The Seduction of Sara (25 page)

Frozen, Nick stood staring at the open door. His life was over. Nothing mattered now. He would see to the restoration of Hibberton Hall and leave it to Sara along with his fortune. At least she would have something from him. Some small gesture that might let her know what she meant to him.

A slender female hand came to rest on his shoulder. “Nick,” Lucilla said, her voice brushing against his neck. “That was rather enjoyable, wasn't it? Just like when we were in Paris.”

Nick turned away. “You can go now, Lucilla. I will send a draft to your house that more than covers your gaming debts. You should be able to live quite comfortably for a while without being forced to sell yourself yet again.”

“But Nick,” she said, placing her hand on his. “Now that Sara's gone—”

“I can go straight to hell, where I belong. And you, my dear, can leave.” He strode toward the door. “Don't worry about locking up. By tomorrow, this place will be burnt to the ground.”

Lucilla blinked and glanced around at the fine furnishings. “All of it?”

“Yes,” he said, his heart as bleak as his soul. “I never want to see this place again.” With that, he turned and left.

 

Several days later, Anthony arrived on his aunt's doorstep. Damn the Elliot family and their constant squabbling. He'd been called back to London to sort out a dispute, and it had taken Delphi's missive almost a week to find him. He followed the servant to where his aunt sat waiting.

“Thank God you have come,” she said, starting up from her chair.

“Where is she?” Anthony asked.

“In her room. I vow, Anthony, I'm at my wits' end.”

“Bloody hell,” he muttered. “Have you talked to her?”

“I've tried, but she won't say a word. I had a tray taken to her room, but she won't eat, either.” Delphi took a shaky breath. “I heard what happened from a very reliable source.”

“Who?”

“That's none of your business,” Delphi snapped, then colored. “Sara caught Bridgeton with another woman. It must have been difficult for her, after Julius.”

It would have been more than difficult, especially if she'd attempted to seduce him.
Thanks to my misbegotten advice
. Anthony rubbed a hand over his face. “Maybe she'll talk to me.”

Delphi looked unconvinced. “I hope so. I'm worried about her.”

Moments later, Anthony knocked hesitantly on Sara's door. When there was no answer, he opened it. “Sara?”

He expected to see her collapsed on her bed, tears streaming from her face. Instead she was pacing, her hands fisted to her side, her face pale and tense. He closed the door behind him, then crossed to lean against the bedpost.

She slanted a furious glance his way. “If you've come to talk, you are wasting your time.”

Anthony shrugged. “I've never been one for conversation. I'm just here to keep you company.”

She crossed her arms and increased her pace. “Nicholas Montrose is a bastard.”

“I know.”

“And a…an ass.”

Anthony nodded, noting how her eyes blazed. His heart ached for her. “Shall I kill him for you?”

“No,” she snapped. “Death is too good for a man like him. Let him be alone, if that's what he wants. I want nothing more to do with him.”

“Are you certain?”

“I'm positive.” She took two more steps then came to an abrupt halt, her face crumpling.

Anthony closed the space between them, catching her to his chest as sobs wracked her body.

After an interminable time, she hiccuped to a stop. “Oh, Anthony,” she whispered. “He didn't love me. Not even a little. I thought he might come to, but—” Pain convulsed through her and she gripped Anthony's jacket and pressed her face against him.

Anthony rubbed his cheek against her hair. “Ah, sweetheart. Just forget this part of your life. Let it go.”

“I can't.”

“It will be hard, but you can do it, Sara. I know you can. One day, you'll look back on this and—”

“No, I won't.” There was quiet surety in her voice.

He pushed her hair away from her face. “Why not? You started over after Julius died. This will be the same.”

“It will
never
be the same. Never.” She raised her pain-filled eyes to his. “I'm pregnant, Anthony. I'm going to have Nick's child, and he hates the very sight of me.” With that, she dropped her head against his chest and broke into fresh sobs.

It was a pity the Earl of Bridgeton was not present at this exact moment, because Anthony would have killed him with his bare hands—as slowly and as painfully as he could. As it was, he was forced to stay with his sister and hold her until her tears finally dried.

