“You do not.” Thomas’s voice was strong and sure.
“No. I don’t believe so.”
“You should forget about my friend and focus on me. I could easily fall in love with you, Sophia. I’m half in love with you now.” His voice had gone to a whisper and his eyes crinkled at the corners.
“Are you serious, Tom?” The knot tightened.
His eyes were bright and stunning and she wished she were in love with him. However, when she looked at Tom, she didn’t get the same quiver in her stomach that she felt when Daniel was near. When she looked at Tom, she saw a friend and nothing more.
“I could not be more serious.”
She touched his hand. “I have decided to never marry, but if I change my mind I shall certainly think of you.”
“You are teasing me.” His voice sounded a bit sad.
“No…I—”
He held up one hand. “It’s all right, Sophia. I know you do not love me. In fact, I’m rather certain you are as in love with my good friend as he is with you. All I’m saying is, if you and Daniel cannot be together, then you should consider me. I’m wealthy and I like you tremendously, which I have never said to any woman before. I think we would be good friends in marriage and it would not be such a bad way to get along in life. Spending one’s days with a person they consider a good friend is not so terrible, is it?”
“Don’t you want to find someone who loves you and whom you love?” She was flattered by his offer and a bit scared because she gave it serious thought. She didn’t love him and she never would, but it would make her parents and Aunt Daphne so happy to see her settled.
He chuckled. “I have never considered it. I must marry, but I always thought it would be someone amiable and who might tolerate me. Now I see that perhaps there is an alternative, if you will have me.”
She wrung her hands together. The stupid white gloves twisted this way and that. “Must I give you an answer here and now?”
“No. In fact, I think we should wait until the end of the season. If Daniel does not come to his senses, then you should consider my offer. I would not wish to stand in the way of true love.” He chuckled, but it was a hollow sound.
She looked up. “If what you say about your friend is true, then don’t you risk your friendship by courting me?”
He shrugged. “Daniel is a fool. Besides, our friendship goes back a long way. It can survive a marriage between you and me. Daniel will be angry, but mostly with himself.”
“You are serious. You have thought this through quite considerably.” She’d assumed he was joking, but Thomas had given the notion of marrying her consideration.
He smiled. “You should close your mouth, Sophia. As charming as you look sitting there gaping at me, I think the crowd is beginning to notice.”
She did close her mouth and soon after, the lights went dark again. Thomas stayed for the second act and Dory and Elinor returned. It was nice to have the support of so many friends. All her friends in Philadelphia had abandoned her under the weight of the rumors. Everyone speculated and gossiped about why she declined all invitations. Sophia hadn’t helped matters, becoming more and more reclusive as time went on.
In only a few short weeks in London, she’d made three true friends who now stood by her.
In the second act, the husband returned battered and lonely. Under the pressure of the curse, he was unable to find the love he sought so diligently. He climbed mountains and crossed seas searching for his love, but in the end, he found only more loneliness and he was starving to death.
The witch didn’t send him away as Sophia had hoped. Instead, she welcomed him home after years of absence. She fed him, bathed him and gave him clean clothes. She let him sleep for three days to recover from his journey.
Sophia wanted the witch to throw stones at him until he bled.
At the end of three days, the husband was so grateful, he took his wife to bed to thank her for her kindness. He promised to stay with her and be a faithful husband and lover. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, she turned back into the beautiful maiden he’d originally married. She then explained that all she ever wanted was for him to love her not for her beauty but for herself.
Sophia dashed away a tear with disgust. A ridiculous story and not at all how life really was.
Thomas escorted her out of the box. They met up with Daniel and his opera singer in the lobby.
“Did you enjoy the play, Miss Braighton?” Daniel asked.
“Not very much, Lord Marlton.” She kept her expression calm. It took quite a bit of effort.
“Really, why not? I should have thought you would love such fanciful ideas. All young women love a happy ending.”
“I prefer the truth.”
“That surprises me coming from you.” He bit out the words and narrowed his eyes on her. His free hand fisted at his side and the beautiful Miss Dubois occupied the other.
“Marlton,” Thomas warned.
“Always her champion, Wheel. A pity she is constantly in need of your services.” He paused. “Perhaps, you should marry her.”
Sophia didn’t give her escort time to respond. “I shall be happy to tell you anything you ask, my lord.”
“Really? Just the other day you told me you would prefer if I didn’t ask questions.”
She nodded. “I would prefer it.”
“Your aunt is waiting, Sophia,” Thomas said.
“Of course you’re right, Tom.”
* * * *
The use of Thomas’s familiar name got Daniel’s attention and he bowed deeply to them both when he wanted to wring Tom’s neck and pull Sophia into his arms and kiss her until she told him everything. He’d been joking about Tom marrying Sophia, but he saw in Tom’s eyes, he was not amused.
“Good evening. Wheel, I shall see you on Monday at the club. Miss Braighton, until we meet again.” His words sounded eloquent enough but even he heard the tension.
Daniel watched them cross to Lady Collington, while his companion chatted with everyone she encountered.
