Duel of Hearts (14 page)

And as for the flowers,
they
must have come from someone else. Edward was not the sort to make pretty gestures. He had never sent flowers to
her
. Even on her birthdays he'd given her only practical things—a saddle, or a pair of ivory combs, or a box of writing paper. He would
never
have sent flowers. She was foolish to have alarmed herself about it.

Besides, Edward would never look at a dry-as-dust female like Sarah … not in
that
way. Her friend Belinda always said that Edward would never look at another female while Corianne was around. She had never before thought about the prospect of Edward's taking himself a wife, but she thought about it now. It would not be terribly shocking, she supposed, if he should do so. He was, after all, what Aunt Laurelia—and Belinda, too—seemed to consider a “good catch.” But the prospect depressed her unutterably. He was
her
Edward … hers! Her female instincts had always told her clearly that she held Edward Middleton's heart in the palm of her hand. She had grown up with that knowledge—it was a deeply ingrained part of herself. She couldn't lose it … it would shake her too deeply.

She ran to the mirror to look at herself. Was she becoming old and losing her looks? But the face in the mirror was dewy with youth. Her cheeks were still flushed with sleep, her tousled hair framed her face charmingly, and her eyes were still wide and darkly blue. No, she would not lose Edward to the older Sarah. If Sarah
did
have a beau at last, it was not Edward.

Of course, Edward might marry some day. She would not mind,
if
he did so
after
she was safely married to Lord North and had no further need of him. She wouldn't mind it then. But in the meantime, it was comforting to know that Edward was hers, always at hand and at her disposal.

He
was
at her disposal, wasn't he? She jumped up and ran to the little writing desk in the corner. Snatching up the pen, she wrote hastily,
Dear Edward, How can you Desert me when I've been Counting on you? Whatever it is that Occupies you this morning you must Postpone. I am quite Unhappy and must speak to you at Once. I shall be ready to ride at our Usual time. Don't Fail me. Your always affectionate Cory
.

She directed the note to the Fenton, hoping he was still there. She called the maid and ordered her to have the missive dispatched at once. Then she hurried into a morning gown. She would go down for an early breakfast. She was consumed with curiosity to learn who it was who'd sent the flowers.

Her aunt and her cousin were both at the breakfast table when she came into the room. She had barely greeted them when Laurelia chortled happily, “You were right last night, Cory dear. It
was
Mr. Middleton's hand that penned that card.”

Corianne felt a curious wave of panic. “
R-Really?
” she asked, stupefied.

“Mama is making too much of nothing,” Sarah said calmly, reaching for a biscuit.

Lady Stanborough jumped up from her chair in annoyance. “You are
impossible
, Sarah. I don't understand you. Do you
want
to be left on the shelf? If Middleton has shown an interest, you must
encourage
him. Don't you have any proper female instincts at
all?
”

“A little nosegay is not necessarily a sign of interest, Mama … at least not the kind of interest you mean,” Sarah demurred. “He's a confirmed bachelor, isn't he, Cory?”

“Well, I … I…” Corianne looked bemusedly from one to the other. “I've always
thought
so. Edward never…” Her voice petered out in a pathetic little quaver.

“There, you see, Mama? Edward never pursues females.” Sarah smiled brightly at her mother. “You refine on this tiny incident too much.”

Lady Stanborough expelled a disgusted breath. “Don't you know that
every
man is a confirmed bachelor—until he finds a wife? I wash my hands of you, Sarah. I completely wash my hands of you.” And she stalked out of the room.

Sarah was not the least discomposed by the little scene. She reached for the teapot and poured out a cupful which she placed before Corianne. “Sit down, Cory, and help yourself to a slice of ham and some biscuits. Everything is still warm.”

“Th-Thank you, Sarah … but I'm … not v-very hungry.” She turned and wandered bewilderedly out of the room.

But it only took her time enough to climb halfway up the stairs before her confidence returned. She'd been silly. She'd magnified the incident out of proportion. Edward had made a small, gentlemanly gesture—probably to thank Sarah for some kindness—and she, Cory, was interpreting it to signify a proposal of marriage! She was as foolish as Aunt Laurelia.

