Sarah's Duke: and Ellie's Gentleman (The heir and the spare, book 1) (5 page)

“Not exactly, I didn’t ask her for specific details. Her dress was torn and her back was scratched, but Sarah said she fought him off before he could do too much damage.”  Imagining again what Millington had actually planned for Sarah had made him angry and his fists had clenched at his sides. He consciously relaxed them.

“Fight him off? How? She’s so small, she’d fit in your pocket.” John had as much respect for Patrick Millington as Oliver had, even before that night. They both knew him to be a nasty drunk and a stupid gambler, but a rapist of an innocent? They didn’t think he was that bad.

“Charlotte told me later that Millington had come back to the ballroom with blood around his eyes, from where she scratched him.” A smirk rose onto Oliver’s face as he imagined his little angel turning into a hellcat. Amazing

John gave a low whistle and shook his head.

“Let’s go back inside and see what my darling sister has discovered.”

They both headed back to the ballroom with a similar feeling of dread, why oh why had they come to a marriage mart event?

Three

Inside the ladies retiring room, sat two ladies, one sobbing and one consoling. Charlotte had walked into the small room and found Sarah, mercifully alone. Charlotte had taken one look at that red and tear-stained face and locked the door.

“What has happened, Miss Collins?” Charlotte reached over and began stroking her arm.

“I didn’t know... he was a... Duke,” Sarah sobbed against the shoulder offered to her. She was aware that Charlotte was a Duke’s daughter, and far above her station, but at this moment, she was grateful for the kindness being shown to her.

Charlotte laughed softly, the sound musical.

“So?”

“I... thought he... liked me,” Sarah wept through the words, unable to rationally explain why she was so upset. She shouldn’t be so disappointed, but her chest ached as though her heart was breaking.

Charlotte sighed and her shoulder slumped a little beneath Sarah’s cheek.

“So what’s wrong with that? Can’t he like you and be a Duke?” Charlotte asked gently.

“No!” Sarah jumped to her feet and stared at the beautiful woman. “You don’t understand, I wasn’t taught to worship a title, I was taught to fear and respect one.” Sarah blurted out unthinkingly. She blushed when she realized to whom she was speaking, but ploughed on nonetheless.

“People like Oliver don’t marry little nobodies like me,” Sarah added with a single tear rolling down her cheek. She wiped at it with the back of her hand and glanced towards the mirror in the corner.

It was Charlotte’s turn to jump up.

“Did he give you a reason to think that an offer of marriage was forthcoming?”

“No, of course not,” Sarah mumbled, truly embarrassed now. “I just built it up in my head after his gallant rescue the other night. I need to marry this year and he was the first person I thought might actually suit, but, oh, what am I saying? He told me he wasn’t interested in marrying in the foreseeable future, but we get along so well, and it’s so easy to talk to him.”

Charlotte was nodding encouragingly. “How can I help you?” 

“Oh Lady Charlotte, you have already been of so much assistance, I do not know how to thank you. Goodness me I have been such a trouble to you  already.” Sarah sighed and slid onto a chair. She had never been in trouble in her life and she now found herself in tears twice in two nights. What had become of her?

“I meant to ask as well, are you feeling better after last night? I’m afraid Patrick Millington has got away almost scot-free whilst you now have a reputation for being quite, shall we say, violent.” A wry smile touched Charlotte’s lips.

Sarah’s shoulders slumped further. She was feeling utterly exhausted. “Thank you for being honest about that. I can only imagine what he told people.”

“He just said you took offence to something he said and attacked him. Which all in all, isn’t too bad.”

“Considering what he actually did, then yes, not too bad.” Sarah agreed, tears welling up again and sliding down her cheeks.

“Perhaps we ought to get you home, Miss Collins.” Charlotte reached out and helped to pin up a curl that had fallen down in Sarah’s mad rush from the balcony.

“Please, call me Sarah.” She said, ignoring the protocol that suggested that Lady Charlotte, being of higher rank, must offer first.

“I would love to, and you may call me Charlotte.”

“Oh, no I could not, Lady Charlotte. I just thought considering I have soaked your beautiful dress with my tears the least I could do was offer you the option to address me by my Christian name.” Sarah sniffed sadly, wiping her face again. She felt she was so untidy.

