Romantic daydreams might have sprouted but she refused to nurture them. The moment she left, he would move on.
And so would she.
“Sally, we need to talk,” he said. “Come with me to the—”
“No,” she said, her tone firm. “We’ve courted enough trouble as it is.” She gave her head a shake, appalled at her own lack of sense. Somehow, when he was near, her practical nature and good sense seemed to disappear into thin air. The very qualities that made her so dependable at home were nowhere to be found when he stood this close. When he looked at her like this. Like she was so very special. Like she was perfect.
Like she truly was beautiful.
But she wasn’t. She never had been.
She knew her place in this world and it wasn’t in this manor, and it certainly wasn’t as the wife to an earl’s son. And it most definitely wasn’t with a charming, handsome gentleman like Sebastian.
“I don’t like the way things ended yesterday,” Sebastian started.
She shook her head. “Please do not do this.”
“There was more I wanted to say,” he said. “Please. Meet me tonight, outside.”
He did not need to say where. The stables and the land behind it leading up to a tree atop a hill. That had become their place. How that had been established so quickly, she knew not. She was tired of trying to reason out why she felt so close to him, and why he’d chosen her to be so open with.
Trying to find reason in these feelings was like trying to unknot skeins of yarn after she’d made a mess of them. She’d never been much good with yarn, and she was no better at feelings.
“Sally.” He lowered his voice to a near growl. “We cannot pretend that nothing has changed.”
“Nothing has changed,” she said.
“Everything has changed.”
His voice was too loud and they both grew silent. No doubt they’d garnered attention from the crowd around them. She waited for the curious glances to drift away before replying in a hushed voice that made her throat ache and tears prick the back of her eyes. “Not for me.”
Lies.
She was a liar.
His hurt gaze said that he knew it too. His chest rose and fell as he strove to keep calm. He looked like he might say more, but he never got the chance.
“At last, the first of the guests have arrived,” Lady Gertrude called out.
At that, the relaxed atmosphere shattered, replaced by a hum of excitement and last minute preparations. Rebecca ought to have come down from their rooms by now but Sally hadn’t caught sight of her.
“You should go,” she said now to Sebastian. “Your father and brother will expect you to greet the guests.”
She could see he wanted to argue, but she was right and they both knew it.
“We will talk, Sally,” he said before he walked away. “This is not finished.”
She feigned an intense interest in the goings-on outside the window, though all she could see was the frost-covered lawn and the clouds forming overhead.
What she’d said was for the best. She knew that. Even if Sebastian had developed romantic notions about them, his father would never approve. He’d made that clear. And that was without knowing that her mother was still alive and apparently involved in criminal activities.
In no world did this pairing make a lick of sense.
It was time to get back home. To get back to her real world.
It wasn’t until the ball was well underway that she finally found her sister. She frowned and hurried over toward her, tugging her away from a group of ladies. “Rebecca, are you all right?” she asked as they weaved through the crowded rooms toward the ballroom.
“Of course.” But her sister’s smile seemed strained.
Sally just barely held back a weary sigh. Of course it was strained. Her poor sister had just seen their mother who’d abandoned them. And now they were leaving the place where she’d been having such fun. “Are you certain you want to rush home? We could stay another day if you’d like or—”
“No.” Her sister shook her head. “No, we need to be back.”
Sally nodded, her throat tight. But for the life of her she could not say if she was pleased or disappointed with her sister’s response. Going home was the right thing to do. So why did it feel as though she’d be leaving her heart behind?
Rebecca’s eyes narrowed on her. “And you, sister? Are you all right?”
“Of course!”
“Of course,” Rebecca repeated, her tone far more rueful. Almost mocking. “Sally, you do know the world would not end if you were to admit that you were not all right, don’t you?”
Sally frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you are so like Minerva at times. You both seem to think you must always be the strong ones.”
Sally’s lips hitched up in a weak attempt at a smile. “I am the strong one.”
“Yes, but we no longer need you fighting our battles.” Her sister placed a hand on her arm. “And you also experienced a shock. You have just as many questions as I do. You’re also allowed to feel that.”
Sally nodded, her throat tight once more. If she made it through this night without caving to the urge to weep, it would be a miracle. “I know that.”
Rebecca nodded, but her expression was thoughtful. “I know you feared that I’d have my heart broken by one of these gallant lads,” she said, glancing around with a wry grin. “But to be honest, dear, you’re the one I’m worried about.”
“Why would you ever be—”
Her sister’s look had her falling silent. As Sally would be the first to tell anyone, Rebecca might have been flighty and fanciful—but she was nobody’s fool.
At this particular moment she looked all too knowing. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Sally shook her head. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
Rebecca did not look as though she believed her
