He bowed. “If you’ll have me.”
She laughed softly and gave a small teasing curtsy in response. “I should be honored.” She straightened. “And grateful, of course, to have a friend when we arrive at a new grand place where we do not belong.”
He couldn’t tell who she was trying to remind. Herself or him. Or maybe she wanted them both to remember.
He dipped his head in acknowledgement. “Until tomorrow then.”
Chapter 4
Rebecca fairly vibrated with excitement beside Sally. Her sister’s eager anticipation only managed to put Sally on edge. She glanced around the seemingly cavernous expanse of the drawing room, with its muffled laughter and hushed voices. Not to mention the elegant ladies and the proud, scowling gentlemen who glanced over in their direction the moment they entered.
Perhaps it wasn’t just Rebecca’s excitement that had her fidgeting with her skirts. This gown was her finest, but it was still modest and serviceable. A far cry from the silk and lace concoctions that adorned the flawless crowd of ladies before them now.
Her chin came up. She was not ashamed of who she was or where she came from, and she’d never in her life cared about the elegance of her gown.
She certainly wasn’t about to start today.
“Ah, there she is.” The earl beckoned to her from where he stood on the other side of the room and after a quick, nervous glance in Rebecca’s direction, they both headed over to where the elderly man waited.
He sized them up with one quick glance and Sally’s stomach lurched when his lips pressed together.
He’d found them lacking.
Her chin was still high as she headed toward him and the handful of men and women who surrounded him. Rather like a king at court.
“I do wish we’d had time to have new gowns made,” Rebecca whispered fretfully beside her.
Sally could only manage a murmur of agreement. Her father was far from poor, but compared to this opulent splendor around them, they might as well have come from the back alleys of London’s worst slums rather than a perfectly respectable port town.
“May I introduce Miss Sally Jones, and her sister, Miss Rebecca.” The earl went on to explain how she was Dr. Roberts’ assistant, on occasion, and how they’d been invited to attend to him while he was ill.
An older matron with a crown of blonde curls looked down her nose at Sally as though inspecting a bug under a microscope. “A gently bred young lady assisting a physician,” she sniffed. “How odd.”
All eyes were on Sally, even Rebecca’s wide eyes, and Sally fought the silly urge to look around her for Sebastian.
She was not some damsel in distress. She didn’t need a knight to come to her rescue. But he did offer friendship, and right now a friend amongst this sea of terrifying noblemen sounded awfully nice.
Her smile felt stilted and awkward beneath all the curious stares. “Our father encouraged us to study any field of interest.”
“He rather insisted on it, actually.” Rebecca’s voice held a teasing tone and more than one gentleman in the group gave a small, indulgent smile in return.
Rebecca had that effect on people. She was only one year younger than Sally but everything about her spoke of youth and innocence and something feminine and delicate that Sally would never possess.
“How curious.” This from the younger blonde woman standing next to the matron. No doubt her daughter.
A moment later, as the introductions were completed, Sally was proven correct. The matron and her daughter were Lady Gertrude and her daughter Miss Juliet Eversaw. Even Sally recognized the names and she was not one for gossip. But as Rebecca paid attention to the comings and goings of the ton, she no doubt would fill Sally in on who they were meeting and every detail of their titles and reputations the moment they were alone.
“Yes, I believe we met her father at the ball, did we not?” One of the gentlemen addressed the earl, but Sally could not miss the looks and whispers exchanged among the others.
“That ball was not...er…” Rebecca shot her a sidelong look filled with panic. “It was out of the norm, as I’m sure you’ll understand.”
A hysterical laugh caught in Sally’s throat. Out of the norm? The evening had ended with a pirate being stabbed and one of the highest ranking officers running off after being declared a smuggler.
Out of the norm was putting it mildly.
“Yes, indeed,” Lady Gertrude said as a neighboring group came to join theirs, no doubt relishing the new gossip. Gossip that came in the form of Sally and Rebecca.
Lady Gertrude sniffed and tipped her head back so she truly was staring down the length of her sizeable nose. “I recall meeting your father. It’s clear he’s a singular gentleman. But to teach you girls such useless skills seems rather cruel to me.”
Sally’s lips parted and Rebecca stiffened, but neither said anything. Defensive anger on her father’s behalf had her tongue-tied and furious. She had no doubt her cheeks were as red as Rebecca’s, though she feared her sister was suffering from mortification rather than outrage.
Even so, Sally kept her mouth shut. It would not do to cause a scene. Her father would not wish for that. And besides, one look at the older woman’s smug expression and the barely concealed delight on her daughter’s face made it clear that her outrage would only fuel their amusement. It was what they were hoping for.
Sally swallowed down a surge of outrage and fixed a placid smile on her features. “It would seem the skills our father insisted we learn have come to some useful purpose.” She turned to finally face the earl who’d yet to look her directly in the eye. Not even when he’d been requesting her presence.
She stared at him until he did so and was pleased to see the understanding there.
He’d brought her here because he needed her skills. They both knew it.
He cleared his throat. “Indeed, the young lady makes a valid point.”
