The Seduction of Sara

by Karen Hawkins

  Whether it was due to her awareness of his title and position, or because of his large size, or the lazy, quizzical way he watched her, Anthony Elliot had the ability to make Anna feel like an awkward sixteen-year-old, all elbows and too-large feet. Until she’d met Sara’s arrogant brother, it was a feeling she’d thought she’d outgrown.

  Annoyed with herself, Anna stood, suddenly unsure of where to put her hands. She dipped a quick curtsy, then made an abrupt gesture toward the settee. “My lord.”

  The devil! Was that my voice? The undignified squeak infuriated her, and she tilted her chin, ready to meet his mockery. Instead he dropped his hat and gloves on a table by the door, then lazily crossed the room and waited until she returned to her chair. Then he folded his long length onto the settee, carefully moving a small table out of the way where it brushed his knee.

  He looked ridiculous, like an adult propped in a child’s chair. Being of above average height herself, Anna could sympathize. It was awkward always being too tall, though she doubted it was as much of an inconvenience to a man.

  Anthony stretched his long legs before him and fixed her with a relentless gaze. “I hope you do not have too arduous a day planned. It looks as if it might rain.”

  “Sara and I are accompanying Her Grace to search for a new bonnet.”

  “How absorbing,” he drawled, clearly indicating otherwise. “Miss Thraxton, I hope you will forgive me for intruding on you thus, but I have some concerns about my sister, and I feel you are the one who can answer them.”

  Anna glanced nervously toward the door. “I’m not sure I know what—”

  “You are in my sister’s confidence, are you not?” he asked, his voice soft.

  “Of course.” Though she couldn’t quite tell why, she thought she detected a threatening note in his voice. She wished Sara would hurry.

  “Miss Thraxton, I’m sure you are aware that my sister is not happy here in Bath.”

  “She has mentioned as much to me.”

  “I knew she would,” he returned dryly. “While I am more than content to play nursemaid, it would be easier for us all if you would serve as her good friend in the upcoming months and keep me apprised of her actions.”

  Anna stiffened. “Lord Greyley, Sara is like a sister to me, and I do not feel comfortable speaking about her while she is not present. And I certainly would never spy on her.”

  A flicker of annoyance crossed Anthony’s face, quickly hidden. He leaned forward, and Anna noted that his eyes were actually the color of cognac, flecked with slivers of green and gold. “Miss Thraxton, I know something is already afoot. I am determined to discover what it is.”

  “Then ask Sara. Even if I knew what you were talking about, I would never reveal myself to you.”

  Anthony’s eyes narrowed. “Listen here. If I discover that my sister is up to something reprehensible and you had prior knowledge of it and did nothing to stop her, I will personally see to it that you pay for your part in her schemes.”

  Insolent ass. “Lord Greyley, anything that your sister says to me in confidence will remain that way, with or without your approval. So do your worst—I really don’t care.”

  His eyes took on an almost feral gleam. “My dear Anna,” he said, his voice caressing her name as if he alone possessed it. “I would advise you to be cautious where you throw challenges. Someone may just accept one of them.”

  “My dearest Lord Greyley,” she replied immediately, mocking his tone so well that his eyes narrowed, “I would advise you to be more cautious in how you speak to a lady. I find your manner so offensive and arrogant that I am quite willing to do whatever I can to thwart you.” Anna met his gaze calmly, though her heart pounded against the base of her throat. She hadn’t been her grandfather’s assistant for the past seven years for nothing; she knew oppression tactics when she saw them.

  Anthony’s jaw tightened, and he had just leaned forward to speak, when the door was thrown open and Sara walked energetically into the room dressed in a becoming pink-striped gown with a matching spenser. Anna smiled at the way Sara’s presence brightened the room.

  “There you are,” Sara said, pulling on her gloves. “Aunt Delphi is getting in the carriage, and—” She stopped. “Anthony, what are you doing here?”

  Sending a quelling glance at Anna, he stood. Every movement he made was unhurried and purposeful, and Anna had to control the urge to shiver. “I was just speaking with Miss Thraxton.”

