Dominic (47 page)

“There is no ti
m
e, my dear,” he cajoled, knowing that ti
m
e
was
of
the
essence
if
he
was
to
have
the
m
atter settled
before
Vale’s
return.
“
W
e
have
no ti
m
e
for for
m
al
courtship
and
engagement
.
It
is
best
that
we
be
away
before
opp
o
sition
can be raised.”

“I
cannot
give
you
m
y
answer
now,”
she
reiterated, tears sounding in her voice. “I will send you word. I
m
ust be allowed to think, to decide without pressure.”

Hiding his irritation, his lordship patted her hand. “It shall
be
as
you
wish,”
he
said,
“but
final
arrange
m
ents must
be
m
ade.
Therefore I
beg
you
to
hasten
your decision.”

Rising
to
stand
before
hi
m
, Sophie
assured, “
Y
ou will have
m
y
answer
soon
enough,
John.
I
will
send
y
ou
word.
Now take me back. I tire.”

*****

Returning
to Blake
House, Sophie was just in ti
m
e to witness
L
ord
Bannington’s
de
parture
and
Regina excitedly bade her to join her for so
m
e
refreshment in the s
m
all
salon
and
could
hardly
wait
f
or
the
m
aid’s
depa
r
tu
r
e before telling her news.

“The
engage
m
ent is settled,”
she
c
r
i
e
d
enthusi
a
sticall
y
. “The
notice
will
ap
p
e
a
r
in the
Gazette
t
h
e
day
after to
m
orrow
a
nd we are to
m
arry in the spring. Father approved all this
m
orning. Is it not exciting
?
”

“Very,” agreed Sophie giving only half a
m
i
nd to the announce
m
e
nt,
wishing
nothing
m
ore
than
to
be
allowed to retire to
h
er own apart
m
ent. Instead, she was obliged to
f
eign int
e
re
s
t in Reg
i
na’s prospective
m
atch.

“Have you had any news of Do
m
i
nic
?
” she asked eventually, as Regina paused in
her
narrative,
hoping
that evidence
h
ad
evolved whi
c
h
would
lay
lie
to
Lord
W
roxh
a
m
’s
infor
m
ation.

Regina’s brows snapped together.
“I am co
m
pletely
out of
patience
with
Dominic,”
she
s
t
ated. “
W
hy
all
this mystery should attach itself to
his disappearance
I know not.
But
then,
he
was
never
of a
m
i
nd
to
tell
us
of
his scapes. I vow he only does it to irritate. Anthony says that he
was
seen
taking
the
north road out of London and he was
pushing
his
team
hard,
though
why
he
should
find
it so necessary to...”

“
W
as he alone?”
interr
u
pted Sophie scarcely daring to hear t
h
e an
sw
er.

“I
neither
know
nor
care,”
stated
R
egina
flatly,
“but
at
least
he
could
have
left
so
m
e
m
es
s
age
for
Ma
m
a
and
so
allayed
her
anxiety.
She
doesn’t
deserve
that
he
should tre
a
t her so
.
”

Confi
r
m
ed
now
in
her
f
ears, Sophie
allowed
Regina
to prattle on about the wedding plans that
m
ust be
m
ade and to
congratulate
herself
on
contracting such a brilliant
m
atch, her own thoughts being engaged elsewhere. Until, re
m
e
m
bering a dress
m
aker’s appoint
m
ent, Regina retired to her apart
m
ent to receive the good lady and discuss the lengthy preparations for her trousseau.

Sophie sat alone in the salon, the whole house see
m
ing unusually
quiet,
only
the
ticking of the
m
antle
clock invading the silence and never
had she felt so disconsolate and alone. The sound of it chi
m
i
ng the hour of three
startled her, breaking her revere
.
No
matter
how
she
would try, no solution to her dile
mm
a, other than the one offered
by
Lord
W
r
oxha
m
,
would present
itself
and the tears
stole
slowly
down
her
cheek
s
.
She
co
u
ld
not
face once
m
ore
atte
m
pting
to
survive
in
this
g
re
a
t
c
ity
a
lon
e
; the
m
ere thought of it terrifi
e
d her, so what else would be the alternative?
Try as
s
he
m
i
ght, she could not reconcile herself
to
re
m
aining
at
Blake
House
to
beco
m
e
a
burden to
the
fa
m
ily.
It
was
better
that
she
should
go
now
than run
the
risk
of
being
an
e
m
barrassment,
of
them beco
m
i
ng tired
of
her
dependency
and
w
i
shing her
el
s
ewhere.
Lord
W
r
oxh
a
m
was
a
kind
m
an
and
she
believed
him to
have
a
genuine affection for her
.
Reasoning that in time she
would
at
least
be
able
to
be
co
m
f
ortable
with
h
i
m
,
f
or
if Do
m
inic
did
not
want
her,
what
did
it
m
atter
w
ith
whom
she should spend her life?

On this resolve she rose and
m
ade her way to her
apart
m
ent and there
wrote
a note to Lord Wroxham
stating her intention
to
m
arry h
i
m
.
This
was
di
s
patched
in the
hands
of
her
m
aid,
who was now even
m
ore
confir
m
ed that
she
was
party
to
an
elope
m
ent.
Her
ro
m
a
ntic
spirit rose
to the
occasion a
n
d
she
ass
u
red
her
m
i
stress
that
she would not tarry in its delivery. Once the
m
aid had quitted her, Sophie took another she
e
t of
paper. She could not leave the d
uchess wit
h
out so
m
e word of gratitude for her kindness.
S
he deserved better than she should leave her care
without
so
m
e
explanation
of her
actions.
As
she penned
the
m
i
ssive,
she
found
it
necessary to
pause
f
requently
to
wipe
aw
a
y
the
tears,
f
inding
it
diff
icult
to contain her despair.