Marigold gave Sarah a weepy smile as she reached for her hand. “Sarah has been so wonderful. And sister,” she said with a joyous smile. “I love hearing that word.”
“As do I,” Sarah said, squeezing Marigold’s hand in return.
“Unfortunately you’ll have to make do with just me, Merrick, and Sarah, for the time being,” Lily said. “And Max, of course.”
“Daisy isn’t coming?” Marigold asked.
Merrick was the one who answered, his arm tucking around his wife’s waist as he held her scandalously close. “She and Dolan will be here tomorrow, along with her cousin, Virginia,” he said. “Virginia has only just arrived from America, so they wanted to give her a day to rest before traveling here.”
Marigold smiled up at Max as he joined them. “Well, I am just glad Daisy will be here in time for the small ceremony we have planned.”
“A small ceremony?” Lily asked.
Max began to fill her in on the plan, pulling Lily to the side and whispering the details—a sort of private elopement before his mother’s outlandishly extravagant wedding. As he spoke, Marigold’s eye was caught by someone entering the ballroom.
Sarah looked over quickly as well, hope flaring bright in her chest, even though she knew very well that Marigold was not on the lookout for Mr. Stallworth.
“Oh dear,” Marigold whispered, nibbling on her lower lip. She glanced over at Lily to see that her friend was still talking with Max.
“Oh dear, indeed.” Sarah shot her new sister a wince of sympathy as they watched Lady Abigail enter, looking down her nose at everyone in the room.
“Your mother insisted that she be invited,” Marigold explained.
Sarah sighed as she patted Marigold’s arm. “Do not worry about a thing.”
“Yes, but if she and Lily have words—”
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t come to that.” Sarah winked. “You have my guarantee.”
She headed toward Abigail swiftly, keenly aware of the eyes on her as she went. Well, one set of dark brown eyes in particular.
She would not glance over at the harbinger of doom. Everly had been glowering in a corner ever since the festivities had gotten underway. He’d been watching her like a hawk, as if suddenly she was secretly planning to drink the entire carton of champagne by herself and dance around in her undergarments.
She sniffed haughtily as she walked past him. Let him watch. All he would see was a lady on her best behavior.
She hid a secret smile as she glanced at the door where Mr. Stallworth should be arriving any moment now.
And perhaps he’d see a lady being wooed by a man she adored.
“Lady Abigail,” she said cheerfully as she approached the other woman. “How good of you to come to our Christmastide celebrations.”
Abigail's smile was knowing as she returned Sarah’s embrace and allowed her to link arms so she might escort her...to the opposite side of the room from Lily and Merrick.
“Sarah, always a pleasure, my dear,” Abigail said. “But while you are always a delight, and one of my very favorite young ladies of the ton…” She tilted her head in closer. “You are far from subtle.”
Sarah tipped her head back with a laugh. “That is what I’ve always liked best about you, Abigail. Your honest. Sometimes brutally so.”
Abigail gave her a saucy smirk and they both wound up laughing. Abigail was a rare sort of woman, and while she understood very well why Lily and the others disliked her so intensely, she found a rather odd kinship with the woman.
Oh, they would never be dear friends, but she did admire the woman’s strength and her directness. She wasn’t a sweetheart, by any means, but Sarah suspected she wasn’t quite as evil as everyone thought, either.
“So now you have done your duty and kept me out of trouble,” Abigail said as they took a turn about the room, heading dangerously close to Everly, who was sipping his drink and watching her all the while. “What now? Must you accompany me all night or is there a fear that I might summon a demon if left to my own devices?”
Sarah choked on a laugh. “Come now, Abigail. Don’t act so wounded. You know you’ve brought this on yourself with your gossip and your troublemaking.”
Abigail merely lifted a shoulder.
“But to answer your question, no.” She slowed their pace to avoid running into Everly directly. “I will not be by your side all evening. In fact…” She craned her neck for a better view of the door and gasped when a familiar profile came into view. She could not have stopped her smile if she’d tried. It took effort to turn back to a watchful Abigail. “If fact, there is someone I am very much hoping to pass the time with this evening so I would appreciate it if you would be so kind as to steer clear of trouble.”
Abigail rolled her eyes as if bored. “You sound just like my mother.”
Sarah cringed a bit as she realized she’d sounded far too much like the holier-than-thou Everly just then, as well.
As if summoned by the thought—or perhaps he was just drawn to superior smugness—he moved toward them through the crowd. His gaze moved from her to the door…
She followed the path of his eyes and nearly gave a shout of triumph when she saw that Mr. Stallworth was heading toward her as well.
Which, she supposed, explained why Everly was suddenly heading in her direction too.
“My, my,” Abigail drawled beside her. “Aren’t we the popular young lady.”
Sarah didn’t answer. She couldn’t. She was too busy trying to keep calm, her hands fluttering in front of her belly until Abigail let out an exasperated sigh and clasped Sarah’s hand with her own.
“For heaven’s sake, do try and keep some dignity.” She craned her neck to see who had caught Sarah’s eye. “But, is that…?” She looked to Sarah, her eyes wide with surprise. “Is that Mr. Stallworth?”
Sarah glanced over Abigail, surprised she knew him, but before she could reply, Mr. Stallworth was there, along with a tall, handsome gentleman she did not recognize, and a petite young lady who looked as though she’d rather be anywhere but here.
Typically Sarah would take pity on the girl and engage her in conversation but she was too distracted by Mr. Stallworth—so handsome. So dashing. So...here.
“Lady Sarah,” Mr. Stallworth said with a low bow. “You look beautiful this evening.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stallworth.” Her cheeks felt like they had caught fire and her voice wavered. She felt like a silly ninny and yet she could not hide her happiness.
He had to feel it, too. She was sure of it.
Everly, for once, did not intrude on her happiness. He was nearby—she could feel his stare on the back of her neck. But, thankfully, he did not ruin her moment.
“How was your voyage?” She found herself rambling to Mr. Stallworth. “When did you return? Did you fare well?” Questions came tumbling out of her until Abigail’s elbow in her side had her fumbling to a stop.
Mr. Stallworth’s eyes twinkled with laughter, his gaze never leaving hers as he answered. “I fared very well, thank you, Lady Sarah.”
He continued to speak, launching into a tale from her journey. Sarah didn’t realize she was drifting toward him, mesmerized by his face, his voice, his eyes...until Abigail tugged her back to her side.