Dominic (19 page)

“That is o
n
ly because
y
ou know
m
e
, sir.”

“Maybe
so,
but
we
will
n
o
t p
u
t it to the te
s
t unless absolutely
n
ecess
a
ry.
Co
m
e;
let
us see
if we
can
f
i
nd
a suitable target for you to practice on, Jack.”

Sophie proved an apt pupil, her eagerness to learn
evident in her
endeavors.
Her
efforts
did
not
go unrewarded as
,
after
her
first
m
orni
n
g’s
lesson, Vale
was moved to comment, “By
m
y word, but you are an unusual girl,
Jack.
I
know
of
no
oth
e
r
female
who
would
have taken
so
readily
to
a
fir
e
arm as
you.
Though
you
m
ust
try to curb your unsee
m
ly tendency for blood lust, it is quite unladylike.”

“But
I have
no desire
to be a lady,” she replied, chuckling gleefully. “Did you not say that you would treat
m
e
as a boy, therefore I beh
a
ve only as a boy? You cannot co
m
plain.”

“I do not complain. As a boy you are a pleasing enough co
m
panion but we
m
ust
not lose sight of the fact that you are a
g
i
rl
.
”

“I hardly think t
h
at likely, do you, sir
?
”

“Brat,
”
was
his laughing
reply
as, making a short
courtly bow, she departed for her aunt’s house.

*****

The
days passed in
m
u
c
h the
sa
m
e
vein
and
it
was soon seen that Vale kept company with a boy. They were seen fishing
, shooting and riding together and after a while
,
their
activities
ceased
to be
commented
upon.
Those
who saw
them likened
the
boy
to
the
younger
brother
the
e
arl had
never
had,
seeing
no
i
m
propriety
in
their
activities.

V
ale
being
cautious
not
to
exc
i
te
too
much
int
e
r
e
st
in
t
h
eir
actions
treated
her
as
such. It
would
not
suit
his
purpose should Sophie be found out, indeed, treating her as a boy, he found it difficult not to think of her as a boy and he enjoyed
the
co
m
panionship
and
freedom that
otherwise would not have been afforded the
m
. Thoughts of London were pushed to the back of his
m
i
nd and he gave hi
m
self over to the pleasures of the
c
ountryside, pleasures that he could not have envisaged so few short weeks ago.

*****

Sophie
also
enjoyed
the
fre
e
dom of
these
halcyon
days. Never
before
had
she
been
so
free,
free
from Ray
m
ond Thornton’s tyranny. Her aunt proved a very indifferent guardian,
never
querying
her
a
c
tions
or
expecting
her
to be
forever
about
the
house.
Under Vale’s companionship, she
blosso
m
ed.
Gone
was
the
al
m
o
st
haunted
look
from her delicate
features. In its place
reigned
a
hap
p
iness
she had
not
thought
possible, though
she
would
not
allow herself to look beyond this one precious summer.

One partic
u
la
r
ly gl
o
ri
o
us afternoon, when she knew Vale to have gone into Ports
m
outh on business, Sophie decided
to
walk
around
the
lake where
they
so
often
went fishing. Despite the heat of the day, as she had pro
m
ised, she
kept
her
tunic
fastened
up
to
the
neck
and
wore
her cap
so
that
her
gender would
still
re
m
ain
undiscovered. Listening
to
the
water lap invitingly against the bank, she wished
that
she
had
brought
David’s
rods
but
it
was
too far
to
return
to
the
house
for
them
a
nd
instead
she
had
to
content
h
er
s
elf with just
enjoying
the
day.

Eventually her walk brought her to where the woods reached the lake’s sh
o
r
eline, their shadows providi
n
g welco
m
ing
shade,
screening
this part
of the
waters from view.
Taking
advantage
of
the
co
v
er
they
p
r
o
vided,
s
h
e sat
on
a
large
flat
stone
at
the
water’s
edge
an
d
,
drawi
n
g up her knees, she re
m
oved her cap and shook free her golden curls. So inviting was the water that s
h
e re
m
oved her
shoes
and
stockings
and dangled
her
toes
into
its cooling depths, hum
m
i
ng a little tune to herself in the process.

Looking around at the deserted fields a sudden thought ca
m
e
to
her
and
would
not
be rejected.
The
waters
looked so
cool
and
fresh.
Dare
she
re
m
ove
her
outer
gar
m
ents and wade out into the lake?
It would be so refreshing. The te
m
ptation proved too much and she started to undo the buttons of her tunic.

Suddenly
a
well-known
voice
issued
from the
shadows of
the
trees.
“I
think
it
prudent
at
this
point
to
warn
you that
you
are
not
alone,
Jack,” chuckled
Vale. She spun
round to
see
his
lordship
in
shirtsleeves
,
arms
folded
across his chest, lounging against a tree trunk. He had obviously been standing there unseen for so
m
e
while for the
saddle
had
been
re
m
oved
from his
horse
as
it
stood
in the shade.

He
str
o
lled
f
orward
f
rom
the
s
h
elter
of the
trees,
a
lig
h
t of devil
m
ent
in his eyes. “I could not let you go further without
m
a
king
m
y presence known, elf,”
he said, grinning.
“
It
would
seem
we
both
had
the
same
idea
.
However,
if
you
are
still
inclined
to
sw
i
m
in
the
lake
on
so
warm
a
day,
you
m
ay
be
assured
that
I
will
have
great pleasure in joining you. This heat
is
oppressive.”

Sophie hastily fastened the few buttons she had
undone.
“Sir,
you
startled
m
e,” she
accused,
struggling
not to s
m
ile in return. “
W
e could not, and well you know it. I thought you to be in Ports
m
outh.”

“So I see, but
m
y business did not take as long as I had expected
,
”
h
e
said,
co
m
i
ng
to
sit
on
the
stone
beside
her. “I
used
to
sw
i
m here
as
a
boy
and
thought
I
m
i
ght
do
so again. I had not given it a thought for so
m
e while but, riding
back
in
the
dust
and
heat, it
ca
m
e
to
m
e.
Are
you sure I can’t te
m
pt you?
It is quite refreshing and none will see
?
” and he grinned
m
i
schievously at her.