Had he seen tears in Sophia’s eyes? He would have sworn he had. Why would she cry? Probably just the lighting.
Once he extracted Miss Dubois from the theatre, he drove her home.
She stepped away from the carriage and then turned back when he didn’t follow. “Are you coming up?”
He kissed her hand. “Not tonight, my dear.”
“You are in love, Danny.” It was not a question.
“No. You are mistaken.”
She smiled and tipped her lovely face to one side. “I’m never wrong about such things. The dark-haired girl who did not like the play.”
He choked and cleared his throat.
She giggled. “She seems quite nice and very beautiful, Danny. You should marry her before your friend does.”
“I’m sorry, Charlotte, but you are incorrect. I do not even know Miss Braighton. Thomas may have her.” It came out a bit more sternly than he intended.
She had a way of shrugging that said the matter was of little interest to her. “He will have her if you do not stop him. Goodbye, Danny. I do not expect I will see you again.”
He kissed her hand again. “Good night, Charlotte.”
* * * *
As he did every Monday morning at eleven o’clock, Daniel met Thomas at Jaffers Club for a fencing match. Dulled foils were capped at the end and each man wore protective clothing in case of accident.
The clash of steel on steel filled the long hall. The two gentlemen were well matched and to the passing observer nothing looked amiss. However, after thirty minutes Thomas called a halt. He removed his mask and wiped the sweat from his brow. “You are quite vigorous this morning, old friend.”
Daniel removed his own mask. “If you cannot keep up, Tom, we can call it a day.”
Thomas raised an eyebrow. “I can certainly keep up. That is not the question. The question is, why are you making
such an effort to harm your ‘dearest friend’ during a sparring match?”
“Harm you, I would never dream.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Very well.” Thomas lowered his mask and took an en gardè stance.
Steel clashed again and with more effort than before, Daniel went on the offence and backed Thomas up to the wall. “Why does she call you ‘Tom’?”
Thomas pushed off, caught Daniel off guard and backed him up several paces. “We are friends.”
“Friends?” Daniel thrust forward.
Thomas turned in time to avoid the blow and swept his foot catching Daniel at the back of the knee.
Daniel was already off balance and the move felled him.
Thomas kicked Daniel’s foil away and put a foot on his chest. “Yes, friends. I would offer for her in a second if I did not believe she is already in love with you. I have told her so.”
“Offer then. I want nothing to do with her.”
“Really, is that why you nearly took my arm off a few minutes ago because you have no interest? She is a marvelous girl and you are a fool if you do not at least attempt to have her for your wife.” Thomas took his foot off Daniel and removed his mask. He sat on the step that led down from the fencing platform and wiped his face.
Daniel stretched the shoulder he’d landed on and sat next to him. He tossed his gloves and mask aside and rested his head in his hand. “I cannot go through this again, Tom.”
“Jocelyn and Sophia have nothing in common. However, you obviously have your doubts. I suggest you talk to the lady and see what she says. Do you really believe Lady Collington would sponsor her if what Pundington said is true?”
“She might have lied to her aunt,” Daniel said.
“You must be joking. Sophia wears her emotions directly in those unusual golden eyes. She couldn’t lie successfully and certainly not to someone as astute as Lady Collington.”
“I just do not know, Tom.” He shook his head while rubbing his temple.
Thomas got up and gave his foil, mask and gloves to his valet. He removed the protective vest and shrugged into a more fashionable morning coat. “Well, my friend, you had better decide what you want. I did not jest when I said I would offer for her. I think she and I might be a good match. Not a love match, but she is beautiful and intelligent and I’m fond of her, which is more than I can say for most other women of the ton.”
“You are serious.” Daniel’s heart beat wildly and his stomach twisted in a knot that threatened to upheave his breakfast. The idea of spending the rest of his life seeing Sophia as Mrs. Thomas Wheel was untenable.
“I could not be more so. I can see that you love her and that she obviously is in love with you. Because I care about you both, I shall wait. However, I’ll not wait indefinitely. I’ll see you on Friday in the country.” He bowed and left.
Daniel tried thinking without all the hurt and anger that had guided his actions for the past few days. Everything Thomas said was true. He would give the matter more thought. How long would he allow Jocelyn’s actions to rule his life?
Chapter 9
Sophia spent hours begging Aunt Daphne to allow her to stay in London rather than go to Lady Marlton’s house party. But all her pleading was to no avail. It was the invitation of the season, they had accepted, and it would take an act of God to keep them from Marlton Hall.
So she prayed for an act of God.
Pray as she might, on Friday they took the Collington carriage and made the trip to join her friends and Daniel in the country.
Hills and fields spread out before her and gave a bit of distraction from seeing Daniel. She tapped the windowsill until Aunt Daphne commanded her to stop. Once the rain stopped, she tugged at the sleeves of her dress and squirmed as perspiration ran down her back. A bit of blue sky peeked out for a little while.
The drive up to Daniel’s estate was canopied by a mile of giant oak. By far the largest house she’d ever seen, Marlton Hall boasted three stories with large windows. The tall glass reflected blue sky and fluffy clouds. Heaven plopped down in the English countryside. Sophia struggled to catch her breath.