Sally drew in a deep breath, but before she’d even exhaled, he changed his tune with an ingratiating smile aimed at Lady Gertrude and her daughter. “Of course, young ladies of London society would have no need of such skills. But for the daughter of a captain in this remote part of the country…” He gave his head a sad shake. “It can be no wonder that he’s taught his daughters to fend for themselves.”
There were murmurs of agreement as Sally focused on counting the number of candles in the candelabra lest she open her mouth to say something unforgivably rude.
It was not as though they were living as savages in the wild, now was it?
“Oh yes, that fort was…” The gentleman beside the earl gave a shudder. “It does your father credit that he chose to leave his position at sea for such a station as that.”
For the life of her, Sally could not make out whether the gentleman was insulting her father or complimenting him. The words said the latter but the churning vat of acid in her belly was certain it was the former.
A quick glance at her sister showed that she was just as bewildered.
She shifted closer to Rebecca, grateful in a whole new way that her sister had been so eager to join her on this trip. At least she was not totally alone.
“At last!” Sebastian’s voice rang out over the hushed voices and the whispers that Sally feared were at her expense. When she looked over she found him beaming at her and Rebecca as though they were long lost friends.
“Didn’t we just see him not one hour ago?” Rebecca asked in a whisper that held more than a hint of laughter.
Sally too had to clamp her lips shut to hold back a laugh. It was true. It had only been an hour since he’d left them to freshen up and put away their belongings.
“I was hoping to find you ladies down here,” he said. “Did I miss the introductions?”
Rebecca shot her an amused glance. He’d won Rebecca over before the carriage had even set out that morning. He’d put them both at ease as he’d filled their nervous silence with talk about the stables and the grounds, and the ball tha
t was planned for the following week.
Coming to stand between them, he addressed the group of pursed-mouth gawkers with a grin. “I assume you’ve all had the great honor of meeting our skilled and talented guests?”
Sally looked past Sebastian to exchange a quick astonished look with Rebecca. She dared not look directly at the earl, though she could sense his displeasure from where she stood.
Sebastian seemed not to mind.
“I was not aware you were such dear friends with the Jones family.” Lady Gertrude’s expression was as unamused as the earl.
“Oh, indeed,” he said, turning to face Sally and then Rebecca with the warmest most welcoming smile she’d ever seen.
Sally’s heart did some sort of fluttery move within her chest that made her frown.
What on earth was that?
“I was just telling my brother how lucky we were to have Miss Sally join us.” His smile never wavered when he looked to his father, though Sally wasn’t sure how he did not flinch in the face of his father’s scowl. “There’s nothing as important to me and my brother as our father’s health.”
Sally watched him closely. She watched the two of them as some sort of silent exchange seemed to transpire. Whatever was being said was interrupted by the younger blonde, Miss Eversaw. “Has Lord Bardon returned then?” she asked.
Sally blinked at the sudden breathiness in the other woman’s voice.
“He has already left again, I’m afraid.” Sebastian’s smile turned rigid, though Sally suspected she was the only one to notice. “Urgent business in London, you know.”
Miss Eversaw pouted prettily and Sally tried not to look at Rebecca. She had no doubt that Rebecca would make her laugh until her sides hurt tonight at bedtime when she did a spot-on impression of that pout.
But laughter would have to wait. For now they were stuck in this perpetual nightmare of awkwardness and veiled insults.
“Miss Sally, Miss Rebecca, might I take you for a tour of the grounds?” Sebastian’s gaze met hers and it was knowing. So very knowing. Almost like he could read her thoughts.
The idea was disturbing, overall, but at this particular moment his words came as such a relief that she could do nothing but nod eagerly even as one of the young ladies protested that it was getting too late in the day, that the weather was too cold and so on and so forth.
Sally held Sebastian’s gaze and willed him to read her thoughts now.
Yes. Please. Let us escape!
Whether it was telepathy or just the intensity in her widened eyes, he seemed to get the message and deftly swatted away the protests with assurances that they would not be long and he would ensure their safety.
Sally held her breath until she and Rebecca were in the hallway with Sebastian and then she let it out with a sigh. “Thank you,” she said.
Sebastian laughed. “It takes some getting used to.”
Sally itched to know what precisely he was referring to but Rebecca started whispering loudly in her ear about the dresses and the manners and the hairstyles and...well, Sally stopped paying attention, focusing instead on Sebastian as he led them and their newly appointed maid out toward the back gardens.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Rebecca gushed.
And it was. It truly was. Despite the fact that the summer flowers had long since died, the layout of the grounds and the garden in the distance were overwhelmingly beautiful. She could only imagine what it would look like in the spring.
“What do you think Lady Gertrude meant about father?” Rebecca asked.
“Please, do not let their wagging tongues bother you,” Sebastian said before Sally could reply.
“Yes, but—”
“Their comments reflect more on them than on us,” Sally said primly, echoing words Minerva had said to them when they were younger and the townsfolk teased them for being their father’s so-called ‘bluestocking battalion.’
