Page 64 of Impassioned
“I haven’t attended a great many.” Because she’d done her best to avoid these kinds of events and, more importantly, the people who attended them. She had to admit she was feeling much less agitated than in the past.
“Probably more than me since this is my first Season.”
“I think I’ve been to three,” Sabrina said.
“This is my third! You are clearly the expert then.” Cassandra grinned. “In favor or against? We’re not leaving the coach until you give your opinion.” Her eyes sparkled with mirth.
“Mildly against,” Sabrina murmured as she suppressed a laugh. Cassandra had such a warm and charming personality. She could improve anyone’s disposition.
“Ha! That makes three of us.” She glanced at Miss Lancaster who sat across from them on the rear-facing seat. “Pru won’t reveal her opinion, but Iknow.”
Miss Lancaster sat stone-faced, but there was a telltale twinkle in her eye.
They exited the coach and made their way inside between other guests. After exchanging greetings with their hosts, they climbed the stairs to the large drawing room where the musicale would be held.
“This is a great number of people for a musicale,” Cassandra noted, glancing about the crowded room as people milled around the rows of chairs. The windows were thrown open, inviting the cool evening breeze, a welcome balm for the stuffiness of the air.
“Perhaps the musicians are particularly skilled.” Sabrina surveyed the room and instantly wished she was anywhere else. The throng of people was overwhelming enough, but to add to her unease, her mother was coming straight for her. Thankfully, her oldest sister was with her. Peggy’s presence should soften the encounter.
Before they arrived, however, Cassandra spotted someone across the room with whom she wished to speak. “Can I go alone, or do you both want to come with me?”
“I’ll come,” Miss Lancaster said. “That is my entire purpose, in fact.”
“It’s not yourentirepurpose,” Cassandra said with a laugh. “Sabrina?”
“Er, my mother is coming this way.” She would have much rather gone with Cass and Miss Lancaster. Indeed, she would have much rather jumped onto the dais and burst into song.Thatwas how much she dreaded the coming encounter. She’d rather face her greatest fear—being the center of attention—than suffer her mother’s company. No longer having to do so had been the brightest part of marrying a stranger.
Cass linked her arm through Miss Lancaster’s as Sabrina’s mother arrived. Shorter than Sabrina, she still had the ability to make Sabrina feel small.
“Good evening, Mother, Peggy.” Sabrina pivoted toward Miss Lancaster. “Allow me to present Lady Cassandra’s companion, Miss Lancaster.”
Sabrina’s mother and sister curtsied to Cass, from which Sabrina took a regrettable, perverse pleasure. Her sister-in-law outranked them, but then so did Sabrina. Her sisters’ marriages might look more successful from the outside, given the fact that they’d produced offspring, but Sabrina had married the best of any of them since she would one day be a duchess. That still seemed unbelievable to Lady Tarleton, who never failed to seize an opportunity to comment on the fortune that had allowed Sabrina, of all her daughters, to marry so well.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lancaster.” Peggy gave her a bright smile before turning her attention to Sabrina. “You look well, Sabrina.”
“Thank you.”
“Please excuse us,” Cass said. “I must speak with someone.” She leaned toward Sabrina and whispered, “I’ll find you again soon. Or you find me.”
Sabrina nodded, and the two women left. Summoning the courage that was becoming easier to find, Sabrina faced her mother and sister with a serene expression, her hands clasped before her. “You also look well, Peggy.”
Peggy always looked more than well. She possessed a vibrancy that had never failed to make Sabrina feel lacking, not that her sister had ever sought to do so. In fact, when they were young, Peggy had tried to coax Sabrina to relax and feel less anxious. Though Sabrina had tried, she could never come close to her charming and dazzling eldest sister. Her dark blonde hair was perfectly styled, and she wore a stunning gown of several hues of blue.
Sabrina caught sight of herself in one of the mirrors hanging around the room. Her hair looked elegant and pretty—Charity had done her usual brilliant work. And Sabrina’s gown, another new confection of peacock blue and gold, made her look like the countess she was trying to be. The countess shewas.
“Thank you.” Peggy took a small step forward, her blue eyes alight. “I received your invitation to the ball. I’m eagerly anticipating it.”
“If you invited Alicia, I doubt she will attend, since the new babe is barely two months in the world.” The viscountess’s gaze dipped to Sabrina’s belly. “I don’t suppose you are expecting.” It wasn’t even a question.
Sabrina fluttered her hand briefly in front of herself. “It’s certainly possible.” In that moment, she realized it was. She and Constantine had lain together that one night last week. However, while possible, it was unlikely. They’d shared a bed on many occasions, and so far, she had nothing to show for it, unlike her sisters, Peggy and Alicia.
Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “Well, that would be a miracle.”
“Mother,” Peggy murmured as she cast a frown in her direction.
Their mother clucked her tongue. “So late for your invitations to go out, Sabrina. You’ll be lucky if even a fraction of who you’ve invited will attend.” She paused a moment, likely for her words to land with their intended distress upon Sabrina. In response, Sabrina kept her features placid and worked not to squeeze her hands together.
The internal wobble that had been so much a part of Sabrina’s youth and that made her feel as if she could crack into a hundred pieces at any given moment returned. Gritting her teeth, both against the unsettling sensation and her mother’s obnoxiousness, she surprised herself by asking, “And how will you respond, Mother?”
