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Just then, the butler announced that Lord Chadwick had arrived.
Thank God.
Her mother’s smile faltered only the slightest bit at the sight of the eager face peering through the door. “Ah, yes. Our other esteemed guest,” she informed Montgomery apologetically. She beckoned to the new arrival. “Do join us.”
Chadwick entered, but stopped short upon seeing Montgomery.
Sabrina marked that in spite of the benign smile he wore, Montgomery’s eyes carried a clear warning. Her temper flared. Who did he think he was? He had no claim on her whatsoever.
After only a moment’s hesitation, Chadwick moved to stand before her. “My lady, you are the very spring incarnate,” he gushed, lingering over the hand she held out. “Would that I were summer, that I might follow you for all eternity. You humble me with your extravagant beauty.”
Beside her, Eugenia shook with suppressed laughter. Sabrina nudged her with a toe from under her voluminous skirts. “Thank you, my lord,” she managed, smiling.
Once pleasantries had been exchanged and Chadwick had settled himself, Montgomery proceeded to completely ignore her. As if determined to make up for his lack of attention, Chadwick took every opportunity to be obsequious to the point of inciting nausea. Her patience with the whole situation was deteriorating with each breath. If she did not do something soon, she would scream.
“My Lord Chadwick, would you care to accompany me and my sister on a stroll in the
gardens?” she at last cut in, interrupting his current soliloquy. “The day is warm, and I crave fresh air and sunshine.”
The young man’s doe-brown eyes widened in happy disbelief. He rose, in his haste nearly upsetting a footstool. “My lady, I’d be delighted!”
“What a wonderful idea!” her mother interjected. “Why don’t we all take a stroll? It is lovely outside, and my new tulips have finally begun to flower. I’ve been dying to show them off.”
Eugenia put down her cup and saucer. “Actually, I should really go up to the nursery and”—Sabrina grabbed her sister’s other hand where it lay beside her and squeezed it, silently begging her to remain—“and check on little William,” Eugenia continued, pulling her hand away.
Traitor!
“Of course, my dear,” their mother cooed. “After all, it is his first time away from home.”
Clenching her teeth in frustration, Sabrina allowed Chadwick to escort her from the room while Montgomery accompanied her mother.
Even if it wasn’t exactly an escape, the walk was a pleasant change of scenery after the stuffy confines of the parlor. Or at least it would have been, had it not been for her companion. Chadwick clamped her hand in the crook of his elbow so tightly that her fingers were beginning to feel numb. She wriggled them, hoping to loosen his hold just a bit, but instead of releasing her, his other hand only moved to cover hers.
It was hot and sweaty and disgusting.
Not warm and dry like M—
She barely refrained from yelping in surprise as the thought was interrupted by the scrape of something—paper, she thought—being inserted beneath her palm. A note. She glanced up at her escort, only to have to look away again in dismay. The lad was staring at her like a moonstruck calf. Wrenching her hand away, she shoved the note into her pocket.
A deep laugh sounded from behind, and Sabrina looked back over her shoulder, worried that Montgomery had witnessed the clumsy exchange. But no, he was only responding to something her mother had said.
Her belly tightened at the sight of him. The planes of his face were softened in merriment, and his teeth flashed white as he smiled. The sunlight revealed that his hair wasn’t actually black, but a very rich brown. Her fingers itched to learn its texture. Would it be soft and fine, or thick and wiry? It looked soft.
His gaze met hers.
She looked away. Damn him! Peeved at having been caught, she snatched a flower from a bush alongside the path and, without thinking, proceeded to shred the poor blossom.
“He seems to delight in vexing you,” said Chadwick. “I can tell you are displeased by his presence. Why is he here?”
She looked at him, surprised by his keen observation and irritated with herself for betraying the depth of her upset. “Mama invited him. His mother and mine were childhood friends. We, however, were not.”
“Then he is not courting you?”
“Good heavens, no,” she answered with a little laugh. “He’s far too old for me. The man paid court to Eugenia, once upon a time. You are correct in that he seems to enjoy bedeviling me. He did so when I was a child, and unfortunately, he appears never to have grown beyond such immature entertainments.”
“My mother is fond of saying that though men age, they never truly become adults,” said Chadwick, smiling again. “I intend to prove her wrong, of course,” he quickly amended, his cheeks catching fire.
She repressed a smile of her own. He was trying so hard to impress her, but he just kept bungling it, the poor fellow.
