“No calming potion recipes yet?” Jane asked, startling Sadie out of her thoughts. “I know it is unlikely something like with the bat happens again, but I’d love to be prepared just in case. I don’t want to disappoint the baron again.”
Sadie had no idea if the grimoire she’d been flipping through contained a calming potion, but she didn’t need to find a recipe. “I found one just now, actually. The handwriting is atrocious, however. If you give me a scrap of paper, I’ll copy it out so you don’t have to decipher as you brew.”
She pushed thoughts of Nicholas from her mind and focused on the brewing room. Even if she couldn’t use it herself, it was still a haven. The scent of freshly cut and long-dried herbs, leather-bound journals, and the lemon-water that had been used to scrub the entire place down since the first time she’d been in the room put her at ease.
She didn’t need the baron to make happy memories this month.
???
“Let me seeit,” Pippa greeted Sadie when she returned to her rooms to dress for supper.
She hadn’t seen her friend since before breakfast and had no idea what Pippa was talking about. “See what?”
“The charm.”
Sadie’s hand rose to her amulet before she even processed what Pippa was saying, flattening over it. Hiding it. Protecting it. “What about my charm?”
“Not that one. The amethyst Lord Marstede gave you.”
Sadie gaped. “How do you know about that?”
“We had a conversation about it this afternoon. He wanted me to keep an eye out for an amethyst you might leave lying around. At first, I thought he was accusing you of stealing, and I gave him a piece of my mind.”
“You didn’t.” Sadie wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry.
“I most certainly did. Felt rather silly when he explained he had given you the amethyst and was afraid you’d refuse to carry it. You’ve been holding out on me.”
“I haven’t seen you since he gave me the charm,” Sadie protested.
“Yes, but there is clearly more going on than you’ve admitted, if the Baron of Marstede went out of his way to make you a protection charm and then tracked me down to ensure you’d use it.”
Sadie blushed as she remembered what had happened by the spring in the forest. More had certainly gone on, but she wasn’t ready to discuss it with Pippa. Luckily, the kiss had nothing to do with the charm. “He thinks I’m hiding from something because of all the secrets I’m keeping. He knows the amulet from my grandmother doesn’t have any power, and decided I needed a better charm.”
Pippa gave her a look. “You are obviously omitting many details. Also, speaking of your secrets, I may have accidentally let it slip that I knew you before arriving at Marstede Manor.”
Sadie waved this away. “He was going to figure out who I am eventually. He knows I didn’t arrive in a carriage, that I have no maid of my own, and that I’m borrowing his mother’s clothes.” Of course, she had hoped to last more than a week at the manor before the story Madeleine had concocted for her unraveled completely. It wasn’t Pippa’s fault. “What story did you give him? He might know I’m lying, but I’d at least like to keep the lies consistent.”
Pippa cocked her head to the side. “I didn’t give him any story. I said something about that time Mr. Ferman tried to accuse you of stealing and how that backfired on him when everyone realized Lizzy was the one wearing the expensive perfume, and Lord Marstede nodded and agreed that no one who knew you would believe you were a thief.”
“He didn’t ask any questions about when I was in Lamsdel long enough to be accused of theft?” That didn’t sound like him.
“No, but I think he was a little flustered to realize I thought he was accusing you, and he was too worried about clarifying why he wanted me to look for the amethyst to focus on it.”
“Then he’ll probably ask me the next time we talk.”
“Right.” Pippa’s eyes narrowed. “And does he talk with you a lot?”
“No more than with the other women invited to the manor.” Sadie held up a hand, cutting Pippa off before she could even begin. She didn’t need telepathy to know what her friend was about to say. “Madeleine has arranged for everyone to spend time with Nicholas both in groups and one-on-one. He’s only talking to me because he is forced to be in my company.”
“Right. And he was forced to make you a charm, too.”My best friend’s going to marry a baron!
“He’s not going to propose to me, Pippa, so don’t start building dreams around having a baroness as a friend.” Too late, Sadie realized she had responded to a thought and not what Pippa had said aloud. But her friend was too overcome with the ludicrous notion that Sadie would marry Nicholas to notice.
“He clearly favors you.”
“Even if he prefers me to all the other women—which I’m not saying is the case—he doesn’t want to marry.” He was so afraid of being forced into a marriage, in fact, that he considered kissing her a mistake.
And then he refused to leave her alone in the forest, too worried about her safety to flee her presence. Even his excuse for why he hadn’t trusted her intentions made sense, leaving her without the ability to stay mad at him. Not that understanding meant she’d allow him to blow hot and cold with her.