  “Oh?” Sara said, obviously suspicious. She glanced from him to Anna and back again. “Were you, indeed? And was your conversation productive?”

  He picked up his hat and gloves, turning a hard stare toward Anna. “No. Not this time.”

  Anna returned his gaze steadily. It was better all around if he knew where they stood. Which was on very rocky ground indeed. “Good day, Lord Greyley.”

  A flash of something lit his eyes to gold, and then his habitual half-asleep expression returned. Anna watched him leave with a sense of relief. He was a formidable man, one who would remember every slight and injury, no matter how accidental or valid they might be.

  Sara whirled on Anna. “He wanted to know what I was doing, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, though I didn’t tell him a thing.”

  “I could tell that, since he looked like a thunder-cloud.” She linked her arm with Anna’s. “Come. Aunt Delphi’s already in the carriage.”

  It didn’t take Anna long to realize that there was far more to the shopping expedition than she’d realized. Sara was alternately in far too high of spirits, chattering nonstop and making them all laugh, then becoming silent, examining each carriage that went by as if looking for a specific face.

  The dowager duchess had a multitude of errands to run. As she entered the lending library to exchange her books, Sara and Anna wandered down the street, peering into store windows. Several stores away, they stood looking at a display of enameled boxes.

  Sara gripped Anna’s arm. “Drop your reticule.”

  Anna looked up from a particularly charming box trimmed in delicate scrollwork. “Drop my what?”

  “Don’t ask questions!” Sara whispered urgently, turning back toward the window. “Just drop it.”

  Mumbling to herself, Anna unlooped her reticule and dropped it on the pavement. A tall shadow crossed her, causing her to shiver.

  “Pardon me, but I believe this is yours.”

  Anna recognized the low, seductive voice of the Earl of Bridgeton and suddenly understood her friend’s odd behavior. “Why, thank you. I didn’t even realize it was missing.” She nudged her friend. “Look, Sara, it is the Earl of Bridgeton.”

  Eyes wide with feigned surprise, Sara turned toward the earl. “What a pleasant surprise!”

  The earl’s mouth curved into a heart-thumping grin, the sun burnishing his dark gold hair. From the width of his shoulders to the fine line of his muscular legs, everything about him bespoke male power. Anna sent a glance at Sara from under her lashes and noticed that she hadn’t missed a single aspect of the earl’s appearance.

  Sara dipped a curtsy. “My lord, and how are you this morning?”

  “Quite well, Lady Carrington. And you?”

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “And how is Miss Thraxton?” He bowed, slanting Anna a cool, knowing kind of smile. “You really should be more cautious with your valuables.”

  “It was an accident,” Sara said. “I’ve dropped my reticule dozens of times.”

  “Come, Lady Carrington,” he protested gently. “Enough of this pretense. You asked me to meet you here, and here I am. What service may I perform for you?”

  Cheeks bright, Sara cast a guilty glance at Anna. “Lord Bridgeton, I don’t know what you are talking about. I never asked you to meet me here.”

  “But I have the note right here, in my waistcoat.” He proceeded to reach into his pocket, but Sara’s muffled curse stopped him, his eyes bright with amusement. “What’s that? Did you say something, my love?�
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  “Yes, I did,” Sara answered promptly, eyeing the earl with a strange mixture of exasperation and humor. “And I have not given you permission to call me ‘my love.’”

  Anna lifted her brows at that. In the year since Julius’s death, Sara had shown no interest in any of the men of her acquaintance. In fact, she hadn’t shown much interest in anything other than raising as many eyebrows as she could.

  Sara had changed drastically while she was married to Julius. It had taken Anna months to piece together what had happened, most of it from cryptic comments in Sara’s letters. Much of what she knew came from what her friend did not say. Anna rather thought that Julius’s concept of love had been very different from Sara’s and she had suffered horribly as a consequence, turning her back on the fiery, exuberant way she’d approached life.