Besides, she'd sent him a note. If she knew anything of Edward, he was certain to come running. That would show them all! All she had to do was to get into her riding costume and wait.

It was shortly past eleven when Edward called. Corianne, who'd been watching at the sitting-room window, flew into the foyer before Tait had even taken his hat. “Edward, you
dear
! I
knew
you wouldn't fail me!” And she flung her arms around his neck triumphantly.

Edward was completely confounded. “Cory! What's wrong?” he asked in alarm.

“Nothing,” Cory laughed. “I'm just so happy you managed to come in time for our ride.”

“Our ride?” He looked at her askance. “Since
when
has our ride been so important to you? I've had the decided impression you found it rather a nuisance.”

She stepped back, shocked. “A nuisance! How can you
say
such a thing!” She tugged at his arm. “Well, come on. I can hardly wait to get started.”

Edward looked at her, baffled. “But … didn't you get my note? I won't be able to ride with you today.”

“Yes, but … didn't you get
mine?
”

“You wrote me a note? No, I didn't—”

Cory looked up at him in dawning dismay. “Then … why are you
here
? And … wearing your—?”

The sound of a step on the stair caused them both to look up. Sarah was coming down, dressed in a riding dress designed to turn heads. It was of a dark green velvet, its skirt sweeping the stairs in long, graceful folds, and its jacket, tightly fitted to the body, emphasizing her slim waist. A cocky little green hat was set rakishly on her auburn hair, a white plume waving coyly from the side of the crown.

Corianne gasped, and her cheeks whitened. “Oh! Have you an appointment with … I mean, do you take …
her?
”

Poor Edward was quite stricken at Cory's expression. “Well, I had
meant
to … but Cory, tell me, why did you send for me?
Is
there something wrong?”

Cory drew herself up proudly. “Not exactly. I
had
intended to discuss something with you, but I'm sure it can wait. If you've already committed yourself to my cousin … in the one hour you reserve for
me
…” She turned away, her head proudly erect.

Edward cast a helpless look at Sarah, who stood waiting patiently on the stairs. “Listen here, Cory,” he began placatingly, “if there's something on your mind, I'm certain that Miss Stanborough will excuse—” He looked up at Sarah for corroboration, but she shook her head warningly.

Cory turned. “What did you say?” she asked with a feeling that she might yet be victorious.

Edward shrugged helplessly. He had promised to be guided by Sarah's advice, but if Cory needed him…! “I said,” he repeated hesitantly, “that I'm certain Miss Stanborough—”

Sarah, disgusted at seeing him weakening, came smoothly to the rescue. “Miss Stanborough will bring him back in plenty of time for you to have a
tête-à-tête
this afternoon,” she said placidly, sailing down the stairs.

Cory almost stamped her foot in chagrin. Turning away angrily, she tossed her head and replied, “I am spoken for this afternoon. Mr. Denison comes to take me up in his new phaeton.”

“If a ride in a phaeton takes precedence over your talk with your guardian,” Sarah pointed out sensibly, “then the matter you wish to discuss cannot be so
very
urgent, can it?”

Cory wheeled about furiously. “It
is
urgent,” she declared. “
Very
urgent.”

“In that case,” Sarah said firmly, taking Edward's arm, “you will be here when we return. Mr. Denison can call at another time, I'm sure. We won't be above a couple of hours, will we, Mr. Middleton?”

Edward was staring at Cory in profound astonishment. It was quite clear that she'd been testing her power over him, and the knowledge left him dumbfounded. Sarah's little stratagem had really
worked
! It was like a game. In matters of the heart, men were like innocent babes, but women played the game like champion chess masters at the chessboard.

“Mr. Middleton?” Sarah prodded. “Two hours, wouldn't you say?”

Edward shook himself out of his stupor. If love was a game, he could learn the strategy of it as well as any other. He smiled down at Sarah. “As long as you say,” he answered with exaggerated gallantry. “And I must remind you, my dear Sarah, that you agreed to call me Edward.”

