with both him and Nora.

She forced her eyes to drift to Nora. “It does sound lovely.” Without conscious thought she found herself looking back to Charles. “And if it is a popular spot amongst the family I would love to become familiar with it.”

Charles nodded once. “That settles it then. I’ll talk to Mrs. Bates and Samuels to get everything prepared for us.”

Sarah sat up. “Oh, please, let me do that, Charles. It is my responsibility, after all. I would be happy to organize it for us.”

Charles’s eyes darkened in appreciation and caused butterflies to swarm in Sarah’s stomach.

“This is going to be so much fun.” Nora squealed. “And with Charles we definitely won’t get lost!”

Sarah narrowed her eyes on Nora. “We better not.” She joked.

“You never know, Sarah, I might purposefully get us lost. I would love to see you go head to head with a rabbit.” Charles took a healthy bite, his smile wrapping around the piece of bread.

Sarah scowled. “Nora jumped, too. I only screamed because she did. How did you find out about that anyway?”

Nora dipped her head, sheepishly. “Charles and I spoke this morning about last night.”

Sarah shook her head. “Ah. I see. Is all well.?” Sarah looked at Nora. Charles was known to be stiflingly strict, she could only imagine the discipline he bestowed on her.

Nora shook her head. “Yes, we’re fine. I know how serious it is to be out after dark around here and I should have made that more apparent to you since you’re not aware.”

Alarm rang through Sarah’s body.

“Around here? What do you mean by that? My goodness, are there actual beasts out there that I need to worry about?”

Visions of man eating bears or giant mountain lions on the prowl infiltrated her brain. Which was ridiculous because those two specific animals lived nowhere near them. She shook her head. Maybe she did read too many books.

Charles grimaced. “No. You are perfectly safe here. There was some issues when Nora was young with some people in town and we had to be vigilant. But it has since been dealt with. Old habits die hard, I guess.”

Sarah locked eyes with Charles’s whose were now darkened, not with lust, but rage.

A shiver ran down her spine. Instinct told her the ominous way he said the issue was dealt with most likely had to do with the town’s perception of Charles and vice versa.

Sarah eyes looked to Nora who was looking at her food, pushing around random pieces of fruit aimlessly. The mood had definitely shifted within the last few moments.

Sarah blew out a breath. “Well, I’m glad to hear that the only animal we’ll need to concern ourselves with is a rabbit. Last night, our furry friend gave us quite the scare. It’s about all I can take.” She said with a laugh.

She watched as Charles’s demeanor changed in front of her eyes. It was as if a switch was flipped. One moment he was cold and calculated and now he was looking at her as if she invented the fork.

“Yes, you let me know if you see a rabbit. I’ll make sure to protect you both.”

Nora wrinkled her nose. “We can take care of ourselves, right, Sarah? It’s like you said.”

Sarah nodded, proud of her words getting through to the young girl.

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