Lady of Charade

by St. Clair, Ellie

  There was a knock at the door, and Sarah looked over to David, who gave her a reassuring nod. Everything would be all right, she told herself, as she had for the past hour or so, though the knot within her stomach grew tighter and she could hear her heart beating within her ears. They had told the servants not to worry about callers or tea for the next hour or so, in order for them to be entirely alone for this first time they met.

  Sarah stood as David opened the door, her hands clasped in front of her as David greeted the man. She couldn’t see him, not past David’s frame, but then David stepped away and held out an arm, pointing within. Sarah and Lord Torrington each just stood there, staring at one another for a moment, taking in all that was before them, before he took a hesitant step forward into the room.

  Sarah had no idea what to say, nor what she should do. It was not as though she could run up into his arms, but a curtsy also seemed far too formal.

  Fortunately, David, who, despite often blundering his way through various situations, seemed to know how to properly introduce new people to one another, stepped in.

  “Lord Torrington, I would like you to meet Miss Sarah Jones. Sarah, Lord Torrington. As we have all discussed, we believe, Lord Torrington, that Sarah is your daughter.”

  “Hello,” Sarah finally said, and Lord Torrington took a few more steps into the room, finally reaching out to take one of her hands, which he clasped within both of his.

  “A daughter,” he said, his voice just above a whisper, slightly incredulous.

  “I—I believe so,” said Sarah, as she pulled out the ring that David had returned to her. “I know David showed you the ring my mother always carried, and from what he tells me you have to say about her and the timing… I can only think it could be.”

  The Earl blinked rapidly a few times, clearly attempting to hold back emotion, which nearly brought tears to Sarah’s own eyes.

  “Perhaps we might sit down,” she said, his own vulnerability bringing out the caregiver in her.

  He followed her to the sofa. David nodded at her as though telling her all was well and he began toward the door, but Sarah called to him.

  “David? Please stay. You are now as much a part of this as anyone.”

  “If you’d like,” he said, and Sarah appreciated the fact that he was willing to do whatever most pleased her in this situation. She would tell him all of this following their encounter anyway, so what did it matter if he were here? She would never have found the Earl without him.

  “You look just like your mother,” Lord Torrington said, and Sarah returned her attention to him.

  “Yet she has your eyes,” David noted, and Sarah turned to look at the Earl, whose eyes were, indeed, the very same brown she saw in her reflection.

  “My mother had blue eyes,” Sarah said softly, and Lord Torrington nodded.

  “They were the color of the sky, and they danced when she laughed,” he said whimsically. “She laughed often. And loud. That was part of what I loved about her.”

  “You loved her?”

  To hear him say such a thing warmed Sarah to her very soul. Her mother had always told her it had been such a way between the two of them, but Sarah had never been entirely sure whether it was infatuation or true love on the Earl’s part.

  “Indeed. I loved her very much—I just didn’t realize how much until it was too late,” he said. “But I was hesitant—too caught up with what I knew was right and what I had been told was right. She knew that if I married her, I would give up all that I had known, including my family, my homes, and the earldom. I told her that I had to make the choice, and I didn’t commit to her when I should have. I didn’t tell her that I loved her, that I needed her in my life. Instead, I asked her to wait. It was a mistake.”

  His head fell to stare at his shoes, and it pained Sarah to see him so miserable. She reached out and covered his clenched hands with hers.

  “I believe she was worried that if you gave up all for her, you would resent her for the rest of your lives together.”

  “Never,” he said vehemently. “I would have been all the happier for it. Like your man here.”

  They both looked up at David, who returned the Earl’s gaze with a shrewd, knowing smile.

  “I actually need to thank you, Lord Torrington,” David said. “It was because of you, because of our conversation, that I realized the true depth of my feelings, and how important it was to follow through on them instead of worrying too greatly about what was to come in the future. While that doesn’t mean I am not still concerned about what is to come, I now know that all is possible—as long as I have Sarah.”

  “That is what is most important,” the Earl agreed, a sad smile crossing his face, but then he turned his attention toward Sarah. “I must apologize for my wife. She can be cruel. I can only be grateful that Redmond here found you and told you the truth of the matter so that we now have the opportunity to rectify things.”

  “She was scared,” Sarah said. “Scared that I would take from her a place in your family, or steal from your fortune. That I would ruin your family’s reputation. I must assure you, Lord Torrington, that I have no desire to do so. I ask for none of your money, and nor do I intend to share any secret with others regarding who I am to you. I simply wanted to come to know you, if that were at all possible.”

  “Possible?” he asked. “I would like nothing more. I’m not sure if you are aware, Miss Jones, but I have no children, though I have always wanted them. And even if I did have others, well, that wouldn’t change the fact that I would still want to come to know you. You are my flesh and blood, ’tis true, but not only that, you are the daughter of the love of my life, the woman that I always longed for. I shouldn’t say that, I know I shouldn’t. I am a married man, but my wife and I… well. We were intended for one another since we were children, but not in the way that truly mattered.”

  “That is fair,” Sarah murmured.