Was our upbringing unusual? Min would say. Yes. Of course. But unusual is not always a bad thing.
“I suppose being unusual isn’t such a bad thing,” Rebecca said under her breath. Clearly she too remembered Minerva’s lectures.
The difference, of course, was that the teasing mockery of the townsfolk had never felt cruel or even ill-intentioned. The Jones family was beloved in their little town and so the teasing had never bothered any of them to any great degree.
This was different, and they both knew it.
She suspected Sebastian knew it as well.
He leaned over now as Rebecca and their maid wandered the grounds. “That stretch over there,” Sebastian said. His voice was low as though letting her in on a secret and the rumble of his voice made her shiver.
No, it wasn’t his voice. Surely not. It was obviously the chill in the early evening air that made her shiver, that was all. “What about it?”
He turned his head and a lock of chestnut hair fell into his eyes, which glimmered with mischief. “That’s the best spot for a race.”
She blinked up at him. “A race?”
“On foot, of course. Until you’re comfortable riding, in which case I will happily race you on horseback.”
“But I—I never—that is…” Oh drat. She was never a flustered ninny, but nothing about this man was predictable. One minute he was charming society matrons with his perfect manners and the next he was scandalously offering to race her.
The laughter in his eyes made her breath hitch and her belly flutter. First her heart and now her belly? Had her body forgotten that it was solid matter and not a wisp of silk?
She turned back to look at her sister. “I don’t do that sort of thing.” He started to protest and she hurriedly added, “Away from home, that is.”
His low laugh warmed her more thoroughly than a fire. She wanted to join him in laughing. She wished she could toss her head back like he did and let out a boisterous laugh like he’d done back on the cliffs. But she was not him. And this was not the seaside. Or ‘that remote part of the country,’ as the earl had put it.
“Oh come on.” He leaned over and nudged her arm with his elbow. “You know you want to laugh.”
She did. But she kept herself in check as she turned to him. “I must be on my best behavior lest I give your father and his friends an even worse opinion of my family.”
His smile fell. “I’m sorry for the way they were acting. A newcomer in this crowd is quite the novelty. I’m afraid you and your sister are their source of entertainment.”
She gave him a small smile because his regret was genuine and clear. “It’s nothing we cannot handle.”
The warmth in his eyes was heartening but she caught the flicker of concern when he turned his gaze to Rebecca who was now flitting about the lawns as though she were quite at home...and not seeming to realize that the entire drawing room was no doubt watching her from their warm perch behind the glass doors.
“Don’t worry about Rebecca,” she said softly. “She might be naive and too sweet for her own good, but she has a good head on her shoulders and understands more than people give her credit.”
No, Rebecca was not a fool. Just a romantic. Which some, including Sally, might argue were often one in the same, but only when it came to one topic. When it came to their station in life and what they could expect from this house party and its guests, Rebecca was levelheaded.
“So long as no flirtatious young dandy comes along and tries to turn her head, Rebecca will be in no real danger.” As soon as she spoke it she wished she could call the words back. With a grimace she turned back to Sebastian but there was that understanding again. More disturbing, there was the look he gave her that made her think that perhaps he did understand.
Once you are familiar and comfortable, I imagine you’ll be unstoppable. I shouldn’t try to hold you back.
She turned to face Rebecca and struggled to swallow. For the past twenty-four hours those words had been ringing in her ears. She kept thinking about what he’d meant. Nothing, of course, but she could
n’t seem to shake the memory. She pushed the words away again and tried to explain. “I didn’t mean to insinuate...that is, I would never suggest that my sister—”
“Please.” He cut her off with a gentle smile. “I would never presume you meant anything ill against your sister, and I’d like to think that as friends we can be honest with one another.”
She hesitated before nodding. It wasn’t until Sebastian had offered his friendship that she’d realized it, but the truth was...she didn’t have many friends. She had her father and her sisters, of course. But she did not have friends. Certainly none who were so very…
She cast him a sidelong look.
Male. She definitely had no friends who were so very male.
But everything in her said that he could be trusted. He might be a tease and a charmer, but her instincts said he had a good nature. A solid character despite his propensity for teasing and laughter. And one lesson their father had instilled time and time again?
Instincts were everything.
Not emotions, mind you, he’d say. But instincts. If a man smiles and it makes you want to run, then by all means...run as fast and far as your legs will take you.
“We did agree to be friends, did we not?” he asked.
She nodded and his smile broadened in return. As she studied him there in the waning light of day, she tried her best to listen to her instincts, but that sensation in her belly was highly irregular and not terribly helpful.
What it told her was this—she truly ought to run. The problem she was having was deciding which direction she ought to go. Even now with the eyes of the ton on them, she had this overwhelming urge to run to him. To lean against him and let him shoulder her burdens.
But the fact that she wanted to do such a thing…
Well, that told her that if she was smart, she would run far, far away.
Chapter 5
Sally didn’t run far. In point of fact, she didn’t run at all. Though she was rather well hidden the next day as she took care of the earl in his private rooms.
Miss Sally's Unsuitable Soldier Page 5