Kathryn Smith - [Friends 03] (19 page)

It would be the concern of whatever gentleman she chose to become her protector.

He'd kill any man who dared touch her.

He stepped out of the ballroom into the corridor. A dozen sconces lit the area, allowing him to see down both sides. A flash of rose disappearing into a room to the left caught his attention. The soft click of a latch followed. It was Sophia, he was certain of it.

Hoping that it wasn't the ladies' retiring room that she had ducked into, Julian moved swiftly down the corridor. Glancing over his shoulder to make certain there was no one around, he clasped his fingers around the glass knob and turned.

The door opened to reveal not a ladies' withdrawing room but a small library. In the dim lamplight, Julian could see the walls were lined with books and maps. A heavy globe of the world sat in one corner and the air smelled faintly of musty books and pipe tobacco.

Sophia stood with her back to him, staring out one of the windows behind the desk on the far wall. She turned as he closed the door behind him. The one sconce in the room was on the wall beside her and Julian could see her shock as plain as day.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

He stepped forward. "I followed you."

Dark eyes narrow, she watched him like a mouse watching a hawk. "I do not want to be anywhere near you."

He deserved her anger but it still stung. He gestured to the door behind him. "Go ahead and leave then."

"I was here first.
You
should be the one to leave." As if realizing how childish she sounded, she shrugged indifferently. "Besides, you are blocking the door."

Julian smiled. "Then it appears you have a bit of a problem, does it not?"

Judging from the tightness of her jaw she obviously didn't share his humor. "My reputation has been damaged enough, Lord Wolfram. I do not need to add being caught alone with you to it."

"I do not wish to add further damage to either of our reputations."

"Then why are you here?"

"I told you, I want to speak with you."

She folded her arms beneath her breasts. If she had known how the gesture accentuated the deep valley of her cleavage she never would have done it. "I believe you said enough the day you threw me out of your house."

He kept his gaze fastened on her face. "That is what I want to talk about."

"I cannot imagine what you could possibly have left to say."

"If you would just kindly shut up for a moment I would tell you."

Oddly enough, she fell silent.

"I want to apologize." He moved further into the room, watching as her eyebrows rose in shock. "I reacted badly when I discovered your dedication in the book. In my mind there was no one but you who could have been responsible. When Letitia told me of the clause in your husband's will and Aberley's…interest in you, I realized what I mistake I had made. I am very aware of your current situation and I want you to know that I will offer any assistance within my power."

There. He had said it. It was done.

Sophia stared at him. "Thank you, but I am not your responsibility. Nor do you owe me an apology for your assumption. It was the logical conclusion, one I would have made had I been in your position."

Julian shook his head. He couldn't have heard her correctly. "You do not blame me?"

Her lips twisted into a faint bitter smile. "Not for reacting as you did, no."

Something in her tone made him ask, "But you do blame me for something. What?"

Her arms still folded protectively in front of her, Sophia leaned one hip against the side of the desk. The fabric of her dress pulled taut, outlining the generous curve.

"I blame you for making me believe things had changed between us, that you actually held me in some kind of regard. I thought that even if you didn't quite trust me you might at least respect me. I was wrong."

Her words cut him to the very quick even as he rebelled against them. "Why do you think I reacted as I did, Sophia? It was because
I
thought things had changed between us. I did— do— respect you. I had no reason to suspect Aberley of such deceit. If the book hadn't contained that dedication I would not have made the conclusions that I did."

She didn't reply. Frustration kindled in Julian's gut. Surely she saw the truth in his words? Surely she could see his side as he saw hers? He had hurt her badly, but could she not see how deeply he had been wounded as well?

Finally she nodded. The gesture was painfully defeated and it tore at Julian's heart.

"I felt so foolish," she whispered. "I thought— "

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her before she could finish. He didn't want to know what she had thought. He didn't want to hear any more about how he had let her down or what expectations she had harbored toward him. His entire life had been filled with expectations and trying to live up to them, and so far he didn't think he had done a very good job. That was why it was so important to him to see Letitia well married, at least then he would have done his duty by her. But he didn't want to hear any more about how he had disappointed Sophia. He couldn't take it.

Her lips parted beneath his. He felt rather than heard her gasp as he grazed her with his teeth, slipping his tongue into the champagne sweetness of her mouth. Sophia's arms unfolded between them and came up to twine around his neck. The tempting fullness of her body pressed against his, bringing him to full arousal with the promise of all it offered.

Julian splayed his fingers across her back, the silk of her gown warm and light against his palms. One hand slid down her spine, along the gentle dip above her buttocks to cup the generous swell of flesh there. He wanted to feel this part of her naked in his hands, to squeeze and knead the ripe curves as he drove himself inside her.

He wanted all of her. He wanted to press her legs apart and delve into her heat. He wanted her mouth, her hands, her slick cove, all of it wrapped around him. He wanted it hot and urgent and he didn't give a damn about finesse. He didn't want to make love, but he didn't want a mindless coupling either. He wanted something more. Something that scared him. He wanted to make himself a part of Sophia Morelle and he wanted to make her a part of him.

He had her pinned against the desk, one hand cupping her breast, fumbling for the hardness of her nipple through the fabric of her gown, the other rucking her skirts in an attempt to get underneath when the soft click of the door latch reverberated like a shot through his desire-fogged mind.

Sophia heard it too. The soft cradle of her thighs tensed like a vice around his.

"Not again!" Her voice was little more than a breathy anguished whisper against his lips, but Julian heard it as clearly as a scream. He almost chuckled at the irony— in fact he probably would have were it not for the acute frustration throbbing between his legs. He and Sophia were about to be discovered in the most compromising of circumstances for the second time in their lives.