  Now, watching her friend glare at the Earl of Bridgeton, her mouth pressed into a mutinous line, Anna experienced the first stirring of hope. Perhaps it was time Sara reclaimed her own life. But was the earl worthy of Sara’s regard?

  Nick caught sight of Miss Thraxton’s speculative look. Smothering a sense of irritation, he looked down the street, his gaze narrowing as he heard a familiar voice. “Ah, Valmont! Just the man I was looking for.”

  Edmund Valmont looked up from where he was assisting his great-aunt out of the library. His arms piled with books, a cashmere shawl, a fan, and a small pillow, he blinked uncertainly at Nick. “Looking for me? Haven’t offended you, have I? Because if I have, then I didn’t mean it. Least, I don’t think I did. I once thought about calling you out, but that was years ago. Of course—”

  “Edmund,” Nick broke in. “I was just asking Miss Thraxton and Lady Carrington to stroll with me through the park, and we would like to request your company.”

  Her back ramrod straight, Sara said, “I don’t recall any such conversation.”

  Nick lifted a brow. “Yes, but we’ve already established you have a faulty memory. After all, you did not remember this.” He touched the pocket that contained her note. “And you wrote it only this morning.”

  Sara’s smile tightened, and she spoke through clenched teeth. “Perhaps we can find a place to have a more private communication.”

  “Exactly my point,” he murmured, then turned to Lady Birlington, who was just following Edmund out of the lending library. “Would you be so kind as to give your nephew leave to escort one of these young ladies through the park?”

  Lady Birlington came alive at the mention of young ladies. She looked down her nose at first Sara and then Anna, brightening as she did so. “Why, it is Delphinea’s niece and her friend, Thraxton’s granddaughter. Good hips, the both of ’em. Of course Edmund may go.”

  Edmund’s mouth opened and closed, then opened again. “But Aunt Maddie! I don’t think you want me to be gone for—”

  “Nonsense. You’ll never find a wife if you stay tied to my side.” Her carriage pulled up to the curb, and her rather elderly footman slowly climbed down and went to open the door. “Just put those things in the carriage for me and go for a walk.”

  “But Aunt Maddie, I—”

  Sara’s aunt bustled out of the lending library next, two books clasped in her hands. She came to a halt when she saw the small group.

  Lady Birlington waved her cane. “There you are, Delphinea. We have just been arranging a small party for the young people. Why don’t you come and travel in my carriage while the children walk to the end of the park?”

  “Children?” Lady Langtry looked at Nick, her face coloring vividly. “I don’t think that would be a very good—”

  “Poppy seeds,” Lady Birlington said. She turned to her carriage and allowed her footman to assist her inside. After disposing herself on the plush velvet squabs, she gestured to Delphi. “Come on. We haven’t got all day.”

  “Yes, but I have errands to run and—”

  “I have some errands myself. We’ll do them together. Come along, now. Let the young people have their fun.”

  Frowning, Delphi allowed the footman to assist her inside the carriage. “I’m not sure it’s proper to leave them alone with—”

  “They won’t be alone; they’ll be all together. No harm in that. Not unless Bridgeton decides to do away with Edmund.” Her blue eyes narrowed, and she leaned out the window to look thoughtfully at Nick.

  He bowed. “I shall attempt to restrain myself.”

  “Thank you. Though the urge is understandable, it would be quite rude in front of the ladies.”

  Edmund tugged on his cravat. “Aunt Maddie, I really think I should—”

  “You’ll escort Miss Thraxton. I think Lady Carrington would be best left to Lord Bridgeton; she’ll know what to do if he gets out of hand. Just to be certain, we’ll send my footman to walk with you.” Lady Birlington leaned out of the carriage. “Mathers!”

  The elderly man stood at attention, his eyes watery and unfocused. “Yes, my lady?”

  “The young people are going for a walk. Stay with them.” She settled back into the seat with a satisfied sigh. “There. That should take care of the proprieties.”

  Within moments, the carriage was inching its way down the street and the small group was on their way to the park, hindered only by the slow pace of the footman.

