Enticing Her Unexpected Bridegroom Read online

  Sarah stood and pushed through the girls.

  “I did that…just this morning, in fact,” she admitted, wringing her hands. “And he practically ran away from me. I’d be surprised if he didn’t go wash his mouth off with soap. I have never been more humiliated in my life—which, as you know, is saying something.”

  Sarah watched as her friends just stared at one another. They looked miserable. Clearly they didn’t think his reaction was a good sign, either. Taking a deep breath, Sarah shoved her grief aside and looked at Lady Lancaster.

  “No, David will not be a help in this situation. I refuse to even consider asking him.”

  The duchess gave her a long, assessing look. “Are you prepared to do this on your own, then? Of course, we will be here to help you, but we cannot all go to this earl of yours. That is your task, and without your husband as companion, it is your task alone.”

  “Would that be proper, my lady?” Sarah replied, aghast.

  “You are a married woman now, my dear. The same rules of stricture that used to bind you, no longer do. Be safe and alert when traveling alone. Behave as if it is nothing new, and you will have no problems.”

  A tingle of excitement ran through Sarah. Traveling by herself, of her own accord? Why did that sound so exhilarating? Perhaps because until now, her solitariness was imposed upon her by others, whereas this was of her own choosing. It would be an adventure, she decided. And she told the duchess and her friends that she would do it.

  And do it, she would.

  Just hours later, Sarah was back at the house she shared with David packing for her mission. Deciding what to take was causing her a bit of grief, but ultimately she decided to travel lightly. Aside from her best day dress for her visit with the earl, she included two traveling dresses, a peasant’s costume (in case she needed to disguise herself during her investigation), and a pair of David’s breeches with matching coat. Sarah couldn’t fathom a reason for her to ever wear the men’s clothing, but in all of the previous Society missions, her friends had found it useful, so better to err on the side of caution.

  Throwing in all the accessories and toiletries needed, Sarah soon found herself ready. Calling upon her most discreet lady’s maid, she and her livery men made ready for departure. Before leaving altogether, Sarah scribbled out a quick note to David explaining that she had a family emergency and would be back as soon as possible. Sarah was sure that wouldn’t suffice, but she wasn’t sure what else to tell him. So she left it at that.

  As she was leaving the stables, Sarah decided to make a quick stop at her father’s home to inform Mr. and Mrs. Cole of her plans. Perhaps, if David truly cared, he would think to stop by her childhood home and ask her beloved Coles for more information. And if he didn’t, that wasn’t her problem.

  David was using a curry brush on his favorite mare after his afternoon ride when he saw a groomsmen preparing one of his carriages. Curious, he went to ask the reason why. It was then that he saw Sarah exit through the servants’ egress off the kitchen with what appeared to be traveling satchels in her maid’s hands. She was looking around surreptitiously, as if trying to avoid the notice of someone. Is she leaving me? David thought with shock and something like dismay. Yes, the last two days had been more stressful of late, and he knew he hadn’t handled the incident this morning well. At all.

  It’s not as if he had never been kissed in his life. He had, in fact, kissed and been kissed many times prior to that morning, but never by Sarah. And a more awkward attempt had never been made by a woman before, in David’s experience. But as he thought back on it, the kiss was possibly the most charming thing he had ever been gifted. Clearly, at a loss as to what to do to add closeness to their relationship, Sarah had decided on a kiss. It was nothing less than he had tried himself dozens of times when courting one girl or another. But all that had flown from his head when her lips met his for the first time. All he could think was that her lips should not have been that soft, her breath that sweet. Frankly, the whole thing scared the wits out of him. And he ran. Like a green-boy coward, he ran.

  David looked at the flowers leaning against the stable wall. He had intended to give them to Sarah with a heartfelt apology that evening and perhaps follow up with a chaste kiss to appease her apparent need for affection, but it didn’t seem as if she was giving him the chance.

