Teasing Your Wicked Heart

CHAPTER 30

As Lord Killsworth headed the table with Lady Huntington and Lady Killsworth flanking both his sides, Sarah Jane did her best to stare at her peas while an affable gentleman chatted with her regarding the differences of beans.

Anthony tried to corner multiple times before they entered the dining room for supper. But Sarah Jane had dodged all oh his attempts as graceful as a bull. It was obvious that she was avoiding him, but he couldn't even begin to fathom why. If Anthony hadn't been so confused about her behavior, he might have had the chance to be furious with her. What the hell is wrong with her?

Sarah Jane looked like the very picture of light and happiness as she received their guests. Seeing Anthony's handsome face and debonair virility made her want to crawl into a ball and cry. She didn't know what to say to him. If she finds out that he was indeed having an affair with the duchess, she didn't think that she would survive it.

Sarah Jane avoided him as best as she could, letting herself fly to a corner after corner, and in the process, accidentally bumped a misguided gentleman staring at the potted plants.

"I apologize," She began, out of breath from having escaped Anthony's direct gaze. Sarah Jane was out of sight even before he had a chance to walk towards her direction.

"What a lovely accident." The man tore his attention from the potted plants and remarked cheerily at the happenstance. "Sir Samuel Burberry, at your service, my lady." He bowed over her hand and dropped a kiss that was barely felt.

She nodded encouragingly and introduced herself, tightly securing her hand under his arm until they were invited to enter for supper.

Now, Sarah Jane thought wryly as she stroked her peas, she was beginning to regret the decision to stick to Sir Samuel Burberry's side. She was quickly realizing that he is a man who fancied himself to be a very engaging enthusiast of the arts and sciences. Within minutes, she was absolutely bored to death.

Anthony had not once stopped staring at her as they ate. And because of that, Sarah Jane found herself to be at the end of many curious gazes from the table.

She was helplessly in love with him, and she felt that all he wanted to do with her was to give her away to one of these fools. He was so blind, so arrogant, and so irritatingly stubborn that it caused hurt for them both.

Why in god's name did the creator make such obtuse and difficult creatures, she would never know.

Thankfully, her dinner companion had been blissfully oblivious to the entire affair. Sir Samuel Burberry is an avid pursuer of all things green, which includes the gardens and the peas on their plate. He studied and talked about the fate of trees past autumn, the frogs by the pond, which to him sounded a bit odd at different times of the day, and the moss that gives out a peculiar scent after a steady downpour.

Why he was seated at this table, so near the hosts, even when his rank was infinitely beneath them, was a rather confusing puzzle Sarah Jane didn't wish to dwell on either.

She stabbed one pea, smiling sweetly at Sir Samuel, and nodding at whatever he was explaining at the moment. He was in the middle of a lecture about an experiment which crossed fat peas with small peas, and Sir Samuel was particularly interested to know if he could produce both fat and small peas within the same plant. Sarah Jane resisted the itch to roll her eyes. The only pea variety she was interested in are the edible ones.

Suddenly, a strange phenomenon of swift silence befell the entire table as every conversation paused at the same time, granting them a short unnerving respite from dinner chatter. Lady Thistlewicke then called Anthony's attention to break the spell of silence, presumably to open another topic of conversation. Sarah Jane couldn't help but steal a curious glance.