“Edward,” Sarah nodded, squeezing his arm in relief, “shall we go?”

Without a backward look, they sauntered to the door, leaving Corianne looking after them in tight-lipped mortification.

Despite the fact that it had begun to drizzle, Sarah and Edward agreed to go ahead with their ride. The bridle paths in the park, usually busily occupied at that hour of the morning, were pleasantly free of other equestrians, and they were able to let their horses gallop freely through the light rain. Edward found himself laughing out loud, partly because of the sheer pleasure of galloping at a speed he'd been unable to indulge in since he'd left Lincolnshire, and partly because of the excitement of realizing that Cory was not as far out of his reach as he'd believed. Sarah, keeping pace alongside him, lifted her face to the raindrops, shut her eyes and surrendered to the pure physical pleasure of the ride. When at last they slowed their pace, she opened her eyes to find him grinning at her admiringly. “You are a crackerjack horsewoman, too, Miss Stanborough. Are there no limits to your acomplishments?”

“
Sarah
, remember? I don't know what
other
accomplishments you refer to, sir, but I've been riding since the age of three. My father, you know, was as much of a
horseman
as his brother, my uncle Roland, is a
scholar
. Since my father had no son, he was determined that his daughter should have as good a bottom as any boy.”

“It seems he succeeded. You are a source of constant amazement to me, you know. How did you surmise that Cory would be so affected by my pursuing
you?
”

“I didn't surmise. I
knew
.”

“Well, then, how did you know?”

She shook her head in wonder at his artlessness. Even quite sensible men like Edward could be such dolts when they fell in love. She wouldn't even
try
to explain it to him. “Come help me down. I'd like to stretch my legs a bit before we ride back.”

Edward flipped a leg over the saddle, slid down from his mount and walked over to her horse. “I will when you tell me. How did you know?”

She laughed down at him. “Because I'm a witch. How else?”

“If that's true,” he teased, “then you can
fly
down from there without my help.”

His eyes smiling up into hers caused the familiar little tremor in her stomach. “Come, sir,” she pleaded, a bit breathlessly, holding out her arms, “
do
help me down.”

“I suppose I'd better,” he said, grinning, “or you may put a spell on me.”

Completely engrossed in their foolish badinage, they took no notice of the sounds of approaching hooves. Just as Edward lifted his arms, catching her at the waist as she slid from the saddle, a horseman thundered alongside and, with an intake of breath loud enough to be heard above the hoofbeats, pulled his horse to an abrupt stop. Startled, Edward kept Sarah pressed against him as they both turned their heads to look at the intruder. To Sarah's horror, she found herself staring into the icily menacing eyes of John Philip North.

Chapter Eleven

S
ARAH FELT THE
blood freezing in her veins. Her mind whirled in an agony of fear. How
could
she, in her involvement with Edward's problems, have so completely forgotten North's existence? She'd merely devised a simple little scheme to bring Corianne to her senses, intending only to help Edward achieve his heart's desire … and believing that the
cost
of the subterfuge would be hers alone. Instead, she was causing a situation in which
Edward
might have to pay the cost. The threat in North's eyes was unmistakable. He would have Edward's
death
!

Her eyes never left North's face as Edward set her gently on her feet. Before she could bring herself to speak, North wheeled his horse around and thundered out of sight. But she'd seen, not only in the expression of his eyes but in his white-knuckeld grip on the reins and the cruel fury with which he'd spurred his animal, that his mood was explosively dangerous. She was certain he would find a way to force Edward into a duel. He'd done it before, with much less provocation.

“What is it, Sarah?” Edward asked anxiously, peering into her whitened face.

She merely shook her head and asked to be taken home. She would not speak of the encounter, and Edward didn't press her. They were both relieved, however, when they found, on their return to Stanborough House, that Corianne was not waiting for them. The first-floor rooms were mercifully deserted, and Edward followed Sarah into the drawing room, determined not to leave her alone in her obvious agitation.