The Offer (Baron 2)

“Actually, let me tell you the truth now. I enlisted Rohan and Susannah and Charlotte. They’re my protectors, my witnesses, my frontal force. They were to get themselves through the door, perhaps soften you up a bit, then I could make my grand entrance. What do you think? Was this a good strategy?”

She stared at each of them in turn as if she’d lost her wits.

“Promising,” Phillip said, nodding. “Yes, they came just ahead of me. That was the plan. I was afraid that you’d run away again if it was just me. You do understand, don’t you, that you can’t leave our guests in the lurch? It wouldn’t be the done thing. And they are our guests and they deserve a hostess.”

She was still just standing there, her hands bunching and unbunching the soft muslin of her gown. “Won’t you at least say hello to me, Sabrina?”

“Hello, my lord. I’ve been here three days. All your people have been very kind to me. When I arrived and told them who I was, they immediately accepted me. I was worried because I had to walk from the village. I was cold and dirty, but still they took me in without hesitation and Cook’s tried to fatten me up. I was very grateful, but it’s been so cold and there’s been no sun and all one can do is just wander through the Moorish arches, walk beneath the Ionic columns, and dream about medieval towers that could possibly be built beside the suite of Italian music rooms at the corner of the east wing.”

“Was that an attempt at humor?”

“Yes, it was. I’m very sorry I ran, Phillip, but I didn’t know what else to do. Don’t worry that I didn’t have enough money, I did. I would have hired a carriage to bring me here, but there wasn’t time. I thought you’d track me down, so I took the stage.”

A spasm crossed his face. “Yes, I know you took a stage, but by the time I found out, it was too late. You’d nearly arrived here.”

“I left you wanting to strangle me.”

“What makes you think I still don’t?”

“I don’t blame you. I’d probably still want to strangle me if I were you.” She turned to Rohan and Susannah, who were sitting very quietly side by side on a lovely pale blue settee, holding hands. “Don’t you see? I kicked him in the groin because I found him with his mistress—”

“Yes, that’s true, but I wasn’t doing anything with her. I was, in fact, on the point of telling her that I’d decided to become like Rohan. I was going to design medieval towers, Rohan was going to design his gardens, and the two of us would forever tread the straight and narrow. I was also going to promise you that I wouldn’t gain flesh from Cook’s incredible cooking.”

“But I hurt you dreadfully, Phillip.” She turned wild eyes to Rohan. “After I kicked him, he fell to his knees and moaned. I thought he was dying.” Then to her husband, she said, “When you came back to the house, I thought you would strangle me then, or beat me, but you didn’t.”

“What I did was worse. I left you. I’m sorry for that, Sabrina, but I honestly didn’t know what was going on in my brain, if anything. My wits were roiling about like bat’s wings and lizard’s toes in a witch’s cauldron.”

“Cook is now serving, so all conversation must come to a halt,” Cotter said, motioning in two footmen, different ones from those who’d taken everyone’s cloaks and gloves, and gone off with Charlotte Carrington. They carried in trays piled high with food.

“I thought you went with my mother, Cotter,” Rohan said.

“Her ladyship is currently in the protective company of three stable lads, two footmen, two maids, the tweenie, and the pug, Orion. I deemed it proper to see if everything was going as planned here.”

“Planned?” Sabrina said.

Smells began to waft outward. Susannah groaned. “You’re thin, Sabrina. You can afford to stuff yourself, but I suggest you don’t do it for longer than a week. You might get in the habit, then I firmly believe you’d be lost. You’d become the fattest lady in all of England. Is that a bilberry tart I see, Phillip? Oh, goodness, just smell it. Hand it to me, please.”

“Yes, Susannah,” he said even while he took a big bite of gooseberry tansy. He closed his eyes as he chewed, groaned, then said, “Do you swear you won’t run away from me again, Sabrina? That you’ll stay with me and together we’ll figure out what we want to do?”

“But you don’t love me. What is that, Cotter?”

“It’s a damson tart. Cook is rather consumed by all things fruit this week.”

Susannah, her mouth full, actually stopped chewing. This was getting very personal. She looked at her husband, but he just nodded, making no move. He said out of the corner of his mouth, “Just be a piece of furniture, Susannah. That’s all that’s necessary right now. Phillip will tell us if he needs more or wants us to leave. Sabrina is talking. We’re succeeding.”

Phillip said, “Why don’t you think I love you? Don’t you think you’re worthy of being loved?”

“But your freedom, Phillip. I tried, really, I tried, but you want to have mistresses and I just can’t do it.”

“Then why did you come here, to Dinwitty Manor? You don’t think I could bring mistresses here if I wished to?”

She took the blow, then straightened, those thin shoulders back. “No, if you ever take another mistress, I’ll do you in.”

Phillip, relieved to his toes at that show of possessiveness, said to Susannah and Rohan, “See, I wasn’t wrong. She hasn’t forgotten that she adores me. She worships me. She’s very protective of me. Do you think she’d really do me in if I dared bed another woman? Yes, she would, I can see the blood in her eyes. She wants me all to herself. So many ladies want me, but she won’t allow it. She’s a greedy wench.”

Sabrina threw a quince comfit at him.

Susannah gasped, not because she was horrified that it would strike Phillip, but because she’d wanted that comfit for herself. Only the Dinwitty cook still made the old-fashioned treat. Phillip, now used to her bombardments, handily caught the comfit and immediately gave it to Susannah. “No, just one. Remember, Rohan, my vow to never let Cook make me fat? Just two goodies a day, never more. Now, Sabrina, do you love me? Are you willing to say it in front of the