Charlotte smiled.

“Sarah, you must definitely address me by my first name. Now let’s see if I can get my carriage brought around and you can get home before anyone spots your tears.”

Sarah’s head swung around to the mirror and was horrified to see how red and blotchy her face was. She swallowed her pride and said, “I would greatly appreciate that.”

Later that night, Sarah lay in her bed, reliving each precious moment she had had with Oliver, because she knew she would have no more. She was resigned to marrying someone else now, she had no option but to do so. She would plead a cold for a few days, adjust her expectations and start her spouse hunt again the following week.

*****

For the following three nights, Sarah didn’t attend a single event. By the third night, Oliver was desperate. He could not remember the last time he had attended so many balls in one week.  Yet he had still turned up tonight, hoping she would come out of hiding.

“She’s not here,” came a voice to his right.
Bloody Charlotte.
She stepped in front of him, looking poised and beautiful in her gown of pink silk.

“Do you know why?” He was too worried to feign ignorance. His eyes searched hers for any clues.

Lady Charlotte smiled smugly, pausing for suspense. “Of course I do.”

“Well? Are you going to tell me or do I have to drag it out of you?” Oliver demanded, raising his voice and causing their neighbours to turn their heads towards them.

“Sarah has decided she needed a couple of days off the circuit, but she intends to attend the opera tomorrow evening, as my guest.”

Charlotte said this as though she had known Sarah for years. Oliver wanted to punch his fist through a wall. Charlotte barely knew Sarah and yet
she
knew where the girl was!

“But why did she need a couple of days off? I thought she wanted to marry as soon as possible.” Oliver dropped his voice when he noticed the interested looks they were getting.

“You’ll have to ask her, I’m afraid.” Lady Charlotte smiled smugly again and Oliver had an overwhelming urge to wrap his hands around her smug neck. He knew he’d made a blunder with Sarah, but did Charlotte have to make him feel worse than he already did?

“Oh bother.” Charlotte’s eyes widened and she fluttered her fan in front of her face.

Oliver turned to look in the direction in which she was looking.

“What’s wrong?” He looked around the ballroom for something to justify her present stricken look, but couldn’t see anything.

“Here comes your sanctimonious friend.”

Oliver had never seen that particular look on Charlotte’s face before. She looked truly uncomfortable, a faint blush rising in her normally pale cheeks and her eyebrows were low and tight over her angry sparkling blue eyes.

“Archie? What’s wrong with Archie?” Oliver asked, baffled. Charlotte could not be having such a strong reaction to his quiet friend. Could she?

“He always makes me feel like I’m a tease because I have refused more than one marriage proposal. How does he even know about them?”

“Everyone knows about the men you have turned down, Charlotte.” Oliver grinned, elated that Charlotte was the one feeling uncomfortable now.

“Well, it shouldn’t be common knowledge.” Charlotte was truly scowling now and Oliver struggled to contain his laugh.

“Archie, old boy.” Oliver greeted his friend, feeling better than he had in days.

“Your Grace, Lady Charlotte,” Archie bowed politely yo them both, low enough to indicate their rank but also his intimacy to Oliver himself.

Oliver scowled at his life long friend. “If you call me Your Grace in company again, I’ll give you the cut direct.”

Archibald Turner smiled at that, the expression lighting up his rather solemn face.

“Oliver, what are you doing here? I thought you had decided one ball a month was enough? And didn’t you already fill your quota with Lady Charlotte’s ball?” Archie nodded towards Charlotte politely and she glowered in turn.

“I didn’t realize you had attended my birthday,” came Lady Charlotte’s prompt reply.

“Of course you wouldn’t. I was with your brother in the card room most of the night. Why would I need to circulate the ballroom?” Archie’s eyebrows rose with his question, which was a longer response than Oliver had gotten in years.

“Oh, I don’t know. Isn’t it good manners to greet the person for whose birthday the function was being held?” Charlotte’s eyes were fiery and Oliver noticed with interest that so were Archie’s. How strange!

“I hadn’t realized you cared if I greeted you or not, Lady Charlotte.” Archie returned politely, but his words had an edge of steel that Oliver had never heard before.

