“Charles!” she exclaimed, holding out both her hands to the bumpkin, who was glaring at him, Jocelyn, as if he would dearly like to take him apart limb from limb.
“Yes, Sara,” the young idiot said, finally looking at the woman who was reputed to be the love of his heart and taking her hands in his own. “I have come. You are quite safe now.”
“IHAVE COME,”CHARLESsaid again. “And in the very nick of time, it would appear, Sara. I found that fellow offensive.”
Jane had her arm linked through his and was leading him in the direction of the refreshment room. Yes, Jocelyn really had behaved rather annoyingly. He had become the Duke of Tresham even before she had introduced the two men, all haughty ennui, his quizzing glass to his eye. And when shehadintroduced them, he had spoken with faint hauteur.
“Indeed?” he had said, looking Charles over. “Lady Sara’s champion, I gather? Her trusty knight, who rode at a gallop to her rescue when she was within the very jaws of the dragon?”
Charles had swelled up almost visibly with indignation, but he had found nothing better to say than that he had been away from home at the time and that when he had arrived back it was to learn that even a Bow Street Runner had been unable to find her.
“Yes, quite so,” Jocelyn had agreed with an audible sigh before inclining his head to Jane and Lady Webb and strolling away.
To her shame Jane had wanted to laugh. She had felt nothing but dismay and chagrin at seeing Charles in Aunt Harriet’s ballroom. Surely he must have received her letter before leaving Cornwall. But he had come anyway.
“Yes, you have come,” she said. “But why, Charles, when I wrote and told you not to?”
“How could I stay away?” he asked her.
“And yet,” she said quietly, accepting the glass of lemonade he had taken off a tray for her, “you did not come when I most needed you, Charles. Oh, yes, I know.” She held up a staying hand when he would have spoken. “You did not see the point in coming when you did not know where to look. It was sensible to remain at home.”
“Yes, exactly,” he agreed. “I have come now when I can do some good. I am happy that Lady Webb has arranged this ball for you. It is only fitting that Lady Sara Illingsworth be presented to the ton. But it is unfortunate that an event such as this exposes you to every rake and fortune hunter who cares to ask a dance of you.”
“The guest list was prepared by Aunt Harriet,” Jane explained. “And every partner I have had tonight has been approved by her. You insult her by saying such a thing, Charles.”
“Well,” he said, “you were waltzing with the Duke of Tresham, Sara, and he was taking inappropriate liberties with his eyes. Besides which, he had no business leading you into a waltz of all things. He will be causing you to be called fast. I know that he had a hand in finding you and bringing you here, so I suppose Lady Webb had no choice but to invite him. But he must not be encouraged. A man such as he has no honorable intentions toward any decent woman, believe me.”
Jane sighed and sipped her drink. “Charles,” she said, “I will not quarrel with you. We have always been friends, and I am grateful that you have cared enough to come all this way. But you really must not pass judgment on people you have not even met before, you know.”
“His reputation is enough for me,” he said. “Pardon me, Sara, but you have been gently nurtured and have lived a sheltered life far from places like London. I can understand that an experience like this tonight is exciting for you. But you must not abandon your roots. You belong in the country. You would not be happy here forever.”
“No,” she agreed, smiling softly into her glass. “You are right.”
“Come home with me, then,” he urged her. “Tomorrow or the next day or next week. Just come.”
“Oh, Charles,” she said, “I do wish you had read the letter I sent. I cannot go back to Cornwall. That phase of my life is over. I hope we can remain friends, but there—”
“He is not the one for you, Sara,” he said urgently, interrupting her. “Believe me, he is not. He could bring you nothing but unhappiness.”
“Which is exactly what I would bring you, Charles,” she told him gently. “I feel a deep affection for you. But I do not love you.”
“Love is something that grows between two married people,” he said. “Affection is enough on which to start.”
She set a hand on his arm. “This is neither the time nor the place, Charles,” she said. “I have already missed one set of dances. If I do not return to the ballroom soon, I will miss another, and I would hate that.”
“We will speak tomorrow, then,” he said.
How she wished he had not come to London, she thought as he escorted her back to the ballroom. But she said no more.
Later in the evening, she was seated for supper at one of the long tables in the dining room, in company with friends and acquaintances, when Charles came to take the empty place opposite her. Jane smiled at him and introduced him to the people around them. He was quiet for a time while the rest of them chattered and laughed on a variety of topics.
Baron Pottier announced his intention of removing to Brighton for the summer, after the Season was over. It was where the Prince Regent went, and where half thetonfollowed him.
“Will you be going there, Lady Sara?” Lord Pottier asked.
“Oh, no, I think not,” Jane said. “I would rather spend the summer in the country.”
Viscount Kimble, seated at her side, caught her hand in his and raised it to his lips. “But Brighton would be empty of all attraction without you,” he told her, his eyes twinkling. “I shall simply kidnap you and take you there myself.”
