But she didn’t sleep once she reached her bedroom, too disturbed by the evening’s events to be able to relax enough for that. She had been stupid tonight, more stupid than she had ever been before in her life. She was ashamed of herself for being taken in so easily. But the reason she had been taken in still existed—she still loved Dominic!
How could she love such a despicable man, a man who was marrying her own sister for mercenary reasons? Maybe he did love Marie, maybe he loved her too, but it made no difference to his plans to be the sole owner of the business he and her father now ran jointly.
And tomorrow, or the day after, she was going to have to face Dominic again, put on a show so that he wouldn’t guess how much he had hurt her. After what she had said to him she doubted she would have to fight any attempts on his part to kiss or touch her.
She didn’t give him the chance the next day, spending the whole day with her aunt, telephoning Eddie and going out with him that evening. He was the uncomplicated companion she needed at the moment.
There was no sign of Dominic when she finally arrived home, so she entered the house with a light heart. After crying herself to sleep the night before she had spent the day pushing Dominic firmly to the back of her mind, and the last thing she wanted was to run into him now. Eddie had given her her confidence back in herself with his lighthearted flirting, receiving a casual kiss goodnight to his surprise. Purely sisterly, she had assured him with a laugh.
The butler came to remove her coat once she got in. ‘Mr Thorne has been calling you all day, Miss Sara,’ he informed her.
She stiffened, frowning. ‘Did he leave a message?’ She did her best to remain calm.
‘No, Miss Sara, although I think he wanted to talk to you quite urgently. He’s gone away on business for several days, but he said he would call you again as soon as he could.’
‘I didn’t realise he was going away. Wasn’t he here this evening, Granger?’
For a moment he looked puzzled. ‘I think you may have misunderstood me, Miss Sara. I didn’t mean Mr Dominic Thorne, I meant Mr Daniel Thorne.’
‘Danny?’ she echoed sharply. What on earth could Danny want with her?
‘That’s right,’ the butler nodded.
‘Are you sure he wanted me, Granger?’
‘Very sure, Miss Sara.’
‘Did he mention where he was going?’
‘Germany,’ he supplied. ‘And he wasn’t sure when he would be returning.’
‘Thank you,’ she said absently. ‘I—If he calls again, let me know immediately, won’t you?’
‘Of course, Miss Sara.’
Why could Danny want to see her? They had met briefly last night for the first time, very briefly, and he hadn’t seemed that desperate to talk to her then.
He didn’t call again, his business in Germany was probably keeping him fully occupied. And she didn’t see or hear from Dominic either, although she knew he and Marie met most evenings. Perhaps her message had gone home, whatever the reason he left her alone.
‘We’re going shopping,’ Marie announced on Saturday morning as the two of them breakfasted together.
‘We are?’ Sara asked tolerantly.
‘Yes,’ her sister nodded. ‘Well, it isn’t shopping exactly,’ she added a little guiltily. ‘I know where we’re going, and I’ve already bought the—whatever it is we want. We just have to pick them—it up.’
‘Marie …?’ Sara eyed her suspiciously. ‘What have you been up to?’
‘Nothing. It’s a surprise. For you!’ She could hardly contain her excitement. ‘Have you finished?’ she tried to hurry Sara’s breakfast along.
‘No, I haven’t.’ Sara refused to be rushed, slowly sipping her coffee.
‘Yes, you have.’ Marie took the cup out of her hand, standing up expectantly.
Sara didn’t move. ‘What about the party tonight? Shouldn’t we be doing something towards that this morning?’
‘It’s all arranged. Everything will be arriving this afternoon. Anyway, Granger is perfectly capable of dealing with any hitches that may arise.’
‘He wasn’t yesterday when you couldn’t be spared to help me tidy Dad’s study,’ Sara reminded her ruefully.