Page 46 of His Sinful Touch

“Did I live here? In the London house? Could I have been meaning to go live there?”

“I suppose you could have decided to, but as far as I know you never lived here. You grew up at Carmoor. Your father came to London on business and sometimes your mother did as well, but I don’t believe she was as fond of the city as your father was. He loved all the libraries and bookstores, of course.”

Sabrina nodded. It made her feel better to know that the house that had seemed so unknown to her was, in fact, not a place she should recognize or feel at home in. “Lilah...do you believe that I’m married to Peter Dearborn?”

Lilah was quiet for a moment, then said slowly, “That is what Peter told me last night. We exchanged greetings, and then he said something like I must congratulate him, that you had consented to marry him. I thought he meant you were engaged, but when I asked the date, he said, no, you had already gotten married. He didn’t say when exactly.”

“Do you think it’s true?”

Lilah shifted, looking uncomfortable. “You believe Peter and Mr. Dearborn are lying?”

“I don’t know. I don’t feel anything for Peter. Well, that’s not true—I felt something, but it wasn’t a good feeling. I was uneasy when he was there, and I didn’t want to go with him.”

“I suppose he would have seemed a stranger, since you cannot remember him.”

“Yes, but so did you, and I liked you. I trusted you. Nor was I frightened by Alex, whom I had never met. Tell me this—were you surprised when Peter told you we were married? Had you thought we were likely to?”

“Yes, I was surprised, a little. It seemed very sudden, and I wondered why you hadn’t written me about it. But maybe that was more because I felt a little hurt that you hadn’t confided in me. It would not be unusual, I suppose, for you and Peter to have developed strong feelings for one another, living in the same household as you have for the past four years. Still, I’ve never seen anything to indicate that you were attracted to him or that you felt anything more for him than I did—the affection of a friend whom one has known for many years. You didn’t mention any particular regard for him, even when we were talking about the headmistress’s nephew, whom all the girls admired.”

“Did we really?” Sabrina giggled.

“Oh, yes.” Lilah grinned. “In our defense, he was very good-looking—dark-haired and brooding. In retrospect, I think he was probably just sulking because he didn’t like to visit his aunt, but at the time we found him quite Byronic.”

“It seems likely that I would have told you if I had developed a tendre for Peter—or written you.”

“Yes. You wrote me about all sorts of things.”

“What things?”

“Oh...you talked about being excited at receiving a book you’d ordered or that you were bored or feeling a bit blue. In your last letter, you wished you could see the ball gowns I’d described. That was why I invited you to visit me. I had mostly given up trying to persuade you to visit, but your letter sounded so...I don’t know, restless, maybe even unhappy. I’m not sure—the only thing you specifically mentioned, though, was disliking the new gowns Mrs. Dearborn had bought you.”

“Then I didn’t like that gown I had in my case,” Sabrina said triumphantly. “I wondered why I had chosen such a fussy dress.”

“Mmm. Mrs. Dearborn does love ruffles and ribbons and bows, I fear. You thought they looked too schoolgirlish—‘like a baby’ is how I believe you described it. But, of course, you couldn’t refuse, for it would hurt her feelings, and she had been so kind to you.” Lilah hesitated, then said, “When Peter told me you had agreed to marry him, I worried that perhaps you had done so for the same sort of reason.”

“Am I so weak? That I would marry rather than hurt Mrs. Dearborn’s feelings?”

“No, not weak, but I know you feel a great sense of obligation toward the Dearborns. And their very kindness often makes it difficult to say no. I am sure you are closer to Peter than I am, having lived in the same household for almost four years now. It would be easy enough to believe that such affection could be love, especially if you dreaded hurting him...well, all of them, really.” Sabrina stared at her in consternation, and Lilah looked away. “I’m sorry. I—” She stopped abruptly, her gaze fixed on the window. “Sabrina...”

Sabrina, following her gaze, jumped to her feet. “It’s the Dearborns. They’ve come after me!”

Chapter Sixteen

“WE AREN’T GOING to the kitchen really, are we?” Con asked as he and Alex started down the hallway.

“No. I got the impression you didn’t wish to speak in front of the ladies.” Alex turned into the smoking room. “Tell me the real reason you came back.”

“I’m not sure, really. I thought you might be having a problem.”

“You had a twin moment?”

Con frowned. “Not exactly. It wasn’t the way it is when you’re in trouble, like the time you were set upon by those ruffians at Oxford.”

Alex’s eyes lit. “That was quite a mill.”

Con grinned back. “It was, wasn’t it? But that’s not the point. What I’m saying is, my feeling yesterday wasn’t like that. It was just a nagging unease. I didn’t even realize it was about you until yesterday, and I couldn’t get a train past Bath until this morning. I was worried I would be late. Then I get here and find you having tea with Miss Blair and Lilah Holcutt...who is, admittedly, enough to cause one alarm.”

Alex chuckled. “I noticed there was no love lost between you and the lovely Miss Holcutt.”