Page 35 of One Waltz with the Viscount

‘Please Lady Shrewsbury, choose your words carefully. I may not be a Countess, but I think you owe me the courtesy of not insulting me so directly when you do not know me.’

Lady Shrewsbury sighed and looked out the window, irritation mixed with angst on her face. Sarah wondered if she was just a very good friend concerned for a man who had been hurt before, or if she harboured her own feelings for Lord Routledge.

‘If you had seen him after his wife’s death,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘And even the months before her death. His vitality drained away, sucked out by that scheming woman. She married him for the life she thought she would have with him, not for the wonderful person he was.’

‘I am sorry for what happened in his first marriage, but I am not Anne. I have no desire to marry a man of a vastly different social class. I have my own life to live, and once I find my sister I will be leaving London.’

‘Immediately?’

‘Yes, as soon as I have found my sister.’

Lady Shrewsbury looked thoughtful, and then leaned forward, placing her delicate hand over Sarah’s.

‘You must forgive me, my dear. If you had seen what a mess Lord Routledge was in a few years ago you would understand my concern. He is a good man, who sees the best in everyone. You may not be planning on using that to your advantage, but there are many who would.’

Sarah pressed her lips together, cautioning herself not to say more than was needed, but after a moment the words flowed anyway.

‘I think you do not give him credit. He is an astute man alongside his kindness and generosity. Yes, he was naïve in matters of the heart once, but he was younger then and had less experience of the world. I do not think one mistake made years ago should be how he is judged today.’

‘You are forthright, Miss Shepherd,’ Lady Shrewsbury said sharply, and then relaxed again. ‘But I expect my husband would agree with your words. He is always telling me that Lord Routledge is a different man than the one who fell for Anne, that we should not expect him to make the same mistakes.’

‘Your concern for him is admirable,’ Sarah said, hoping if she said the right thing this interview would come to an end. ‘You must have been friends with him for a long time.’

‘Yes, from before my marriage to Lord Shrewsbury. Though my husband’s friendship with Lord Routledge goes back even further of course.’

Sarah fell silent, glancing out the window. She did not know London well enough to be able to recognise where they were, but already they must be a fair distance from her lodging house.

After a moment Lady Shrewsbury smiled brightly, the smile Sarah suspected she kept for when she had company.

‘Look at me, plucking you from your home and interrogating you. I am sorry, Miss Shepherd, my behaviour leaves a lot to be desired. Let me make it up to you. Come to Shrewsbury House for tea and cake.’ She held up a hand to quiet any protest. ‘I insist. It is the least I can do.’

‘That is very kind, my lady, but I have to focus my efforts in searching for my sister.’

‘One hour cannot hurt. And perhaps there is something that Lord Shrewsbury and I can do to assist your search. We have many contacts between us.’

Sarah was not quite sure why Lady Shrewsbury suddenly wanted her company, and she doubted there was much the Countess could do to assist in her search for Selina, but she knew she could not turn her down if there was even a miniscule chance she could help.

‘Thank you, that is very kind.’

‘Wonderful. Then we can get to know one another properly. This is going to be so fun.’

Lady Shrewsbury wasted no time in thumping on the roof of the carriage so it rolled to a stop. A moment later the liveried servant appeared at the window.

‘Tell Samuels to take us home.’

‘Yes, my lady.’

Throughout the journey Lady Shrewsbury kept up a continuous flow of polite conversation, about nothing much at all, and within ten minutes they were rolling to a stop outside Shrewsbury House.

It was no less grand than she remembered, and Sarah had to tell herself not to be intimidate by the huge size of the house and the impressive façade. A footman opened the door as they stepped down from the carriage, and within a few seconds she had been swept inside.

They went straight to the drawing room where she had been seated on her previous visit to the house. Lady Shrewsbury stopped to ask a footman to arrange tea and cake.

‘Do sit down,’ the Countess said, positioning herself on one of the delicate chairs, perching on the edge and smoothing her skirts around her.

Sarah felt out of place in the beautiful room. She wore her practical dark blue work dress, which had been carefully mended over the years but still looked a little worn. She had another dress, in grey, which was much smarter, but she was keeping that for when she took up her position as music teacher. The Huntley family expected her to be presentable from the first day of her employment, even though she would not get her first wages for a week. Sarah planned to save up with the money she earned so she could buy a second respectable dress, before she started to put money aside for savings.

Everything in the Shrewsbury drawing room was shiny and gilded, and Sarah felt frumpy and plain. It wasn’t something that normally bothered her. She had made peace with her place in the world a long time ago, thankful that she had been fortunate enough not to need work as a kitchen maid from a young age. She might not have a fortune and a big house like Lady Shrewsbury, but she was much more fortunate than many young women in the world.