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Sarah let go of her hold on him. He instantly missed her warmth and the silklike touch of her skin. “Terrible things happen even to members of the ton . Misery doesn’t care about one’s position in Society or whom it leaves alone.”

Despite the difference in their classes, he truly felt that his new wife did understand the pain that he carried. That he would always carry. It was a rather somber subject to base their relationship on, but grief was something they shared. Something that only other grievers could understand.

Christopher took a few bites of his breakfast. “Still, I intend to make all of my father’s dreams for my sisters come true.”

Tilting her head to one side, Sarah eyed him closely. “Did your father not have any dreams for you? And do you not have dreams for yourself?”

As the head of his business, no one had dared asked Christopher such searching questions.

He’d never had the time to create dreams of his own.

Over the years, he had learned every position involved by first doing it himself.

He was a decent drafter, a fine foreman, and an even better land engineer.

He’d been taught how to read and to write and to run a company.

He’d been too busy taking care of his father’s legacy to dream.

He glanced up at Sarah’s dancing eyes, and he knew he could not give her that answer. “Friends. Family. Children of my own. The usual things.”

“I wish for the usual things too,” she said in a soft voice, and there was no trace of arrogance.

“If you’d like, I can start new inquiries about the disappearance of your mother.” The words were out of Christopher’s mouth before he’d even had time to go over them in his brain.

Sarah flinched in her seat, but then he saw the smile build on her face.

The way to Sarah’s heart was through her mother.

Not even her position in Society. Nor her title.

Not Manderfield Hall—even though she cared a great deal for the estate and its tenants.

“That would be wonderful, Christopher. I can give you all the initial reports from the original inquiries. I kept everything.”

“Thank you. That would be most helpful. I have many connections at the English docks and with merchants all over the world. I will have them scour every manifest and list for the last seven years.”

If Lady Manders had abandoned her daughter for the Americas or Australia, it would be painful for Sarah to learn, but it would still be better than her being plagued by not knowing.

“And there is a portrait of my mother. Perhaps a likeness could be made and copied to be sent out.”

Christopher drained the juice from his cup. “Do you resemble her?”

Her eyes were full of tears as Sarah shook her head. “No. Mama was a great beauty.”

“So are you,” he said and meant it. The more he saw her and got to know her, the more beautiful this striking woman in front of him became.

Shrugging, she gave a little laugh. “I work very hard to be presentable.”

“You needn’t, I assure you.”

“I resemble my father’s family. And you? Do you favor your father or mother? I can see the resemblance between you and your sisters. You’re all very blond and attractive.”

He set down his glass. “Margaret resembles Mama the most. Mama’s hair was the palest shade of blonde, nearly white. Her eyes were the lightest-blue shade of an afternoon sky. She was quiet-spoken and very shy.”

“Then, I take it Deborah does not resemble your mother in personality or appearance very much.”

Shaking his head, Christopher chuckled. “No. Deb takes after my father and must be at the center of attention at all times. She’s determined, like he was, and twice as stubborn. I find her almost impossible to lead.”

“You said that your sisters have been at school. Might I ask which one?”

He flushed, remembering that Deb’s actions had caused his sisters’ hasty exit. “Miss Mason’s School for Gentry in Bath. They were there since my father died nearly nine years ago.”

Sarah took a bite of her fruit and nodded.

“Margaret’s table manners—in fact, her manners in general are perfectly pleasing.

Perhaps a little animation in her countenance would do her some good to attract more male attention.

Otherwise, I can find no fault with her.

She is intelligent, thoughtful, and extremely beautiful.

I do not think we will have any difficulty finding her a fine match, when she’s ready. ”

Christopher dropped his napkin. “You do not think she is ready?”

“For Society?” Sarah said. “Definitely. I think we will have a most lovely little Season in the fall and push for her to be presented to the Queen in the spring. I only meant that I do not think that she is eager to marry yet. I believe she wants to have a home before she becomes the mistress of one.”

He felt his hackles rise. “My sister has always had a home with me in London.”

“The Christmas holiday and a couple weeks in the summer is not the same. From what she confided to me yesterday afternoon, she has no close friends. And she and Deborah do not always get on comfortably.”

Gripping his fork tighter, Christopher said, “Deb’s not the type to get along comfortably with anybody.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows. “That I can well believe. However, all that I am suggesting is that we not be in a rush to lose Margaret. If and when she finds a gentleman she holds in high esteem, then we shall approve of the match.”

“You do not think my sister could marry a titled gentleman?”

“Oh, I think Margaret is sweet enough and beautiful enough to marry anyone. I only caution you that there are very few aristocrats with titles and even fewer whom you’d wish for her to marry.

I would not want her to be matched with a lord who is old enough to be her father, nor to a young buck living a life of dissipation, waiting upon his expectations to inherit a title or property. ”

Christopher dropped the fork onto his plate with a clatter. “Like your cousin, the Honorable Ralph Randolph?”

“Oh no. Ralph is not a part of the fast set. All his friends are gentlemen of good reputation, for which we, his family, are all most grateful. But he would not do at all for Margaret. She is too timid, and he would ride roughshod over her feelings. No, if you were interested in the heir to a mere baronet, I would say he would do very well for Deborah. They both have such strong personalities and outgoing natures. I daresay they would come to either loath or love each other.”

Christopher’s brow furrowed. He’d assumed Sarah did not think his sisters were well-born enough to marry aristocrats or members of her esteemed family.

He’d jumped to conclusions and judged her wrongly once again.

His wife was more worried about his sisters’ happiness than their social aspirations.

Something his own father should have thought more of.

Something that he himself needed to remember.

