Teasing Your Wicked Heart

CHAPTER 20

Sarah Jane knew that Anthony had been hiding a secret, but she hadn't known that the secret involved a rather ravishing beauty even more enviable than Miss Millicent Wetherby.

She hadn't seen him after Lady Huntington's ball.

She had been so busy as the Season was already on full swing. Lady Killsworth and Lady Huntington took turns in taking Sarah Jane shopping and walks in the park. Sarah Jane was invited to two outings in the following weeks. Anne Hastings had quickly become one of her closest friends, and they enjoyed feeding pigeons and whatever women seemed to do at parks.

Every time she went home to the cozy London home, the butler greeted her and took her coat. But she found herself looking for him, aching to hear his voice, to see his face, and to feel his presence in the same room.

She wanted to ask him about his past, about his demons and then kiss them all away.

One particular afternoon after a picnic with her new group of friends, Sarah Jane intended to do some investigating herself.

"What do you know of Lord Killsworth," she inquired from Anne, thinking that her new friend may be the best source of gossip that she has in her circle. "I saw him quite angry at Lady Huntington's ball with a beautiful lady. Do you know who she is?"

She took a hesitant glance at where Mathilda was situated. She was following them at a distance, allowing them their privacy but also guarding them like a mother hen.

"It was too long ago, I didn't think anyone would still care about it," Anne said as she removed some dirt from her shoe, kicking its heels on the pavement.

Sarah Jane extended her hand to scatter a few breadcrumbs on the floor. "I was in the country, hardly privy to any gossip." She did her best to sound bored, and not overly interested in just one kind of gossip.

One that involved her Lord Killsworth.

"Lady Edward was Lord Killsworth's former flame. I have not been able to gather too many details about it, but from what was said here and there, he courted her, and then after getting what he wanted, he left London," Anne said with a small frown.

"I admit, something about that tale seems to be quite suspicious. I saw the way Lord Killsworth looked at Lady Edward when she was still Miss Borough. He seemed very genuine about his intentions, but he left, and Miss Borough encouraged the attentions of Lord Edward who appeared to have been her hero after she suffered a great deal of scandal."

Sarah Jane could not bear to think that Killsworth could do such a thing.

He might have been the most veritable of rakes, a scoundrel in society, but she had been alone with him enough that Killsworth had opportunities aplenty to debauch her if he so desired, and there was nothing she could have done to stop him.

And he hadn't.

Having the option and choosing not to spoke a lot of his character.

"Some said that their split was because of his gambling problem. He might have offered for her, but her parents did not accept him."

Her head snapped to her companion. "Gambling? I've been with him for months and never have I seen him hold cards."

Sarah Jane's mouth settled into a grim line. "Surely, I find it odd that there are parents who would rather have their daughter besmirched than marry Killsworth, a titled gentleman who had supposedly taken her virtue?" She scoffed at the ridiculous tale.

"I certainly find it ridiculous, although Lady Killsworth herself appeared to have her doubts, which eventually, of course, led the ton to believe their own tales." Anne shook her head with a small smile.