Uncertain what to do then, Anthony ordered her to bed. To his surprise, she went, falling quickly asleep as if exhausted. He stood for a long while looking down at her, noting the bluish circles beneath her eyes, the sad turn of her lips even in her sleep. It was painful, he knew. But perhaps it was for the best.

Anthony bent over and kissed his sister's cheek, then turned and quietly left the room.

A
week passed before Sara declared herself ready to leave the house. After careful consideration, Delphi chose the Boswells' dinner party. It was to be a very small, select sort of party with only ten couples present. After dinner, a musical performance by Lady Boswell was to serve as the evening's entertainment. All in all, Delphi thought it was the perfect event for Sara to make her reappearance.

Lady Boswell, a large, imposing woman who wore a turban, fixed her cheerful gaze on Sara. “Lady Bridgeton, what a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I say that you are even prettier than was reported?”

Sara managed a smile. “Thank you. Aunt Delphi has told me so much about you, as well. I hear we are in for a rare treat this evening.”

“Well, never let it be said that I don't know how to entertain, be it a countess or a princess. Speaking of which, we have some relatives of yours coming this evening. I doubt you've met them yet, for they've been in the country for a while and everyone knows that—” A stir at the door made her look up. “Ah, there they are now. If you'll pardon me, I must greet them.” She turned to meet two new visitors.

Sara watched as Lady Boswell greeted a tall, slender woman dressed in the height of fashion and wearing a pair of spectacles. But it was the man beside her that caught Sara's attention. She could only see him from behind. Tall and well formed, with hair as black as night, he reminded her of someone.

Sara was just about to ask Delphi for his name when he turned her way. Her heart contracted painfully. With the exception of his dark coloring, the man looked exactly like Nick.

Lady Boswell brought the newcomers over and introduced them. Sara knew immediately that this was Nick's cousin. She glanced curiously at the viscountess and encountered such a frank look from the woman's amazing green eyes, that she colored and dropped her gaze. Uncomfortable, she mumbled her greeting and made her escape as soon as possible.

The rest of the evening was agony. Sara could not look away from Lord Hunterston. After dinner, she thankfully escaped to the music room and took a seat in the farthest corner, hoping she could escape the poignant reminder of her husband.

Lord Boswell, a bluff, pleasant man with a loud
laugh, escorted his wife to the pianoforte and made ready for the evening's entertainment. Sara saw to her dismay that Viscount Hunterston was sitting near the front of the room with Aunt Delphi, directly in her line of sight. Almost moaning, Sara closed her eyes.

“Alec looks amazingly like your husband,” said a voice to her side.

Sara jerked her gaze around and found herself looking into the deep green eyes of the viscountess. “Yes,” Sara heard herself say. “Yes, he does.”

“Quite disturbing, in a way. But then, one doesn't think of ‘Bridgeton' and ‘comfort' in the same sentence.”

The viscountess's voice held a touch of an accent, but Sara couldn't place it. “I'm sorry if I've been staring.”

“Oh, Alec is used to it. No one can see the two of them without commenting on the similarities. It is even more pronounced when they are together.” She looked at Sara and offered a frank smile. “Devilishly handsome, aren't they?”

Sara found herself returning the smile. “Far more than is good for them.”

“Exactly what I've been telling Hunterston for years now. Since we are family, I wish you would call me Julia. I still don't care much for titles and all that. I'm an American, you know.”

“Only if you'll call me Sara.”

“What a pretty name! I must say, you caught us by surprise. We've been in the country and didn't realize Bridgeton had returned. Or married, for that matter.”

“It wasn't really his decision,” Sara said, then colored when Julia raised her brows.

“Don't look like that,” Julia said. “It wasn't Alec's decision, either. But it was good for him, nonetheless. Where is Bridgeton?” She turned her sharp gaze around the room as if she expected Nick to step out from behind the curtains. “I can't see him just leaving you to wander about without him.”

