Dominic (38 page)

“That is
n
ot necessary,” interp
ol
ated the
d
uchess. “Sophie and Do
m
i
nic have
m
ade their arrange
m
ents and if they had intended
m
aking up a p
a
rty they would have said so. Do you not agree, my love
?
” she said turning to her husband for support.

“
W
hatever
arrange
m
ents
the
boy
chooses
to
m
a
ke
are
his
own
affair,”
replied
the
d
uke,
giving
o
n
ly
half
his
attention
to
the
m
atter
as
he read through the
m
ail his secretary had brought to h
i
m
. “I see no reason why whatever he wishes to do should beco
m
e a
m
a
tter of so much comment. I have
n
o
int
e
rest in it.”

Casting
him a
despairing
l
ook,
the
d
uchess
brought
the
m
atter
to
an
end
by
saying,
“I
see
no
reason
at
all
why they should not drive out together. Sophie, a
f
ter all, is considered as fa
m
ily and as such should not excite any comment from
the tabbies.”

*****

W
ith thoughts of the previous night still fresh in her
m
i
nd, Soph
i
e waited impatiently
for the e
arl to arrive and was relieved when she finally
h
eard his v
o
ice in t
h
e hall de
m
anding
her
presence.
Catching
her
skirts, she hurried down
to
m
eet
h
i
m
,
eager
to be
away
and
in
his co
m
pany once
m
ore.

When they were seated in the high perch phaeton and moving
away
from
Blake
House,
Vale
needed
to keep
his
m
i
nd on the road, his attention being clai
m
ed by the two high-spirited bloods between t
h
e shafts. “I had thought we
m
i
ght
drive
toward
Rich
m
ond,”
he
said
without
turning his head. “It will be less crowded and will allow us
m
ore freedo
m
.”

“Not as
m
uch freedom
a
s Stovely,”
s
aid Sophie
s
m
iling up at hi
m
. “How I long for those days.”

S
m
iling,
he
reached over
and
laid
h
i
s
hand
over
hers, saying
, “I too, Jack, but those days can never be
regained,”
and
she
was
taken
aback
by
the
sadness
in
his
voice.
“
W
hen
we
are
outside
the
city
we
m
ust
talk,”
he
continued.
“There
are
things
t
h
at
m
ust
be
said,
situations
I
would explain.”

“Could you not tell
m
e now
?
” she pleaded.

“‘Tis b
e
st that we sh
o
uld wait u
n
til we can
n
ot be overheard.”

Their
progress
through
the
city streets
was
necessarily slow
and
the
horses
fretted
in
their
eagern
e
ss
to be
away. However,
a
s
they re
a
c
h
ed
the outs
k
irts, Vale r
e
laxed
h
is hold on the reins so
m
ewhat and they went forward at a spanking trot, passing
w
hat few vehicles re
m
ained on the road.

Sophie,
exa
m
ining
his profil
e
, saw a sternness she had not
seen
before
and
it
moved her
to
enquire
with
so
m
e trepidation, “Are you so very angry
with
m
e
for
following you last night, Do
m
i
nic
?
”

“No, child, no,” he responded with the briefest of s
m
iles, his
m
i
nd being otherwise engaged. “Forgive
m
e, but
th
e
r
e
is
a
m
atter
of so
m
e
i
m
port
ance
I
would
discuss
with you and I know not how to broach the subject. There are the rui
n
s of an abbey a short dista
n
ce ahead,
p
erhaps we could
alight there and
then we can talk.”

Taking the phaeton into what had once been the
abbey’s
grounds;
the
e
arl
lea
p
t
ni
m
bly
down
from the
seat and
tethered
the
horses
before
turning
to
h
e
lp Sophie to alig
h
t. Raising his ar
m
s
he
li
f
t
ed her down, retaining
her
with
in his
clasp
for
a
m
o
m
ent
longer than
was
necessary,
but
as Sophie
raised
a
questio
n
ing
gaze
to
his
face,
he
let
her
g
o
and
turned away.

“Do
m
inic,
there
is
so
m
eth
i
ng
v
ery
m
uch
a
m
iss,
will you not tell
m
e
?
” she implored going to his side.

Taking
her
hand
he
drew
it
through
his
ar
m
.
“
W
alk with
m
e a little,”
h
e said.

Sophie could see that the frown still creased his brow and
she
silently
kept
step beside
hi
m
,
waiting
for
his confidence.
He
took
her
out
of the
confines
of
the
abbey and
they
walked
arou
n
d
its
p
e
rimeter
toward a
s
m
all coppice. As they entered the trees he relinquished his hold on her hand and stood before her.

“Sophie,
there
is
so
m
ething
I
m
ust
explain,”
he
said, and
she
was
startled
b
y
the
i
n
te
n
sity
of
his
gaze
and waited
f
or
h
im to
conti
n
ue.
“Vauxhalls...”
he
began,
but she turned away.

“There is no need,” she cri
e
d putting up her hand as he would
have
started
toward
her.
“No
expla
n
ations are necessary, not to
m
e.”

He
ignored
the
pleading
gesture
and
instead
took
hold of her shoulders, turning her
to
face
hi
m
.
“You
don’t understand. It was
m
erely a fol
l
y,
an
atte
m
pt
to
divert
m
y thoughts...”

She looked up at the dark visage that see
m
ed to tower above her and lived again the
f
eelings of devastation that
had
so
threatened
to overcome
her
that
night
in
the
gardens.

“You
m
i
stake,
sir,”
she
cried.
“
W
ho
m
ever
you
choose to
ta
k
e
as
y
our
m
i
stress
is
no
affair
of
m
i
ne;
you
are
not
answerable to
m
e. I have no claim
on your actions.”