Page 13 of One Waltz with the Viscount

She felt his eyes on her and suddenly she felt self-conscious. Today she wasn’t looking her best. It had been a late night and, even once she had slipped into bed, she had found it hard to sleep. Her mind had been racing with thoughts of all that had happened, as well as worries about her sister.

‘Shall we be on our way?’

He held out a hand to assist her into the carriage as if she were a grand lady, ensuring she was settled on her seat before hopping up and sitting opposite her. The carriage lurched off almost immediately, rocking slightly as they picked up speed over the cobbles.

Sarah looked around her, trying not to let her mouth fall open. The carriage was unlike anything she had ever been in before. On her trip to London she had taken the stagecoach, but that had been a very different experience, squashed inside with seven other people. This was luxurious by comparison.

‘It is a bit tatty, I apologise,’ Lord Routledge said, following the direction of her gaze.

‘Tatty?’

‘Yes. It isn’t mine, at least not really. My dear friend Lord Shrewsbury gave me the use of it when his wife insisted on a new one. Even the horses are his.’

‘That is generous,’ Sarah said, reaching out and touching the velvet that lined the walls.

‘He is a generous man. He is one of the wealthiest people in the country, which of course makes it easier to be magnanimous with one’s fortune, but I think it is just in his character. I suspect even if he was down to the last two coins he would insist on sharing.’ Lord Routledge stared out of the window absently for half a minute, then turned back to her. ‘He is kind too, and I am sure will have no objection to you speaking to the maid you wish to question.’

‘You will not tell him I broke into his house?’

Lord Routledge grinned. ‘Not yet.’

‘Not yet?’

‘Once you are far away from London, teaching Beethoven to those little children in Kent, I can’t see the harm in sharing the story with him.’

Sarah closed her eyes. Lord Routledge was right, and it wasn’t as if she would ever cross paths with someone like Lord Shrewsbury ever again, but just the thought of someone else knowing how she had so recklessly broken the law was mortifying.

The journey that had taken well over an hour on foot was much quicker in the carriage, and in no time at all they were rolling to a stop in front of Shrewsbury House.

It looked even more magnificent in the daylight. It was a large building with a white façade and columns spaced at regular intervals. The whole house was immaculate from the outside, from the paintwork to the flowers and shrubs that grew in the pots that flanked the door.

A flutter of nerves started in her stomach, working its way up until she felt flushed and a little breathless as they stepped from the carriage and approached the house.

‘I will explain everything to Lord and Lady Shrewsbury,’ Lord Routledge said. ‘And in no time at all you will have your answers from Agnes Pepper.’

He knocked on the door. It was opened almost immediately by a footman who bowed deeply.

‘Please come into the drawing room, Lord Routledge, I shall let Lord Shrewsbury know you are here. Who shall I say accompanies you?’

‘This is Miss Shepherd. Thank you, Jacobs.’

The footman showed them into the drawing room, and Sarah had to remind herself not to gawp. If she had thought the carriage was plush this was even more so. The room was airy and large, with gilded mirrors at either end, giving it the appearance of going on for ever. Two windows looked out onto the street, allowing the late-morning light to flood into the room. A piano stood at one end, and beautifully upholstered chairs were set in a horseshoe configuration at the other.

Sarah’s eye was immediately dawn to the piano. It was a magnificent instrument, polished so it shone, reflecting the rays of sunlight from the windows. She longed to trail her fingers across the keys and to hear the depth of sound from such an instrument.

They were not kept waiting long before the door opened and an elegant woman a little older than Sarah entered. Everything about her was perfect, from how the silk of her skirt rippled as she walked, to the intricate way her hair had been pinned. A broad smile broke onto her face when she saw Lord Routledge, which made her look even more radiant.

‘Henry darling, I am so pleased you...’ she began, the words trailing off as she saw Sarah. She recovered quickly. ‘Forgive me, Lord Routledge, I did not know we had company.’

‘This is Miss Shepherd. Miss Shepherd, it is my pleasure to introduce simply the best woman in London, Lady Shrewsbury.’

‘Are you flirting with my wife again, you reprobate?’ Lord Shrewsbury asked as he lumbered into the room.

‘We have a guest, my dear,’ Lady Shrewsbury said quietly to her husband whilst smiling at Sarah. ‘Miss Shepherd.’

‘Miss Shepherd, pleasure to meet you,’ Lord Shrewsbury said, unabashedly looking her up and down. ‘Do I know your people?’

She had to suppress a smile at the question. Perhaps wasn’t going to be an acceptable answer, not when she didn’t want to declare herself illegitimate to the whole world.