She would not—could not—use them for herself.
???
Nicholas tried notto let his impatience show as he ate breakfast with his mother and Jane. Today, Sadie couldn’t avoid him as she had the day before. Today, she was the one set to choose an activity for them to do together. She was the one who’d be sleeping in his bed that night.
But first he had to be polite as Jane blushed whenever she looked at him and his mother insisted that they actually converse rather than scarfing down breakfast and escaping.
“And did you notice anything interesting while in his room last night?” Nicholas’s mother asked Jane with a small smile.
Jane’s cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red. “I promise I tried not to pry.”
“My dear, I am hoping you pried. That was the entire point. Now don’t be shy, what did you learn about my son after a night in his rooms?”
Nicholas refused to encourage his mother, but he didn’t want to embarrass Jane, either. So he kept his attention on his plate and did his best to let her pretend he wasn’t even there. At least his mother hadn’t asked these questions of Abigail. Now that would have been a horrible conversation to get through.
The woman had torn through his room after he and Sadie left, triggering the ward on three more of the peas she hadn’t found before her midnight trap. Not that she had mentioned them the next morning. Nor had she mentioned the mess she had made of his bookshelves or the stones she had thrown at the wall hard enough to chip the paint. All Abigail had said over breakfast was how impressed she was with Nicholas’s diverse interests.
His mother would not allow Jane that same sort of nonanswer.
The poor woman demurred a little more, but couldn’t withstand the full force of Madeleine Huxley’s gentle coaxing. Apparently Jane had learned that he liked to read—not wrong, but not really a cornerstone of his personality—and that he had a wonderful rock collection. She didn’t piece together that the rocks were experiments for his engraving. She didn’t mention finding any peas, though she had activated the wards on two of the most obviously placed ones. Overall, if he had to guess, she truly hadn’t snooped, though she hadn’t been able to resist looking at what was on display completely.
He wondered if that meant she had passed his mother’s test or not. He wouldn’t ask, though, for it didn’t matter.
Finally, their private breakfast ended. Jane left, and Nicholas jumped to his feet. “I’ll go find Sadie.”
His mother patted her lips with a napkin. “Of course. Enjoy your time with her, dear.”
Nicholas ignored the knowing smile she sent him. He had more pressing matters to deal with.
Sadie wasn’t in the main breakfast room. Nor the brewing room. Nor her suite. After agreeing to send a footman to Lamsdel—again—to acquire another item Abigail couldn’t do without and promising to look at the report his steward had sent, Nicholas convinced his butler to share what he knew. Timmons informed him that he could find Miss Pentry in the billiards room.
Nicholas didn’t waste any time, heading directly there, though he was curious why his steward had sent another report so soon after the last.
“Is this our activity for the day?” He said, watching Sadie lean over the table, her grip on the cue all wrong. He certainly wouldn’t object to spending the day being treated to such a pleasant view. Or, maybe, he could coach her through how to play, standing behind her, guiding her hands…
She straightened abruptly, the cue knocking into the red ball—she didn’t have any idea how to play—and sending it across the table. One hand rose to her throat, and he felt the power trickle into her charm as she traced the glyph hidden on the back. Power that would dissipate the instant she stopped, making him wonder what the point even was.
She shook her head. “No, it is not. I didn’t think we would start so early.”
“I am all yours, Sadie.” The words could have meant for the day. Because of his mother’s schemes and ridiculous schedule. Nicholas knew he meant more.
She returned the cue to its rack. “Well, we aren’t staying here.”
“Then you know what activity you want to do?”
She looked roughly in the vicinity of his shoulder. “I do.”
Sadie made her way past him and out into the hall without elaborating. He followed obediently behind her. It was a pleasant place to be, with the sway of her hips, the curve of her waist, right in front of him. Of course, he very much liked the view from the front, too. He tried not to think about how she had looked in the spring or on her knees or bent over the billiards table. The middle of the hallway was not the place to indulge in such thoughts.
Though trying not to think about those moments only made it harder to forget them.
Sadie sucked in a breath and suddenly pivoted. “We’re going to bake a cake.”
He blinked, his thoughts scattering. “A cake?”
She nodded forcefully.
“I didn’t know you liked baking.” He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t resist asking, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather go for a swim? You did say that was one of your favorite activities.”