  As he watched her climb into the carriage with her maid, livery men, and baggage, David felt a stab of panic. No, this marriage was not his idea, but suddenly the thought of it ending was not a pleasant thought, either. Certainly not before it had even gotten started.

  Mind made up, David resaddled his mare and after mounting, he made after his wife’s carriage, determined to have his say once she came to a stop…wherever that may be.

  Chapter Four

  Don’t try to be something to everyone, but rather be everything for someone.

  —The Duke of Lancaster

  Sarah burst through the door of her childhood home, eager to find Mr. and Mrs. Cole. Not surprisingly, she found them both in Mrs. Cole’s office. The butler and Mrs. Cole took turns hugging Sarah thoroughly before sitting and looking at her expectantly.

  “I have the most wonderful news,” Sarah said. “Lady Lancaster is sending me to speak to the earl who is attempting to prosecute your brother-in-law. We are hoping to convince the man to drop his allegation.”

  “Do you really think that will work?” asked Mrs. Cole.

  Sarah shrugged. “It can’t make things any worse. And once we’ve met the man, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with. It really is the best course of action with which to begin.”

  “And Lady Lancaster truly recommended that you talk to the earl?”

  “Yes, and I’m glad she did. I will do everything in my power to help your brother-in-law and his family. It is the right thing to do.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Cole exchanged glances briefly but still nodded.

  “Well, we certainly have no better ideas,” said the somber butler. “But please, Sarah, be very careful. Everything we have heard about this earl sounds unpleasant. We would hate for anything to happen to you, too.”

  “Don’t you two worry about anything. I am married to a future earl now. It would benefit this man to listen to reason, and I’m sure he will. But I must be off. I would like to reach Chelmsford before dark. I will let you know as soon as possible if I learn anything.”

  Just as Sarah was exchanging farewell hugs with Mr. and Mrs. Cole, the front bell rang. Sarah followed the butler to the front door where her maid was waiting patiently. To her surprise, when the door opened, she saw David. A very upset-looking David.

  “David! What on earth are you doing here?”

  “What am I doing here? I’m following you, of course,” David replied.

  Despite the evenness of his tone, Sarah could feel the anger simmering just below the surface.

  “Following…m-me?” Sarah stuttered slightly. “Whyever for?”

  David looked at the butler and at Sarah’s maid before grabbing Sarah’s arm and pulling her over to the corner of the room as far from the other people as possible.

  “I followed you because I thought perhaps we should talk before you just left me.”

  “Left you!” exclaimed Sarah. “Why on earth would you think I was leaving you?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” David said, with more than a little sarcasm, “because I saw you getting into a carriage with your bags packed, with nary a word of explanation to me.”

  “I left you a note. Didn’t you see it?”

  David looked taken aback for a moment. “You did?”

  “Yes, I left it in your office. Did you even look for an explanation before following me over here?”

  “No…” David said slowly. “I just saw you leaving and—”

  “Jumped to the conclusion I was leaving you?” Sarah finished, throwing her hands in the air.

  “Can you blame me?” David asked gruffly. “Things have been a litt
le…awkward lately.”

  “A little?” Sarah muttered.

  Sighing, David ran his hands through his hair, leaving it adorably disheveled. Sarah couldn’t help but smile a little.

  When David saw Sarah’s lips turn up ever so slightly, it was enough to convince him once and for all that he had gotten this whole affair mixed up.

  Taking her hands in his, he said, “Sarah, dear, what did your note say? Where exactly are you going?”

  Sarah looked up at him with troubled eyes. “I have a family emergency. One that cannot be ignored. I have to go to Chelmsford immediately.”

  “What kind of emergency?”

  Sarah turned her back to him, and for a moment David thought she wasn’t going to tell him. Then he saw her butler—Cole, if he remembered correctly—nod to Sarah, and the man looked in David’s direction meaningfully.

