She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Well, your father was an idiot. And I’m glad I pulled a sword on you if it kept you from being uncomfortable around me. I’m also sorry to have been improper and used your given name.”
Christian grinned at her. He desperately wanted to revive the lightheartedness they’d had earlier. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve seen you eat bacon in your dressing gown, and now you know a very humiliating secret about my past. I’m certain we can survive calling each other by our given names.”
She pressed her handkerchief to her nose and laughed. “I believe you’re right. You may call me Sarah. When we’re alone, of course.”
“Of course.” He winked at her. “Very well, my lady. Before I shared that less-than-entertaining tale, you were telling me that we must examine my speech. Tell me, what is the matter with my speech?”
“Oh, no. I didn’t mean your speech. That is to say, thewayyou speak. I meant the content of what you say.”
“Ah, I see.”
“There may, of course, be nothing the matter with it. But I’ll have to examine it.”
“How, precisely, do you propose we do that?”
“Well.” She cleared her throat. “Let us pretend that you are at a ball and you are asking me to dance. We’ve met, but only once.”
She stood and made her way to the corner, where she began to have an earnest conversation with absolutely no one.
Christian watched her and scratched his head. “What are you doing?”
She glanced back at him. “I’m pretending to be speaking with my friends. Come over and interrupt us.”
Christian exhaled his breath. He’d already learned that Lady Sarah was a bit unusual, but if the woman could help him attract a proper wife, he’d try anything. He stood, grabbed a coat from the pile on the sofa, put it on, pulled on the lapels, and strode over. “Good evening, Lady Sarah. May I have this dance?”
She glanced at him over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes at him. “Good evening, Mr. Forester. Have you met my friends, Lady Kate and Lady Mary?” She gestured to her imaginary friends.
“I have not, but I am here to askyouto dance,” he continued.
Sarah stopped, turned, and put her hands on her hips. “See, right there. That was shortsighted of you.”
Christian frowned. “You said a lady likes to be singled out.”
“Yes, but her closest friends are the ones to whom she will speak about you after your dance. If you aren’t solicitous of them, they will not like you and will not say particularly kind things.”
His frown deepened. “Should I ask them to dance, too?”
“Certainly not. Then the lady you are attempting to court will not know whom you are interested in.”
Christian shifted his weight to his right foot and stuck out his left one. “Does this honestly make sense to all of you?”
Sarah blinked at him innocently. “Of course it does. And it would make sense to you, too, if you would pay attention.”
“I don’t see how it can possibly—”
“Try again,” she interrupted.
Christian gave her a thunderous expression but walked away, turned, grabbed his lapels again, cleared his throat, and walked back. “Good evening, Lady Sarah, Lady Kate, Lady Mary. A pleasure to see you all this evening.”
“Good evening, Mr. Forester,” Lady Sarah replied, batting her eyelashes again.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Bat your eyelashes at me. It’s distracting.”
“The lady you’re courting may well be distracting to you. In fact, she’d better be distracting or you probably ought not to court her.” Sarah’s tinkling laughter followed. That was distracting, too.