  “Anyway,” he said, waving a hand in the air as if that was not something he wished to discuss any longer. “Tell me of your life. Where did you grow up? How did you grow up? Did your mother continue healing? How different was it in America?”

  He seemed so eager to hear of her past—almost with childlike excitement—that Sarah nearly laughed. Her heart, however, was breaking over the thought that he obviously was holding onto anything regarding her mother that he possibly could. She would give him the stories he longed for, and hopefully, that would be enough to heal some of the pain he clearly felt.

  She began to tell him stories, most of which had him laughing or asking for more. An hour went by fairly quickly for both of them, apparently, for when the Earl pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, he seemed startled.

  “Ah, I must be going. This has been most lovely, Sarah. I—” He broke off and scratched his head, as though he wasn’t entirely sure what to say. “I am glad you came here and found me.”

  “I am as well,” she said, as they both stood in awkward silence, unsure as to what to do next.

  “Before I go,” the Earl finally said, “Might I have a word alone with you, Mr. Redmond?”

  “I would appreciate that very much, my lord,” David said, as Sarah looked back and forth between the two of them quizzically.

  “We’ll be just a moment, Sarah,” David said with a wink of reassurance as he led the Earl down the hall and into Berkley’s study, leaving Sarah quite perplexed and a little unsure.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  David, of course, was well aware of the protocol of just how to ask a man for his daughter’s hand in marriage. What he wasn’t sure was how to ask a man when he had just met his daughter for the first time but an hour ago.

  “Ah, Lord Torrington—”

  “I expect you are here to do right by my daughter?” The man asked, worrying David for a moment until he looked up to see Torrington’s brow was quirked in some jest.

  “Yes,” David said with a rush of breath, glad the Earl had raised the subject fo
r him, preventing him from having to do so himself. “We would like to marry, my lord, as soon as possible.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Torrington said, and then paused slightly awkwardly. “And you will, ah… be a good husband to her, will you?”

  “I will be true and faithful to her, my lord, that I can promise,” David said, unable to promise anything, however, of how well he could provide for her as he hadn’t yet determined that himself. He could, however, assuage the Earl’s fears regarding his previously rakish ways, of which the man was clearly aware.

  “I’m glad, Redmond,” the Earl said. “I had my doubts, but you obviously care for her, and I do appreciate what you have done to bring her back to me.”

  “Of course, my lord.”

  “I will arrange for her dowry as well.”

  “That is not necessary, Lord Torrington, not at all. Neither of us expects it—”

  The Earl held up a hand to stop him. “It is something I would like to do, Redmond. I had no idea of her existence through her entire life. Please allow me to do this for her.”

  “Sarah might not take it. I believe she’s worried that you—and others—will feel that it was why she sought you out.”

  “So let them think it. She is my daughter, and I will do right by her, as I would any other daughter born to me.”

  David nodded. “I think it would mean a lot to her—and to me—if you were able to attend our wedding.”

  “Of course,” Torrington said, as though surprised that David would even have to ask. “In fact, I would be honored to give her away.”

  “She will be both surprised and moved, I’m sure,” David said, his heart warming for Sarah, knowing how much it would mean to her.

  “If you need assistance in arranging anything, please advise me,” Torrington said. “Now, I must be off, but I would like to arrange another time to see the two of you,” he said, opening the door and stepping into the hall, including Sarah in his remark.

  When David watched Sarah’s happy smile at the man leaving, he knew, deep within, that it had all been worth it. He couldn’t wait to see her on their wedding day.

  But first, he had one more conversation to take care of.

  *

  David was more than apprehensive for the next meeting that awaited him. It was not so much that he was worried about speaking with his parents for his own sake. No, it was that Sarah had insisted on accompanying him for this conversation, and he worried that they might say something to insult her. He had not only refrained from speaking to them since he had refused Lady Georgina, but now he was also planning on marrying a woman of whom they had likely never even heard before.

  He had informed them that he was bringing a guest, but he had been rather murky on the details of who that guest might be.

  Unlike when she had met her own father, Sarah seemed perfectly calm.

  “How can you not be worried?” he asked as they strode up the walkway.

  “Because your family loves you,” she said simply, and David sighed. She was far too optimistic, for he wasn’t even sure of the truth of her statement at the moment.

  “If they are angry, it is because of me and not you,” he attempted to reassure her, but she simply put a hand on his arm.

  “It will be fine, David, I’m sure of it.”

  If only he could have the same confidence.

  David was pleased that when they entered the drawing room, his brother, Franklin, and his wife, Andrea, were also in attendance, and they greeted him warmly, though looked slightly confused by Sarah’s presence. His parents made even less of an attempt to hide their curiosity.

  “And who is your lovely guest, David?” his mother asked with her polite, practiced smile. “I have been quite interested as to who might be accompanying you tonight.”

  “Mother, Father,” he said, his hand on the small of Sarah’s back. “Please meet Miss Sarah Jones. She is to be my wife.”

