Sarah: Sins and Scoundrels Book 4 by Scott Scarlett

Author:Scott, Scarlett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Happily Ever After Books, LLC
Published: 2021-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

“Would either of you care to explain the meaning of this?” demanded Mr. Kirkwood, the following afternoon, storming into the brightly lit salon where Sarah and Lady Frederica were taking tea.

He still wore his hat and coat, as if he had come straight to them after returning home from his club. He held a newspaper gripped between his gloved fingers, which he deposited upon the table as if it were aflame.

“Do calm down, if you please, my love,” Lady Frederica said serenely to her husband. “Lady Sarah and I were just about to take tea. Would you care for some? Or perhaps some seed cakes and biscuits?”

With a sinking sensation, Sarah’s gaze flitted over the paper her host—the famed owner of one of London’s best-known gaming hells and a business associate of her father’s—had all but flung to the table. She recognized the gossip rag Town Tatler. The caricature on the front page made it abundantly clear what had been the source of Mr. Kirkwood’s displeasure.

A scene of masked revelers thronged in a cemetery. Near a headstone reading Here Lies Lady A.B., a tall, raffish looking gentleman had swept an unmasked lady from her feet. It was undeniably Lord Markham and herself, cavorting atop Amelia’s grave. Her stomach clenched.

She felt ill.

“I do not want tea, my lady,” Mr. Kirkwood warned his wife.

And though his tone possessed an edge, it was apparent precisely which of them was the source of his ire. His hard stare was pinned to Sarah.

It would seem her folly last night was catching up to her sooner than she had supposed it might. “Forgive me, Mr. Kirkwood. I attended the Earl of Markham’s ball, and I am afraid I…lost my mask.”

No need to reveal that Markham had removed her mask. That his touch had been so achingly reverent she had nearly sobbed. That his kisses and protestations of love had made her question everything she had spent the last two years believing.

“You went to Markham’s ball,” Mr. Kirkwood repeated, his eyebrow arching as he sent a look between Sarah and Lady Frederica. “Alone?”

“Duncan, do not be angry,” Lady Frederica began. “I made certain she had our most trusted driver.”

“Yes,” Sarah added. “It was my idea, Mr. Kirkwood. Lady Frederica did not wish for me to attend. I convinced her by telling her I would hire a hack and go myself.”

“What the devil were either of you thinking?” Mr. Kirkwood demanded. “Your father will have my hide for this. I promised him I would keep you out of trouble, that Lady Frederica would be a calming influence upon you.”

“Calming? Me?” Lady Frederica laughed. “I am sure no one has ever supposed me to be a calming influence, darling.”

With her raven hair and her undeniable beauty, she was the perfect complement to Mr. Kirkwood’s golden good looks. The two of them were an ideal couple, hopelessly in love. The very last thing Sarah wished was to be the cause of any discord between them. She admired them both very much, and their hospitality had been just what she required, precisely when she needed it.

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