At least now there would be no one demanding he marry her.

Sophia pushed him away as the door opened.

"Oh, I did not— pray excuse me."

Julian closed his eyes in annoyance. Their intruder was Leander Fitzroy, Lord Patterson— one of the young men vying for Letitia's hand.

Sophia rushed from the room with a muffled cry. Patterson had to step further into the room so she could pass. Both men watched her go.

The whole situation had done much to cool Julian's ardor. He didn't even have to clasp his hands in front of his groin as he faced the young viscount.

"I assume I can trust you not to mention this incident to anyone else?"

Patterson regarded him coolly. He was in his late twenties, with a kind face and light brown hair. He also possessed a moral air that Julian had never noticed before now.

"Of course," he replied.

"Good." Nothing more needed to be said and Julian wished to remove himself from the room, from the entire house as quickly as possible.

"Lord Wolfram." Patterson's voice stopped him before he reached the door.

Julian regarded the younger man over his shoulder. "Yes?"

Patterson swallowed. "It is not my place to pass judgment on you— "

"You have that right," Julian growled, suddenly in a very foul temper.

Patterson was undaunted. "But I cannot condone your treatment of Lady Aberley. I have no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding your relationship, but I have heard rumors. And now I have seen for my own eyes how you and the marchioness herself willfully disregard her reputation and social standing."

"What exactly are you saying, Patterson?" Julian demanded with a scowl.

The viscount lifted his chin in an imperious manner. "A true gentleman would marry her, my lord, and cease playing fast and loose with what little good name she has left."

Julian laughed harshly. As if this pup could possibly understand his relationship with Sophia. Patterson probably had no idea what it was like to lose all reason where a woman was concerned.

"You do not know me well enough to tell me what I should do, Patterson."

"No, I do not. But I have seen enough to know that I have no desire to form an alliance with a man who would behave so appallingly toward a lady. I am withdrawing my suit for Lady Letitia."

Julian couldn't believe his ears. "What?"

Straightening his shoulders, Patterson fixed him with a cold gaze. "As charming as your sister is, I cannot help but wonder if perhaps this kind of behavior runs in your family. Might I remind you of the scandal surrounding your other sister— "

"You may not!" Damnation, but the little bastard would be lucky if Julian didn't knock his teeth down his throat!

Obviously Patterson realized how close he was to having bodily harm done because he chose that moment to skirt past Julian to the door.

"I am not the only one questioning the risks of aligning with your family, Lord Wolfram. Do not think for a moment that your actions do not affect your sister. If you have any regard for her future at all, you will set a better example yourself."

Julian watched the viscount leave with a mixture of rage and disbelieving amusement. For the second time in his life someone was telling him it was his duty to marry Sophia.

And this time, they were right.

"Staring out the window will not bring him any sooner."

Smiling, Sophia turned. Lady Wickford glided into the parlor much like a frigate into port— a frigate in a big, feathered turban, pearls and a gray silk dress.

"What makes you think I am watching for someone?"

Lady W lowered herself into a delicate armchair and smiled at Sophia. "While I believe I can boast one of the loveliest drives in all of London, it is not worthy of the study you have given it this morning."

No, it was not. Leaving the window, Sophia moved across the bronze and gold Axminster carpet and sat down in a chair close to her friend's. Thank heaven for Lady Wickford. The older woman hadn't even blinked an eye when Sophia arrived on her doorstep asking for a place to stay. She had no idea what she would have done had Lady W not taken her in.

It would be so easy to stay here, to remain in the warm cocoon of Lady Wickford's hospitality, but Sophia was not a beggar. She would find her own way. She had to.

"Be patient my dear," the older woman instructed, fiddling with one of the many pearl ropes around her neck. "He will come eventually."

Somewhere over the course of the past few days Julian had ceased to have a name. He was simply "he" or "him." She had no idea how Lady W knew it was him she was watching for, nor did she bother to ask. The old woman was right. After seeing— kissing— Julian at the Penderthal ball she had thought of nothing but him and the foolish desire to see him again, even though she knew it would be best for the two of them to stay as far apart as possible.

What if the gentleman who walked in on them told what he had seen? She would be branded the loosest of women. She would have to leave the country if she wanted a new life.

"I do not care if he comes at all," Sophia responded, straightening the cuff of her bottle green morning gown.

"I wager my mother's pearls he will be here by tea time," Lady W announced.

Sophia raised both brows. "All of them?" Lady W's mother had owned
a lot
of pearls.

The older, portly woman laughed heartily. "All of them!"

Smiling, Sophia wondered which end of the wager she'd rather be on, the losing or the winning. If Julian came to her as part of her so desperately wished, what would she do? She'd just had her first taste of freedom, and as frightening as it was, she embraced the idea of being able to live her life exactly as she wanted and not by someone else's rules.

There was a knock at the door. Lady Wickford's housekeeper stepped inside. "Begging your pardon, my ladies, but a letter just arrived for the marchioness."

"Thank you," Sophia said, taking the letter from the small silver tray the woman offered her. Was it from Julian? Somehow she didn't think it was. Julian might be a lot of things— ruinous was the first thing that came to mind— but he wasn't what she would ever consider a coward.

"Would you like me to leave you alone with your letter?" Lady Wickford asked once the housekeeper had left.

Sophia smiled thankfully at her friend as she popped the unfamiliar wax seal on the back of the letter. "Of course not. I have nothing to conceal from you."

Opening the folded parchment, Sophia looked down at the spidery handwriting there. Her heart accelerated at the sight of it, but not from excitement, not from happiness.

It was from Charles. He must have deliberately used a seal other than the Aberley insignia to insure her opening the letter.