  Sarah’s shoulders sagged and she turned back to David and said, “I don’t know if you know this, but Cole”—and she looked at the older man with love—“means the world to me, as does his wife, our housekeeper…”

  David listened as Sarah told him of her difficult childhood and how the household staff had become more of a family to her than her own father and siblings. He was shocked that he had not heard this before. Did anyone know? Did Hannah? It explained so much about Sarah, and it also made David realize more than ever how strong and resourceful his new bride was…had to be. It also made him angry. At some point, he was going to have a conversation with his father-in-law. While the man’s grief was understandable, the treatment of his younger daughter was inexcusable.

  “It has taken some time and a lot of attention from the charitable Lady Lancaster to make me as presentable as I am.”

  “And your relationship with your father?”

  Sarah laughed mirthlessly. “Nonexistent?”

  “And how does that make you feel, because frankly, it makes me angry.”

  Sighing, Sarah shrugged. “It used to make me sad. I spent much of my youth wondering what was wrong with me. Thinking it was me, my behavior, that kept him from loving me. Not having been trained from an early age as to what was expected of me, it seemed everything I did was wrong. Hannah actually proved to me that nothing I could do made me unworthy of love. She loved me almost immediately, and you know what a mess I was when we met.”

  Sarah looked at him in chagrin and David grinned.

  “You had your charms, Sarah, but I’ll admit, that dress…” He trailed off.

  David was pleased to hear Sarah laugh. Her childhood was a travesty and he was even more grateful for Hannah and the Coles, because they’d provided that unconditional love that all children should have. He also took a moment to silently thank God for his own parents. He had always considered them abominably normal, but never did he feel unloved or unwanted.

  “But the Coles here,” David continued, glancing at the butler, “they never forsook you and treated you as their own?”

  “Yes, they have never let me down.”

  “And, for them, you were ready to face this earl on your own?” he asked with a smile.

  “Yes, of course! They’re my family.” Sarah looked insulted by the question.

  Smiling even more broadly, David could only describe what he was feeling as pride. He had married a fiery girl. Loyalty was what David held most dear, and clearly Sarah had loyalty in abundance.

  “Well, I would like to help, if I may?”

  “Really?” Sarah asked, pleasure lighting up her face.

  “Of course,” David replied. “Your family is now my family, is it not?”

  Sarah just grinned and threw her arms around him.

  “Oh, thank you, David!” she mumbled into his neck.

  A sensation of pleasure traveled down his body when David felt Sarah’s mouth against the sensitive skin just below his ear. His arms tightened automatically, and he took a deep breath. Suddenly, he was intoxicated by the most innocuous scent of powder, lilies, and something else…something he could only attribute to Sarah. Something familiar and yet altogether new.

  Pulling back slightly, David found himself staring directly into Sarah’s luminescent eyes. They were shining brightly with what must be happy tears, and in that moment, David was lost. When had Sarah’s eyes become such an intriguing shade of gray? Molten silver, really, with tiny specks of emerald green near the center. They were glorious, and they looked at him with such joy and gratitude, David could feel them drawing him in.

  Suddenly, he was kissing her. His lips were softly moving against hers and it seemed as if there was too much for him to explore. Sarah’s lips were full and petal-soft, with the most interesting dips and crevices. And when they parted slightly, David inhaled the sweetest breath he had ever experienced, and it was all he could do to not sweep into the warm depths being offered him. But, somewhere in the back of his befuddled mind, the awareness of where they were surfaced, and he found the strength to leave the kiss just an indication of what a kiss could be.

  With Sarah set back on her feet, looking about as steady as he felt, David could hardly believe what had just happened. He had truly kissed Sarah for the first time, and it most definitely did not feel like kissing his sister—which, frankly, is what he had always imagined. He still felt more like Sarah’s brother than lover, but he began to harbor some hope of an heir after all. Theirs wouldn’t be a proper marriage like his sister’s or even Simon and Rose’s, but perhaps it didn’t need to be all handshakes and polite conversation.

