She turned her attention to Belinda next. 'As for you, I hope you get down on your knees and pray God's forgiveness for all the lies you've told today. You may tell Mother I'm sorry she isn't feeling well. I'll come to see her when I'm certain neither one of you is home.'

After making that speech Sara turned her back on her family and walked across the street. Colin tried to take hold of her arm. She pulled away.

Everyone watched her until she'd walked inside the office and shut the door behind her.

The earl of Winchester still wasn't ready to give up. The argument became fierce again and lasted several minutes before Nathan finally took a step forward.

Sara's father tried to go toward the office then. He shouted his daughter's name in such a booming voice that the veins in the side of his neck stood out. Nathan blocked his path. That action proved threatening enough.

No one said a word until the Winchester carriage rounded the corner. The men on horseback trailed after the vehicle. Then everyone started talking at once.

Jimbo and Matthew both argued in Sara's defense. 'She might have told,' Matthew said, 'but only the way she told about Nora and me. Inadvertent like.'

'I'm saying she didn't tell at all,' Jimbo muttered. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Colin when he made that emphatic statement. 'You didn't help, Dolphin,' he added. 'You could have swayed the boy's mind if you'd argued in our Sara's defense.'

'The last time I argued in a woman's defense Nathan damn near got killed,' Colin replied.

'He was young and stupid back then,' Matthew said.

'He still is,' Jimbo stated. 'You aren't at all surprised, are you?' he said then. 'With your cynical heart, I imagine you expected our Sara to fail you. Isn't that right?'

Nathan wasn't listening to his friends. His gaze was centered on the corner where the carriage had last been seen. With a shake of his head he pulled himself out of his musings and turned to walk away.

'Where are you going?' Matthew called out.

'Maybe he came to his senses,' Jimbo said when Nathan started across the street. 'He might be going to apologize to Sara. Did you see the look on her face, Matthew? It tore me up to see such torment.'

'Nathan wouldn't apologize,' Colin said. 'He doesn't know how. But he might be calm enough to listen to her now.'

Sara had no idea Jimbo and Matthew had come to her defense. She believed everyone had damned her. She was so upset she couldn't stop pacing. She kept picturing the expression on Nathan's face when she'd admitted that she'd known the truth about his father.

He believed she had betrayed him.

Sara had never felt so alone. She didn't know where to go, whom to turn to, what to do. She couldn't think. Her fantasy of living in paradise with the man she'd always believed loved her was gone.

Nathan had never loved her. It was just as her relatives had told her. He was only after the king's gift. She'd thought those often-repeated reminders were lies meant to turn her heart against him. She knew better now.

God, what a fool she'd been.

The pain was simply too much, too overwhelming to think about. Sara remembered the vile threat her father had made against Nathan's sister Jade. Her heart went out to the sister, and even though she'd never met the woman she knew it was her duty to try to warn her so she could prepare herself.

The plan gave her a mission, a reason to move. No one noticed when she walked outside. They were occupied shouting at each other. She walked to the corner, but as soon as she was out of sight she started running. She lost her way almost immediately, yet she kept on running until she was out of breath.

God took mercy on her, for when she couldn't go another step she spotted a hack in the middle of the street only half a block away. A passenger was getting out of the vehicle. While he sorted through his pockets for his coins Sara hurried forward.

She didn't have any shillings with her. She didn't know the address of her destination either. She couldn't worry about the lack of funds, though. She decided the coachman would have to be responsible for finding the address on his own.

'The earl of Cainewood's townhouse, if you please,' she called out. She got inside the vehicle and pressed herself into the comer. Her fear was that Nathan might have sent one of his men to chase after her.

The coachman directed the hack to what he referred to as the fancy-pants section of town, yet he still had to ask directions from a passerby before he found the address his fare had requested.

Sara used the time to calm her queasy stomach. She took deep, gulping breaths and prayed she wouldn't be sick.

Nathan had no idea Sara wasn't waiting for him inside the office. He tried to rid himself of some of his anger before he spoke to her again. He didn't want to add to her upset. God help him, he couldn't imagine what her life must have been like living with such vile relatives.

Jimbo began to nag him in earnest. 'I don't condemn her for telling,' Nathan said. 'I understand her flaws. I wasn't surprised. Now, if you'll quit your hounding, I'll go and tell her I've forgiven her. Will that satisfy you?'

Jimbo nodded. Nathan strode across the street and went inside the office. It didn't take him any time at all to realize his wife wasn't there. He looked inside the back storage area just to make certain.

Panic filled him. He knew she hadn't left with her father, and that meant that she had literally walked away.

The picture of just what could happen to an unattended woman in that section of the city terrified Nathan. His roar echoed through the streets. He had to find her.

She needed him.

Chapter Thirteen

Sara cried her way to her destination. When the hack came to a stop in front of a brick-front townhouse she forced herself to gain a little control. Her voice barely cracked when she ordered the coachman to wait for her. 'I won't be but a minute,' she promised. 'I have another destination after I've finished here, and I'll double your fare if you'll kindly be patient.'

'I'll wait as long as it takes,' the driver promised with a tip of his hat.

Sara rushed up the steps and knocked on the door. She wanted to get inside the townhouse before she was spotted by her relatives. She was also afraid her courage would desert her before she'd completed her mission.

The door was opened by a tall, arrogant-looking man with deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He was quite homely in appearance, but the sparkle in his dark eyes indicated he had a kind nature.

'May I be of assistance, madam?' the butler inquired in a haughty tone of voice.

'I must see Lady Jade at once, sir,' Sara answered. She gave a quick look over her shoulder to make certain she wasn't being watched, then said, 'Do let me in.'

The butler only had enough time to get out of her way. Sara rushed past him, then demanded in a whisper that he shut the door and bolt it against intruders.

'I pray your mistress is here,' she said. 'I don't know what I will do if she isn't home.'

That possibility was so distressing, her eyes filled with tears. 'Lady Jade is home today,' the butler told her.

'Thank God for that.'

A smile softened the elderly man's expression. 'Yes, madam, I often thank God for sending her to me. Now,' he continued in a brisker tone of voice, 'may I tell my mistress who has come calling?'

'Lady Sara,' she blurted out. She suddenly grabbed hold of his hand. 'And please hurry, sir. I'm growing more cowardly by the second.'

The butler's curiosity was caught. The poor distressed woman was trying to squeeze the bones right out of his hand. 'I shall be pleased to hurry, Lady Sara,' he announced. 'Just as soon as you let go of me.'

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