Page 6 of A Wish Upon an Earl (A Maypole in Mayfair #3)

S arah raised her brows as Ash returned to the room but without Jack. And when Ash whispered in Drew’s ear and then the duke left, they notched even farther up. What was going on?

Had Jack told the truth? That they’d been together out on the terrace? That he’d hit her ankle?

What had Jack said?

They really ought to have gotten their stories straight before Jack had spoken to Ash. But there hadn’t been time.

Had others been about them as they’d talked? Had anyone seen him hit her ankle? That would be an embarrassment to be certain, a blight on her reputation, but at least she’d not be forced into any sort of unwanted match.

Not that her brother was the sort to force a marriage on her. But if they had been alone and someone had seen them…

Still, they’d stayed quite a bit apart, up until the point that Aubrey had joined them. So if anyone had seen them, there was nothing untoward about their meeting.

She sighed in relief as she remembered the facts. The last thing she needed was another scandal in her life involving Lord Bentley. Jack.

She shook her head. She should be glad he was gone.

She hadn’t wanted to see him, let alone talk to him. Definitely didn’t want to be held in his arms.

So how did she explain how she’d fantasized about kissing him? And her feelings of disappointment now that he’d left her room?

Aubrey slid onto the bed next to her. Her friend was dressed as an angel, and the feathers on her wings fluttered about her as she sat.

“Did he carry you all the way up here?” Aubrey asked, bending closer.

Sarah looked at her friend with a sidelong glance. Having found love had made Aubrey a bit like pudding—she’d turned into a bowl of mush. Which was all well and good, but the last thing Sarah needed was for her friend to paint this night with a romantic brush. “Yes.”

Aubrey sighed. “How lovely. The knight came to your rescue.”

Sarah pressed her lips together. Sure. He’d done that right after he’d nearly taken her leg out from under her. “It isn’t like that, Aubrey.”

Aubrey’s brows lifted. “Really?” She leaned closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. “He looks at you with an intensity, Sarah. And then there was your wish…”

Ah. The wish.

How could she forget? That was where Aubrey’s romantic notions were coming from. And who could blame her? She’d wished for a puppy, and almost instantly a puppy had appeared and led Aubrey straight to love and marriage.

Sarah loved her friend for her new optimism, but honestly, Sarah’s responsibilities to Ash and the marquessate had to take priority over any whim or fancy. Not that she fancied Jack or his suit of armor or the way he’d carried her up the stairs and made her think of kisses in the moonlight.

“My wish was for a knight who might come to my rescue. Not a man who nearly—” She stopped. It wasn’t for her to say what Jack had done.

“What did he do?” Aubrey asked.

Ash looked over at her, his eyes narrowing.

Sarah cringed, looking down at the embroidered pattern on her gown. Her ankle throbbed terribly, so she pulled up her skirt again to inspect the injury. It looked the same as the last time she’d checked, as she’d known it would. But it gave her an excuse not to meet Ash’s gaze.

“What did he do?” Ash repeated.

Sarah plucked at her skirts. “You know very well. That whole incident years ago.”

Aubrey sucked in a small breath, but Ash nodded. “That’s what we’re discussing?”

“Yes. What else would we be talking about?” She nibbled at the inside of her cheek. Did her brother know that Jack had knocked her down?

Ash came over to stand next to her by the bed. “He wishes to talk to you about all of that.”

“I’m not sure I want to speak with him.” She shook her head as she continued to stare down.

Aubrey touched her knee. “Did I miss something?”

Nearly as much as Sarah did not want to talk with Jack, she did not wish to retell the incident to Aubrey.

Her friends knew her as practical and competent.

To relay how she had dressed as a poetry-spouting cupid was too much to bear.

“It was a long time ago, when we were all younger and less sure of ourselves.”

Aubrey nodded. “I understand completely. I don’t know that I knew who I really was until Drew.”

Sarah only just managed to keep from rolling her eyes.

She was happy for her friend, of course.

And to find love was wonderful, but other than the occasional wayward moment, Sarah didn’t expect to find that sort of emotion.

She’d marry. Likely a good match that furthered Ash’s title and connections.

But save for a moment of wayward fancy around the maypole, Sarah didn’t dream of love. She shouldn’t. Duty was her only goal.

“Well, I know who I am and it’s not that flighty girl I used to be.”

Ash’s weight settled on the bed next to her as he reached for her hand. “You’re wonderful now, Sarah, but you were magical then. None of us keeps that innocence and zest forever, but I wish you’d let a bit of it back into your life.”

She looked at her brother, lips parted in surprise, but she didn’t have an opportunity to answer as another knock sounded at the door.

Was it Jack? Had he come back? Did she wish for him to?

