Page 2 of A Wish Upon an Earl (A Maypole in Mayfair #3)

All his life, Jack had been an athlete. He boxed regularly, walked a great deal, was a superior horseman, and his hunting skills were highly regarded. But the weight and the stiffness combined, along with the crush of the crowd, made it difficult to move with any sort of grace.

He stopped as he managed to knock over another partygoer. Should he apologize? The scandal sheets tomorrow were likely to be full of his antics this evening. At least his identity was concealed in this monstrosity of a costume.

The irony of the entire situation was that he’d come here tonight to make a long overdue apology for another incident involving an embarrassing costume. He hadn’t been wearing a costume that time, rather someone else had worn one for his benefit. Lady Sarah Appleton.

He looked at her across the ballroom, her gaze fixed on him. For a brief moment, he imagined she knew it was him in the armor and she looked at him because… Well, because she cared and she was ready to hear his apology.

She’d not looked at him in five years. On the rare occasion he’d seen her, she’d carefully avoided his gaze.

It was a testament to the graceful woman she’d become, but he’d have found it a great deal easier if she’d railed at him. Told him what a selfish cad he was. Anything other than the stony silence and averted eyes.

At least right now, she was looking directly at him. That almost made this debacle worth it. But how could she know it was him? More likely, she was staring because he was making a complete fool of himself.

In his vision of tonight, he’d swept in as a knight. Sarah had always been a romantic at heart. As her brother’s best friend, he’d listened to her often enough. She was forever attempting to retell fairy tales, with heroes, dragons, and knights.

When he’d been younger, he’d even liked some of them. The stories had involved a great deal of action and adventure, and Sarah… She lit up when she told a story. Her green eyes sparkled as her voice rose and fell with an almost hypnotic cadence. She was magical.

But she no longer shared her stories with him, and she wasn’t a girl any longer.

A fact that was highlighted by her gown this evening. Styled in a medieval fashion, it hugged her curves, and the color brought out the green of her eyes and her mane of red-gold hair. She’d pulled back the front so that the curls tumbled unhindered down her back.

She was stunningly beautiful.

A fact he wished he’d realized when she was fourteen and he’d been eighteen. Back then she’d still been a somewhat awkward girl who got carried away with daydreams and dramatic tales. She’d been sheltered by loving parents and two doting older brothers and…

And he’d burst their protective bubble with one quick and decisive move.

His chest tightened to remember. He’d been a fool.

Jack had been attending Eton with her brother, Ash. He’d been Will back then of course, and to the meaner boys, they’d called him Apple because of his name and his hair. He’d only taken on the title and the name Ash a year ago when Malcolm had died suddenly.

He’d seen Sarah the day of the funeral, standing stoically by her brother’s side, looking exactly and nothing like the girl he’d known all at once.

Beautiful to be certain, but she’d been so sad, and it had killed Jack inside that he wasn’t able to offer her even the smallest comfort. He’d wanted to wrap her in his arms, but instead she’d not even met his eye.

And all because he’d been a stupid boy. The memories of that day rose up like specters once again.

Ash’s family had arrived at the school for a visit, and at first he’d been thrilled.

Their family was everything Jack’s wasn’t.

Warm, comforting, supportive of one another, and they’d more or less accepted him in the fold as one of the family when he was but a child.

But everything changed with this visit. From the moment she’d arrived at Eton, he’d seen a change in Sarah.

She’d looked at him with starry eyes and rosy-cheeked blushes rather than simple childish adoration

And while no one seemed upset, it had added some distance between him and the rest of Ash’s family. As though they knew before he did that things would be forever changed.

Groaning to himself, he’d done the only thing he’d known to do. Avoid her.

She’d clearly chosen him for her first infatuation, a situation he wanted no part of. No one in his entire life had ever protected him. He supposed he didn’t understand that it was his job to protect her. At least that was what he liked to tell himself.

Still, out of respect for Ash and for Sarah, he’d ignored her as she fluttered about. He could confess now that he’d grown irritated. Hadn’t she understood that she was just a girl while he was a man?

Looking back, he hadn’t been a man either. Because a real man would have borne her young attention with grace and dignity.

But he’d been a childish oaf back then. Much like tonight, a friend had held a costumed event and Sarah had styled herself as a cupid. In actuality, the costume had been adorable with wings and hearts and a bow and arrow.

But the poetry she attempted to pair with it… He groaned again. It had been dreadful.

Still, it didn’t excuse what he’d done.

He’d slipped out to the garden to meet his friends for a smoke. They fancied themselves rebels, and he’d wanted a break from Sarah’s attention. He couldn’t be around the rest of her family without her prattling and preening. And in that costume…

But Sarah had followed, likely unaware that he was meeting a whole group of fellow students.

When she’d popped out of the bush, spouting poetry and looking dewy-eyed, a shower of male laughter had rained down on her. His friends, just behind him, had all witnessed her romantic gesture.

He’d laughed too. Because he was frustrated with her silliness and, he realized later, he didn’t want things to change. He liked being a member of their family. “Silly Sarah.” He’d jeered. “Don’t you know I’m far too mature for such a juvenile display of affection?”

He’d seen it in her eyes. That he’d crushed her. The sparkle left them. He hadn’t even known that was possible until he watched it happen. Jack had wanted to take the words back, but the chorus of laughter behind them had stilled his tongue.

Her muffled sob, however, had wrenched at his heart. She’d turned and fled and he’d almost chased after her. Almost.

But very nearly wasn’t the same as actually doing something, and instead, he’d turned and had that smoke with his friends. He’d been sick inside the entire time. No, he didn’t want her affection, but he did prize her friendship.

And he’d ruined it with one cutting comment. In fact, he’d ruined everything. He barely spent any time with Ash’s family after that. Theirs was the one family he’d ever truly belonged in, and he had to make it right.

He watched her across the room as she gathered her skirts and turned, heading out to the gardens.

Five years had passed and still she fled his company every time he drew near. Jack understood, of course, but he only wanted one chance to give the apology she’d deserved for all these years.

And so he followed.