“Not a bad piece of property, eh?” Aunt Daphne chuckled.
“My word. How do they find their way around such a palace?” The drive widened and curved around a reflecting pond. Great stairs rose up to the front door and several servants stood waiting.
“I think they manage, Sophia. It is only a house, a rather enormous one, but a house just the same. Try to close your mouth before we alight from the carriage, my dear.”
Lady Marlton and Cissy greeted them in front of the house. They were not the first to arrive. Elinor and Virginia Burkenstock were already in residence and were resting above stairs. Dory and her family had not yet arrived but were expected soon.
Mrs. Wade, the housekeeper, a woman of some girth in a serviceable blue dress, showed Sophia and Daphne to rooms on the second floor. They climbed a steep flight of stairs and walked down two long hallways, all the while Mrs. Wade’s keys kept a steady cadence.
Aunt Daphne said she would rest before dinner, but Sophia’s mind filled with a thousand different horrors that might destroy the week in the country. Every one of them left her more miserable than the last.
Remarkably, she managed to find her way through the house and into the elaborate gardens. Once she found the garden gate, the property stretched out in miles of rolling hills. However, did he keep track of so much land? One knoll looked much like the next. Fresh air and sunshine warmed her face. She stood on the top of a hill, breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Warm grass and rich earth, just like home.
“What are you thinking about?”
She gasped and opened her eyes, whirling toward Daniel’s voice.
He dismounted his chestnut horse and threw the reins over the saddle. He gave the horse a pat and a few words and it eagerly trotted away. He turned back to her holding up both hands as if in surrender. “I apologize. I did not mean to startle you. I saw you from across the field and you were so engrossed you did not hear my approach.”
“I thought I was alone.” She blurted out the statement unable to think of anything intelligent to say. Why didn’t he look angry as he had at the theatre? Her nerves frayed. The least he could do was be consistent. She was always on edge when he was around and she didn’t like it.
He grinned, which lit a spark in his eyes. “Obviously. What were you thinking?”
She turned away and walked a few steps, creating some distance between them. She considered running back to the house, but he would catch her and even if he didn’t, she would still have an entire week of embarrassment over her behavior on the first day. “I was just thinking that this reminds me of home.”
He stared out over his property. “It’s good farmland.”
Papa would visit the nearby farmers once a month and see how they were doing. He kept up good relationships with all the local people and often traded with the farmers. The shipping business did well because Charles Braighton was admired by so many people.
“Thomas told me he intends to marry you.” His expression was calm and unreadable.
It wouldn’t do to run screaming back to the house now. She swallowed and kept her eyes on the land, the trees, a passing bird, anywhere but at him. “He mentioned it to me as well.”
“Will you accept his offer?”
“I don’t see how that is any of your business, Lord Marlton.”
He took several steps toward her.
She stiffened and ordered her feet not to move. He was going to touch her and the air simmered between them.
His hands settled on her shoulders. “It is none of my business, Sophia. I have no idea why you draw me in the way you do. I want to stay away from you, but I cannot seem to do it. Tom is a good man. The best man I know. You could do no better and yet the thought of you marrying him fills me with rage, which I find difficult to control. The idea of anyone else having
you is repulsive to me.”
His speech took some fire out of her. “I don’t wish to marry at all.”
“You told me that before.”
“I meant it.”
“But you will accept Tom if he asks.” He said knowingly.
She forced a smile. “Mr. Wheel makes a good argument for a marriage between us. I like him very much.” It sounded a bit too simple but it was impossible to lie no matter how much she would have preferred it.
Daniel shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Shall we talk of something else?”
She shook her head. “I think I should return to the house and we should try to avoid each other this week, my lord. I seem to have the ability to make you angry. I do not wish to do so, but it’s obvious we can’t get along. I’ll keep my distance and I would appreciate it if you would do the same.”
He closed the gap. “Anger is not the only emotion you stir in me, Sophia. I find I can think of little else but you when you are near. If I could stay away from you I would, but I’m drawn to you like moth to flame.”
She took a step back. “All the more reason to stay away from me as the moth never fairs well in that situation.”
“You do not like me. You like Tom, but not me.” He stared up at the clearing sky, his voice far away.
She sighed. “My feelings for you are unclear, my lord. I’m confused in your presence and I fear you.”
He touched her cheek. “Fear me? That, I could never want, Sophia. I would never harm you.”
His lips brushed hers so gently it was more of a whisper than a kiss.
Her stomach fluttered and her breasts ached. She tried, but failed to stop the tear that trickled down her cheek.
“Why are you crying?”
Helpless, she couldn’t look away. “I don’t know. I want…”
He buried his face in the crook of her neck. “Yes, sweet, what do you want?”
She shook her head and stepped away again. “I don’t know. You scare me, my lord. I don’t want whatever this is I feel when you are close. I don’t understand, I don’t like it and I would much prefer if you would keep your distance.”
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