Dominic (46 page)

Vale found the delay in the
s
e arrange
m
ents so
m
e
what frustrating but nonetheless agreed to re
m
ain in
Kennington
until
the
pr
o
jected
m
atch.
Perhaps,
b
y then,
he
re
asoned
to hi
m
self,
his
te
m
per
m
ay
have
cooled
sufficiently
for
h
i
m to
return
to
once
m
ore
present
hi
m
self
to
Sophie
and finally bring about so
m
e understanding between the
m
.

Chapter
F
ifteen

Taking
Sophie’s
elbow,
Lord
W
roxham continued
to steer her away from the c
r
owded areas of Kensington Gardens, her
m
aid following at a
d
i
screet
d
i
stance.

“Could
we not persuade
the
girl
to await
you here?”
he asked
pointing
to
a
bench
on
the
m
ain pathway. “It would not do that she should hear what I wish to i
m
part.”

Nodding
in
agree
m
ent,
Sophie directed
her
m
aid
to
the bench where she sat secretly
s
m
iling to herself, convinced that she was party to a lovers tryst; reasoning,
w
as
not
the young miss, who had been so dejected of late, entitled to some happiness?

Lord
W
r
oxham led Sophie a little further down the pathway
until
a
se
c
luded arbor
ca
m
e
into
view.
“
W
ill
you sit
h
e
re
with
m
e,
m
y
dea
r
?”
he
as
k
ed.
“Then
we
will
not be interrupted.”

Sophie
sat
on
the
stone
b
e
nch,
which
was
screened from
the view of others by a hedge of laurels.

“John,
will
you
not
tell
m
e
what
news
you
have?”
s
h
e
pleaded,
finding
it
difficult
to
contain
her
i
m
patience
any
longer.
“Surely
you
have
kept
m
e
waiting
long
enough.
Is the news so dreadful that you dare not i
m
part it?
Is he injured, or
worse...
?
”

“You
m
ust re
m
ain calm,
m
y dear,” he said, seating hi
m
self
at
h
er
s
ide.
“He
is
certai
n
ly
not
inj
u
re
d
—perhaps it
would
be
better
that
he
was.
In
fact,
I
would
that
the news I have to tell you
w
as
m
erely so
m
e such.”

“I cannot bear this suspens
e
, John,” she cried. “I would not have thought you so cruel. Assure
m
e that he lives.”

“Oh, he is alive! Very much alive!” he scoffed.
“
But, to put the
m
a
t
t
er bluntly, as it seems no other way will suffice—he
has
found
hi
m
self
a
m
i
stress
with
whom to pass his ti
m
e.”
Seeing
her face
visi
b
l
y
bl
anche,
he continued
to
press
his
point,
“I only wish that I could have been
the
bearer
of
happier tidings, as
I
know
your
regard for
hi
m
,
but
believe
m
e,
it
is
of
you,
and
only
you,
that
I am
thinking.”

“
W
here have they gone
?
” s
h
e asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“He
has
taken
her
out
of London,”
he
continued, perpetuating his lie. “It see
m
s he wishes to conduct his affair
away
from your
sight,
hoping
to
keep
you
in ignorance of it.”

Sophie rose as if to go, her gaze
seeing
straight
through hi
m
,
but
he
placed
a
restraining
h
and
on
her
arm and guided her back to her seat.

“
My dear, I hope you understand my
reluctance to
place
this
info
r
m
ation
before
you,”
he
said
solicitously,
“but
surely
you
m
ust
see
that
it
is
n
ecessary
to
apprise
you
of all the facts and
m
ake you a
w
are of his actions. In his conduct he shows no regard for your feelings whatsoever. Why, he even slights you!”

“Do
m
inic
owes
m
e
no
t
hing,”
she
cried.
“He
is
in
no way tied to
m
e. He is
f
ree to ta
k
e who
m
ever he wishes to be
his
m
i
stress.”
Then
inaudibly
to
hersel
f
,
in my foolishness have I not told him so?

W
i
shing
to
move
m
atters along, his lordship possessed hi
m
self
of
her
hand,
holding
it
in
a
firm clasp
so
that
she could not pull away.

“In
r
e
la
y
i
ng this
in
f
ormation
to
you,”
he
continued,
“I realize that I have rendered your p
o
sition at Blake House untenable, and I would offer you an alternative, a solution to your proble
m
s if you would but allow it.
W
ill you hear
m
e
?
”

Sophie
sat
in
stunned
silence
only
her
eyes
betraying her
devastation
at
his
revel
a
ti
o
ns.
Taking
this
as agree
m
ent
to
his
plea,
h
is
lor
d
ship continued to press his suit.

“I offer you
m
y hand, Sophie,” he said quietly. “In accepting,
y
ou
will
be
rid
of
all
your
proble
m
s.
I
am fully aware
that
you
do
not
love
m
e,
but
I
am
confident
that ti
m
e will overco
m
e this. However, I feel that you do not find
m
y attentions
totally
abhorrent and as such, believe that
we would deal
very
well together. I can give you a ho
m
e, and whilst not as great as Vale’s,
m
y fortune is considered
well
enough.
You would
have
no
further
need to
rely
on
the
Duke
of
Lear’s
charity.
Indeed,
I
understand
that
such
dependency
w
ould
prove
repugnant
to
you.
You
cannot stay at Blake House indefinitely, it would beco
m
e an
e
m
barra
s
s
m
ent,”
and
he
pa
u
sed,
awaiting her answe
r
, waiting for her reactions to his words.

Still stunned, Sophie could not take in all that was said, the
only
a
s
pect
which
was
clear
to her
at
that
particular mo
m
ent
of
ti
m
e
being
that
she
certainly
could
not
re
m
ain at Bla
k
e House. But what was the alter
n
ative? At la
s
t bringing
he
r
gaze
to
Lord
W
roxha
m
’s face,
she
said quietly,
“I’m
sorry,
John,
I cannot
decide
anything
now.
I must think. My
m
i
nd is in tur
m
oil and no decisions can be
m
ade.”