Page 52 of The Duke of Distraction
Sarah gave him a pointed look.“You don’t get to decide.”He lifted his arms in a gesture of surrender.
“There are other options.What of Sherington or Blakesley or a few of the other guests at Darent Hall?Baron Hardwick is purported to be looking for a bride.”
“Hardwick has too many creditors, in my opinion,” Anthony said.“And Blakesley isn’t ready to settle down.Sherington could work, however.”
Sarah cleared her throat.“I am still here.”
Both men blinked at her.“Of course you are.”
“Then perhaps you might ask me what I think of those men.”She smiled prettily—perhaps too prettily, but she didn’t appreciate their cavalier attitude.
“My apologies,” Felix said, offering a slight bow.“I merely want to help facilitate your search.I am happy to continue my services when you are ready.”
His services.Helping her find a husband.While she’d eagerly accepted his offer before, that was…before.Now the thought of him finding her a suitor felt a bit wrong.
So far, she was doing a rather poor job of pretending they’d never kissed.It seemed he was having no trouble, however.He was more than ready to marry her off.
“I can’t imagine reentering the social world any time soon.Perhaps in the fall.In the meantime, I shall consider my options.”She was eager to abandon the topic.
“Sarah, I will support whatever you decide to do,” Anthony said earnestly.
“Thank you.”She smoothed her hand over her skirt.“And now I understand you are both off to Ware, which leaves me to read my horrid novels.”
“Would you like to take dinner in here?”Felix asked.“Or somewhere else?I can let the staff know.”
“I’ll take care of that, thank you,” she said.“What do you plan to do in Ware?”
“We’ll have dinner at one of the coaching inns,” Felix said.“The Golden Bear has a French chef, if you can imagine.”
“How wonderful.I shall have to go sometime.”Indeed, she wondered why they hadn’t invited her to come.But then they exchanged a glance, and she knew.Dinner was just the start of their evening.She could well imagine what they’d be doing next.
Her insides twisted, and she had trouble making eye contact with Felix.So she didn’t.Instead, she went to the table with her books and picked up the stack.“Have a nice evening.Don’t drink too much.”She looked at Anthony but not Felix.
“We’ll be on our best behavior,” Anthony said.
Nodding, she turned and left, all the while silently repeating:pretend it never happened, pretend it never happened, pretend it never happened.
Better still:pretend he doesn’t exist.
The dining room hardly resembled the dining room, what with the table covered in various items, but Felix could think of no better use for the space.He surveyed the collection of bizarre items and waited for his guest to arrive.
A moment later, Sarah entered.“Dovey told me I was needed in the dining room.”She moved toward the table with a look of confusion.“Felix, what is all this?”
“We’re making hats.”
She blinked at him.“With books and baskets and moss and…is that a teacup?”
He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled at her.“It is.”
“I told you I didn’t want to make hats.”
“I’mmaking hats.But I need a little direction.”
“Felix, you can’t make a hat out of a basket and a teacup.”
He narrowed his eyes at her.“You are not very imaginative.What are hats but overdecorated baskets?”
She stared at him, and he feared his plan was going to fail.He went to pick up a basket and then grabbed a handful of moss, which he’d tasked a footman with collecting.“If you aren’t going to help me, I shall do it on my own.”He moved to the other end of the table and sat down to affix the moss on the basket.
