Dominic (28 page)

Aware of his
m
ounting resent
m
ent towards
W
roxham which,
des
p
ite
his attempts
to qu
e
ll
it,
s
t
ill
lin
ge
red
in his breast, he reasoned that
Sophie had
the
right
to
dance
with who
m
ever
she
desired.
“D
a
m
m
e,
but
does
she
have
to
seem
to
enjoy
dancing
with
him
quite
so
m
uch,
could
she
not
have
demurred
and
danced
with
m
e
as
she
pro
m
ised? Did she have to appear quite so happy?
Da
m
n the chit!”

He
m
ust have spoken the words aloud for a
s
m
all voice
from the
doorway
brought
him
upright
in
his
seat
as
Sophie crept into the room.

“
To w
hom are
you
talking
?
”
s
h
e
enquired
peering
into the
darkened
corners
o
f
the
room
and
pulling
her
satin wrap fir
m
ly about her slender figure.

“You,” came his harsh reply as he sat back in the chair. “Ungrateful chit that you
are.”

“How did you know I was here?” she enquired co
m
i
ng to stand completely unselfconsciously before hi
m
.

“
W
hat
are
you
doing
down
here at
this
ti
m
e
of
night
?
” he enquired waspishly,
i
gnoring her question. “Thought you
would
have
tired
yourself
out
dancing
with
W
roxh
a
m, you
suited
each
other
so
exa
c
tly.
Indeed,
you appeared
to take excessive pleasure in his co
m
pany.”

“
W
hy should I not dance with him, Do
m
inic?
You didn’t
co
m
e
to
claim me
and
it
was
m
y
ball.
I
couldn’t stand every dance out in hopes that you would co
m
e. It would have looked so strange. Besides, you disappeared and I thought I had displeased you in so
m
e way.”

“And
so
you
had,”
he
replied
relenting
only
slightly.
“Now, if you will insist on
k
eeping co
m
p
a
ny with
m
e, co
m
e
and sit down, at lea
s
t then I will not ha
v
e the incon
v
enience of having to turn
m
y head to look at you.”

“
W
retch,” she said, chuckling and pulling a footstool to his
knee.
Seating
h
erself
there,
she
too
gazed
into
the
fire,
saying,
“I
care
n
o
t
what
you
say,
I
will
n
o
t
all
o
w
you
to
put
me
out
of
frame
.
I
enjoyed
myself
prodigiously
tonight. Did not you
?
”

“No Jack, I did not!”

“Ah,
but
I
was
not
Jack
tonight,”
she
replied,
resting her head on his knee and clos
i
ng her eyes. “I was Sophie.”

“A
fact
of
which
I
was
well
aware,
sprite
,
”
said
Vale, winding
one
of
the
golden
curls
that
brushed
against
his hand
around
his
finger,
and
in
a
m
u
ch
gentler tone
“only
too aware.”

But
she
heard
him not,
the evenness
of
her
breathing betra
y
ing t
h
e fact that
s
he had drifted into sleep, and in a selfish
m
o
m
ent
he
allowed h
i
m
s
elf the indulgence
of watching her in her slumber. Then dee
m
ing it prudent to rouse her, with supporting ar
m
, he escorted her to her apart
m
ent.

When
at
last
he
sought
his
own
repose,
the
thought ca
m
e
to
him
that
the
evening
h
a
d not
ended
so ill
after
all and his
m
ood was
m
u
c
h appeased. He even, to a certain degree, forgave
W
r
oxh
a
m his part in it all.

*****

However his peace with
W
r
oxh
a
m did not last long. Shortly after
noon he arriv
e
d on the doorstep of Blake House bearing
flowers for Soph
i
e, a fact which served to send
Vale
out
of
the
house
in
a
thunderous
m
o
od,
intent on visiting Ridleys. Jealousy was a totally new experience for
h
i
m
and
one
that
did
not
sit
him
well
and
he
vowed that he would not succumb to it, reasoning that he had no claim
on
her
and
she
could
recei
v
e
who
m
ever
she
wished.
A
f
ter
all,
to
f
eel
jealo
us
y
one
m
ust
needs
be
in
love,
and
he
was
m
ost
definitely
not
in
love
with
Sophie,
or
any other
fe
m
ale
for that
m
atter.
H
ad he
not
re
m
ained i
m
pervious to that e
m
otion thus far? So why
m
u
st he feel the overw
h
el
m
ing desire to succ
u
mb to it now? L
e
t
W
r
oxh
a
m pay
his
court,
he
would
w
i
sh
him well,
as
long as he did not have to witness it. To this end, despite his mother’s protestations, he arr
a
nged to return to his own apart
m
ents
the
next
day
and
threw
hi
m
self
into
a
round of
m
indless extravagance and e
x
cess, occupying his ti
m
e visiting the most notorious ga
m
i
ng houses and, as a
m
atter of course, the Cyprian Hall.

Seeing
his
friend
so
deter
m
ined to
leave
his
path
clear,
W
roxh
a
m
continued
to
pre
s
s
his
suit
and,
though receiving
no
encourage
m
ent
whatsoever
from Sophie,
felt well
pleased
with
the
situat
i
on. Believing
his path
to woo the young lady in question to be clear, he deter
m
ined to press
his
cause,
reasoning
with
hi
m
self
that
if
Vale
had had any designs in that quarter
he would have
m
o
st clearly
m
ade the fa
c
t known.

Chapter
N
ine

So successful had the e
arl been in fooling hi
m
s
elf that he
would,
in
ti
m
e,
be
able
to
overco
m
e
his
e
m
otions
that he had struck up a half-hearted courtship with an opera dancer
na
m
ed
Ros
a
m
und,
thinking t
h
at she
m
ay serve as a replace
m
ent for La Belle. Indeed, even though the relationship had gone no further
than
a
m
ild
flirtation
he felt
confident
that,
if offered,
she
would
accept
h
i
s protection
without
the
slighte
s
t hesita
tion. If only he could persuade
hi
m
self
that
that
w
a
s what he truly desired. To this
end
he
invited
her
to
a
m
asque
at
Vauxhall
G
ardens
in the hopes that the e
v
ening would serve to strengthen his resolve and bring about the desired results.