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Tut-tutting, Musgrave reached for his cane. “I will never recover from this, Sabrina. We must return home, immediately.”
She winced. “Father, I’m so—”
“I knew we should never have come tonight.” Musgrave threw an angry glance at Graeme. “Full of riffraff, did I not say?”
Chloe gave Sabrina a gentle embrace. “Perhaps it’s best if you take your father home, my dear.”
“I’m so very sorry,” Sabrina forlornly said to Graeme when Chloe released her.
He had to repress the instinct to fold her into his arms and cuddle her. “Don’t fash yourself, my lady. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Indeed not,” Dominic said. “And please know that I will do everything possible to recover your pearls.”
“I should hope so, Sir Dominic,” Lord Musgrave said as he took his daughter’s arm. “You can be sure the king will hear about this. He will bemostdispleased.”
Dominic tactfully ignored the annoying comment. “Let me escort you downstairs.”
“I would hardly be surprised if we were murdered on the way out to the carriage,” Musgrave fussed.
“You needn’t worry.” Dominic threw Graeme a sardonic glance. “The situation is now well in hand.”
No thanks to youwas what that glance silently conveyed.
Dominic solicitously escorted Lord Musgrave out of the box, Sabrina trailing behind. Before she disappeared, she looked over her shoulder at Graeme and mouthedI’m sorry. Regret darkened her peacock-blue gaze, probably for once more cocking up his mission.
But he thought he saw something more, too, and it mirrored the emotion bumping around in his chest. It was an odd kind of sadness, because he was damn sure he would never see Lady Sabrina Bell again. After tonight’s debacle, her father wouldn’t let her anywhere near him.
Not that it mattered, he supposed.
Chloe sank into her chair. “That went well.”
“Ugh, dreadful.” Vivien flopped dramatically into an empty seat. “Poor Sabrina. I don’t mean to be rude, but her father is an unbelievable fusspot.”
“He’s a complete chucklehead, if you ask me,” Graeme said.
“No one asked you,” Dominic said as he stalked into the box. He took the seat next to his wife and eyed Graeme with disfavor. “While Lord Musgrave can sometimes be a difficult man, his concerns were quite justified. His daughter was placed in harm’s way, and that was our failure.”
There were few people who could intimidate Graeme. His brother, Nick, was certainly one, as was Aden. But neither had a patch on Dominic Hunter in that regard. Dominic’s disapproval made Graeme want to slink out of the box and disappear into a deep hole, preferably on the other side of the world.
Suddenly weary from too many nights prowling about London trying to solve this bloody case, Graeme dropped into the chair next to Vivien. It creaked ominously under his weight.
“Try not to break the chair, dear,” Vivien said, almost automatically.
“He’ll be lucky if Aden doesn’t break it over his head,” Dominic said. “This was not how either of us expected the evening to conclude.”
“Nor did I,” Graeme muttered.
He’d fully expected the evening to end in victory. The opposite had occurred, thanks once again, to Sabrina’s inadvertent and disastrous timing. Fortunately, the lass had kept her head, responding with courage and even a bit of defiance. Sabrina frustrated the hell out of him, but she was brave, funny, and kind, and he should have done a better job of protecting her.
“Graeme feels bad enough,” Chloe said, reaching forward to pat him on the shoulder. “And I’m certain Sabrina doesn’t blame you at all, dear boy.”
“I should hope not, since she’s the one who was wandering about alone.” He shook his head. “That was daft.”
Vivien winced. “My fault, I’m afraid. I distracted Chloe and left Sabrina on her own. I do wish she’d waited for us.”
“Yes, that was quite odd of her,” Dominic said.
“I have an idea why she wandered off,” Chloe remarked in an amused tone.
