Christopher got to his feet, but Sarah grabbed his wrist. “Let her cool off before you try to speak with her.”
“How glad I am that I invited myself to dinner,” Ralph said urbanely. “I had no notion that amateur dramatics would be included. I should have brought my costume.”
Sarah cast him a dirty look. “Flames, you’re being insufferably rude and making everything worse.”
Her cousin appeared entirely unrepentant as he got to his feet. “In that case, Freckles, I shall leave you. I confess I would love tosee how the rest of this drama plays out, but it is getting dark and I have a long ride home.”
“Good riddance.”
Ralph blew her a kiss. “Good night.”
He bowed theatrically to Christopher and Margaret before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
Sarah exhaled slowly. “Oh dear.”
Margaret grabbed the sides of her face. “It is all my fault, Sarah. Please forgive me. It was just as you said; it bubbled right out of me. For so long Deborah has blamed me for what happened, but I was only trying to protect her. And now I have created just the sort of scene you said not to and besmirched my sister’s good name as well as my own.”
Christopher moved and put a hand on Margaret’s shoulder. “No. You did right looking after your little sister. I should have visited the school more. Written more letters. I should have watched over you better. I failed you both.”
“No, Chris. I am to blame. The more I tried to help Deborah, the more she resented me. I was hoping Manderfield would be a fresh start for both of us, but we have fallen into the same silly squabbles.”
“No one’s name has been ruined,” Sarah said reassuringly. “I am certain that Ralph will not breathe a word about your sister’s indiscretion with the dancing master. My cousin loves to tease, but he isn’t cruel. He would never hurt me or Deborah in that way. We need not speak of it again after tonight.”
Margaret nodded, her eyes full of tears.
Sarah stood and pulled her sister-in-law into a tight hug. “I told you to stand up for yourself, and I cannot help but be a little proud that you finally did.”
“Hear, hear!” Christopher echoed.
Margaret let out a watery chuckle.
“You protected your sister,” Sarah said, “and someday Deborah will realize that. In the future, you must protect her with your silence regarding her mistake.”
Her sister-in-law nodded again, and more tears fell from her eyes as she left the room. Sarah knew the argument had been so much larger than over a game of jackstraws. It was years of harsh words from Deborah and silent resentment from Margaret. She only wished it hadn’t come to a culmination in front of Ralph.
She turned to meet Christopher’s gaze. “I will send a letter to Ralph tomorrow and threaten him with bodily harm if he doesn’t keep his mouth shut.”
“I thought that my sisters were making progress.”
Sarah swallowed. “Maybe they both needed to say how they felt before they can move on and move forward.”
“Is there anythingyouneed to say beforewecan move forward?” he asked, his tone gentle.
She blushed as she remembered baring herself to him earlier that day. “I think sharing our secret scars this afternoon was cathartic for me, and if you are still interested, I should like to go on a short wedding trip with you after my aunt’s party. We can go and see all the canals you helped build. Because of you, I will no longer be tethered to my past.”
“What are we to do with my sisters?” her husband asked. “Please say that they are not going to accompany us on our wedding trip.”
A gurgle of laughter bubbled out of her. “They can stay with Aunt Venetia. She has a great deal of experience with girls. She had three daughters before Ralph was born.”
Christopher leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Just the two of us.”
Sarah wrapped her arms around her husband’s torso. “And hopefully we will add many more to that number.”
He raised his eyebrows but grinned underneath his beard. “Do you wish for a dozen children like your aunt Beatrice?”
“At least ahalfdozen,” she said, then lifted her face up to Christopher to be kissed.
Chapter 19
