The Bad Luck Wedding Night, Bad Luck Wedding series #5 (Bad Luck Abroad trilogy) (33 page)

He broke off the thought abruptly. Younger sisters. Aurora. Right after Melanie came Aurora. He'd be going through this misery with two more sisters after Charlotte, and he'd been blocking that ugly truth from his mind.

That reality had him burying his head in his hands with a groan. Maybe he should give in to Aurora's whining and let her make her bow at the same time as Melanie. No matter her reasons, he had seen her kissing Willie Hart. Enthusiastically. He might be well served to marry her off while he still could.

But no, she was too young to marry. She was the same age as Sarah when the two of them had wed, and look at the trouble that had caused. She needed at least another two years.

If Nick was lucky, he might hold her back for one. He simply needed to stay on guard.

A sound from above him caught his attention, and as he turned his gaze toward the staircase, he completely lost the ability to breathe. "Aurora?"

She wore a white tulle dress trimmed with artificial snow drops. The fashionable cut of the gown clung to luscious curves he'd never before noticed she possessed. Her hair was up, her pearl earrings dangled. She looked beautiful and sophisticated and all grown up.

Nick's stomach sank. Even as the thought occurred to send her to change her dress, Melanie joined her younger sister on the staircase landing. Now Nick's neck constricted. Melanie's dress was sunset gold silk that clung like a second skin and had no shoulders. He'd no sooner managed a growl than those two were joined by the bride-to-be. Charlotte was dressed in a patterned gown of small four-leaf clovers against an ice-white background. The sparkle in her eyes reminded him of fire. She looked lush and lovely and... ready. His growl transformed to a groan. His sisters would start a riot.

Nick began to round toward the door, determined to lock his sisters in and the rogues of London out. Just as he toned his head, he caught a glimpse of movement next to Charlotte, a flash of golden temptation that kept him frozen in place.

"Sarah." He couldn't say anymore because his tongue was tied in a dozen different knots. He'd never seen such a glorious sight.

Dressed in a shimmering gown of sunshine-colored silk, his wife simply glowed. She was the sun, the moon, the stars wrapped up in a single package. She was every magnificent setting he'd seen in his worldwide travels tied up with a bow.

She was, in a word, stunning.

Nick wanted her with a fierceness that all but brought him to his knees.

His reaction had little to do with the outer trappings she sported, Nick knew. True, her gown was becoming, though cut too low. Also, the Weston jewels—a suite of emeralds and diamonds—added that rich, regal air. But Nick had always thought Sarah beautiful. On the day they met. Their wedding day. Even the day she arrived travel-stained and bedraggled at Glencoltran Castle. But tonight, as she stood at the top of the staircase and calmly met his stunned gaze, he saw something in his wife he'd never noticed before, at least not to this extent.

Confidence. Strength. Security in herself and her place in the world. All of this on the eve of diving into the shark-infested waters of London Society.

Nick crossed the entry hall to stand at the foot of the staircase. One after the other, his sisters gracefully descended. "Aurora, you are beautiful. If I had one bit of sense I would lock you in a nunnery," he said before leaning down to kiss her cheek.

To Melanie, he said, "I must assign bodyguards to protect you, love."

After kissing Charlotte's cheek, he said, "I hope your Rodney knows what a treasure he is getting. Enjoy your party. If anything or any person is not to your liking, let me know and I'll see it corrected."

When Charlotte moved off, Nick turned to his wife and dipped his head in a bow. In a formal tone, he said, "Lady Weston. You are exquisite. The jewels look right on you, though they pale in comparison to your beauty."

She smiled regally. "Thank you, my lord. I—" she broke off with a gasp, then completely destroyed the regal picture she presented by clapping her hands in delight, lifting her skirts up almost to her knees, and dashing across the entry hall, squealing, "Jenny! Claire! You're here!"

Nick turned to see his wife fly into the arms of a pair of unfamiliar beauties. An entire group of visitors flowed in behind the pair, and for the next few moments, chaos reigned.

