Dominic (26 page)

“I know not what has co
m
e over Do
m
i
nic,” confided Isabella to
S
ophie when he f
i
nally
departed
for
his
roo
m
s
. “I
have
rarely
seen
him in
such
a
pleasant
m
ood.
Perhaps Stovely has i
m
proved his te
m
per.”

*****

These
thoughts
were
echoed
so
m
e
what
when he
m
et
W
r
oxh
a
m at his club that
evening. “You look well, Do
m
i
nic,”
he
said,
taking
the
seat
beside
him at
the
Faro table.
“In far better
shape t
h
an
when
I
saw you
last.
Ad
m
i
t it, country life suits you,” and he gave a knowing wink. “Met
yo
u
r
s
isters
and
t
h
eir
new
ac
q
uainta
n
ce
in the
park the other day, and now know why you
were in no hurry to send for
m
e. I
m
ust say I don’t bla
m
e
you.”

Vale’s
co
u
ntenance
d
arkened.
“Have
a
care,”
he warned
m
enacingly,
“
o
r I
m
ay find it neces
s
ary to serve you
a
leveler.
I
will
have
none
of
your
da
m
n insinuations.”

“Just so,” replied
W
r
oxha
m
, drawing his chair slightly away. “I assure you, I but jest.”

“Then
keep
your jests
f
or those
who would appreciate them and
confine
your
com
m
ents
to
the
cards.
Whatever thoughts y
o
u
m
ight have are quite wrong and I will thank you not to repeat the
m
. The lady in question is a
Lady
and should be treated as such, do you hear
?
”

“I
hear
very
well,
Do
m
i
nic,
and
understand
exactly.
No more words will pass
m
y lips on t
h
e
s
ubject I ass
u
re you.”

“I
am
relieved
to
hear
it,
m
y
friend.
It
would
be
very fatiguing
if
I
should
be
required
to
exert
m
yself
in
a
bout
of fisticuffs
.
”

“And
totally
unnecessary,”
assured
W
r
oxh
a
m.
“
I
ad
m
it
I was wrong in
m
y suppositio
n
s.”

“Exactl
y
! Now perhaps we can confine our e
n
ergies to the
cards,
for
once
they
run
in
m
y
favor.
It
would
seem my luck has changed!”

“Even so, Do
m
i
nic, do you think it wise to drink so deeply,
would
it
not
be
better
to keep
a
clear
head
for
the card
s
?”

“Be
assured
m
y
friend,
I
am
nowhere
near approaching
m
y
cups, but if I were, I assure you,
m
y
play would not suffer.”

Chapter
Eight

Society
sh
ow
ed
a
keen
interest
in
the
Duchess
of Lear’s
new
protégée,
and
when
invitations
were
issued
to a ball
to be held in her honor at Blake
House, it was seen that
very
few
refused.
Indeed
, had Regina not already
been on the brink of an engage
m
e
nt to Lord Anthony Bannington she would have been jealous of the curiosity that the event excited. However, confir
m
ed in her Anthony’s
devotion,
she
saw
no reason to resent Sophie’s entra
n
ce
into
society
a
n
d
she
too
e
n
tered i
n
to
t
h
e
spirit
of the occasion with so
m
e enthusias
m
.

Sophie
faced
the
event
with
m
ixed
feelings.
As
natural to all young ladies, she delighted in the preparations and the new gown ordered for the occasion, but the sheer
m
agnificence of the affair and the personages
w
ho would be present overawed her and te
m
pered he
r eagerness. Fortunately the earl had promised his mother that he
would attend the ball, and e
v
en, to the
d
uc
h
ess’s
g
r
eat delight,
re
m
ain
at
Blake
Hou
s
e
for
a
few
days
afterwards.

To
this
Sophie
clung,
assured
t
h
at
his
lordshi
p
’s
presence
would give her the confidence she so desperately needed.
W
ith
Do
m
i
nic,
she
would
be
safe.
There
would
be
no need to guard h
e
r tongue or mind her
m
anners, he understood
her
very
well.
There
was no
necessity
f
o
r
conventionalities
between
them
;
indeed
,
none
had
ever
existed.

*****

On
the
evening
of
the
ball, Sophie sat nervously before her
m
i
rror whilst the d
uchess’s
m
aid
arran
g
ed
her
curls into a
m
o
s
t
m
odish creation
and added the powder. Standing back to ad
m
i
re the
m
aid’s handiwork, the d
uchess
took a pink rose that lay on the s
mall table beside her and secured
it just above Sophie’s left ear
with a small diamond buckle
.
“Perfect!” she
e
xclai
m
ed,
“
now
just
the
m
erest touch
of rouge, so, and just the
suggestion of lip salve. Now for the dress
…
”

Sophie sto
o
d in her petticoats of foa
m
ing
white
lace and a dress
of
the
palest
pink
crystal
satin
was
deftly
flung
over
her head and laced up at the back.

Adjusting
the
shoulders
so that they lay low on her ar
m
s, the d
uchess
stood back to view her
handiwork
.
“You will break
h
earts t
h
is night,
m
y love,”
she cried.
“
Indeed, I c
a
nnot
w
ait to see the look on Dom –”
but
she
pulled
herself
up
short.
It
would
not
do
to try to hurry
m
atters, there was nothing of courtship in his
m
anner
and
Sophie
s
ee
m
ed
oblivious
of
her
attraction.

Giving
her ward’s
cheek
a
ge
n
tle
pat
of
satisfaction,
she
ret
r
eated
to
her
own
apart
m
ent
to
hurrie
d
ly
complete
h
e
r own
preparations
.

The
d
uke
and
the
e
arl
stood in
the
hallway
taking
a glass of burgundy before
the
arr
i
val of their guests, both had
dressed
to
perfection
a
nd
presented
i
m
posing
figures as befitted their station. His lordshi
p
, dressed in
m
idnight satin
,
had
even
allowed
his
valet
to
powder his raven
locks
for
the
occasion.
Hearing a
move
m
ent
at
the
top
of the
stairs
they
both
turned to
see
Sophie
and
the
d
uchess standing at the head of the i
m
pressi
v
e staircase, t
h
e d
uchess holding back so that Sophie descended alone.