Chapter Three

Early the next morning Sarah couldn't get up much earlier. So eager to share her news with Beth that she had decided to forgo her breakfast plans but of course her mother and father insisted.

Sat in the sunny dining room, dining on hot tea, fresh bread, eggs and sausage, Sarah was halfway done with her meal when her father who was busy giving his son a stern talking-to decided to shift his attention to her. Giving her the first bad news of the day. Nothing like a bit of bad news to go with your breakfast.

"Little dove, your grandmother wrote to me, she has decided to cut her trip short by one week. She'll be back in three weeks time and she expects you to have found a suitor by then." Her father, Lord George Sutton paused, releasing a breath, she could tell that he had dreaded giving her this news just by how physically exhausted he looked. 

Although Sarah was stunned by the news, it wasn't completely unexpected. Her grandmother was adamant on spending the entire social season playing matchmaker and her being out of the town during the first weeks of the season was most definitely the most torture imaginable to the Matriarch. Sarah bit into a scone, her mind miles away from that sunny breakfast room. A thought flittered across her brain almost teasingly, what if she asked the gentleman from the previous night to marry her... It was a scandalous suggestion, she found herself thinking and could even feel a blush bloom on her face at the thought. It was completely unheard of, a woman proposing was as rare as a Frenchman in parliament.

A frown formed on her forehead as she took another bite of her food. It may seem completely unacceptable and unheard of but not completely insane. The gentleman himself seemed rather desperate for a wife, so it could actually be considered as a charitable deed if she would give herself to the cause. Sarah took another sip of her tea her mind miles away, she was rationalizing her soon to be actions, yes it was a bold move but all in all, it was for a great cause.

"Is everything alright darling." Her mother's voice drew her mind back to the dining room. Smiling at her mother she replied, inorder not to worry her mother, "I'm alright Mama, I just let my mind wander a bit."

"Thinking about how you're going to insult even more gentlemen at the next ball I suppose." Harold, her baby brother quipped only to get a smack upside the head from his father and an under the table kick from Sarah.

"At least I can manage to think up an intelligent stream of words unlike you who has the intelligence of a newly born neanderthal."

A glare at both her children and an exaggerated sigh followed by the words, "I'm surrounded by immature children," from Amelia was enough to chastise both Sarah and Harold.

With Sarah's attention back in the present, her father took the opportunity to speak. "Sarah your grandmother

has expressed her displeasure at your... availability till this date, for lack of a better description." George cleared his throat and Sarah couldn't help but smile at his discomfort.

" She sent me this letter personally because she's insistent on me giving up patronage over you. With complete control over your season, she gets to decide which proposal you are to accept or reject. So I urge you my dear daughter to make haste in your selection."

Sarah could feel her pulse rise and panic filled her, without intent she found herself saying, "grandmother's patronage will not be  necessary as I've already  found a match."

A snicker from her brother caught her attention, "might his name be, Lord Invisible. Seeing as no man in God's green earth could ever meet your standards, sister."

Sarah, in a huff tossed a piece of bread at her brother. "Harold! Are you insinuating that I'm picky?!"

Harold ever the joker decided to try his luck. "I'm not insinuating anything big sister. You are simply the pickiest person to have ever walked this earth.

No man is good enough for you."

"Well I'll have you know that I am not picky. I am just looking for my happy ever after. You wouldn't know anything about that seeing as how you will probably die a bachelor."

Sarah finished with a catish grin when her mother let out a snicker. Her grin dropped when she spotted the thunderous look on her father's face.

"Enough, both of you. Sarah as your father I should have been informed of this sooner. I am still  responsible for your hand. Who is he?" George narrowed his eyes at his daughter making her swallow a lump in her throat she hadn't realized that she had.

"I don't know his name yet, papa." Sarah let out albeit sheepishly. George let out a sigh before running his hand over his face, looking at his wife when she placed her hand over his other one.

"Darling, where did you meet him? Perhaps we can retrace your steps from there." Amelia spoke up, trying to salvage the moment.

Sarah gave her mother a grateful smile then spoke softly, "We met last night, out on the terrace. I could tell from talking to him that he was well mannered, had a good education, he had a gentle nature that would make him a wonderful husband and father. I was going to ask for his name but you interupted our chat when Harold decided to remind us of what a pain in the arse he is." The response to that was a piece of bread thrown towards her from Harold.

Amelia for one was excited so excited that she decided to ignore her daughter's last words. After an entire year and a half of searching for a husband, her daughter had finally found someone she was interested in. "Did he seem like he was interested in marriage? Did he look like a Baron? A Lord? A Viscount or even a Duke? Oh it would be wonderful if you would marry a Duke. You'd become a Duchess." Sarah let out a nervous smile at her mother's obvious excitement and her father's obvious skepticism.

