Page 33 of One Waltz with the Viscount

‘Thank you.’

‘Then perhaps tomorrow evening you would like to accompany me to the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.’

She turned a cautious face towards him.

‘After last night do you not think it would be best if we were not seen out together socially?’

‘Probably,’ he said. She was completely right of course, he should stick to helping her find her sister and nothing more. Yet she looked so sad he couldn’t bear to think of her sitting in the impersonal lodging house all alone night after night. ‘But I do not think it would be too much of a risk. They are having a special event, a masquerade. No one would know who you are.’

She hesitated, and he found himself willing her silently to say yes. He knew he shouldn’t have invited her, shouldn’t have risked the scandal that being linked with a woman of a much lower social class could cause, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to see her smile, to wipe the melancholy expression from her face, and for one night at least enjoy the company of a woman he liked to be around before he started in earnest to look for a wife.

‘I suppose you could tell me what you had discovered from the gentleman’s club.’

‘Does that mean you will come?’

She bit her lip, an endearing habit that drew his eyes to her mouth. For a moment he could only think about kissing her. Quickly he looked away. He wouldn’t make that mistake twice. He couldn’t deny the attraction he felt towards Miss Shepherd, but more than that he liked her. He respected her single-mindedness, her devotion and her loyalty to her sister. She was kind and understanding and he felt comfortable with her. She was the first person he had ever told the story of his first marriage. Other people knew about it because they had lived through it with him, but never had he felt comfortable enough to actually tell them the story.

He shook himself. He was beginning to sound like a lovesick fool, and only a buffoon made the same mistake twice. Once before he had allowed his sentiments to rule his head and it had caused nothing but heartache. Now all his decisions had to be made in a logical fashion.

Grimacing, he realised his last offer to Miss Shepherd had not been logical. The logical thing to do would be to offer to visit the gentleman’s club and then deliver her a note with the outcome. It had not been sensible to invite her for an evening, where their only protection from the curious eyes of society would be flimsy masks.

‘If you are sure?’

‘Yes.’ The word was out before he could stop it, despite his misgivings. He didn’t want to examine what had pushed him to extend the offer, or why he was feeling quite so elated that she had accepted.

Duty. That was what he needed to focus on. The time for self-indulgence and making decisions based on what he wanted was long past. He was still paying for all the mistakes he had made. Now he should be putting all his effort into fulfilling his duty.

Pressing his lips together in displeasure at the word, he told himself it was a means to an end, nothing more. He had no other choice but to tolerate his father’s demands, not if he wished to see his sister, and perhaps find a way to rescue her from their father’s malign influence. He didn’t know what Lord Burwell had planned for his only daughter when she reached an age to be launched into society, but he doubted it would be a happy marriage to a man she loved. If he could be part of her life he might be able to influence his father’s choices in the matter.

‘You look serious,’ Miss Shepherd said, ‘and a little sad.’

‘I was thinking of my sister.’

She gave a rueful smile. ‘We are quite a pair, are we not? I have a troublesome sister who has disappeared without a trace, and you have a sister who is in need of rescuing.’

‘It is certainly something we have in common, Miss Shepherd. We are both changing the course of our lives for the sake of our sisters.’

‘I hope my change will only be temporary.’

‘I am positive it will. In two weeks you will be sitting in the music room of your new home in Kent, teaching your charges the basics of piano.’

She closed her eyes and inhaled, a look of serenity on her face, and for a moment he envied her. He had been prepared to live a simple life with Anne. He’d wanted to make enough money from his properties to support them and any children they may have, but to eschew the trappings of the very wealthy. It had all seemed a little pointless to him, to always need the latest fashion or the fanciest house. Miss Shepherd would not have an easy life, he didn’t wish to belittle her need to work for her living, but she would have the satisfaction of waking up each day knowing she was in control of her own destiny.

Sarah watched through the gap in her curtains as Lord Routledge disappeared around the corner. He had once again walked her back to her lodgings, leaving her with a promise that he would visit the gentleman’s club later that afternoon.

She thought of the invitation he had extended, asking her to accompany him to the pleasure gardens, and tried to suppress the bubble of excitement that rose inside her.

For him it would be nothing more than a way to impart what he had uncovered without changing his plans. He had made it perfectly clear that he did not wish anything romantic to happen between them. She reddened a little at the memory of how painstakingly he had ensured she knew that, telling her of his disastrous first marriage.

‘He could never want someone like you,’ Sarah murmured to herself. She needed to hear it—despite her resolution not to think of Lord Routledge in that way, she had found herself on edge the entire afternoon. Although his reasons were valid, she also had plans that did not involve any liaison between them. She was not going to repeat the mistakes of her mother.

She sighed. It was not the same. She may have only known Lord Routledge for a couple of days, but she could tell he was a man who took his responsibilities seriously. It was endearing how much he was willing to endure to help his sister, and she knew he was the epitome of a good man.

He would not leave a young woman ruined, as her father had done to her mother, but she would not put him in that position. He had made it quite clear the only thing he truly cared about was seeing his sister, and entangling himself with Sarah would only complicate matters.

‘Stop it,’ she told herself. She needed to stop thinking about the attractive Viscount. She’d only known him a couple of days, and now he was dominating her every thought.

She was about to look away from the window when a fine carriage pulled up outside, pulled by four huge white horses. Her interest was immediately piqued. This was not a bad part of London, but it was a long way from Grosvenor Square, where this sort of carriage would look at home.