Lady Pratt and Rodney quickly separated themselves from the group, she to stand aside patting her voluminous bosom as if to ward off a fainting spell while he made a beeline toward his bride-to-be.

"Oh my," breathed Melanie, standing beside Nick. "Look at the gowns on those girls. Who are they, Nick?"

Claire. Jenny. Memory clicked. McBride. He glanced over the trio of beautiful young women who appeared to be close in age to his own sisters and didn't know whether to feel heartened or despairing. And the McBride Menaces. His trouble just doubled. "I believe the McBrides have arrived from Fort Worth just in time for your engagement ball Charlotte."

Aurora's mouth gaped. "Those girls are the McBride Menaces? The ones who set loose the mice and cats and dogs at their father's wedding?"

One of them, the youngest, Nick guessed, heard Aurora and flashed a grin their way. "That's us. But not to worry, we left our mischief years behind. The McBride Menaces are all grown up."

Then another sister added with a wry grin, "Don't feel too safe, though. Our brothers, the McBride Monsters, accompanied us on this trip."

* * *

Sarah had tears in her eyes as she watched Nick make the formal announcement of Lady Charlotte's engagement to Lord Pratt. Oh, what a lovely moment. Nick's love for his sister shone like a beacon from his eyes and dear Charlotte with tears in her eyes basked in the glow of love from the two most important men in her life.

Sarah sighed with delight and returned her attention to her duties as hostess. The evening was going splendidly. The food was wonderful, the music lovely, the crowd a crush that signified success. As the night wore on, compliments and comments about the good luck theme came to her in a steady stream, reassuring her of the success of the idea. That the majority of those kudos came from unmarried gentlemen didn't escape her notice, but Sarah received enough praise from the ladies to find it reassuring.

At one point in the evening she took the time to sneak upstairs for a short visit with Jenny and Claire. She still couldn't believe they were actually here. She hadn't expected them for at least another week. She'd tried to convince them to move into Weston House—the place had fourteen unused bedchambers on the floor above her own, Sarah had discovered—but her friends were settled in a townhouse that had come to Claire's husband Tye along with his title.

"We only arrived this morning, and the boys have already broken three vases," said Jenny with a sigh. "Be glad they are safely at home with the nanny we've hired for our time in London. Destroying their uncle's property is bad enough. I wouldn't dream of turning them loose in this place. It's a lovely home, Sarah, and you fit it so well. I'm not one bit surprised."

"Really?" She was shocked at her friend's observation. She'd never felt so out of place as she did right now. Despite the glamour of the evening, Sarah yearned for home. Seeing her dear friends again, hearing that familiar Texas twang for the first time in months, reminded her just how much she missed her life in Texas.

Claire nodded. "I know you called yourself Lady Innsbruck all those years because it helped professionally, but the title always suited you. And now that I've met your delicious Nick, I must say the man does, too."

"Claire!" Sarah protested, "What would Tye say? You are a happily married woman."

"She's married, not dead," Jenny pointed out. "Sarah, the talk is that the two of you are seeking an annulment. Lord Weston is a fine specimen of a man. Are you certain you don't want to keep him?"

"Mo-ther," Emma McBride, the eldest Menace said. Her sisters followed Melanie into the room, with Aurora bringing up the rear. "He's not a pet. You don't 'keep' a husband."

"My niece is right," Claire agreed. She gave a wicked grin, then brushed a finger across the jewels that dangled from Sarah's ears and added, "You let him 'keep' you. In grand style, I might add."

Sarah allowed the subject to drop because she couldn't say what she wanted to in front of the man's sisters. She stood and spread her arms. "Come here, you Menaces, and give me a hug."

"They're the Blessings," interjected Claire, stating an old argument with a smile. "Not Menaces."

As Emma, Maribeth, and Katrina McBride did as Sarah bade, their mother lifted a wry brow. "Can you believe she still calls them that? Despite the fact they've taken Claire's own trio of children under their wings and made them Menaces-in-training."

