Sophie came home a few weeks later, blissfully unaware of the events that caused turmoil. She had returned to Linmore only once during the whole time Joshua and Charlie were on their tour, at the end of her first term at school. She had written feverishly to her brother, and the letters continued on his return.
Joshua knew Charlie wanted to see her, but she wrote incessantly about her busy life, and they assumed she was happy to stay. They could hardly think anything else, considering the bundle of hasty scribbling that came almost every week.
Yes, she was happy, and her friend’s father was most obliging as to frank her letters. They were the most delightful people, and she could not wait to introduce them to Charlie. She had so much to tell him…
All they had to do was wait. They anticipated her return on three separate occasions, and each time Charlie was disappointed.
Sophie arrived at the most unexpected time. Each morning, Joshua and Charlie took a ride across the park in a different direction, but it always ended with a race to see which one would reach home first. Sometimes, one or other won by a horse’s nose but usually it was a dead heat.
They were half way back across the park when they saw a strange coach lumbering up the drive. Although too far away to identify the conveyance, the wish to know more spurred them on.
If Joshua’s father been there to witness the event, they would have dismounted sedately and handed over the reins with a word of thanks to the grooms. Instead, they galloped into the stable yard, threw themselves from their mounts, and hurtled around the side of the house to reach the front door before the vehicle came to a halt.
They stopped, gaping in amazement as the coach door opened, and a tall, shapely figure, clad in a fashionable dark green pelisse, over a matching gown, tumbled out, straight into Charlie’s arms.
“Charlie,” she squealed with delight, hugging him. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Let me look at you.” Her brother held her at arm’s length and his jaw dropped. “Sophie,” he growled with obvious disapproval. “What the deuce are you wearing?”
“Isn’t it dashing?” she said, unbuttoning the coat, to reveal a low-cut bodice, which clung to her form. “It’s a present. My friend bought a new outfit, so her parents insisted I had one too.”
“It’s indecent,” he said. “Go and find a scarf to cover your chest.”
Sophie stopped, looked mutinous and then laughed. “Don’t be silly, Charlie. You and Joshua are dressed up to the nines, so why shouldn’t I?”
“That’s different, Sophie. You’re a girl and must have a care for your reputation.” Charlie’s mouth worked as he tried to find words to describe his feelings. “It’s too small. They should have bought you a larger size.”
She pouted and turned aside. “What do you think, Joshua? Do you think I’ve grown?”
His tongue stuck to the top of his mouth. He nodded, trying not to meet her eyes. He lowered his gaze, and wished he had not. Yes, she had definitely grown. She might have sprouted horns as well as a voluptuous bosom, but he did not stop to look.
Sophie gave a gurgle of delight and moved closer.
“Now,” she said, “it’s time I looked at you…” Her eyes widened in amazement. “Ooh…my…word, Joshua…”
She stopped to let her tongue encircle her lips, and then, boldly, extended her hand to stroke across his shoulders right down his lower back. “You have grown so… tall… You’re even bigger than Charlie…”
Out of sight of her brother’s vision, she slyly let her fingers trickle teasingly across his derriere, whilst waiting to see his reaction.
Heat immediately surged through him. Startled, he turned and met her smouldering gaze, but not wanting to think what it meant, dropped his eyes to the coating of dust on his top boots. It was better to do that than acknowledge her blatant invitation. Luckily, Charlie’s mind was on other things.
“Don’t encourage him, Sophie,” her brother grumbled. “His head’s big enough as it is, without you giving him ideas of his importance. You wouldn’t believe the number of women that chased after him these last few months.”
For some inexplicable reason, Sophie flounced off in a sulk, leaving Charlie to explain his state of agitation. He was beside himself. His hands fluttered across his chest – hardly knowing which part to touch, and yet, clearly his sister’s décolletage was the cause.
“Oh, my God, Josh,” he said. “What are we going to do? She has no more notion of the world than a newborn. Fancy her thinking it’s all right for a girl of her age to expose her chest, wearing clothes like those. What kind of people are they to buy such things?”
Joshua knew from his encounters with Italian women the look Sophie gave him was anything but innocent. It was wanton, but that was not what Charlie wanted to hear.
“You’ll have to help me look after her, Josh; otherwise we’ll have some loose fish giving her a slip on the shoulder. It doesn’t bear thinking about.”
Sophie had changed beyond their expectations. Whilst they acknowledged their maturity, it never occurred to them she was similarly growing up. Joshua did not want to think of her as a woman, but knowing Charlie expected an answer, he nodded like a loony. Speech was impossible, even if his life depended on it.
While his breathing returned to normal, Joshua concentrated on his second impression – that the hat Sophie wore was too old a style for a girl her age – and if he was not mistaken, she wore makeup, but on that he remained silent.
It seemed inevitable that Sophie’s behaviour would cause Charlie embarrassment, but Joshua determined to play no part in the process. His friendship with her brother was worth more than Sophie’s fleeting amusement.
Within minutes, she returned to plague them.
“Look at her, Josh.”
