Caine looked incredulous. 'You want me to call Sara by the same endearments I call my wife?'
'Of course not,' Nathan snapped. 'I want you to write them down on a piece of paper for me.'
'Why?'
'So I'll know what the hell they are,' Nathan bellowed. 'Damn, you're making this difficult. Just write them down, all right? Leave the paper on the desk for me.'
Caine didn't dare laugh. He did smile, though. The picture of Nathan referring to notes while he tried to woo Sara was quite amusing. 'Yes, I'll leave it on the desk for you,' he said when Nathan glared at him.
Nathan started to leave. 'Are you even going to look in on Sara before you go?' Caine asked.
Nathan shook his head. 'I have to get everything ready first.'
The worry in his voice wasn't lost on Caine. 'The love words aren't necessary, Nathan, if you just tell her what's in your heart.'
His brother-in-law didn't respond to that suggestion. Caine finally understood. 'You're afraid to confront her, aren't you?'
'The hell I am,' Nathan roared. 'I just want it to be right.'
Jade was just passing by the library door when she heard her husband's laughter. She paused to listen, but the only snatch of conversation she caught didn't make any sense to her.
Nathan had just announced that come hell or high water, he was going to fix his flower. He just needed time to find out how.
Now what in heaven's name did that mean, Jade wondered.
Chapter Fifteen
Sara spent the afternoon in the guest bedroom. She sat in a chair near the window and tried to read one of the leather-bound books Jade had brought up for her. She couldn't concentrate on the story, though, and ended up staring down at the small flower garden behind the town-house. All Sara could think about was Nathan and what an ignorant country mouse she'd been to love him.
Why couldn't he love her?
She asked herself that painful question every ten minutes or so but never did come up with a proper answer. The future terrified her. She'd already made up her mind to break the contract so that her family couldn't have the king's gift; but once the scandal was made known about Nathan's father, wouldn't the prince regent be placed in the position of having to withhold the royal gift from Nathan as well?
Sara couldn't allow that. Her father had used trickery and deceit to gain the advantage over Nathan. Sara was determined to find a way to even the odds. She didn't want to live with a man who didn't love her, so she decided to strike a bargain with Nathan. In return for her signature giving up all rights to the gift Nathan would let Matthew take her with him when he returned to Nora's island.
Lord, there was so much to consider. The unfairness of what her father had done shamed her. She decided then that her only hope was to gain the prince regent's support. The thought of having to plead her case to him sent a shiver down her spine.
George, the future king of England once his father died or was, as the rumors were whispering, officially declared insane, was a handsome, well-educated man. Those were, unfortunately, his only good points. Sara disliked him immensely. He was a spoiled, pleasure-seeking fop who rarely placed his country's concerns above his own. His worst flaw, to Sara's way of thinking, was his trait of changing his mind on any matter. Sara knew she wasn't the only one who disliked the prince. He was extremely unpopular with the masses, and just a few months past she'd heard that the windows of his carriage had been broken by angry subjects. George was in the conveyance at the time, said to be on his way to Parliament.
Still, she didn't have anyone else to turn to, and so she penned a note to the prince requesting an audience the following afternoon. She sealed the envelope and was just about to go into the corridor to ask Sterns to send a messenger over to Carlton House when Caine intercepted her.
He'd come to fetch her for dinner. Sara was most polite when she refused his invitation, insisting that she really wasn't hungry. Caine was just as polite when he insisted that she eat something. The man wouldn't take no for an answer. He told her so as he coaxed her along the hallway.
Jimbo was waiting in the foyer. Sara handed him the envelope and asked him to deliver the letter for her. Caine reached over Sara's head and plucked the letter out of the seaman's hands before he could agree to undertake the errand.
'I'll have one of the servants take it over,' Caine explained. 'Jimbo, escort Lady Sara into the dining room. I won't be a minute.'
As soon as Jimbo and Sara turned the corner Caine opened the envelope, read the letter, and put it in his pocket. He waited another minute or two and then strolled into the dining room.
Jimbo sat next to Sara at the long table. Jade was seated directly across from her. Caine took his place at the head of the table and then rang for the servants to begin.
'Though it was probably very rude of me to notice, I did see that the letter was addressed to our prince regent,' Caine began.
'I don't know of anyone else living in Carlton House,' Jimbo interjected.
Caine frowned at the seaman. 'Yes, but I didn't realize Sara was on personal terms with the prince.'
'Oh, I'm not on personal terms with the prince,' she rushed out. 'I don't even like…' She stopped in mid- explanation, then blushed. She lowered her gaze to the table. 'I apologize. I do tend to blurt out whatever's on my mind,' she confessed. 'As far as the note is concerned, I requested an audience. I hope that the prince will see me tomorrow afternoon.'
'Why?' Jade asked. 'Sara, the prince is certainly in your father's camp.'
'I do hope you're wrong, Jade.'
'I'm afraid my wife's correct in that evaluation, Sara,' Caine said. 'When the prince made it known he wanted to divorce his wife, Caroline, your father was one of a handful who supported him.'
'But won't the prince put personal considerations aside and come to a loyal subject's aid?'
Her innocence was both refreshing and alarming. Caine didn't want her to be disappointed. 'No,' Caine said. 'His own considerations always come first. The man changes his views as often as he changes his ministers, Sara. Anything he would promise you shouldn't be counted on. I'm sorry to sound disloyal, but I'm being completely honest with you. I don't want you to get your hopes up only to have them dashed. Let Nathan fight this battle, Sara. Stand by his side and let him handle your father.'
She shook her head. 'Do you know I refused to learn how to swim?' she blurted out. 'I thought I shouldn't have to know how, you see, because it was Nathan's duty to make certain I didn't drown. I've been perfectly willing to take care of everyone but myself. Now you suggest I let Nathan fight my battles. It's wrong, Caine. I've been wrong. I don't want ever to cling to anyone. I should have enough strength to stand on my own. I want to be strong, damn it.'
She turned bright pink after she'd finished her impassioned speech. 'Please excuse my gutter language,' she whispered.
An awkward silence followed that remark. Jimbo filled the space with a couple of spicy stories about his sea adventures.
The dessert tray was just being removed from the table when Jade asked, 'Have you seen our beautiful daughter yet?' She'd blurted out that question in an attempt to keep Sara at the table awhile longer. She wanted to bring the conversation around to Nathan, of course. Jade was determined to interfere. It was such a heartache to see Sara looking so desolate and alone.
Sara actually smiled at the mention of the infant. 'I've heard your daughter,' she confessed. 'But I've yet to see her. Sterns has promised me that this evening he'll let me hold Olivia.'
'She's such a delightful baby,' Jade announced. 'She's smiling all the time now. She's very intelligent, too. Caine and I noticed that right away.'
