Dominic (44 page)

Taken aback by his censure, Sophie thought it prudent to re
m
ain silent—how she longed
f
or her tutor; he would not
have
criticized
her
so.
The
thought
of
his
absence
once more depressed her and she
w
ondered why he had not told her of his going.

*****

Vale fared no better.
N
o sooner had the excite
m
ent of the
m
atch,
of which Tabbs e
m
erged
victor,
started
to abate than his
m
i
nd was wont to wander to other
m
atters. Even his co
m
panions noticed a change in his
m
ood as they
m
et over
supper
before
ventu
r
ing
abroad
to
see
what diversions
Kennington
had to offer.

“Deuced quiet are
n
’t yo
u
, Vale?” enquired Drummond, attacking t
h
e duck with great zeal.

“I was but pondering a
m
atter I have left
unresolved,”
replied his lordship, watching Drummond’s enthusiasm
for his
m
eal with so
m
e distaste. “I have half a
m
i
nd to return to conclude it.”

“I lay you odds it’s a petticoat
,
” laughed
Fitzwillia
m
. “Nothing
else
would
leave
you
looking
so
decidedly
out of fr
a
m
e. Confess now Va
le; you have found a new light-
o
f
-love.
Co
m
e
, tell us, is it The Incomparable
?
I have
heard of her beauty but never witnessed it.”

“Far
be
it
from
m
e
to
shatter
your
illu
s
ions,”
d
rawled his
lordship,
“but
I
am in
no
light-o-love’s
toils.
I
have
a pupil...”

“You?
A pupil
?
” scoffed Drummond. “I have not heard of you taking on the role of tutor and having a pupil.”

“Ah,
but
then
you
see
I
have. It would appear that you do not know everything,
m
y
friend. I do indeed have a pupil and I have been re
m
i
ss in
m
y
a
ttentions.”

“But could not your pupil wait?” asked Fitzwilliam eyeing his lordship closely, puzzled at this new persona
h
e would present. “Surely no lesson is so i
m
portant that you needs hurry away. I thought
you enjoyed the sport
?
”

“Aye
,
you
have
the
rights
of
it,
Fitz
,
”
agreed
his
lordship
wi
s
hing
to
di
v
ert
f
rom
the
subje
c
t.
“Co
m
e,
we but waste ti
m
e, let us away to
Kennington
.”

“But
you
have
not
touched
your
m
eal,”
complained
Drum
m
ond.

“You have it,” scorned Val
e
, rising, and was disgusted to see him
s
et to with vigor.

Chapter
Fourteen

To Lord Wroxha
m
’
s delight, the week wore on with neither sight nor sound of his lordship and it emboldened him
in
his
quest
to
win
Sophie’s
affections.
The
fact
that he
beca
m
e
a
consta
n
t
visitor
at
Bla
k
e
House
was
not
lo
s
t
on the duchess who mentioned the matter to Sophie
when, on a particularly
s
unny afternoon, they drove out together
in
Hyde
Park.
W
ith her usual perception
she
noticed that Sophie was forever searching the crowds
, even though she tried to hide
the fact behind her parasol.

“And
who
m
ay
you
be
looking
for,
child?”
she
asked, s
m
iling.
“Don’t
think
that
I
h
a
ven’t noticed.
Could it be that
you
are
desirous
of
s
eeing
Lord
W
r
oxh
a
m?
Do
you not
tire
of
his
co
m
pany?
He
has
worn
out
the
steps
to Blake House this week past.”

“I look for Do
m
i
nic,” conf
e
ssed Sophie, coloring. “I do so wish I knew where he had gone.”

The
d
uchess
hesitated
a
m
o
ment
and
then
took
her hand in hers and patted it gently. “I would ask you so
m
ething,
child,”
she said softly. “So
m
ething that you
m
ay not wish to tell
m
e, but I
m
ust ask. You must forgive
m
e if I se
e
m too direct. Do you love
m
y son
?
”

“I do,” replied Sophie wi
t
hout any hesitation. She had no thoughts to disse
m
ble, and the d
uchess was surprised by the tears that ca
m
e to her eyes.

“My
dear,
there
is
no
n
eed
to
be
di
stre
s
sed,”
a
s
sured her grace,
s
m
iling.
“
W
e
will be delighted to have you as our daughter, indeed we have said so
m
any ti
m
e
s
.”

“You do
n
ot understand
,
your
gr
ace,” cried Sophie. “Do
m
inic would not
m
arry
m
e; he has no desire to be
m
arried.
Indeed,
I
have
heard
him
say
so.
He
thinks
only of
m
e as his pupil.”

“
Then he is a fool,” stated the d
uchess. “More of a fool
than
I
gave
him
credit
for
.”
Then
as
an
afterthought
, “Have
the
two
of
you
quarreled?
Is there
so
m
e
issue between you
?
”

Sophie gave no reply but turned away. “I thought as much,”
stated
the
d
uchess. “
W
hy
else
should
he
absent hi
m
self
without
any
w
ord?
H
a
ve
no
fear
,
m
y love
,
his petula
n
ce will not last and he will co
m
e around. He is my son
and
although
he
would
not thank
m
e
for
saying
it,
I understand
his
ways.
Y
ou
m
ust
not
let
him
depress
you. All will
b
e
r
i
ght, I am
sure.”

“I wish I could belie
v
e that,” said Sophie, s
m
iling through her tears. “I feel
his absence keenly.”

“You
would
not
believe
it,
but
so
do
I,”
replied
the
d
uchess in
r
eturn.

*****

Lord
W
r
oxham presented
hi
m
self
at
Blake
Ho
u
se
t
h
at evening
and was
m
uch
encouraged by
the
reception
h
e received.
T
he
conversati
on
which
she
had
with
the d
uchess had
i
m
proved
Sophie
’
s spirits so
m
e
what and it was
with
a
m
uch
lig
h
ter
heart
t
h
at
s
h
e
received
the
corsage he presented and pinned it to her gown before taking
his
arm
and
allowing
him
to
lead
h
er
to
his carriage.
An
outing
to
Drury
Lane
had
been
arranged
to
see
David
Garrick
in
his
farewell
performance
,
as
the
actor had stated his intention of retiring and on such a mo
m
entous
occa
s
ion, the
theatre
would
b
e
full
to overflowing
with
society’s
notables,
a
m
ongst
them the Duke
and
Duchess
of
Lear
and
their
fa
m
ily.
However, Lord
W
r
oxham had
begged
that
he
should
be
allowed
to escort
Sophie
in
his
carriage
and,
per
m
ission
being granted,
he
handed
her
solicitously
into
the
vehicle, seating hi
m
self at her side.