“Well then, sit to put me at ease. You do look much better, but you had me worried before.”
Sadie sat down next to his mother, and Nicholas knew he should make his excuses and leave them to their conversation. Instead, he reclaimed his seat across from them. “What brought you downstairs when you were supposed to be resting, Sadie?”
Her jaw clenched, and then she very deliberately ignored him. “Madeleine, I couldn’t rest because I was thinking about something that I fear needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.”
“And what is that, dear?”
“Lenora. The incident with the bat terrified her, and then Abigail’s talk of curses and demons made it worse. She doesn’t feel safe in Marstede, and I don’t think any number of reassurances can make her feel safe. Pippa mentioned that her maid was talking about sending a note home to ask for their carriage to come pick her up early. I was wondering if you could offer her your own carriage and save her family the trip.”
Nicholas kept his lips locked. This was not a conversation for him to jump into with his enthusiasm for sending a guest home. He probably should have left and let Sadie broach the topic with his mother alone. But he hadn’t known what she was going to talk about, and honestly, had rather expected her to kick him out of the room when he didn’t take the hint and leave on his own.
“I suspect you are right,” his mother told Sadie. “I’ll offer the carriage to Lenora. Best if I do so now, that way we can make all the arrangements as soon as possible.”
She patted Sadie on the hand and rose. Nicholas looked up as his mother walked past and met her eyes. “Let me know if I need to write a letter to her father.”
She squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll write to her mother. I think that will go over better, but thank you, Nicky.”
A few moments later, he and Sadie were alone in the parlor. At which point, he realized his mother had conveniently escaped their earlier conversation. “Damn it.”
Sadie raised a brow. “I thought you’d celebrate having one fewer guest at Marstede.”
“Not that. Mother never answered my question about who she intended for me to marry.”
Sadie’s brow furrowed. “Isn’t the entire month meant to help you pick a bride?”
“This is Lady Madeleine Huxley we are talking about. She knew exactly who she intended me to pick before she sent the first invitation.” Except, she didn’t seem to mind that Nicholas only had eyes for Sadie, who had never been intended to be a guest.
Sadie nodded. “Not Lenora or Abigail. The other three, however, I could all see as possibilities.”
“What about yourself?”
She laughed. “I am not meant to win the prize.”
Nicholas couldn’t help it. He smirked. “You consider me a prize, then?”
She shook her head, still laughing. “The title,Nicky. You must know the prize is your title.”
He did know. He also didn’t have to ask to know that Sadie didn’t care about his title. “I’m never going to marry someone who only wants my title.”
That had been his vague plan, originally. When the time came, he’d pick a bride who’d only say yes because of his title and would hopefully cause as little disruption to his life as possible. But he knew that would never satisfy him now.
In fact, he strongly suspected only one person would satisfy him now.
He stood up and prowled across the space between them, causing Sadie to watch him with wide eyes. He stopped directly in front of her and leaned down, placing a hand on the back of the settee beside her and lowering his lips to her ear.
She sucked in an audible breath.
“Too bad for them; you are the only one who could win the prize. I’ve made up my mind, Sadie. Now you have to make up yours.”
“Nick—” She gulped.
He wasn’t sure if she had meant to shorten his name or if her voice had failed her partway through, and he didn’t really care. Both options appealed. He didn’t pull back, but he did slap a ward over the parlor door, just in case. “Yes, Sadie?”
“You … I … we …”
He chuckled. He rather liked making her speechless. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
More importantly, she wasn’t going anywhere. Nicholas was eighty percent certain she lived in Lamsdel. Even if she didn’t trust him enough to share her secrets by the end of the month, he’d still have the opportunity to convince her.
