Dominic (18 page)

“
Please
, would
you
n
ot
teach
m
e
to shoot
?
” s
h
e beseeched. “I
have
seen you
shooti
n
g
and
you
are
such
an excellent shot that I do beli
e
ve that it would be beyond
m
y power to distract you. Please sir.”

“No!”

“Then perhaps you would teach
m
e
to fish; and oh, I would so dearly love to fence. There is nothing I would love
m
ore
than
to
b
e
a
ble
to wield
a
blade.
It
would
be perfect.”

“
W
hy the deuce should I
?
” he replied in so
m
e surprise. “You are not
m
y sister, and t
h
ink of the i
m
propriety of it should we
b
e ru
m
bled. No, I will
h
ave nothing to do with it.”

“
I will teach you to dance in return
,
” she said
hopefully.

“As
I
have
already
taken
p
a
ins to
explain,
young lady, the fact
that
I chose not to dance
at
the
asse
m
bly
does
not
m
ean that I cannot. I dance very well thank you.”

“Prove
it
,
”
she
de
m
anded
with
a
chuckle,
rising
from the log and striking a pose.

“That
I
will
not,”
he
said,
with
a
d
eal
of
indi
g
natio
n
. “If I
will
not
dance
at
an
asse
m
bly
I
will
ce
r
tai
n
ly
n
o
t partner you in a field,
m
y
girl.”

Seeing
t
h
e
h
u
m
or
of
the
sit
u
ation they both burst forth into
uncontrollable
laughter and
it
took
a
few
m
o
m
ents
for them to
recover
and
when
they did
his
lords
h
ip
surprised both hi
m
self and Sophie by saying
as severely as he could
m
anage, “Oh, very well then. I suppose I
m
ust.”

“
Does
this
mean
you
will
teach
me
?”
she asked
, looking up hopefully into his a
m
used countenance.

“I suppose that it does,
t
hough
what
other
proof
you would
need
that
I
have
lost
m
y
senses
I
know
not.
None must
know
of
it.
Think
of
the
co
m
m
otion
it
will
cause
if we are found out. You must cover up those damned curls and answer to the na
m
e
of Jack and I will have none of your
m
i
ssish
ways.
You
wish
to
be
a
boy,
so
you
will
act as
a
boy.
Though
why you
find
it
so necessary,
I
don’t know.
You
do
well
enough
as a girl
and, though I know you
will
n
o
t
thank
m
e
for
saying it, I
m
uch prefer you as a girl.”

She
turned
a
haughty
shoulder.
“As
you
have
seen,
and
I think appreciated, I am
a girl when I needs be, sir.”

A despairing look was his only reply.

“Then I can re
m
ain Jack?”
she as
k
ed
enthusiastically.

“If
you
feel
you
m
ust,
but
we
will
begin
the
lessons
to
m
orrow. I will have ar
r
ange
m
ents to
m
ake.”

“Then we shall do
f
a
m
ously sir. Now all I
n
eed
d
o is to persuade the ga
m
ekeeper to lend
m
e a firear
m
.”

“You
certainly
will
not! You will
use
m
y
weapons.
At lea
s
t then
I will
know that
they
ha
v
e been
well
kept
and will not
b
e a danger to anyone.”

Sophie
s
m
iled
gleefully,
resisting
the
i
m
pulse
to
hug her bene
f
a
ct
or. “That
w
ill
b
e per
f
e
c
t sir. Now I will
b
e gone before you change your
m
i
nd.”

“You
will
m
eet
m
e
at
six
in
the
morning
a
t
t
h
is
spot,”
commanded Vale.

“Six, sir?”
s
he al
m
ost squeaked.

“Sacrifices must be
m
ade,” he ad
m
o
nished.

Laughing
,
she
was
gone
,
pausing
only to wave a
jubilant ha
n
d on reac
h
i
n
g the boun
d
ary.

The
earl stood nonplussed; wondering exactly what
he had
let hi
m
self in for as he called his dogs and then turned towards Stovely. If he should be found out, there would be hell to pay, but perhaps this would afford the diversion
he was seeking, thi
n
king that Sophie could be a pleasing
enough
co
m
panion
even
though
she
did
wish
to be treated as a boy. However, upon reflection, he had no objections.
He had had enough of entangle
m
ents with the fairer sex for the present, and had he not pro
m
ised hi
m
self a
sum
m
er
of
sport
whilst
atte
m
p
ting
to
t
o
lerate
his en
f
orced
r
u
sti
c
atio
n
?
T
he
gi
r
l
had spi
r
it,
th
er
e
was
no denying
it
and
she
c
o
uld
not
be
accused
o
f being
a si
m
pering miss. Indeed, he
m
i
ght w
e
ll take pleasure in his role as tut
or
. It would
c
ertainly be a new experience and
one
that
could
prove
quite
entertaining
.
Perhaps
his
sojourn at
S
t
ovely would be
m
ore rewarding than he had envisaged.

Chapter
Five

Sophie
arrived
at
the
meeti
n
g place the next morning well
be
f
ore
the
all
o
tted
ti
m
e.
She
a
l
most
danced
from foot to foot in her i
m
patience
for her co
m
panion’s arrival,
anxious lest he should have
thought
better of it and
decided not to co
m
e. However, it was not long before she espied him
st
riding from
the
trees and down the pasture.

“I see you have not brought the dogs,” she said, laughing as he neared.

He
grinned,
thrusting
a
f
i
rearm into
her
hands.
“I thought
it
prudent
to
leave
them
behind.
You
m
ay
use this; it is what
m
y father gave to
m
e when I was a boy. Even
so,
it
still
appears
too
big
for
your
s
m
all
hands
but
‘twill have to do. I have no oth
e
r that would suit. I see th
a
t you have covered your curls. The cap is perfect and you look
like
a
boy,
at
least
f
r
om a
distance,
though
if
truth
be told, you would not stand close scrutiny.”