"We must pass the mantle to someone, Mother," Maribeth said. "And while our brothers show great promise, they're already being called the McBride Monsters. We don't want our legacy to die simply because we've grown up."

Sarah glanced from the twinkle-eyed Texans to an amused Melanie and Aurora, who watched the other girls with keen-eyed speculation. Homesickness swamped her. Heavens, she had missed these girls.

Aurora piped up. "Sarah has told us quite a bit about your families. I think we can be great friends."

Sarah couldn't help but wince a bit at that. She gazed at the five young beauties standing in front of her—Charlotte must have remained downstairs with her beloved Rodney—and imagined what sort of trouble they might attract. The possibilities were both staggering and endless. "It's like combining gunpowder with gas," she murmured. "Add one little spark and we're liable to have an explosion."

Shaking away the troublesome thoughts, she asked, "What are you girls doing upstairs?"

"Hiding." Melanie answered. "At least for the moment. I admit I enjoy a bit of masculine attention, but the gentlemen downstairs remind me of salivating dogs panting after a fresh piece of meat. I've danced my slippers off."

"Not me," Katrina McBride said glumly. "Papa won't let me dance at all. I don't know why you bothered to make me a gown, Mama. I might as well be dressed in a pinafore."

"Give him time to get accustomed to the idea, honey," Jenny advised. "The evening's young yet. You'll convince him to change his mind. I have complete faith in it."

"I hope so."

The youngest McBride daughter's downtrodden expression caused Sarah to offer a sympathetic grin before addressing the older girls. "So you came upstairs to give your feet a rest?"

"We're giving their father and uncle and Nicholas a rest," Aurora said with rueful sigh. "If the gentlemen of the
ton
are salivating dogs, our brother and the two Mr. McBrides are lions guarding their pride, ready to pounce if a threat comes too close."

"As well they should," Sarah stated. "You and Melanie are not out yet and wouldn't be dancing if this event were not in your home."

"If I lived in England, I'd have made my bow by now," Emma pointed out. "So would Mari. We're old enough to have beaus."

"Not English beaus," her mother said flatly. "It's too far away from home. Besides, once the newness wore off, you wouldn't like living here. British Society is old and set in its ways, and you girls are perfect examples of the brash, freedom-loving females of whom they love to disapprove."

Sarah gasped softly. Jenny had voiced her own problem so neatly.

Jenny continued, "Living here would crush your spirits, and as difficult as those spirits are at times for your father and me, it would break my heart to see that happen."

Aurora interjected. "With all respect, Mrs. McBride, I don't believe it necessarily has to be that way. I think if a girl finds the right British gentleman, he will want her to be herself and not a copy of all the other girls out in Society. The challenge is to find that correct gentleman."

Sarah nodded. Yes. Exactly.

Melanie grinned and fluttered her fan flirtatiously. "And to do that, we must dance with as many as we can, don't you see?"

Katrina McBride turned a frown in Sarah's direction. "Maybe you should be downstairs dancing, too, Miss Sarah. Aurora tells us you and her brother won't be married much longer. I saw two men from Fort Worth downstairs. Maybe you should flirt with them and see if one won't suit."

"That's a good idea," Maribeth said. "Emma and Katie and I have long thought you should have something better than a long-distance marriage of convenience. Didn't Lord Chambers attempt to call on you for a time a few years ago?"

Sarah laughed softly. It was either that or cry. "You all have just managed to condense the troublesome questions facing me into a few short sentences."

Seven sets of eyebrows arched with curiosity. Seven posteriors found seats as the McBride and Ross women gave Sarah their devoted attention. Melanie spoke for them all. "Tell us all about it, Sarah. We'll help you decide what to do."

Sarah's rueful laugh transformed to a groan. How could she verbalize the feelings rumbling around inside her? How could she explain to these young women the agony of the choice she faced? She couldn't. No more than she could explain it to Nick. Dear, patient Nick who'd made a point of backing off like she had asked to give her the time and space she needed. She couldn't explain it to any of them because she still couldn't explain it to herself.