Sophie seemed delighted her appearance struck her brother speechless. A throaty gurgle of laughter erupted as she slipped between them and linked her hands through their arms. “I have so much to tell you…”
“What’s that?” said Charlie, when his sister drifted into his bedroom.
A soggy strip of leather fell to the floor when Sophie took a handkerchief from her pocket. Charlie picked it up and recognised it as the leather tassel from Matthew Norbery’s boot, which Sophie took when they first arrived at Linmore. He looked at her in disbelief. Surely, she had not kept it all this time. It must be at least eight years.
“Why is the tassel wet, Sophie?” It gave him a sense of unease.
“Oh, that old thing?” she said, not meeting his eye. “I threw it in the lily pond at Annie’s home, and forgot it; only, one of the gardeners found it, and gave it back to me this morning.” She sounded aggrieved. “I don’t want it now it is spoiled.”
“Matthew Norbery is dead, Sophie,” said Charlie. “He drowned in the sea.”
She looked at him, and said without interest, “Is he? In that case, Joshua won’t have to leave home.”
“No,” said Charlie. “Nor can he join the army, as we always planned.” Then an awesome thought struck him. “Did you put a curse on this?”
She gave a half laugh. “Don’t be silly, Charlie. I do not know any spells. I just wished something would happen to let Joshua stay at Linmore, so we could always live here. It’s our home, and it would be lovely if you could meet Annie, and she could come to live with us.”
With Sophie at home, Squire Norbery had to organise some kind of entertainment. Whereas nothing official was permissible in a bereavement year, there was no reason to avoid informal gatherings where the young people could meet without offending convention.
Joshua met his nephew on the baby’s first birthday. They travelled to Shettleston Hall for the occasion, and he saw immediately that marriage had changed his sister. Caroline was happier than he had ever seen.
Something about her reminded him of Lady Rosie. He could not say what it was, but seeing the baby jolted his memory. He hoped her assurances were correct, otherwise, he would no doubt hear from her…
“Can you dance, Joshua?”
“Yes,” he said with a smile, remembering how he learned. “Charlie and I took dancing lessons whilst we were in Athens.”
When she looked surprised, he said, “It’s true. We were guests of the British Ambassador’s family. They know Aunt Winifred.”
No one could dispute that.
“That is excellent,” she said. “Several female members of Shettleston’s family are in need of dancing practice, in preparation for their presentation.”
She looked dispassionately at Sophie. “Did your lessons at school include dancing?”
Sophie met her eye and smirked. “Of course, Cousin Caroline; and I have lots of practice whilst staying at my friend’s house. Her parents are extremely sociable people, and with their position in society, they regularly entertain.”
Caroline Shettleston’s nose twitched.
“Then I trust you will have no trouble assisting the young men in the Shettleston family to learn the correct steps.”
Joshua sensed an undertone in his sister’s manner, but could find no reason for it. He knew Sophie used to challenge Caroline’s authority, but surely, nobody held a grudge that long.
It was easy to see the difference between Joshua and Charlie’s proficiency and the country folk who received only the basic instructions. Charlie was in his element, charming the young ladies with his natural ability in the dance, whereas Joshua gave his attention to the quieter girls, lacking a partner. After all, someone took pity on him, so the least he could do was return the compliment.
Several times he noticed Sophie watching him, and heard her say in conversation with his sister, “I don’t mind dancing with the other young men, Caroline, but I mustn’t neglect Joshua. It would be most impolite.”
To his surprise, she was remarkably good, and everyone commented on how well their steps matched. Then Sophie bobbed a saucy little curtsey and moved on to her next partner. Later, when she returned for a third dance, he was ready. “No, Sophie; only two dances are permissible. Three are not allowed.”
She scowled, and insisted. “Yes, but this is only a pretend dance.”
“No,” said Caroline, overhearing the exchange. “It’s a preparation for Almack’s, so we must do things correctly.”
After several sessions at Shettleston Hall, they went to other country houses for birthday parties, which always ended with dancing. It was the first time Joshua had met many of the young members of his community, and yet he supposed he would have to know them. Maybe, one day, he might even marry one of the girls. He looked around to see if he could remember who they were, but their names escaped him. Never mind, there was plenty of time.
Once Joshua started to dance, he was too engrossed in the enjoyment of the set to give anyone a second thought, until Charlie appeared, looking anxious.
“Have you seen Sophie?”
No, he had not and did not particularly want to – but Charlie did.
“You’ll have to help me, Josh. I can’t look everywhere.”
Joshua thought of the obvious. “She might have gone… well, you know.”
Realisation dawned on Charlie’s face. “Good thinking, I’ll see if she’s upstairs, and you can look in the garden. She might have felt hot and gone outside for some air.”
There was no sign of Sophie when Joshua stepped out onto the terrace, so he walked down the steps to the garden.
“Sophie,” he called, all the time looking around.
Hearing voices, Joshua walked down a cobbled path, but with evening merging into night; it was not easy to tell if he was moving in the right direction.
“Sophie, where are you?” Then he clarified his reason for being there. “Charlie is looking for you.”
He heard a low laugh, coming from the bushes, and Sophie emerged, adjusting her skirts. “What are you doing there?” he said.