She had obviously neglected to inform them of her plan by simply adding a few white lies to the pot.

She knew well and good that the gentleman was no where interested in marriage but she knew that he wanted to get out from his family's thumb. She had a preposition that he couldn't refuse. One that would save them both, if only he would accept. Hope was a luxury that Sarah couldn't afford at the moment, what with her father showing obvious doubt and uncertainty over the issue and her brother sure that she was lying. Her mother's excitement was what made her believe that her crazy plan just might work.

Excusing herself to go visit her friend Beth to start her search, Sarah rose from the table determined to not let the day pass by without finding her mysterious stranger.

~

"I'm telling you Beth, it may have been attraction at first sight. At least it was for me. He was handsome and very intelligent. When he spoke, my dear , it felt like I was talking to myself. A fellow brilliant mind. I must find him, I really must and you have to help me. You are to stay for a few more days. I must request your help in searching." Sarah spoke, tea cup in hand, with an excited glint in her eye. The tea in the cup forgotten and already cold.

Beth who held her baby in her hands let out a small chuckle and looked at her friend, "he must be something else, to have you in the state you're in. You almost sound like my brother, Jonah."

The thought almost turned Sarah's stomach as she said to her friend, "do not even try to jest, I am nothing like your neanderthal of a brother." Sarah proceeded to let out a small gag, that produced a laugh from Beth who made her baby start fussing from her jostling.

"I can't believe that you still hate my brother, it's been almost a decade since you last saw him yet you are acting as if he's still the bane of your existence."

Sarah let out a scoff before preparing  herself another cup of tea, "he is no longer the bane of my existence, that slot is now occupied by my brother of whom I have to temper the urge to suffocate with a pillow each night. Your brother is and will always be my nemesis. After all he put me through as a child it's a miracle I didn't commit manslaughter."

Beth looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "he said something similar yesterday. It's so eery how alike the both of you are," she stopped to chuckle at Sarah's face which was contorted in disgust. "Anyway, you say he put you through alot, you forget the hell you put him through. That is torture that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. If the devil is anything like you, my beautiful friend, then I'm afraid we are all doomed." Both friends burst out laughing at that closing statement.

Just as both women were finishing up their tea in the sunny parlor, to go begin the search for Sarah's mysterious gentleman, footsteps could be heard as someone neared the front door. Jonah was about to go to the "Prairie" one of London's nicest and most exclusive gentleman's club when he heard chatter in the parlor. Jonah retraced his steps to go greet his sister and inform her of his departure. He had informed her of the mysterious woman he had met the previous night, not daring to tell his mother who would no doubt move heaven and Earth to interfere, most probably scaring his intended away in the process. Beth had offered to assist him in his search but only after meeting with her friend Sarah, he had thoroughly declined. Jonah had to bite back the bitter taste in his mouth at the mere thought of that little minx's name. She was the reason he was sent off to boarding school and cut off from his friends and family, granted it was also partly his own fault but at the moment assigning all the blame towards her made him sleep better at night.

He had made sure to avoid her for the past thirteen years and it had worked so well that he didn't even know what she looked like. As he walked to the parlor, already dreading having to meet her once more after thirteen years, he tried to muster up a fake smile. He pictured her ugly with an enormous hump on her back, buck teeth and warts on her face. That was all it took to make his smile genuine. Turning the door knob was the hardest thing he had ever had to do but he comforted himself with the fact that after the unfortunate meeting with the devil's spawn he was headed to find his mysterious beauty. As he walked in, he saw his sister's smile brighten as she spotted him. Sarah's chair was against the door therefore she didn't see him come in, he mustered all the good manners and habits  hammered into his head by the boarding school so as not to strangle the little devil's protege.

"Brother, glad you could join us. You remember my best friend Sarah, although it appears that you've already met." At that Jonah felt his eyebrows hit his hairline, his mind already racing around trying to remember whether the little minx had crossed his path in the little time he had been in London.

After failure to remember he stepped aside, attempting to look at the lady seated before him when Sarah stood and faced him. The look on her face mirrored his. Utter, unveiled shock. Jonah felt his knees go weak, his throat grow dry and his stomach churn.

There she was, the woman he had spent the whole night tossing and turning over. Picturing his body on hers, mesmerized over the freckles littered across her shoulder. At first he was stunned, shock made him pale all over. After a moment he recovered albeit slightly and when found himself grabbing the seat nearest to him, he sat down. Watching as  Sarah mirrored his movements he tried to talk but words evaded him and even if he had words he would have still been unable to talk judging by how dry his mouth was.

