“No, I believe that Lord Coatbridge is quite finished with this conversation – as am I.”
Sara arched her eyebrow a little higher, and Lord Coatbridge gave a muttered exclamation before turning on his heel and marching back across the drawing room. Letting out a long breath, her shoulders dropping as she lowered her head a little, Sara gazed down at her clasped hands.
I cannot quite believe that Lord Stoneleigh is present.
“Lady Sara, forgive me for interrupting the conversation, but I saw Lord Coatbridge’s expression and considered him a little… angry. Given all that you have endured with him already, I did not think it fair to leave you in his company.”
“That is most considerate.” Taking a deep breath. Sara gave him a quick smile as she lifted her head. “Thank you, Lord Stoneleigh. He was very upset, to be truthful, but that cannot be helped. I spoke the truth to him and, in return, he seemed most frustrated with me.”
“I am certain that his frustration was entirely unwarranted.”
“Thank you.” Her smile was a little wry. “His frustration came from the fact that I am a little too brash for his liking, I believe. Unrelenting in my determination and unwilling to give up on anything I find important.” Rising from her chair, she stood close to Lord Stoneleigh, aware that everyone else in the room was busy with their own conversations and was not so much as glancing toward them. Her breath caught as their eyes met, the words tumbling from her lips. “And in that regard, Lord Stoneleigh, I am very glad that you are here.”
A small frown flickered across his forehead, but he did not step back.
“What do you mean?”
She took another breath, willing herself to speak honestly.
“It is to say that your lack of fortune does not push me away from you, Lord Stoneleigh. You are a gentleman well known to be quiet and considerate, and you yourself have admitted that you are not often inclined towards society. I wonder, however, how such a gentleman could have simply lost his fortune.” When his eyes flickered, she came closer still, keeping her voice low. “There is a truth to be found here and I am determined to find it, if it is what stands between us. Imustknow what has happened. I must know whether or not I have found myself considering a gentleman who is unworthy of my affections.”
To her horror, her voice cracked as she spoke, and she suddenly looked away, mortified to find tears in her eyes.
“I am not–”
She looked up sharply. Lord Stoneleigh appeared to be battling with himself for his mouth had opened and he had spoken, only for him to close it again.
“Yes, Lord Stoneleigh?”
Somehow her hand had found his, and she clung to him as he shook his head, dropping his gaze to her face.
“I amnotan unworthy gentleman. That is not to say that I deserve your affections, but rather that I have done nothing to force myself into this situation. It may sound quite ridiculous, but my fortune has beentakenfrom me. Yes, I have lost it, but not in the conventional sense. That will make very little sense to you, I know, but that is the truth.” Sara held his gaze, uncertain of what he meant, but finding her heart so filled with such a great and abject relief that she could not breathe as her eyes searched his face. “I am seeking to regain my fortune, Lady Sara, but until I have done so, until I can be assured of my success, there is nothing that I can offer you. It would be unwise for you to consider me, not when you have so many other gentlemen who are a good deal more capable than I of giving you everything which you will require.”
“But I do not have any affection for any other gentleman, aside from you. I cannot simply turn my back on that, nor on you.” Her honesty was pressing words to her mouth that she had never expected to speak, but she said them regardless. “That would break my heart, I am quite sure.”
For a moment, she feared that he was about to set her away from him again but, instead, he simply sighed, looking away before turning his gaze back towards her.
“I do not want to permit myself to feel, when I may have to release you from my company,” he told her softly, his hand still clasping hers, making her suddenly grateful for the light shadows in the room. “If it comes to it, then my lack of fortune may pull us apart. What will happen then?”
That was not a question she could answer, and Sara shrugged her shoulders.
“I cannot say, Lord Stoneleigh. What Icantell you is that it is a risk I am willing to take. I should like to hear everything about your current predicament, if you would be willing to share it with me.”
He nodded quickly, before passing one hand over his forehead.
“This is precisely the opposite of what I told myself I would do, Lady Sara.” A slight laugh escaped the edge of his mouth as Sara released his hand, glancing over her shoulder surreptitiously for fear that they had been seen. “Very well, Lady Sara. Perhaps you might like to take a walk in the park with me, tomorrow afternoon? It would be a way of making certain that we were not overheard and at the moment, that is one of my most pressing concerns.”
“I quite understand.” Relief and hope wound itself together in her heart until she felt as though she were practically dancing around the room, even though she stood quite still beside him. “I should be very glad to walk with you tomorrow.”
The smile on his face warmed the darkness in his eyes until they turned a beautiful chocolate brown. Sara’s stomach dropped to her toes, then ricocheted back up towards her heart, until she was forced to catch her breath, pressing one hand to her stomach as she did so. Did he know just how much of an effect he had on her when he smiled at her like that?
“Tomorrow, then.”
Once more, his hand reached out to squeeze her fingers, and even though the touch was brief, it was enough to set her whole body alight with a new and wonderful hope. A hope that what she had begun to feel would build into something beautiful, something momentous, and something long-lasting.
“I am looking forward to it already.”
Chapter Ten
