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Chapter 14
“Goodnight, Father,” Sarah said, gently kissing him upon the cheek.
Lord John took Sarah’s hands in his own. “I understand why you have a fondness for the man.”
Sarah’s mouth dropped open. He was most definitely referring to Reginald.
“We merely are enjoying the polite conversation.”
“Promise me one thing,” he said.
“Yes?”
“No more accidental encounters while you’re unaccompanied. I don’t want to hear of any more of it.”
“It’s harmless, Father.”
“Your honour is at stake, Sarah.” He eyed her intently. “And you know it.”
With that, Lord John kissed Sarah upon the forehead and departed up to his room.
Sarah heaved a sigh. Lisbeth had already gone to bed, and most of the other nobles had departed to their rooms. Sarah recalled the offer from the Earl of Buckland to meet him in the library. She bit her lower lip, knowing that it was past question the wrong thing to do, but Sarah could not help herself.
She gently turned and made her way to the library, trying to walk as silently as she possibly could. Reginald was harmless. There was no reason to be concerned. Yet still, there was a deep need within Sarah’s breast to spend time with him, to have meaningful conversations, and delight in his company.
Sarah promised herself it would be the last time.
Stepping into the library, Reginald was standing by the fire, and upon hearing Sarah’s entrance, he turned to her, a warm expression upon his face.
“Your music was intoxicating. I can’t banish it from my mind.”
“I learned to play from a very young age. I haven’t played in so long.”
“You should play every day.”
Sarah smiled. “I used to. Lisbeth and I took turns, although she complains that she never really had the skill for it. I would play for hours and hours, feeling light as air. But these days, I’m sent off to balls and fetes and simply don’t have the time.”
Reginald stepped in. “You deserve a life where you have all the time that you desire for yourself.”
Sarah nodded her head. “That is the life that I crave. Unfortunately, that is not the life I’ll be afforded while married to the Duke of Faversham.”
Concern was written on Reginald’s face. “That is understandable.”
“So you see why it is that I proceed with caution when it comes to these matters.” Sarah looked down to the ground, clasping her hands in front of her.
“Will you do me the honour of being seated by the fire with me?”
Sarah replied with a hushed tone, “That would be lovely.”
Reginald helped Sarah to lower herself in front of the fire, and then he sat in much the same way as he had before. Sarah felt increasingly comfortable in the earl’s presence—so much so that she wondered if she should be concerned. Did Lord Reginald cast some sort of magic spell upon everyone he encountered? It was beginning to seem like it.
“I very much enjoyed the picnic this afternoon and the supper,” Sarah said, trying to distract herself from Reginald’s handsome face.
“I enjoyed them, as well. I didn’t enjoy the duke orchestrating something against your will.”
Sarah closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the fire upon her skin. “It was all right, in the end. I feared that my father would be terribly cross, but as it turns out … ” She met Reginald’s gaze. “I think that he might like you.”
Reginald laughed, exposing his white teeth. “He is a good man. I think that he cares for you more than you know.”
