The Heir

Chapter Twenty-six

It was quite a while before Sabrina came out of the daze Duncan's kiss had left her in. She was shivering, had been for some time, but was only now aware of it. She didn't go back inside, though, to get warm. She walked around to the stable to see if she could find the coachman who had brought them.

He was there, fortunately, and agreed to take her home so she could change her clothes. Her aunts wouldn't have to know that she had gotten soaked, so she wouldn't have to explain why. She was in no condition to explain anything when she couldn't fathom what had happened herself.

Duncan had kissed her, thrilled her to her depths, then swore it would never happen again. What was she to make of that? That it was an accident, a spur-of-the-moment thing that shouldn't have happened and likely wouldn't have if they had been anywhere other than standing in the middle of a violent storm? Storms soothed her, but they apparently excited him, Mother Nature in her finest fury. Yes, there was something primitive in that, she supposed, something that might incite a man's passions.

She wished he hadn't done it. Knowing how wonderful and exciting it was, being kissed by him, wasn't going to help her peace of mind any. Not that it mattered compared to the other thing she had discovered, that she had actually fallen in love with him.

She wasn't surprised, really. There had been vague hints that it was happening, which she had tried to ignore. But actually admitting it... She knew it was going to make her miserable, loving Duncan. How could it not when she could never hope to have him for herself, when she would have to watch him marry someone else? And not from afar. She was his neighbor! She would see him often, him and his wife, and then him and his wife and their children.

She was late for lunch, not that it mattered since it was being served over the course of many hours, like breakfast, so not everyone was trying to crowd the tables at the same time. It still wouldn't have mattered either way, since she had no appetite now, had too much emotion churning around inside her to tolerate any food.

She joined her aunts in the drawing room. They'd already eaten and there was only a brief inquiry about her new day gown, which she covered nicely by simply saying the other had needed changing, without giving a reason. They accepted that, drawing their own conclusions as she'd figured they would, which kept her from having to lie about it. But then they had news to impart and were eager to impart it.

Alice beat Hilary in that, saying, "Ophelia has decided to stay here rather than with us, and has already sent for her things."

Sabrina's surprise wasn't that Ophelia would want to stay here, now that she'd been invited, but that she could. "They actually still have room here?"

"No, none a'tall, but she has friends here that offered to make room for her in the room they're sharing."

Hilary got her own thoughts in on the matter by adding, "Can't see why she'd want to be crowded in with a bunch of other gels when she could have a room to herself only ten minutes away."

Sabrina could and offered, "Being in residence, she's less likely to miss anything that occurs."

She didn't add that Ophelia would probably prefer crowds because they gave her the audience she seemed to constantly crave. That was an unkind thought best kept to herself. But staying at Summers Glade would also put a thorough end to any of the gossip about Ophelia, if any still lingered after her appearance today.

Alice pretty much confirmed that by saying, "It's being assumed she was invited back, so no hard feelings between her family and the Thackerays, even speculation that young Duncan has changed his mind and will propose again. D'you think we ought to point out that she's only here because you were invited, and she was our guest at the time?"

Sabrina sighed inwardly. She could frankly care less what turn the gossip took where Ophelia was concerned, but she didn't want to be responsible for influencing whichever direction it went.

"I think if Lord Neville wants it known that she's not here by his invitation, then he'll let it be known. It's not up to us to correct any false assumptions in that regard. Let everyone think what they like. You know as well as I that they will anyway."

That was a touchy subject that Sabrina immediately regretted mentioning, so she quickly added, "I heard there is to be dancing tonight. Has that been confirmed?"

"Indeed it has," Alice replied. "But there's no need to rush home to break the ball gowns out of storage. It will be quite informal."

"It has to be," Hilary pointed out. "At gatherings this large, it's almost impossible to set anything to a schedule, where everyone would need to prepare at the same time. Can you just imagine eight women in the same room, with eight ball gowns laid out, and eight maids trying to dress their ladies all at once? Can't be done, not without mass confusion and tempers flaring."

Sabrina did imagine it and smiled. "I don't know, the flaring tempers might be amusing to witness." "Have you met Lord Archibald MacTavish yet, m'dear?" Alice asked next. "No, but I've heard he's here," Sabrina replied. "Have you?" "Not yet, though we were hoping to today."

"She was hoping to," Hilary corrected her sister. "She has the silly notion that the widower MacTavish could use a new wife himself."

Sabrina raised a teasing brow. "Why, Aunt Alice, are you thinking of getting married?"

Alice blushed and humphed in her sister's direction. "Certainly not. It merely occurred to me that with his grandson moving to England, he'll be alone up in those Highlands of his now."

"We don't know what his home is like," Hilary argued back. "It could be filled to the brim with other relatives of his, for all we know."

"Actually, it's rather empty, according to Duncan," Alice said, smirking at Hilary in triumph that she had that information.

Sabrina decided to nip their bickering in the bud before it got seriously started by satisfying her own curiosity. "You spoke to Duncan?" she asked Alice.

"Yes, just after lunch, though not for long. Poor boy seemed rather upset about something. He did ask where you had got to, and I couldn't answer him. I presume this was when you went home to change?"

"Possibly," Sabrina replied uncomfortably, and even more uncomfortably, tried to sound nonchalant in asking, "Did he say if he was looking for me for a reason, or merely wondered where I was?"

"No, but it's all right for you to seek him out to find out," Alice said.

"Yes," Hilary confirmed. "It's quite acceptable for you to do that in a gathering like this. You are his neighbor, after all."

Sabrina gave both of her aunts a narrow look, aware of what they were doing. "If it's important, I'm sure he'll find me. But in the meantime, stop imagining there is more there than there is. He sees me merely as a friend, something neighbors tend to do."

As they watched Sabrina leave the room, Alice said, "She stressed that rather nicely, didn't she?"

"Yes, rather overstressed it, actually. He likes her, you know."

"I thought as much, but apparently she doesn't," Alice said, frowning thoughtfully.

"Can you blame her for being less than confident after the disaster London turned out to be?"

"It wasn't a disaster, merely a—"

"Disaster."

"I swear, Hilary, could you not disagree with me for once, when we do happen to be in agreement about Duncan MacTavish? If Sabrina thinks he only wants to be friends with her, then she's not going to notice any hints to the contrary that will come from him. We need to convince her that she has a chance at a fine match here."