Page 16 of A Wish Upon an Earl (A Maypole in Mayfair #3)
TWO DAYS LATER…
M ost of the guests had left, and though the party had been beyond successful in so many ways, Sarah was delighted to sit with just her friends and their significant others.
They lounged in the morning room, having decided to stay a bit longer.
The party had been such a rush, they’d hardly spent any time together.
Aubrey and Drew were just to her right while Ash and Camilla sat across from them.
On her left was Rose and a man Sarah had managed never to meet over the course of the entire house party, though to be fair, she had spent half of it locked away in her room.
“How is your ankle?” Rose asked.
Sarah swished her skirts. “Much better, though I’m glad to be done playing hostess to such a large crowd. Thank you all for your help.”
She was beyond grateful and more than a little relieved the party was over.
Which was interesting, to say the least. The old Sarah would have been beyond disappointed that the party was done, and the Sarah of late would have seen it as nothing more than an obligation, but the Sarah right now, the one leaning against Jack, his arm around her shoulders—this Sarah liked a healthy mix of both.
And what a wonderful way that was to be.
She smiled despite herself, and Jack leaned down, whispering in her ear. “What are you thinking?”
She looked at him then, their faces bent close together, their lips so near, they almost touched. “That I like this time. Just us and our close friends.”
“Me too,” he answered, his grin growing wider.
“What are you two talking about?” Ash asked as he leaned in, his fingers threaded through Camilla’s.
“Are you coordinating wedding dates?” Camilla asked. “We’re going to have to discuss so that we don’t inadvertently overlap, calculating in travel times.”
Everyone chuckled. “We might have to go last, love,” Ash said, looking at his bride-to-be. “Sir Henry has provided a significant amount of funds in order to get our brewery up and running. He wants to be a partner.”
Camilla gave Ash a large smile. “Oh, that is wonderful news.”
“It is,” Sarah said with a small clap. “And it means that I was right, by the way.”
Ash raised his brows. “How so?”
Jack was already chuckling as his hand tightened about her shoulder. “Networking, old chap. Thanks to her party, you’ve got a financier.”
Everyone laughed again. Ash rubbed the back of his neck.
Drew kicked back in his chair. “I like this time too. While I’ve enjoyed getting to know all of you, I’ll be most glad to see you all happily wed.”
Rose grimaced. “You did have to play chaperone a great deal the past few days.”
Drew waved a hand. “Ash had his turn for that too, with Aubrey and myself. But with any luck, I’m done chaperoning for a good long time.”
“I’ve one lingering question,” Sarah said as she leaned forward. “While I was up in my room, I heard something involving you and a pond, Rose? What was that about?”
Rose turned seven shades of pink. “I’ll tell you another time.
What I want to know is this.” She straightened her skirts as she intentionally changed the subject.
“I’ve read several versions of “Rapunzel” in multiple languages, most recently Friedrich Schulz’s 1790 adaptation, and in every one the prince visits Rapunzel in the tower before he rescues her. ”
Jack coughed, sitting up straighter. “Rose, I appreciate your commitment to literature, but that sequence of events was simply not appropriate for the party.”
Sarah gave him a nudge. “Rose uses literary reference to deflect. You’ll learn that about her in time.”
Rose sighed. “Do you know what is just a bit sad? None of us is returning to Madame Bellafonte’s school.”
“That’s true,” Aubrey said with a shake of her head. “Though my cousin will be attending next year. Half of my family is lining up to fill Madame Bellafonte’s halls after I married a duke. They now seem to think the school is the best way to make an excellent match.”
Everyone laughed at that. It certainly had worked out for them.
“I’ll miss Mayfair,” Camilla added, her chin coming to rest on her hand.
But Aubrey only gave them a bright grin. “As we all know, Drew’s home is on the other side of the square. Perhaps next year we can all attend the May Day celebration.”
“Wonderful idea,” Sarah said as she looked at the man she was about to marry. The man she’d loved since the age of fourteen. “Though I think I shall abstain from making any more wishes. One in a lifetime is quite enough.”
Everyone laughed again as Jack leaned close, his lips just brushing the shell of her ear. “How lucky for me that I got to collect the one.”
She laughed. “You didn’t collect it so much as ride in, suited in armor, and demand that it be yours. A situation I quite enjoyed.”
Ash chuckled. “Gads, can you imagine if he’d had to ride a horse in that thing?”
Jack sat up. “I could do it. Did you see how quickly I mastered moving about?”
Drew slapped his knee. “Gentlemen, I know what we’re going to do today.”
Sarah looked around her, joy bubbling inside. It wasn’t just that they’d each gotten a wish but, if she wasn’t mistaken, they were becoming a new wonderful family. “I shall watch from a balcony, I think.”
“It’s only right that my princess should,” Jack said.
“And safer,” Ash added.
“I love you,” Jack whispered, twining his fingers through hers.
“I love you too. Always.”
She was home.