Sara's expression must have given her away, for Julia immediately patted her hand and turned the topic. When the viscountess revealed she had just three months ago given birth to her second child, Sara's curiosity was caught and she found herself asking an unusual number of questions. Catching a speculative gleam in the viscountess's eye, Sara feared that she had revealed far more than she meant to.

The musical performance finally started. Julia remained with Sara throughout, including the pause for refreshments, and told her a great deal about the entire Hunterston household. The party broke up as soon as the entertainment ended.

As Julia and her husband returned home in their carriage, she said, “That was a lovely evening.”

“The soup was cold, the meat overcooked, and the pianoforte out of tune.”

“Besides
that,
it was pleasant.”

“Hmm,” he said in a noncommittal voice.

Her gaze narrowed. “In fact, I thought the company made the gathering especially interesting.” When her husband didn't respond, she said pointedly, “Didn't you?”

Alec pulled his hat over his eyes, then crossed his arms as if preparing to nap.

Julia moved to his side of the carriage. “I spoke at length with Lady Bridgeton.”

Her husband pushed his hat back and sighed. “Lady Langtry seemed to think there is a rift between them. A permanent one, to judge by the way she mentioned it.”

“We can't let that happen. Sara is despondent. And with a baby on the way…” She bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears.

“Julia, you cannot expect me to get involved in Nick's business.”

“He's your cousin, Alec. The only family you have.”

“Do you remember what he tried to do to you?”

“Do you remember how your grandfather treated him?” she countered. “What his mother was? How you believed him a thief and worse? You were wrong then, and you are wrong now.”

“He's not worth the effort.”

“Sara thinks he is.”

Alec made an impatient noise. “Julia, I am not going to visit Nick and that is that. Besides, we're leaving in the morning.”

“Then go and see him now.” She leaned against him, looping her arms about his neck. “Alec, please. If you won't do it for Nick, then do it for the baby. Find out what is wrong and see if you can set it straight.”

He could never refuse Julia when she pleaded for one of her lost causes. Sighing heavily, he took her hand and placed a kiss on it. “Very well.”

Still, he couldn't help but wish to hell that Nick had stayed in France.

 

“I'm sorry, but His Lordship is not at home,” the elderly retainer announced.

Alec shoved his hat and gloves into the man's hands. “He will be home for me.”

“But sir—”

“I am His Lordship's cousin, and he will be most distressed if you do not give me entrance.” To Alec's surprise, the butler regarded him suspiciously.

Alec sighed. “Look at my face. See the resemblance?”

The butler peered at him, squinting in a horrendous fashion. “My eyes aren't as good as they used to be, but I don't think—”

“Damn it.” He stepped past the butler and cupped his hands to his mouth. “
NICK!
”

“My lord, please!” the butler said.

Alec had just cupped his hands to his mouth again when he heard a door to his right open.

“What—” Nick stood in the doorway, his shirt undone, his face shadowed and lined with fatigue. “Hunterston. What the hell do you want?”

“Julia sent me.”

Nick turned, slamming the door closed behind him.

Alec winked at the butler, then followed Nick into the room.

“Bloody hell,” Nick muttered as he dropped into a chair. “What have I done to deserve this?”

Alec noticed that a half-empty bottle of brandy sat on the table at Nick's elbow, but no glass was in sight. “I met your wife last night.”

An arrested expression crossed Nick's face.

“She looked fine—or as fine as can be expected. Do you mind if I sit?”

“As if you'd remain standing if I said no.”

Alec grinned. “True.” He picked up a glass lying on its side on the desk, then sat in a chair across from Nick.

After a noticeable pause, Nick handed him the bottle. “Where did you see Sara?”

“At a dinner party. Julia was quite taken with her.” Alec poured himself a healthy measure of brandy and passed the bottle back to Nick. He wasn't interested in drinking at this hour, but the more he put in his glass, the less would be in Nick's bottle. “Of course, Julia is taken with every creature in need.”

“Sara's not a charity case,” Nick said harshly. “I saw to that. And she'll have this house, too, once—” He broke off, his mouth clamped shut.

Alec raised his brows. “Once what?”

Nick didn't answer. Instead, he stared down at the bottle in his hand. “From the first moment I saw her, I wanted her. But not as a wife. As a mistress.”

