Page 52 of To Claim the Long-Lost Lover
“Wakefield and his agents are following every possible lead,” Sarah pointed out. “And we have had no trouble since my kidnapping. Perhaps he is dead, or has left the country.”
Nate and Val didn’t comment, but she knew what they were thinking. Until they had proof positive the evil man would trouble them no more, they would continue to worry about their families.
The waltz drew to a close, and Aldridge escorted Charlotte towards them. The men began a vigorous discussion about the reaction of the French army to the triumphal progress through France of their deposed Emperor, and Sarah drew Charlotte to one side. “Your waltz was a beautiful thing to see, dearest.”
Charlotte grimaced. “I know what you’re thinking. It can never happen, Sarah.” She nodded to where Uncle James was talking to Aunt Eleanor. “That might, when she is widowed.”
Sarah was diverted. “I believe you are right, and I wish them joy.”
“So do I,” Charlotte replied. “They have waited a long time.”
As they watched, the duke and the duchess inclined their heads and parted. Their demeanour, at least in public, was above reproach, but his eyes followed her as she walked away.
Sarah said, “I am going to go and sit down for a while, Charlotte. Come and keep me company?”
Nate overheard. “Are you well, dearest? Do you need to go home?”
“And you a doctor!” she scolded. “I am perfectly well, if a little tired. And I am certainly not leaving the ball at which I am hostess!”
“I will make her sit down and have a bite to eat, Nate,” Charlotte told him. “You look after your guests.” She grinned at him. “This is all your fault, you know.”
“Fruit of your loins,” Sarah teased.
The two women strolled through into the supper room and Nate flushed as he turned back to his cousin-in-law and his would-be brother-in-law, hoping they had not heard.
“I take it,” Val commented, “that congratulations are in order.”So much for that.
“Yes,” said Aldridge. “Every best wish to you and your growing family, Lechton. May your happiness always increase.”
How can I be happier?Nate wondered, as he accepted their congratulations. Still, the last few months suggested his capacity for happiness could grow. When Sarah accepted him back into her life and Elias’s, he had thought his happiness complete. And then Elias had called him Papa. And then he became accustomed to the pleasure of waking up beside his wife. And then she told him she was with child again.
Yes, his happiness increased as his love for Sarah grew—another thing he would not have thought possible three months ago. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I am under instructions to look after our guests,” he told Val and Aldridge. “I should circulate, and make sure everyone is having a good time.”
But first, he followed the sisters to the supper room, not to interrupt their conversation—they were enjoying a comfortable coze at one of the tables—but simply to let his eyes rest for a moment on the woman he loved, his safe harbour and his heart’s companion. The long journey was over and a new and better one was well begun.
THE END
