Chapter 10 #2
With a pointed glance to each of them, censure evident in her blue eyes, Sariah accepted defeat.
“Very well. You are right, Ava. While the men are out enjoying themselves on this fine day, galloping over the countryside, I daresay I would rather be inside, stifling from the heat and pretending that I care about the latest gossip.”
Maggie snorted, but said nothing further as they continued their pursuits.
It took about twenty minutes for Sariah to complete another stitch.
Her attention was fixed elsewhere. While it was completely unfair that they were stuck indoors when she would have much preferred joining the others on the hunt.
She had never been particularly in favor of tormenting a poor fox, but she did enjoy riding and she was not able to enjoy such a pastime in London when she was supposed to be comporting herself like a proper lady.
However, the issue wasn’t with missing out on the activity, so much as the desire to spend some time with Reed. She was concerned about his abilities on horseback since she knew he didn’t own a mount and did not seem inclined to care much about the sport.
As the morning began to wear on endlessly, she knew that she would likely have to wait until afternoon tea to hear how it went.
Most of the men couldn’t be counted on to end the event early, and if they did manage to corner the fox and claim victory over the day, it wasn’t as though they would be eager to return to the ladies and act with decorum when their adrenaline was running fast through their veins.
No doubt they would tarry as long as possible.
She knew her father certainly would. He enjoyed a good hunt as much as the next nobleman.
Just another reason to worry about Reed, who was likely miserable.
As afternoon tea came and went, Lady Harville noted, “I suspect the men are either having a good run of it today, or the fox has outsmarted them all and they are unwilling to reveal the truth of their failure.”
The older ladies tittered while Sariah merely exchanged another speaking glance at her friends.
Suddenly, there was a loud commotion in the courtyard and Sariah jumped up and ran to the window before anyone else could move. Maggie and Ava were quick to join her. Pushing aside the drapes, they all eagerly tried to be the first to guess the outcome of the day.
As Lord Michael walked proudly in front, a broad smile on his face and his rifle tucked under one arm, it was obvious who had taken the prize that day.
Sariah did not care in the least. Her gaze searched out Reed, and she finally found him, smacking his riding gloves in his palm and wearing a glare the size of a thundercloud as he approached the manor.
“Oh, dear. That does not bode well,” she murmured.
“Indeed,” Maggie said from her side.
As the entire group began to file into the manor house, all smiles and congratulatory well wishes toward Michael, Sariah was more concerned over Reed.
She started to move past the assembly, but she was stopped by the announcement of Lord Harville, “Ladies, I would like to present the winner of today’s hunt!
” He clapped Lord Michael on the shoulder as a round of applause went about the group.
“He did not have an easy time of it though, as Mr. Carrington proved himself to be quite an opponent.”
Sariah’s gaze fixed on Reed, who had made his way forward. He did not meet her gaze. What the hell happened?
“As most of you are aware,” Lord Harville continued. “The victor of the day shall choose who they would like to pair with tomorrow during the archery tournament.”
Sariah was certain she was about to gain Reed’s attention when her name was spoken. Glancing up, she saw Michael’s dark gaze on her. “That is, if there is no protest from Mr. Carrington if I borrow his betrothed for the day?”
Again, her focus pinned to Reed, and at long last, he finally met her stare. With an unreadable expression, he gave a tight smile. “None at all, my lord. You may have Miss Kent with my blessing.”
Reed watched as Sariah’s face leeched of all color, her mouth falling open in an obvious look of betrayal.
He clenched his jaw, because what other choice did he have in the matter?
If he refused, he would be considered a poor sport since he’d lost the hunt.
He’d had no option other than to agree. Perhaps it was best that he came to terms with losing Sariah now.
It was an eventuality by the end of the month anyway.
Lord Richard might have planted the seed by making him consider the prospect of fighting to keep her as his own, but what sort of competition did he have against the brave nobleman that her family had envisioned for her all along?
Would she really want to live the rest of her days with a former blue boy?
As the men and ladies began to mingle, Sariah was already lost to the crowd. He saw Lord Michael lay a gentle hand at the small of her back as he kept her at his side, as if already laying a claim to one and all that she was now his.
Reed couldn’t watch any more. He wasn’t even certain that he wanted to stay at the house party with the intention to gain new investors.
He made his way across the foyer without any particular destination in mind, when he heard rushed footsteps behind him.
He turned to see Sariah striding up to him.
His throat tightened. She looked especially lovely today in a pale lilac dress.
It complimented her dark hair and made her amber eyes brighten even further.
But where her expression was pale earlier, now her skin color had heightened remarkably. “Why did you leave?” she demanded, anger and perhaps a bit of hurt obvious in her tone.
He glanced behind her to make sure she hadn’t been followed and grasped her arm, pulling her into the nearest room. It turned out to be a library, books lining the shelves all around them, the leather-bound volumes reaching nearly to the ceiling.
He shut the door behind them. “What was I supposed to do? Stand there and watch you and Lord Michael fawn over each other?”
Her mouth fell open on a gasp. “I do not care for him in that way.”
He snorted. “You could have fooled me. Since he arrived, you have been rather cozy together.”
Those mesmerizing eyes narrowed. “I have known him since I was a child. He was a frequent guest at my parents’ house.”
“And yet, you are no longer a girl,” he snapped.
When she crossed her arms, he scrubbed a frustrated hand down his face.
“I was in close proximity to Lord Michael when a rabbit jumped out of the bushes. I pulled back too hard on the reins and had the misfortune of being thrown off my horse. But the wound to my pride was nothing compared to your easy acquiescence to him just now.”
Her amber eyes flashed. “You would blame this on me? What about your inability to speak up and—”
He trapped her against the door. “What would you have me do?” he growled. “Walk up and claim you in front of everyone? This betrothal is not real.”
“Then why are you so angry about Michael?” she challenged, likely using his given name in an intimate manner without the honorific as an intentional jab. “If you do not care—”
“I never said I did not care,” he amended. “But I do not have that right to you.”
She lifted her chin. “It sounds as though you prefer it that way. Am I really just a means to an end for you?”
Reed clenched a fist and pressed it into the wood of the frame.
“This was a mutual arrangement from the beginning. Do not act as though I have lied to you. From the day I called on your father, it was agreed that this was a temporary arrangement to salvage your reputation and yes, gain me additional revenue in return.”
Her focus was clear and steady. “If you think nothing has changed between us since then, you are not just trying to fool me, but yourself as well.”
Reed stilled. “You are right. Everything has changed,” he murmured. Moving closer to her, where nothing separated them but the clothes covering them, he added, “I want you writhing under me. I want to hear you crying my name when I pleasure you.”
He heard the catch in her breathing, saw her eyes darken with desire. “Then what are you waiting for?”