Page 22 of Lady of Charade
“Ah, yes, that’s right,” she said, recalling now all that had happened last year, much of it involving Julia and Eddie. “My apologies, Julia, I have been far too caught up in my own concerns these days.”
“It is nothing to worry yourself over,” Julia said with a smile, a blonde curl falling over one of her blue eyes. “Now, what is your question?”
“Is Lord Torrington a good man? Has he been married long?”
“He proved himself to be somewhat dishonest, though, in the end, Eddie said he was more than contrite, which is something, I suppose. He did try to help Eddie when he became drawn into everything, although it was Lord Torrington’s fault to begin with,” Julia mused. “As for his marriage… I know he and the Countess are not overly close, but then who would be with a woman like that?”
“I am afraid I do not know her.”
“She is the daughter of a marquess, and therefore feels herself above most others — and that attitude seems to extend to those who have married into a higher rank,” Elizabeth said, with a glint in her violet eyes. “I tend to avoid her as I am able, though her husband is jovial enough.”
“Interesting,” Sarah mused, though what she was going to do with that information, she had no idea. So the Earl’s wife was not particularly warm. What did that mean to her?
Sarah sighed, but then her attention was caught when a shadow fell over her lap. The women looked up to find four gentlemen awaiting their attention. Sarah could feel the stares of her friends, for while three of the men were their own husbands, Mr. Redmond was clearly awaiting her notice. It seemed no matter how she attempted to distance herself from the man, there he was, becoming part of her life one way or another.
“A waltz is beginning,” he said, the slightest of smiles dancing around his lips, though Sarah realized it was somewhat hesitant, as though he was unsure of just how she would respond to him. “Dance with me?”
She bit her lip. She shouldn’t. But as her friends drifted off to the dance floor themselves, she decided that she really had no choice.
“Very well,” she said. “Let us waltz.”
* * *
When Sarah letherself into her rooms hours later after being conveyed home by Lady Alexander’s carriage, she took a moment to lean back against the door and compose herself. She shut her eyes as she allowed all of the emotions of the evening to finally sweep through her.
She was typically fairly adept at reading people, particularly their emotions and motivations behind their actions. But David Redmond remained a mystery.
From all she knew about him, he was a man who cared primarily for the pleasures of life, taking on little to no responsibility for anything else about him. So why did he seem to care so much about her current situation, be it her search for her father or the fact she lived here alone?
For the truth was, she was growing far too close to him. When he had held her in his arms throughout their waltz, it was difficult to ignore the feel of the muscles she had seen firsthand beneath his jacket, to not allow his scent of brandy and spicy cologne to invade her nostrils. When he spoke, his warm, soothing voice so close to her ear sent chills down her spine. And then there had been that kiss… she knew it was for no reason other than to hide her true purpose for sneaking around the Earl’s study, but still, it had caused a reaction within her that had left her every nerve on edge throughout the rest of the night. It was as though she could sense him wherever he was within the room, notice his every movement, his every breath.
The worst of it all was that it wasn’t just his physical presence nor her attraction to him that bothered her. That, she felt she could handle. It was the fact that she was beginning to enjoy the thought of having someone look out for her — a man who would care enough to worry that she was protected at night, who would help extricate her from what could have been a potentially disastrous situation, who would dance with her when she was the lone single woman within her circle of friends.
She had been told so much about him — the fact that he shirked responsibility, respectability. That he dallied with any woman with whom he had the opportunity to do so. It wasn’t that she didn’t know it to be true, for she had seen firsthand the result of one of his previous liaisons with a married woman. It was that he had shown her a completely different side, one of care and compassion, humor and charm.
Though that was likely what drew in other women as well, she thought with a rueful smile as she pushed away from the door to pull out her nightrail and begin preparing for bed.
She jumped slightly when she heard a knock on the door, and she fisted her pistol in her hand as she opened the door a crack. To her surprise, it was the very man who refused to leave her thoughts.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, opening the door wide to allow him entrance.
“I told you I would be here tonight,” he said, shutting the door behind him, still dressed in his evening clothes. “And here I am.”
Sarah could hardly think when standing so close to him, so she stepped back and returned to her pile of clothing to tidy it up.
“As you didn’t mention anything toward the end of the evening, I thought perhaps you had forgotten. Or had arranged for another… liaison, perhaps.”
“Another liaison?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “I promised you I would be here. And here I am.”
“I never asked you to be!” she exclaimed in frustration, though she immediately regretted her words when she saw him take a step back as though she had hurt him.
“I’m sorry,” she immediately said, though she had no idea how to explain that the reason she didn’t want him close was that she couldn’t handle the effect he had upon her, that she was worried she would lose more than just her reputation if someone were to find out about their current state of living. “I suppose I am just overwhelmed by everything, and I feel guilty about the fact that you are leaving your life to be here to protect me when I am perfectly fine and have been for months now.”
“No need to worry about me,” he said with a cheerful smile. “Though if you have an extra blanket, I will make my bed here on the floor by the door. And, perhaps, if you feel so inclined, I could move your dressing screen between us in order to provide you with more privacy?”
Sarah’s heart began to beat faster at how considerate he was being. How was she supposed to merge the rake he was purported to be with the man before her now?
“Thank you,” she said, her voice just above a whisper as she looked at him, standing now in his beautifully cut evening clothes, looking so out of place here where she currently called home. She cleared her throat. “While you are here, we should look at those wounds of yours. You may have made it through the evening, but I am still of the opinion that you should be resting and looking after yourself. I cannot say I am particularly pleased with your current appearance.”