A laugh is what drew him out from his staring match with Sarah. Looking at his sister who had an amused look on her face he asked, "you knew all this time?"

Beth in turn let out a gentle laugh as she adjusted her sleeping baby's head to a more comfortable position. "No,  however I suspected it when dear Sarah walked in with a spark in her eye almost identical to yours. She then told me the same thing you told me, that's when my suspicions were confirmed. Although I won't say that I'm not amused, this the most entertaining thing I've witnessed since Miss Cowley's scandal."

Jonah let out an almost feral growl at his sister, "This is all your fault. You should have told me!"

Beth let out a scoff then stood up, adjusting her baby, "how is any of this my fault. I specifically recall insisting that the two of you meet each other but you declined so this is not my fault. It is simply Karma doing what she does best. Now if the two of you will excuse me, I need to lay my son down for a nap. I'll leave you two love birds to catch-up."

Jonah almost threw a book at his sister only stopping when he remembered that she was carrying precious cargo and a crying baby would only worsen the situation.

Her amusement was salt to his already festering wound, not only was he now immensely disappointed but also embarrassed.

Once his sister had left he redirected his gaze to Sarah, whom he realized hadn't spoken a word since he had entered the room. When he looked her over, he noticed that she was clenching her fists so hard that her palm was stark white in contrast to her chocolate complexion. Her face on the other hand had gained a slight green tint to it, she looked like she was about to be sick. Despite his earlier distaste at being forced to see her, he drew closer to her, worried, calling out her name to draw her out of the shock she must have been in.

The minute he placed his hand on hers, she jumped away from his touch as if a mere touch from him would transmit all the world's known diseases to her. Standing as fast as she could, tears welling in her eyes, she shook her head in disbelief before walking out as quickly as she could. The look on her face the last thing his mind could comprehend, she couldn't even speak to him.

Jonah couldn't help but feel his chest tighten at the thought, the woman who had spoken freely with him the previous night, eager to smile and joke, couldn't even muster a word for him.

For two hours after she left he was still seated in the same spot. His mind still in a daze.

Jonah decided it had been long enough, sitting in the parlor like an idiot when his mother returned from her ladies meeting. Walking to his room, he  removed every stitch of clothing on his body then lay down on the bed, facing the ceiling. He decided that it was time to reevaluate his emotions.

Trying to call forth the hate he had earlier felt for Sarah was like calling for a genie without a lamp. Oddly enough, it was now replaced by curiosity.

His hate for her had evaporated the minute he had seen her. She was beautiful and he had to admit that the attraction he had felt for her the previous night was still there, not only was it there but it was now magnified. All the resentment he had garnered for her over the years was now gone. He reasoned that if he had changed from being the stubborn, childish bully he had been, who was he to think little about her. From how she had carried herself the previous night and the eloquency of her words, he could tell that she had changed, although he could now recognize the fire in her eyes. It had always been there, it was what had always drawn him to her. A smile formed on his face as he let his mind wander. When it came to Sarah

he had always enjoyed taunting her, watching as her nose flared in annoyance, her brow wrinkled in frustration and his utmost favorite, the fire in her eyes as she got payback. Jonah found himself laughing at the memories running through his mind. That's when he realized something important, he was always the one who baited her. The one person she lost her patience with and exacted revenge on and my oh my did she know how to exact revenge. He always knew how to press her buttons.

His smile fell from his lips as the look she had before she had left came into his mind. She had looked at him as if he was the devil incarnate and now he realized why. She was scared that he would do something or worse make her do something that would probably damage her reputation, making her ineligible for marriage. It was a valid fear, one that he couldn't fault her for having, even after thirteen years.

He had always detested her for making his father send him to boarding school but he had to admit that those years in boarding were the best years of his life.

Those years had made him the man he was and honestly he knew that given the chance, he wouldn't change a thing.

He had always been selfish in his thoughts about his outcome, blaming her for his imaginary problems but what about hers? Had he done something that had deemed her ineligible to the gents in London? Was he the reason that she was still unmarried at her age? He had to be sure that his selfishness as a boy had not ruined Sarah's life and if it had then

Jonah knew what he had to do. He drifted into a light slumber as he thought of what he would say to the woman he tortured as a little girl.

~

★

Hi from Nephie your humbled writer, please read, vote, comment.... Constant updates every Friday... Slow editing... Love you all... Please get in touch with your views, I love your opinions.😘