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As he climbed into his carriage, a woman walked past wearing a towering red wig. Once again, memory flooded back from happier times. Times when a fiery-haired little girl had caused him great amounts of grief—and had secretly made him laugh.
But Sabrina Grayson was a child no more.
“HENRY! DO COME in.”
For a moment, Sabrina’s mouth hung open. Mama didn’t jump up to greet anyone. Ever. Yet she’d done just that upon seeing Montgomery standing with the butler at the parlor door. Her gaze slid over to her sister, curious to see her reaction, but Eugenia was too busy to pay her any mind.
“Hello, Auntie, Eugenia…or Lady Afton, rather,” said Montgomery, kissing the cheek presented to him by the elder and bowing over Eugenia’s hand. “Congratulations on the arrival of your son,” he murmured.
“Thank you, my lord,” replied Eugenia.
Shifting his attention to Sabrina, he bowed formally. “A pleasure to see you again, my lady.”
Snapping her mouth shut with an audible pop, Sabrina extended her hand and fixed her eyes on the wall beyond his left shoulder. Though she did her level best, it was difficult to ignore the way his touch caused her throat to become suddenly dry. Swallowing reflexively, she withdrew her fingers as quickly as manners allowed.
His violet eyes gleamed with mirth as he let her go.
“I’m so happy you could join us,” said her mother. “Come, sit and have tea. I had cook make some of your old favorites just for the occasion.”
In a rush, Sabrina sat next to Eugenia, purposely leaving no room on the sofa.
Montgomery shot her a knowing smile. “It has been so long since I was last here,” he said, looking right at her as he took the cup offered by her mother. “I’m happy to find that not much has changed”—he glanced down—“although I welcome the lack of ink in my tea.”
Sabrina’s scalp tingled with heat, and she knew her cheeks must be the color of ripe cherries. “That was a long time ago, my lord. Things are quite different now.”
“Indeed they are,” he answered.
The way he said it caused her blush to deepen. She looked to her sister and saw that Eugenia was staring at her with a peculiar expression. She focused on taking a sip of her tea and hoped that he was finished. She hoped in vain.
“You are as unrepentant now as you were then,” he said, smiling. “Some things never change.”
She let out a weary sigh. “Are you planning to hold a grudge forever, my lord?”
“Not at all. I was most impressed by your bravery, actually. Not many little girls have the bol…”—he stopped and coughed, glancing at the other ladies in the room—“the courage to handle a live snake.”
“Snake?” exclaimed her mother and Eugenia at the same time.
“What snake?” her mother persisted. “Henry, whatever are you talking about?”
Sabrina shook her head, silently pleading with him not to tell. Again, no such luck.
“She never told you?” His wicked eyes gleamed. “During my last visit here, Sabrina managed to somehow deposit a living snake into my coat pocket.”
The unbelieving gazes of both women swung toward her, and she squirmed. “It was a childish prank, nothing more. And it was years ago.”
“Sabrina! You must apologize at once!” demanded her mother. “I cannot believe you would do such a thing. What if it had bitten him?”
But Montgomery’s laughter put an end to her tirade. “It was nothing more than a garter snake, Auntie, really.” He turned his attention to her once more. “It might interest you to know that I made it all the way home before it decided to make known its presence.”
Sabrina clamped down on her tongue. So much for him leaping out and landing in a puddle…Disappointment filled her.
“My valet discovered it as he was taking my coat,” he continued. “He felt something in the pocket, reached into it, and found the stowaway. The poor man had a fit of hysterics and very nearly fainted.”
In spite of herself, she felt the corners of her mouth lifting.
“There!” he said, pointing at her with mock severity. “You see what I mean? No remorse at all.”
The laugh escaped her in the form of a soft snort. Unfortunately, it was the only sound in the room at that moment. She covered her mouth, mortified, as everyone else began to chuckle.