  Nick wondered if it had been Lady Birlington’s intention all along to saddle them with as slow a creature as she could find, thereby prolonging their walk. She wasn’t known as Mad Maddie for nothing. Her elderly frame held an iron-hard spirit and a mind that was sharper than most realized.

  They reached the edge of the park and started down one of the shaded paths. It was quite cool, the pale sunlight dappling the pathway before them.

  Anna and Edmund trailed behind, the footman following. Nick sent a side glance down at his companion, who was staring straight ahead, unappreciative of the beauty around her. “Well, my love? You wished to see me?”

  “Not here,” she said with some asperity, glancing over her shoulder. “I asked to speak with you in private.”

  “If we were alone, we would be doing far more than just talking.” Just walking beside her, not even touching, was a heady experience. Had they been alone…his breeches tightened, and he cursed his lack of concentration.

  Sara sighed. “I wanted to ask you about Sir Bawton. Is he…I wanted to make sure he was well.”

  “He’s fine. A little dizzy, but not enough that anyone will notice. He never made much sense to begin with.”

  “You saw him today, then?”

  Nick nodded. “He had the devil of a bruise on his forehead, but other than that, he was fine.”

  “Thank goodness. I was concerned that he was more injured than he appeared.”

  “No,” Nick said, taking the moment to appreciate the way she walked, with quick, decisive steps, as if she knew exactly where she was going. He’d never seduced a woman of such character, and it was proving to be vastly amusing.

  “I wonder if he’s told anyone—” She caught herself and shrugged. “Not that it matters, of course.”

  “Never fear. I took it upon myself to make sure that Sir Bawton will not utter a word about your little meeting last night. He was very embarrassed when he saw me. In fact, he crossed to the other side of the street as if afraid I might recognize him.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “Perhaps I should wish him to start a rumor. God knows, it can only help my cause.”

  Just as it would weaken Nick’s. If Lady Carrington were successful in publicly ruining herself, he would have to give up his hopes of making her his mistress.

  He glanced down at Sara’s profile, admiring her thick, black hair and the sweep of her absurdly long lashes. He wanted to trace the pure line of her straight little nose and the stubborn tilt of her chin with his mouth, ending with the taste of her on his lips. “Sara, why did you send for me?”

  Faint color rose beneath the paleness of her skin. “I wish to ask a favor.”

  “What?”

  Gratitude warme
d Sara’s heart. She’d lain awake most of the night pondering her options. As day broke, she’d bounded out of bed and dashed off the note to Nick, sending it before she could change her mind. “As you are aware, I haven’t had much luck in locating a suitable man to wed.”

  “So I’ve noticed.” Though there was a decided smile in his eyes, he didn’t appear to be mocking her.

  “It has dawned on me that I may need some assistance.”

  “Ah. You wish me to teach you the arts of seduction so that you can capture your quarry more quickly?”

  “No, I just need assistance in locating the proper candidate. I’m perfectly capable of handling the rest.”

  “Are you, indeed?”

  She knew he was referring to her abortive attempts with Hewlette and Bawton. “If I had been more careful in my selection, I would already be married and free to go my own way.”

  “I see. So my only duty is to point out likely candidates for a seduction?” Glancing around, Nick realized that Edmund and Anna had fallen so far behind that they were nowhere to be seen. He immediately took Sara’s arm and left the path through a break in the shrubbery.

  Some distance away, he found a low bench beside a large, knobby tree, its branches spreading far over the thick grass. He led her to the alcove and watched as she stood near the edge of the bench as if ready to flee at a moment’s notice. “I think I’m beginning to understand.”

  She sent him a sharp glance. “Do you?”

  “Since you are asking for my assistance in locating a suitable husband, I can only suppose you wish me to find someone who possesses a complete lack of morality.”

  An expression of disbelief crossed her face. “No. I was simply looking for someone more…malleable.”

  “Malleable?”

  “Yes. Someone who will not interfere with my life.”