Page 11 of Hot and Bothered in July
A passing carriage paused and he climbed inside. Leaning back against the seat, he pinched the bridge of his nose. If he was already this disrupted by Miss Kent, pretending to be her intended was going to be akin to torture. He considered paying a visit to the local brothel and satisfying his baser needs, but at the same time the thought crossed his mind, he discounted it, finding it of no interest. There was currently only one woman who was firing his blood.
He scrubbed a hand down his face. A stiff drink it was to be, then. He had to do something to exorcise himself of this desire for Miss Kent or else he might very well find himself in the parson’s noose in reality. Or far worse.
Sariah watched Mr. Carrington leave and wondered what had happened to change his mind. She believed they had been in agreement, and yet, he walked away. Had he already reconsidered their arrangement when he was the one who had introduced it?
“Is Mr. Carrington going home?” she asked, hoping that she kept her voice nonchalant.
“He is.” Her father looked at her with a frown marring his brow. “Surely you did not think he would return home with us?That would surely get the tongues wagging.” He chuckled. “He did ask if he could call tomorrow, and I agreed.”
Sariah released the breath she’d been holding. It certainly made sense that her father might have discouraged such a late-night visit. But she realized that wasn’t what she had been afraid to admit. Now that she had discovered a common ground with Mr. Carrington, she found him to be quite interesting—and entirely too handsome for his own good. However, that had never been in question. He was her blond Adonis and he was about to become her betrothed.
A thrill of excitement shot through her, although she wondered what could have possibly created it. She had long been against marriage without love or true devotion, and against the wedded state in general. She did not see anything wrong with spinsters or women who had been married but preferred to remain widows. They were the sort of ladies she admired because they had stayed strong and fought against a world dominated solely by men. They preferred to take a stance against the injustices. At least, that was how Sariah chose to look at it. Whether or not it was true and they never had a choice in their fates was another issue entirely.
She thought of Maggie and Ava and decided that it might be too risky to attempt to pay a call and risk being turned away if their parents were still angry. However, she fully intended to write them each a letter and once again, express her regret at the way things had not turned out as they had all anticipated. Of course, she still felt responsible for the consequences that all found themselves in now. The Pond was supposed to be a fantastic opportunity to explore the forbidden and instead it had turned into a miserable experience.
At least, for the most part.
Sariah wasn’t yet sure that getting the chance to meet Reed Carrington was such a bad thing after all. Granted, pride andembarrassment had been the key factors in her reaction to him, but seeing him again today and then actually speaking to him on a mature level this evening had certainly raised her esteem of him. He could have taunted her about her unfortunate dunk, and yet, he had not brought it up once. Her father had mentioned it, but Mr. Carrington had merely nodded and easily altered the subject. It wasn’t until later that he mentioned Bath and offered a light jab at her expense. But it was not with a malicious intent.
Sophie helped her get ready for bed and then Sariah lay down, desperate for sleep but finding that it eluded her. She could not stop thinking of Mr. Carrington and how she was already eager to see him tomorrow.
She blinked into the dim light of her bedchamber.
Oh, dear. This was not good. She should not be thinking of Mr. Carrington except in a purely professional manner, since their arrangement was not only temporary but a solution to a problem and nothing more. Once the month was over, she had no doubt that they would amicably part ways. Perhaps they might become friends but the likelihood that they would speak much once July was over was slim. Unless he was invited to a society party, which she supposed could be a possibility if he were deemed acceptable company in an appropriate setting, but otherwise, they lived in two different worlds. He was part of the working class which mixed as well with the upper echelon as oil and water. There was a reason there was that invisible divide that no one dared—or wanted—to cross.
She exhaled heavily and attempted to adjust her position in the bed, but could not seem to get comfortable. Nor was she that tired, her mind pulling her in several different directions.
Tossing back the covers, she decided to head downstairs to see if she could find something boring to read from her father’sstudy. Surely a study in physics would see her snoring in short order.
With her wrapper in place, Sariah left her chamber and began to peruse the leather-bound volumes lining the shelves. She happened upon one innocuous looking title “Veneres uti observantur in gemmis antiquis.” Curious, she flipped the book open to a random page and quickly slammed it shut with a snap.
She could feel her cheeks heating violently and she looked at the cover as if it might catch fire at any moment. She had never beheld such… graphic engravings before.
Slowly, she took another peek, just to make sure she was seeing things correctly.
Her eyes widened and she snapped the book closed again while glancing about the room, as if expecting her father to walk in and catch her reading a scandalous novel. She was stunned that he had such a torrid book in his library.
Squaring her shoulders and giving a rebellious sniff, she brazenly took the book to a far corner of the room. Tucking her legs beneath her, she dared to peruse further. With each page that she turned, she discovered she had many more questions than answers. At the same time, she understood that these positions were meant to be saved for the marriage bed.
Thinking of trying some of these illicit poses with Mr. Carrington were not entirely distasteful. She was more concerned if she might be able to get her leg that high.
With each etching revealed, her heart began to race and a strange pulsing sensation started to throb between her legs. She wondered if she might be having an apoplexy, but she recognized the signs for what they actually were.Hysteria. She’d heard some of the maids discuss this very ailment and how it took a gentleman to ease their affliction.
Sariah began to get worried. If she was coming down with some sort of illness, she certainly needed to discuss it withsomeone, and who better to ease her concerns than talking to her future betrothed?
Reed walked confidently up the steps of the baron’s townhouse the next morning, determined to withstand any further allure that Miss Kent presented. He went over all the ways this façade would benefit each of them—restoring her reputation and putting him in touch with several affluent business associates. He had to start thinking with his mind rather than the smaller head attached to his groin that generally steered him into trouble.
He had promised Jackson that his wild days were behind him. They were all set on finding a level of respectability that had been previously denied them.
However, he didn’t realize that all of his hard-won arguments were about to be sorely tested.
The front door opened and a footman greeted him with the perfection of formal, English hospitality. It did not take him long to be shown into the baron’s study, since this call was already anticipated.
To his surprise, the solution he’d presented the evening before to Sariah was met with the same agreement from the baron. “I concur, that until the talk settles down a bit, this is the best course of action for everyone involved.”
Reed continued speaking, as if he was still trying to convince Lord Foxworth that his argument was solid. “I will quietly back away once Sariah’s reputation is secure and allow her to cry off from the engagement to find a suitable match. In the interim, I am hopeful that some of the contacts you have so graciously provided are still amicable to work with our business.”
The older gentleman extended a sheet of paper. “I took the liberty of adding a few more names to the list that I did not have a chance to give you last night.” Reed stood and accepted the offering graciously. Sariah’s father adopted a sudden somber expression. “I want to thank you for being discreet about the incident at the theatre last evening as well.” At first, Reed wasn’t certain what he was referring to, but then the baron added, “Lord Baltimore is an unsavory character on his best days. I appreciate you coming to her aid.”