“Were you worried I might get lost, Joshua?”
“No, of course I’m not,” he said, “but Charlie was.”
“Liar,” she said softly.
He turned away to walk back to the house.
“Aren’t you going to offer me your arm?” she said in a complaining tone.
“You came out here alone, so you can find your own way back.” He did not believe she had for a moment.
“How ungallant you are. I thought you were a gentleman.”
The scorn in her voice forced him to comply. It was not what he wanted, but he was not going to argue the point, in case she fell returning unescorted.
It was only as they passed through the French doors into the ballroom that he saw the ruffled state of her hair.
Then he heard a footstep behind them, and a languid voice declared, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Norbery, but your young lady has mud on the hem of her gown. I suggest the next time you walk in the garden; it would be wiser to stay on the stone paths.”
Joshua turned, and recognised the sleek black hair and hawkish features of the Honourable Robert Chetton, from Neathwood Park – which answered his query about Sophie’s escort on the outward trip to the garden. What the deuce was she doing with a man like Chetton, who was at least his late brother’s age, and had been on the town for years?
“Don’t let me keep you, dear boy,” Chetton said, “her fierce-looking brother is even now advancing.” With that, he was gone.
It was a relief when Sophie went back to school. The trouble was, Charlie insisted on going as her escort to ensure she came to no harm. Not that she would, for Squire Norbery always provided a coachman, a groom and outrider for support.
When he returned three days later, he looked dazed.
“Are you all right?” Joshua asked.
“Mmm, yes,” was his only response.
“Where have you been? We expected you back yesterday.”
“I… um… Sophie wanted me to meet her friend…s.”
“What are they like?”
“Wonderful.” Charlie breathed the word.
“All of them?”
“No, just the one, and she is beautiful.”
“What’s her name?”
“What?” Charlie was in a stupor. “I call her Diana… like the goddess.”
Joshua knew all he wanted to know about Roman goddesses.
Charlie made several visits to Bredenbridge in the next few weeks to take various items that Sophie claimed to have forgotten. Joshua guessed it was an excuse to see the other girl. Usually, he was a sensible chap but now he walked around with a silly grin on his face, uttering the most inane sentences, which were supposed to be poetry. It was painful, listening to him reciting it, or having him say, “D’you think she will like this, Josh?”
Joshua uttered words of agreement. It was not the time to say the rhymes made him feel nauseous, and Charlie needed a physic to set him to rights.
It was even worse when Charlie returned from Bredenbridge, declaring, “I’m in love, Josh.”
“You mean like the time you loved the red-haired girl in the village, and the gardener’s daughter, because you couldn’t make up your mind which you liked best?”
“No,” said Charlie, his voice ragged with emotion. “This is different. If you’d ever felt like this, you’d know.”
“Give me old-fashioned lust,” Joshua started to say, with a laugh, but the glow in Charlie’s eyes silenced him. It made him wonder if love was the same feeling that kept him awake at night, thinking of Lady Rosie. He thought it might be, and felt sad, not knowing if he would ever see her again.
“It’s all right. I believe you,” he said, knowing he would have to wait for Charlie to recover. If the past were anything to go by, he would be back to normal in a few weeks.
Then he recalled what Charlie said when they had their portrait painted in Rom
e. We won’t fight as long as the goddess remains in the picture.
Joshua did not argue about Charlie’s notion of a goddess – nor did he intend to languish whilst awaiting his friend’s return to sanity.
In the event, time was long and lonely without Charlie for company. William Rufus tried his utmost to test Joshua’s mettle with boxing practice, but it wasn’t the same without the need to win and prove he was the better man. When Charlie returned to Linmore, it was clear his mind was elsewhere. Joshua could tell by the little smile that played on his friend’s lips, and felt sad.
Even from afar, he felt Sophie’s influence. Why couldn’t she and her friend leave them alone? If his brother had not died, he and Charlie might have been in uniform by now, and no females could interfere. Then he realised that Sophie Cobarne would have found a way to make her presence felt.
He drifted from one thing to another. Riding around the estate only made him realise how little he knew about farming, and he could not bear the pitying looks if he showed his ignorance by asking questions. He didn’t even know what was normal or what to ask.
One evening, he made his way to the dairy and waited for Millie to finish her work. A comely wench, older than him by three years, Millie was kind and Joshua liked her better than the younger milkmaids, for she didn’t make him feel stupid. When he and Charlie returned from Rome, she had kissed them both without favouring one more than the other. Now, she gave her time to Joshua, and comforted him so well, he decided that Charlie could take all the time he liked to recover.
CHAPTER 23
Spring – 1801
In the event, Joshua had plenty of time to indulge his interest through the winter months. Charlie’s ardour for his goddess was unabated. He either languished around Linmore, singing her praises, or found an excuse to go to Bredenbridge to see her. Left alone, Joshua tried to understand his feelings, but it was hard.
Christmas likewise came and went, and when Sophie returned to Linmore at Easter, he noticed that she seemed filled with a kind of suppressed excitement, uttering silly giggles whenever she faced him across the dinner table. It was disconcerting to have Sophie smile at him, but her brother seemed oblivious.
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