Dominic (25 page)

“
W
hat
is
this,
brat?”
he
asked in rallying
tones as he advanced along its length. “
D
on’t tell
m
e
that
you grow tired of London society so soon, or is it that you
m
iss your gun and rod
?”

“Do
m
inic,”
she
cried
leaping
from her
seat
and
running to
m
eet
him.
“Oh,
I
am so
glad
that
you
are
here
at
last.
I was beginning to despair of you ever co
m
i
ng.”

“
W
hat, do they treat y
o
u so ill that you are driven to this?” he asked
m
ockingly, as she stood before him.

“Not
at
all,
not
at all,”
she
s
m
iled,
eyes
bright,
shaking her
head,
“but
I
have
miss
e
d
your
co
m
pany
dreadfully.
I do believe I need you to keep
m
e in check.”

S
m
iling, he flicked her chin casually with one slender fin
g
er. “A fact I do not doubt,” he said, “I too have
m
i
ssed my pupil. I had grown used to her impudent ways. Though
I
did
think
that
m
aybe
a
few
weeks
away
from my influence
w
ould
perhaps
i
m
prove her
m
anners and she would no longer need
m
y guidance.”

“Never!”
s
h
e cried
h
o
tly.
“I s
h
all always need
your guidance
in all things.”

“
W
as
I
such
a
hard
task
m
aster
?
” he
asked
quietly, studying her face. “Did I treat you t
o
o severel
y
?
”

She
di
m
pled
up
at
hi
m
.
“Of
course not, and as Jack I took liberties which as Sophie
w
ould have been quite unacceptable. I am
sure I proved a severe trial to
you.”

He grinned in return. “I
m
ust ad
m
it to a desire to box your
ears
at
ti
m
es,
brat,
espec
i
ally when I have needs to chase after coaches to retri
e
ve
you.”
Then
taking
her
hand and sobering slightly, “Now let us
t
ake a seat and you can tell
m
e why you were crying when I arrived.”

“I was just lonely, sir,” she said, seating herself beside him
on the window seat.

“Lonel
y
?”
h
e
repeated incredulously.
“
W
hen
you
have my parents and sisters to keep you co
m
pany?
Do they not satisfy you
?
”

“Of course they do, but you
m
ust know that it was for my
tutor
that
I
pined
,
but
now
that
you
are
co
m
e,
all is to rights.” And she tucked a confiding hand in his.

They
fell
silent
for
a
mo
m
e
nt,
each
engaged
in
the
i
r own thoughts, until sud
d
enly Sophie’s face lit
u
p. “I have an excellent
idea,”
she enthused. “
W
hilst we have t
h
e house to ourselves, co
u
l
d I not change into
m
y
breeches and
you
could
continue
with
m
y fencing
lessons? It would be perfect!”

“No, I have a
m
uch better
id
e
a,” he said, s
m
ili
n
g down at
her.
“Now
wait
here,
I
will
only
be
a
m
o
m
ent,”
and
he
le
f
t
the
g
a
ll
e
ry
to
r
eturn
a
short
while
later
with
an
oblong rosewood box in his hands.

“Pistols
?
” she enquired enthusiastically.

“
Nothing so blood thirsty, imp
,
” he smiled, as he
placed the
b
ox onto a
s
m
all table and lifted t
h
e lid.

The sweet tones of a musical box floated through the gallery
and,
standing
before her,
he
held
out
his
hand.
In his
m
ost
courtly
m
ann
e
r
he
asked, “Would Miss Thornton do
m
e the honor of dancing with
m
e
?
”

“Do
m
inic!”
she
squeaked
incredulously,
taken co
m
pletely off guard. Laying her hand in his she allowed herself to
b
e
led
to
the
cent
e
r
of
the
gallery where,
once more bowing low, to her great delight, he took her through the co
m
plex and regal move
m
ents of the
m
inuet, showing he possessed an elegance one would not have suspected.

*****

So
engrossed
were
they in
the
intricacies
of
t
h
e
dance that
they
fa
iled
to
s
e
e
that
they
w
ere
observed.
Having
been apprised of her son’s arrival,
the
duchess had
repaired
i
mm
ediately
to
the gallery,
arriving in ti
m
e to witness t
h
e last
few
m
o
ve
m
ents and a slow smile
s
p
read over her countenance.

“Bravo,”
she
applauded
as
the
final
notes
died
away and she ca
m
e to stand at Sophie’s side. “You have succeeded,
where
so
m
a
ny
have
failed,
m
y love,
in
getti
n
g my son to dance. He so oft
e
n refuses and appears churlish, yet why I do not know. He dances so creditably.”

Following in their
m
other’s wake Regina and Isabel
l
a chose that mo
m
ent to arrive at the door.

“Oh
Lord,
not
you,
Do
m
i
nic,”
scowled
Regina.
“That is the end of our peace.
Could you not have stayed away just a little longer
?
”

Making a profound leg, Vale s
m
iled
sweetly. “As you see, I have retur
n
ed
,
la
d
i
es.
My apologies
if you find
m
y ho
m
eco
m
i
ng so unti
m
ely.”

“
W
ell
I
for
one
am prodigiously
glad
to
see
you,”
said Isabella,
a
d
ainty
b
runet.
“At
le
a
st
n
ow
Father’s atte
n
ti
o
n will
be
ta
ke
n
away
from me
and
my
wrong
doings.
Yours far
outweigh
m
ine.”

“I
am glad
to
be
of
some
ser
v
ice,”
r
eplied
V
a
le
silkily, “and
if
m
y
m
ain
role
in
li
f
e
is
to
ta
k
e
the
burden of
f
a
m
ily wrongs
onto
m
y
shoulders,
then
I
am
only
too
glad
to
be of assistance.”

For
as
m
uch
as
h
i
s
return
had
be
e
n
so
ill
r
ec
e
ived
b
y his sister,
the
e
arl
delighted
his mother
and
Sophie
by re
m
aining
with
them for
the
re
m
ainder
of
the
day,
even going so far as to join them
in their evening
m
eal.