Isabel shook her head. “No, my dear. Just you. You could not be finer. Are you ready? I believe it’s time to join the party.”
Sarah drew a breath. She wasn’t exactly ready. She’d refused Kit’s invitation, and now she would just arrive at his gathering. Given his cool response earlier, she had no idea how he would react. And what about the others? The dukes and duchesses might be welcoming, but there would be strangers amongst their ranks tonight.
“You’ll be fine,” Meg said gently. “And you look wonderful.”
Sarah nodded and followed the ladies into the hallway. She was surprised to find that it was not empty. Phoebe stood with Adelaide, waiting for her to come out of the room. When she did, the little girl’s face lit up.
“You’re a princess,” she cooed, reaching out to stroke her fingers over the silky skirt of Sarah’s gown.
She crouched down to be closer to Phoebe and kissed her cheek. “No, lovie, I’m just me. I think you were going to help with the babies tonight, weren’t you?”
Phoebe nodded solemnly, as if she took this as a sacred duty. As she leaned in to kiss Sarah’s cheek, she whispered, “I wish you were my mama, Sarah. I don’t have a mama.”
Sarah caught her breath as she leaned away from the little girl. It was clear Adelaide had also heard the tiny declaration, for she turned her face with tears in her eyes.
Sarah caught Phoebe’s hands gently. “One day Kit will marry and you will have a lovely lady who will act as your mama, just as Kit acts as your papa now.”
Phoebe looked worried. “I want you.”
She could see the little girl was tired and anxious. So instead of arguing, she brushed her cheek and said, “Well, we’ll talk about it later. Now go and join the other children. I’m sure their nannies are looking forward to your help.”
Phoebe smiled and then skipped off in the direction of the nursery. As Sarah straightened, she shook her head at Isabel, Adelaide and Meg. “How do I explain to her that what she wants isn’t possible?”
Isabel shrugged. “Stop believing that it is. You never know what could happen. Now come on.”
Isabel linked arms with her, and the four women went down the long stairs together. At the bottom, Matthew, Graham and Simon waited together. Sarah saw their faces light up when they saw their wives. Felt the woman ripple with electric connection to the men they loved.
She understood that connection now, better than ever before. And she also mourned it more. No matter what Isabel said or what Phoebe wanted, her situation with Kit could only be a temporary one for them both. He would never feel for her the way these men felt for their wives.
And she didn’t want him to. Only that was a lie.
The duchesses stepped away to their husbands, and now the small group of them all stared at her.
“You look a vision,” Matthew said gently.
“It is all Katherine’s dress, I assure you,” Sarah said with a blush as she darted her gaze away.
“I think the world would beg to differ,” Simon said. “Now, shall we enter? Who goes first in these situations? I can never recall when we’re forced to be proper.”
“Distance to the throne, I believe,” Graham said. “So Matthew, me and then you.”
“I think you made that up so that we would go last,” Simon said with a teasing glare for Graham.
“You two,” Matthew chuckled, then led Isabel into the ballroom. Sarah heard them announced and her heart leapt to her throat. She hadn’t thought about the announcement. How would Barrymore, who knew her from below stairs, react to her? What would he say?
Her heart thudded as the next couple entered. Then Simon and Meg were all that was left between her and the room of buzzing, judging people who she had once strode to make her peers. Who all knew, she was certain, that she had gone into service for Kit. They would whisper.
“The Duke and Duchesses of Crestwood,” Barrymore intoned as Simon and Meg stepped into the room. When Sarah stepped up, Barrymore jolted to see her and then glanced down at his notes.
“Er, the Duke of Kingsacre requested I join the party,” she said softly.
“Of course. Hero of the hour and all that,” Barrymore said.
Sarah worried her lip. Of course that was why, but it certainly burst the princessy bubble she’d allowed herself to float in.
“Miss Sarah Carlton,” he announced, his booming voice interrupting her trailing thoughts.
She caught her breath and stepped into the room. All around her, people turned to look at her. She felt their eyes on her, their judgments, and then none of it mattered. Because she caught sight of Kit across the room.