Something that made his chest warm and his blood thrum in his body. “Then, Deb ... ?”

“I do not think she should marry for several years at least,” Sarah assured him with an airy wave of her hand.

“She is only sixteen, and between you and me, she has a great deal of maturing left to do. Her behavior is often childish, and she can be carelessly cruel to Margaret. If we do not nip it in the bud, she will become a mean woman.”

He squirmed. “She isn’t a bad girl.”

“Of course not. She is merely a young lady who still needs to learn when to hold her tongue and how not to throw a tantrum when she doesn’t get her way.

Mostly, I think her outrageous behaviors are a plea for attention.

The poor child has lost both her parents, and she resents when her elder sister attempts to mother her.

I am hoping that if I shower her with the right kind of attention, she will be less likely to seek the negative type.

I think Deborah is simply bored and will blossom nicely when she finds friends of her own age. ”

Picking up his napkin, Christopher wiped at the corners of his mouth.

He was impressed and a bit flabbergasted by how easily and accurately Sarah had been able to assess his sisters.

What surprised him more was that she seemed to genuinely care for their welfare and finding them good gentlemen to marry, rather than just making them a good match.

“Are there many young ladies in the area?”

Sarah placed the lid back on her tray. “Several. Not as many as we will find in London, of course. There are the three Lake sisters, who are Mr. Robinson’s stepsisters.

I would guess their ages to be close to those of your sisters.

Miss Lily is not yet out, but she has the same boisterous spirits of Deborah, and I think they would get on swimmingly.

I can see them as a very tight pair. There are also the misses Whitman and Miss Iphigenia Wentworth.

Her mother is a bit pretentious, but the daughter is quite charming. ”

Christopher leaned back in his seat, his worries concerning his sisters lessening a little. He was right to find a wife to oversee them. “And will they all welcome friendship with my sisters, despite their lower origins?”

Sarah waved one of her delicate hands in the air.

“They will all welcome friendship with the sisters-in-law of Lady Sarah. I am still the highest-ranking lady in the neighborhood, and my grandfather is the Duke of Aylsham. The young ladies will like your sisters, and their mothers will follow my lead. And, as I told you when I proposed marriage, my family is one of the most prominent and well-connected in England. Only a fool would try to snub one of its members.”

“And me? Will they accept a businessman as your husband, or shall I be treated like a poor relation?”

Shaking her head, Sarah chuckled. “I should hardly describe you as poor, Christopher, and you are my husband. I would never countenance anyone treating you with anything but the highest of respect. It would reflect poorly on both of us.”

“But I am not your equal.”

“In what way? Birth? I had nothing to do with that. Education? I can assure you that I am your superior at sewing and needlework; I’ve had to be since I make most of my own gowns.

However, a lady’s education is not very deep.

I can read and write and have a passable knowledge of history and geography.

I am also learned on the pianoforte and the harp.

If pressed, I can speak a few phrases in French and Italian.

But you are an intelligent and capable businessman.

And fortune? No, indeed. I am not your equal.

My father gamed away my dowry, which forced my maternal grandfather to settle some money on me so that I would not be completely destitute.

And a lady is not allowed to earn her own way in the world, as you have done so brilliantly.

In that way, I would say that you are my superior.

In fashion, however, you are quite a bit behind me.

And probably always will be, for I am a trendsetter. ”

Sarah winked at him, and Christopher again fought to keep himself from smiling.

Maybe they were not as different as he’d originally supposed.

His heart lightened at the thought. His formal education was sparse, but he’d traveled a great deal.

“I also know a phrase or two in French and Italian that I learned from dockworkers—none of them, I believe, are appropriate for mixed company.”

She laughed the light, bell-like sound that he was growing to love. “Perhaps do not speak them at Almack’s assemblies.”

“Shall I receive a voucher?”

Shaking her head, Sarah touched her neck.

“Christopher, Christopher, Christopher, you will have to tie your cravat, which I see has come undone, and possibly shave off your handsome beard, but yes, you will receive a voucher. I am an intimate friend of all the patronesses, as was my mother. They would never dream of snubbing you, or me through you. I am closely related to too many powerful people.”

He sighed, dropping his shoulders. He hadn’t shaved off his mustache and beard since they’d first grown in.

If he looked carefully in the mirror, he could see the scars behind the hair.

He never wanted his wife to see them. “If I were to go, I would stand out like a sore thumb. A goat amongst the sheep.”

“Not if I had the dressing of you.”

Christopher’s neck felt hot again.

A slight pink stole into Sarah’s cheeks. “What I mean to say is that with a few alterations to your wardrobe, you could take your place amongst the pinks of the ton .”

“And the tulips of the turf?”

“You would outshine the out and outers.”

Resting his elbow on the table, he leaned his chin against his hand. “You could make me into a Bond Street Beau?”

Sarah smiled. “I could make a Bond Street Beau envious of the way you tie your cravat, the cut of your coat, and the style of your boots. Society is truly a silly bunch of people trying to outdo one another. Once you realize this, you can manipulate the game to your own advantage.”

Christopher exhaled in relief. He was rather good at business games. “When do we start?”

She elegantly rose to her feet, and Christopher stood as well. “First, let us go to your room. I will need a freshly starched cravat if I am to tie it in a fashionable style. And, if you do not mind, I should like to go through your wardrobe with your valet.”

He fiddled with his shirtsleeve. “I have a batman.”

“I daresay he will do just as well.”

Rubbing his beard, he said, “But I won’t shave.”

“Brava! You are a clever pupil. You are already starting a new fashion.”

Christopher smiled as he followed her into his own room.