“Did your parents approve?” Sarah blurted to Alex.
“Pardon?” Alex’s brown eyes blinked.
“Did they ever expect you to marry a different man?”
“Saaaraaah,” Meg dragged out the word in a warning tone.
“No, it’s quite all right.” Alex laughed. “It was much worse than that, actually. They decided thatLaviniashould marry Owen.”
This time Sarah blinked. “Your sister?”
“Yes. It was all quite complicated, really, but worked out well in the end. Thanks to Lucy Hunt and Cassandra Swift and Lord Berkeley, actually.”
Sarah kept her face blank. She was not supposed to know anything about Lucy and Cass and Christian’s penchant for helping people. “Lord Berkeley?” she echoed in as nonchalant a voice as she could muster.
“What did Lord Berkeley do?” Meg echoed, obviously interested, too.
“He’s a dear friend,” Alex said. “I wouldn’t be happily engaged to Owen if it weren’t for him.”
“Is that so?” It occurred to Sarah that although Christian had told her he’d helped Alex, she didn’t actually know the details. Was the plot behind Alex’s engagement as outlandish as the one Lucy Hunt had concocted to save Sarah?
“What exactly did he do to help you?” Sarah prompted.
Meg leaned forward again, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Alex glanced back and forth over both shoulders, obviously to ensure they wouldn’t be overheard. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Upon my honor,” Sarah replied, crossing her fingers over her heart.
“Absolutely,” Meg agreed.
“Well,” Alex began, “Lucy and Cass decided that Owen wasn’t coming up to scratch sufficiently. He kept trying to court Lavinia because his father threatened to cut off his allowance and disown him if he didn’t. It was maddening because he and Lavinia obviously didn’t care for each other a bit. But his father insisted and my parents insisted and, well, suffice it to say it was all a mess for quite some time.”
“What did Lucy do?” Sarah asked.
Alex gave them a catlike smile and leaned even closer. “Lucy asked Lord Berkeley to pretend to be interested in me to give Owen some healthy competition.”
Sarah widened her eyes. “And he agreed?”
“Yes, he’s such a dear. A true friend.” Alex nodded. She glanced across the ballroom to where Sarah was already only too aware of the fact that Christian was dancing with Lady Claire. “Which is why I’m so pleased to see how well he’s doing this Season himself.”
Sarah nodded solemnly. “He’s quite popular, isn’t he?”
Meg elbowed her.
Alex nodded again. “This Season they’re saying he’s a legend.”
“Are they?” An inexplicable pain shot through Sarah’s chest.
“Yes, and I couldn’t be happier for him. I helped to fuel the rumors myself.” She looked positively pleased with herself. “It’s high time ladies took notice of him. He will be the most devoted husband in the world, I’ve no doubt. He deserves nothing more than to find the right young lady and settle down.”
Meg began to speak. “He seems quite nice and—”
Sarah couldn’t help herself. That ugly fiend jealousy reared its scaly little green head. “Do you think Lady Claire is the right young lady?” she blurted to Alex.
A troubled look came over Alex’s face briefly. “I’m not at all sure. We must each of us decide who is right on our own, and I daresay Lord Berkeley will know when he finds his true love. But I certainly wish him well. Lady Claire seems a nice enough girl. Do you know her well?”
Sarah shook her head slowly back and forth. “No. But she does seem nice.Quitenice.” Why had uttering those last words caused her such pain, as if she were chewing upon shards of glass?