“Then why'd you marry her?”

“A rare moment of altruism. That, and she has a brother the size of a mountain. Several, in fact.”

“I can't imagine either of those things affecting you.”

Nick shrugged. “However it was, I married her and then…” He lifted the bottle in a silent salute, then took a long drink. “And then I found I'd made an even greater mistake.”

Alec knew this story all too well. “Something changed.”

Nick's mouth curved into a sneer. “Don't look so pleased with yourself, Hunterston. I'm not completely besotted. Just somewhat.”

“I see.” Julia had been right. Alec marveled at his wife's ability to ascertain people's needs with the barest of conversations. “Julia thinks Sara cares for you, Bridgeton.”

“She…No, it doesn't matter. I can't have her.”

“Don't be an idiot. She's your wife.”

“She's everything. But if she stayed with me, I would just hurt her.” Nick's mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “So here I am, alone in my grand house, waiting for the end, while the only woman I'll ever love is only three miles from my bed.”

This was a different Nick indeed, Alex realized with surprise. When Nick had first come to live at their grandfather's, they'd been close, almost like brothers. Unfortunately, that had all changed when their grandfather had accused Nick of theft and Alec had blindly believed the old man. It hadn't been true, and that one moment of doubt had killed the warmth between them. “What happened between you and Sara?”

“Why do you care?”

“I don't. But if I go home to Julia without a complete explanation, my life will be hell.”

“I'm already there.” Nick sighed and leaned his head against the back of his chair. “I sent her away.”

“Why?”

“Because I don't want her to see me become my mother.”

Alec frowned at the bleakness in Nick's voice.
“Your mother was addicted to laudanum. How could you possibly become like her?”

“She suffered from headaches—just as I do. The laudanum came later, to kill the pain.”

“Are the headaches that bad?”

“God, yes—and getting worse. I can fight it now, but the day will come when I cannot. Alec, I can't let Sara see me like that.”

“I see. And what will you do about your child?”

At first, Nick thought he'd heard incorrectly. But Alec's steady gaze told him otherwise. “
God, no
.” He bolted from his chair. “She can't be! I sent her away as soon as I realized—” He sank back into his chair and dropped his head in his hands.

Alec swore. “You didn't know.”

Nick stared with unseeing eyes at the floor, the room shimmering out of focus. All week he'd dreamed about Sara, yearned for her with a burning that never lessened. He feared it was only a matter of time before he weakened and went after her, and he prayed she'd hate him enough to resist him. “How far along is she?”

“I don't know. Julia just said…Maybe she's wrong, Nick. Julia sometimes assumes things and it's possible—”

“No. She wouldn't make a mistake like that. Bloody hell.” Nick pressed his hands over his eyes. “But I don't want her to see me when—”

“Damn it, Nick, don't you understand what marriage is all about? You made the vows. You promised to be with each other forever. No matter what happens to you, no matter what happens to her, you are
together
. It's not fair for you to shut her out just because you fear something is going wrong.”

“You don't understand—”

“Like hell I don't. Every man fears dying, Nick. But you don't know when, and you don't know how. You could get thrown from your horse tomorrow and break your neck.” Alec shrugged. “And Sara might fall down the stairs and—”

“
No!
” Nick surged from his chair, the image of Sara's broken body flashing before his eyes. “Damn you, Alec. Get the hell out of here!”

His jaw taut with anger, Alec rose. He went to the door and then paused, his hand on the knob. “Think about it, Nick. You can live your life wishing for what you don't have, or you can accept the many gifts you already possess. The decision is yours.”

Nick closed his eyes as Alec's steps retreated down the hallway. His mind raced, flickering through a thousand possibilities.

Perhaps Sara had been right about his headaches. Perhaps there
was
a cure, or at least a way to lessen the pain. He was afraid to hope, but for Sara, he would at least try. He owed it to her and their unborn child.
His child
.

Every fear he'd ever had congealed in his breast, pressing against his heart, suffocating him. “Oh, God, no.” The words slipped from his stiff lips, an agony and a cry.