  With a quick nod to Cole, David ushered a still nonplussed Sarah out the door and to the carriage. A quick stop back at their place would allow David a moment to pack—and for Sarah to gain her wits, David thought with a wicked grin—before heading to confront the recalcitrant earl.

  This day was turning out to be much more exciting than he had previously imagined.

  Sarah was slightly aware of the sudden change of venue. She vaguely noticed when David said their farewells to Cole. And she knew the reason the carriage she had been helped into wasn’t leaving right away was because David needed to make arrangements for his horse. But all of this knowledge was cloudy and indistinct. What was utmost in her mind was the kiss.

  Finally, the kiss of her dreams had come to fruition. Since childhood she had imagined being in David’s arms and kissed thoroughly and unreservedly, but never had her imagination prepared her for what a kiss was really like. She could still feel David’s body pressing against hers and his mouth…how had he done such things to her with just his mouth on hers? She had felt his touch all the way to the core of her being, which was still throbbing.

  But what did the kiss mean? Earlier in the day, he had avoided her attempt at intimacy like it was the last thing he wanted to do, but there, in the hall of her childhood home, something had clearly changed. But what? Sarah couldn’t figure it out. One moment she was thanking him with a grateful hug and the next…

  Sarah wished she knew what she had done, because more than ever, she would like to experience such a kiss again.

  Perhaps she should try and hug David as often as possible? It seemed the trigger before; perhaps it would work its magic again? Shrugging, Sarah forced herself to take stock of what was going on around her. They were back at the house she shared with David. She vaguely recalled hearing David tell her to stay where she was. So she assumed he would be returning soon.

  However, the confines of the carriage seemed stuffy and claustrophobic. Sarah felt the need for fresh air. Lots and lots of fresh air. She opened the door to the carriage and stepped out into the sunshine. It was another beautiful day, but Sarah hadn’t really noticed until now. She wandered around the small garden that bordered the carriage drive and delighted in the flitting butterflies and chirping birds.

  To her horror and amusement, she found herself almost bursting to sing. But for once she found a way to control herself, and instead she quietly hummed. How embarrassed would she have been to be found singing at the top of her lungs in front of her
new staff? Frankly, she was just glad to feel so cheerful. Despite her troubled childhood and abominable clumsiness, Sarah had always prided herself on being a happy sort. She liked to find some good in everything and concentrate on that good. But the last few days made such happy thinking more difficult to come by.

  For example, the kiss was nice and all, but it didn’t solve the underlying problem. David still saw her as, at worst, a sibling and, at best, a gawky friend. And there was still Hannah’s warning to consider. If Sarah allowed her heart to become entangled by David’s charms, she stood the chance of being hurt beyond repair.

  The thought was sobering and the tune on her lips faded away.

  By this point, Sarah had made it to the stable area and, just on the verge of turning around, something caught her eye. Leaning up against one of the stable walls was a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers. She picked them up and inhaled their glorious scent. Looking around, Sarah wondered what they were doing there. Then she looked more closely at the bouquet, thinking perhaps there might be a note.

  “They are for you.”

  “Oh, David,” Sarah gasped, whirling around, clutching the flowers tightly to her chest. “You startled me.”

  “I’m sorry,” David replied with a smile. “That was not my intention. I just wondered where you had gotten off to and decided to track you down…again.”

  Sarah could feel her face flush at David’s gentle teasing. “I know you said to wait, but I felt too cooped up, and it is such a beautiful day.”

  “Yes, it is. Will you walk with me back to the carriage so we can enjoy it a bit together?”

  David held out his arm and Sarah tried not to swoon at the romance of it all. It was not meant to be romantic, she was sure. But still she found herself tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow, letting him lead back the way she had come. And her fanciful imagination had the butterflies following them and the birds singing their songs just for them. She laughed at her ridiculous musing and waved off David’s curious look. It was just too silly to talk about aloud.