“I do not,” Charlotte snapped back. “I just assumed that, as a gentleman, you would have wanted to wish me happy birthday.” She lifted her chin and she was breathing rather quickly too. Did she really dislike Archie so much?

Archie’s brown eyes were still flickering with lightning but his face was calm and his voice polite. Oliver had always wanted the type of control Archie had. It was impressive.

“Why would I wish you happy birthday last week when your birthday isn’t until tomorrow?”

Archie raised one eyebrow and Oliver could not help chuckling softly. Archie remembered everything. His brilliant memory was one of the many reasons he did so well on the stock market.

Charlotte opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. Archie took the rare silence to continue talking.

“I assure you that you will receive your customary bouquet of flowers tomorrow which will only add to the fifty or so that I’m sure already decorate your home.” The tone, again, was polite, but Oliver noticed a tightening around Archie’s mouth.

Charlotte blushed furiously in acknowledgement of the truth of Archie’s words.

“I do not get… I do not expect…” At a loss for words, she stopped talking.

Oliver smothered his laugh with a cough and covered his mouth in an attempt to hide his smile as well. He had never seen Charlotte bested by anyone in a conversation. She had been trained by her mother, a true dragon of the
ton
.

“Excuse me,” Lady Charlotte bobbed a shallow curtsy and turned on her heel before she could say anything else.

Oliver shook his head and turned back to his friend. “What was that about? That is the first time I have ever seen Charlotte back down from a fight.”

“She probably doesn’t think I’m worth fighting with.”

Archie’s eyes were following Charlotte’s retreating figure and Oliver wondered about what he had just witnessed. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought Archie was interested in Charlotte, but he couldn’t be. Could he? Their group of friends didn’t think of her like that, having brotherly feelings towards her.

“John tells me you have shown interest in someone. Is she here?” Archie carefully pitched his voice so that no one else could hear him.

“No, she’s not. And I’m not interested in her.” He should have thought before opening his mouth.

Archie chuckled softly.

“Where is she, then?” Archie asked just as quietly.

“Not here, that is for sure. Let’s join John for a brandy in the card room. I’m in the mood for a night at the cards.”

They retreated to the card room and had a drink. Oliver didn’t stop at one drink. He gambled too much and drank more than he had in years. His plans for meeting the demi-mondaines and partying until the early hours of the morning were forgotten in the endless glasses of hard liquor. John poured him into his carriage and it was the last thing Oliver remembered. He didn’t remember getting home, he didn’t remember his butler getting him into bed. All he remembered the next day was a pounding in his head that beat to the drum of
Where is Sarah?

****

Sarah had not enjoyed her days off from the
ton
circuit. She had spent them eating pastries, and now wondered if she would fit into the expensive wardrobe her mother had invested. She had also spent the week trying not to think about a certain Duke who invaded her thoughts even whilst she slept.

She dressed carefully for the night’s festivities. She had never been to the opera before and would most likely never get to attend again. Especially not in a ducal box, which she would be sharing with Charlotte and her older brother John tonight.

“Sarah, the Duke’s carriage has arrived.” Her mother’s shrill voice rang through the house. Sarah knew her mother was more nervous than she was, if that was possible.

“I’ll be down in a moment,” Sarah called out, smoothing her dress down her slim waist and noting the roundness of her full breasts, which her opera dress did nothing to disguise.

“Good night mother,” Sarah kissed her mother on the cheek, grabbed her cloak and headed off into the night with Charlotte and her brother John.

“Good evening to you, Miss Collins,” John nodded his head slightly, as the carriage didn’t allow him to stand and make his bow.

“Good evening. Lord John. Good evening, Lady Charlotte.” Sarah breathed. Almost unable to get past the anxiety in her stomach, she grabbed for her friend’s hands.

“Oh, Lady Charlotte, what if I do something wrong? What am I meant to do at the opera? I have never been and I’m so nervous. Please tell me everything.”

Charlotte and John both laughed loudly, making Sarah blush crimson.

“You do not have to do anything other than be yourself. Walk in, watch the opera and walk out.” Charlotte smiled confidently and Sarah felt her stomach drop nervously again.