Of course, the situation was a debacle. However, it was not a complete and total debacle. She clung to that thought like a lifeline, lest she crumble into a heap. Damn it all, this was so unfair! She’d worked so hard. Had sacrificed so much to finally earn the respect she’d so desperately wanted. She couldn’t lose it… not again. Yet the thought of having to go through it all again… the lying and cheating and stealing. She briefly squeezed her eyes shut. No. It couldn’t come to that. He’d cure his curse and all would be well. It had to be.

A knock sounded at the door, and Lord Greybourne called, “Come in.”

Lord Hedington marched into the room, looking as if he were a volcano on the verge of erupting.

“You advised the guests?” Lord Greybourne asked.

“Yes. I told them Sarah had fallen ill, but gossip about one or the other of you crying off is already rampant. No doubt this damnable story will make the front page of The Times. ”

Meredith cleared her throat. “Lord Greybourne and I were just discussing how best to salvage this situation, your grace. He is hopeful of finding the missing piece of the stone, and thereby being able to reverse the curse. Based on that, I shall reschedule the wedding to take place on the twenty-second. I’ll send the announcement to The Times immediately to squelch any gossip.”

Lord Hedington’s gaze bounced between them, then his head jerked in a nod. “Very well. But I expect to be assured that no harm will come to my daughter. If I am not confident of her safety, there will be no wedding, scandal be damned. And now I plan to return home and retrieve this note Sarah claims to have left me.” Turning on his heel, he quit the room.

Meredith looked at Lord Greybourne. “I offer you my assistance, my lord, in searching for the stone.”

“Thank you. I don’t suppose by any chance you are a farmer, Miss Chilton-Grizedale?”

Good Lord, the man was daft. “A farmer? Certainly not. Why do you ask?”