Sarah knew Honoria was right, but she could not stop her mind from racing through all of the eventualities such a conversation might bring. “What if he says he will hold to the bargain?” she finally asked, her voice small and scared.

Several seconds went by, and Honoria said, “Then at least you will know. But if you don’t ask him, you will never know what he might have said. Just think if Romeo and Juliet had actually talked to each other.”

Sarah looked up, momentarily flabbergasted. “That’s a terrible comparison.”

“Sorry, yes, you’re right.” Honoria looked abashed, then changed her mind and pointed at Sarah with a jaunty finger. “But it made you stop crying.”

“If only to scold you.”

“You may scold me all you wish if it brings a smile back to your face. But you must promise me that you will talk to him. You don’t want some big, awful misunderstanding to ruin your chance at happiness.”

“What you’re saying is, if my life is to be ruined, I need to do it myself?” Sarah asked in a dry voice.

“It’s not quite how I would have put it, but yes.”

Sarah was quiet for a long moment, and then she asked, almost absentmindedly, “Did you know he can multiply large sums in his head?”

Honoria smiled indulgently. “No, but it does not surprise me.”

“It takes him only an instant. He tried to explain it once, what it looks like in his head when he does it, but I couldn’t follow a thing he was saying.”

“Arithmetic works in mysterious ways.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “As opposed to love?”

“Love is entirely incomprehensible,” Honoria said. “Arithmetic is merely mysterious.” She shrugged, stood up, and held out a hand to Sarah. “Or maybe it’s the other way around. Shall we go find out?”

“You’re coming with me?”

“Just to help you locate him.” She gave a little one-shouldered shrug. “It’s a large house.”

Sarah quirked a suspicious brow. “You’re afraid I will lose my nerve.”

“Without a doubt,” Honoria confirmed.

“I won’t,” Sarah said, and despite the butterflies in her stomach and dread in her heart, she knew it was true. She was not one to back down from her fears. And she would never be able to live with herself if she did not do everything in her power to ensure her own happiness.

And Hugh’s. Because if anyone in this world deserved a happy ending, it was he.

“But not right away,” Sarah said. “I need to tidy up. I don’t want to go to him looking as if I’ve been crying.”

“He should know he made you cry.”

“Why, Honoria Smythe-Smith, that might be the most hard-hearted thing I have ever heard you say.”