  The looks that covered their faces was worth the visit, that was for certain. His father nearly choked on the brandy he had just sipped, while his mother’s eyes had never been so wide as her mouth formed a round O.

  Of all of them, Andrea was the first to break the shocked silence.

  “Oh, David, how wonderful!” she said, standing from the couch to embrace the two of them in turn.

  “Thank you, Andrea,” David said, pleased, as he had always been, with his brother’s wife. Franklin followed her lead and came over to shake his brother’s hand.

  It wasn’t long until his parents finally recovered. David braced himself for their disapproval. He was more shocked than he had ever been, however, when he looked up to find that his mother had tears in her eyes as she leaned forward to embrace him.

  “Oh, David,” she said. “I am so very happy.”

  “You… you are?”

  His father stepped toward him and shook his hand.

  “I cannot say, David, I was pleased to hear of your visit with Lady Buckworth and Lady Georgina,” he said, holding onto David’s hand in a firm grip. Well, that was not a surprise. “The repercussions of your conversation have not made particularly flattering conversation for our family’s name.”

  “I realize that, Father, but—”

  “But, if you are telling me that you are going to be settling down with a wife, and a lovely one at that,” David followed his father’s gaze to Sarah, who smiled and blushed prettily, “Then I completely understand.”

  “You do?” he asked, incredulous. “I thought… I had been under the impression…”

  He didn’t know what to say until he felt Sarah’s elbow dig into his side.

  “I am glad to hear it,” he finally settled on, and his father nodded, giving him a long look.

  “You are a relative of Lady Alexander’s, are you not?” David’s mother asked Sarah, and now Sarah did look slightly uneasy.

  “She is a friend of my mother’s family,” Sarah explained, “who was kind enough to act as my chaperone throughout the previous two Seasons.”

  That seemed to appease David’s mother for now, though David hoped that with the Earl’s acceptance of his daughter, acceptance of Sarah amongst the rest of the ton—including his parents—would soon follow.

  “David, would you come speak with me and Franklin in the study for a few moments before dinner?” his father asked, to which David hesitated. He had no desire to leave Sarah to his mother just yet, although Andrea, at least, was here…

  “Go ahead,” Sarah assured him softly, and he reached out to squeeze her hand before he followed his father, sitting in front of the mahogany desk next to Franklin with some trepidation.

  “When I had determined you would marry Lady Georgina,” his father began, “I had also begun to make other plans for you.”

  David’s spine stiffened. His father had more than enough plans for him lately, to his liking.

  “As you know, we have a few different estates around England. One of such estates is Gracebourne near Cambridge.”

  David nodded. He knew it well. It was one of the smaller of his father’s estates, but he had always enjoyed it. The nearby village of Hauxton was warm and welcoming, while the estate itself was just large enough.

  “It’s yours,” his father said, and David stared at him in shock.

  “Pardon me?” he asked, before looking over at Franklin, who grinned at him.

  “It’s yours,” his father repeated. “I had always planned to give it to you once you settled down some, proved you were keen on taking responsibility. It was why we were trying to push you to marry Lady Georgina. She seemed a respectable sort of girl, pretty enough, and we were hoping you would be taken with her.”

  “I realize that you must be quite disappointed in my rejection of her—” David began, but his father stopped him holding up a hand.

  “When I first heard the news, yes, I was,” he said, leaning back in his chair as he fixed his stare on David. “However, I was actually also proud of you.”

  Da
vid furrowed his brow as he stared at him. “Proud of me?”

  “Yes,” his father said with a nod. “You did the right thing by going there to tell them the truth. Instead of shirking away from the responsibility, allowing the family to believe that you were going to go through with the marriage. You looked them in the eyes and told them the truth.”

  “Which I wouldn’t have had to do if you had listened when I told you that I was not interested. I was also not pleased to hear you felt you had to pay someone to wed me.”

  His father shrugged, unperturbed. “Perhaps. I thought, however, you were denying her because you were resisting our efforts, not because you had your own plan in mind. As for the payment, what does money matter when it comes to your children’s happiness?”

  David sat in silence for a moment, processing all that his father had just shared with him. Franklin leaned over to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

  “All will be well, brother,” he said. “Forgive Mother and Father their machinations.”

  “Did you know?” David asked him, and Franklin looked slightly chagrined.

  “Part of it,” he responded. “But I had faith all would work out.”

  “I know you likely aren’t pleased with the thought of living outside of London,” their father said now, and David shook his head in response before he could continue the thought.

  “Actually, Father, it’s perfect,” he said. “Sarah has never lived in a city before she came to London, and she is not keen on remaining here, a place where she has never felt comfortable. I had promised her we would live somewhere in the country, I just wasn’t sure how I was going to do it. I had yet to come up with a profession I was suited for. I had actually thought perhaps I could become a barrister, but that would require an education, which I could never afford on my own. I think, however, I should like looking after my own estate.”

  “You would?” Franklin asked, surprised, looking over at his brother. “That was the one aspect of Father’s plan I was unsure of—you, living in the country looking after an estate. It seemed to be the last thing you would enjoy.”