AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Pity and resentment made an uncomfortable mixture, Kenver noted. They roiled together in the stomach. He rose. “I will keep this document and go over it with Papa.”
His mother reached out. “No! Give it back.”
“We will give it due consideration,” Kenver replied. Which was none, he added silently. That was all it was due.
“You will be sorry if you oppose me!”
He was already sorry, for a number of things. Though not that one. Kenver left his mother’s parlor. This was not a matter he could solve alone.
“We are going to have to speak to Mama together,” Kenver said to his father and Sarah later that day. He’d gathered them in the earl’s bedchamber when the nurse had gone for her dinner and his mother was dressing for theirs.
His father was clearly uneasy, Sarah thought. She had not wanted to come. She’d seen the document Lady Trestan had prepared. It was insulting to her, but hardly a surprise after all that had passed between them. Dealing with it seemed a matter for the Pendrennons.
“You are to be carried down to the drawing room tomorrow, Papa,” said Kenver. It was to be the earl’s first foray from his room. “We will do it then.”
“So soon?” His father grimaced. “I’m still feeling poorly, you know. I wonder if I can go downstairs after all.”
Sarah understood his response. She didn’t want to face Lady Trestan’s wrath either.
“Won’t it be better to get it over?” Kenver asked.
“I suppose.” This sounded more like a question than a statement.
“Before Mama thinks of some other scheme?”
Sarah saw that hit home. Lord Trestan sighed.
“I am prepared to take the lead, Papa. You need only stand by me.”
“She gets so very angry,” his father replied.
“She will be angry at me.”
The earl looked unconvinced.
“I don’t see why I should come,” Sarah began.
“I hope you will,” Kenver responded.
“He is doing this for your sake,” his father unexpectedly told Sarah. “He would never have dared otherwise.”
Sarah met Kenver’s hazel eyes and saw that this was true. He was facing the anxieties of a lifetime because he loved her. She felt the strength of that bond stretching between them, woven by laughter and daily challenges, interests that intertwined, and tender caresses in the dark. Her heart swelled. If he could dare for her, she could do as much for him, even though she was afraid. She nodded.
“You do things for each other,” said the earl. He looked at Sarah. “You got the medicine for me because you care for Kenver.”
It seemed unkind to agree, so Sarah said nothing.
“I am happy to see it.” Lord Trestan sounded wistful, which made Sarah notice how pale and shaky he remained. His chin slowly came up. “I can do as much for my son. I can play my part.”
Kenver looked moved. He nodded to both of them. “So, Mama will see that we are agreed and cannot be separated out and persuaded. That is the only way this will be settled once and for all.”
“I am going to order dinner in our rooms,” Sarah declared. “I cannot sit in the dining room tonight.”
The following morning, once the earl was settled in the drawing room, they sent a footman to invite Kenver’s mother to join them. She had not bothered to see the earl carried down, and Sarah wondered if she would come. But after an interval to show that she would not be peremptorily summoned, she did.
“What is this?” she asked when she entered. Clearly she had not expected to see Sarah.
“We wanted to have a family talk, Mama,” said Kenver.
