Relief flooded over him like a broken dam. He wanted a real marriage with Sarah and several children too. His betrothed was simply being cautious, something he respected, from hisbusiness experience. “Very well. I will ensure that both my will and the marriage settlements are clear on that matter.”
“Excellent,” Sarah said. “Then, we can marry as soon as you obtain the special license.”
Christopher was about to speak when he heard a man’s voice.
“Freckles, there you are.” A young, redheaded gentleman walked to them, eyeing Christopher, and then angled himself so that he stood between Christopher and Sarah. He was several inches taller than Christopher and looked down on him in more than just height. The slender man was dressed elegantly and clearly thought he was much better than Christopher.
He flexed his arm muscles without thinking. The gentleman may be taller, but Christopher was broader in the chest and much stronger than this frippery fellow. Christopher had dug more than a hundred canals and was more than willing to sport his canvas.
The man touched Lady Sarah’s arm, and Christopher saw red. “Is this man bothering you, Sarah?” the odious man said.
“Mr. Moulton, this is the Honorable Ralph Randolph, my cousin,” Sarah said, stepping to the side of her cousin to give Christopher a reassuring look. “Mr. Moulton is the new owner of Manderfield Hall and my b-betrothed.”
“Sir,” Christopher said curtly, nodding. Resentment crawled up his spine. Christopher was not a lord or an honorable. His family wasn’t aristocracy or gentry. They were as common as bread. His fortune had been made in the digging of canals.
The Honorable Ralph Randolph looked from Sarah to Christopher and back, then shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”
“You don’t have to,” Sarah said, crossing her arms. “It is none of your affair.”
Ralph’s eyes bulged. “My mother is waiting for you inside, Sarah. You should go to her.”
Sarah pushed back her shoulders in apparent defiance. “You are not my keeper, Ralph. I will come into the house when I am ready. And you have yet to acknowledge Mr. Moulton, whose manners, might I add, are much better than your own.”
“My mother is waiting for you,” Ralph said sharply, his grip on Sarah’s arm tightening. “And for the second time in two days, she is sure that you are lost. After what happened toyourmother, I would think you would be more considerate to mine.”
Christopher wondered what had happened to the late countess. By the sound of it, something terrible.
Sarah jerked back from her cousin as if she’d been slapped, and thedishonorable Ralph Randolph released his viselike hold on her arm. She recovered her countenance enough to smile at Christopher. “I look forward to seeing you very soon, Mr. Moulton. Thank you for calling on me.”
She curtsied and then took her cousin’s arm and dragged him away from Christopher, as if to prevent the two of them from fighting. “Come, Ralph. Let us go assuage your mother’s doubts about our safety. She’s probably worried about you too.”
Ralph glared over his shoulder at Christopher, but Sarah did not let go of his arm.
Alone, Christopher walked slowly back to the front of the mansion, where the groom from before was waiting with his horse. Christopher swung up into the saddle and prayed that he would not regret today’s decision.
Chapter 5
Ralph tried to pull hisarm away, so Sarah tightened her hold and pinched his bicep with her other hand. She got mostly coat, but she was happy to see him squirm. She had never been so furious with her cousin. A footman opened the door to the morning room, a bright calico-striped parlor with comfortably stuffed furniture.
Aunt Venetia stood and opened her arms to Sarah again. “Oh, my dearest niece, you were not stolen by bandits.”
“I am certain the bandits would have returned her after a few hours and have gladly paid us a ransom to keep her,” Ralph said sardonically.
Groaning, Sarah gave Ralph one last pinch before releasing his arm and embracing her aunt. Her cousin always brought out her most pettish behavior. Aunt Venetia’s hug was nearly as tight as Sarah’s grip on Ralph’s arm. She felt her throat closing up, as if all the air was being squeezed out of her.
“Sarah, I do not mean to keep you wrapped in cotton,” Aunt Venetia said, hugging her a second time. “I just get so worried when I don’t know where you are.”
Forcing herself to smile, Sarah stepped back. “I appreciate your concern, Aunt, and I am sorry if I caused you any anxiety, but I simply wanted to arrange some flowers in your hall.”
Aunt Venetia nodded, placing a hand on her chest. “They are beautiful. I saw your flower basket, but I couldn’t find you. And then this dreadful premonition came over me, and I sent Ralph to find you. I thought you had vanished like my sister.”
“Your premonition was partially correct,” Ralph said caustically. “Sarah’s gone and engaged herself to a perfectstranger. A cit, of all things. I’ve heard around Town that this Moulton fellow is some sort of canal worker—a manual laborer.”
Aunt Venetia’s already expressive features seemed to enlarge at this statement. Her eyes bulged, her mouth gaped, and even her nostrils flared. “Engaged to bemarried? Our Sarah?” She turned her incredulous face from her son to her niece. “Well ... isn’t that wonderful!”
Sarah tried to force a smile again, and she nearly managed it.Wonderfulwas not quite the right word for marrying a stranger;resolvedwas a better one. “I had hoped to break the news to you more gently, dearest Aunt. But my cousin is correct. Mr. Moulton and I are engaged. I believe the union is in both of our best interests.”
Tipping her head to the left, her aunt asked, “Whoever is this Mr. Moulton?”