Ash rose and answered, opening the door wide as the doctor entered.

A long breath left her lungs. Was she disappointed or relieved? And what of Ash’s words? Had she given up too much when she’d thrown off all fancy for practicality?

“Hello, young lady,” Dr. Mason smiled down at her. “I hear you took a tumble this evening?”

The doctor set to work examining the foot, grimacing as he worked until he finally looked up at her. “I see you’ve got quite the event going on downstairs.”

She gave a stiff nod.

He looked back down at her ankle. “I don’t think it’s broken, but I do think you likely bruised the bone. It’s my recommendation that you stay off the foot for several days.”

“Days?” she yelped.

Dr. Mason gave a quick nod of affirmation. “I’m afraid so. I’ll give you some laudanum tonight to help you sleep, but you’ll make the injury worse if you try to get up on that foot for two or three days at least.”

He stood and reached into his bag, giving Ash several instructions along with a few vials of medicine.

But Sarah didn’t pay attention. She was too busy trying to tamp down her irritation. Whatever interest she’d had in Jack, she had to push aside. Because now Jack had not only hurt her, he was hurting Ash too.

And that she could not tolerate.

* * *

Silence.

Jack grimaced at the duke who stared down at his suit of armor, now scattered about the stones of the terrace.

The other man had not spoken a word since they’d left Sarah’s room.

The absence of conversation was making Jack even more tense. The entire night had gone completely wrong.

He didn’t want to be down here with a surly duke. He’d intended to be with Sarah, at the very least having made his apology.

“It looks old,” the man grumbled as he stared down at the pile of metal. He’d finally spoken, and that was what he’d come up with?

“Family heirloom,” Jack answered.

“I can tell. Your family crest is on nearly every piece.” Then Amesbury reached down and picked up the breastplate. “Weighs a ton.”

“I noticed,” he mumbled, grabbing the helmet. “Ridiculously hard to move in.”

“Why wear it?”

He picked up several more pieces. “Once upon a time, Sarah…” He stopped. Had he started like he was telling one of her stories? “Sarah always liked knights, and I thought that she’d enjoy the costume.”

“Oh. So you dressed for her? Did you plan to match costumes?”

“I liked you better when you didn’t talk,” he grumbled as he picked up one of the gauntlets. Of course, she hadn’t intentionally coordinated with him. She barely spoke to him.

Drew made a sound like a snort. “Most people would say the same.”

That made Jack stop, and he looked over at the man. He hadn’t expected such a humble retort. “I didn’t mean that. I’ve a knack this evening for saying and doing the wrong thing.”

Drew shrugged. “Courting will do that to a man.”

Jack’s mouth snapped shut. He hadn’t come here to court. Just to apologize.

But as he looked down at the armor in his arms, he realized his actions did seem like that of a beau and not a friend.

Yes, Sarah was beautiful. And she’d filled his childhood with a lightness that he’d never been able to replicate. And he’d resisted every attempt of his mother’s to make a match for him, his thoughts increasingly settling on a red-haired beauty who sparkled in the moonlight.

Blast.

He sounded like a man intent to court. And he’d gone and compounded his mistakes by injuring her during his apology. “Sarah would never consent to my courtship,” he said as he searched the ground for any other pieces of the suit. He only had one of the gauntlets in hand. Where was the other piece?

“You’re an earl,” Amesbury answered as though that answered the question definitively.

“I’m an earl that she doesn’t particularly like. And I’ve done nothing but make that dislike worse this evening, I’m afraid.”

“As a man who just successfully married the right woman, may I give you some advice?”

Jack stopped. This was not in any way the conversation he’d expected to have when he’d left the room with Amesbury. “Please.” He forgot all about the other piece of suit as he looked at the duke.

“Find out what it is she wants and give it to her.”

Jack shook his head. The man made it sound so simple. He had no idea about their past history or how badly Jack had muffed this evening. “What did your duchess want?”

Amesbury smiled. “A puppy.”

“A puppy?” He started searching the ground again.

“How fortunate for you. That’s a relatively easy request.” He had to confess that he hadn’t the faintest idea what Sarah wanted.

Though he could see the truth in Amesbury’s words.

And in fact, he’d already attempted to give her something that he thought she would like.

That’s why he had the suit on in the first place.

“Even easier because I already had one.” The man grinned. It changed his entire face. Gone was the severe expression, and in its place was a man who appeared overjoyed. “It’s an interest we have in common.”

What did he and Sarah have in common? It used to be a love of her family. A joy at her ability to orate, a fondness for her company.

But now?

Now, he didn’t know. It had been too long, and if he were honest, she’d changed so much. Would they still even like one another? And what did she need right now? It wasn’t a puppy, that much he knew.

Perhaps it was time to find out.