The Temporary Betrothal (12 page)

That was the only answer. And they must get started without
delay. He hurled open his bedroom door and hastened back down the stairs.

“Mother, I’ve a surprise for you. We’re headed to tea at
Katherine Crossley’s.”

Chapter Twelve

T
he visit to Aunt Katherine’s would have to
be delayed until later in the afternoon. From the moment she had set foot in her
workroom that morning, Sophie had been inundated with tasks from his lordship.
He had even asked her if she would be willing to mend a waistcoat that had been
torn slightly by the laundress. She had never sewn anything for his lordship
before, so the task was slightly daunting. She craned her neck and moved closer
to the light, making tiny invisible stitches in the silk lining of the garment.
It was a beautifully made waistcoat, finely tailored. Sewing men’s clothing was
much more precise—there was far less room for the imagination. On the other
hand, one did have a duty to one’s employer.

Sophie held the waistcoat up and gave it a little shake. A few
more carefully placed stitches, and she would be done. Then she still needed to
talk with Amelia about the month’s social calendar—her upcoming dances, her
dinner parties and a hundred other gatherings that would require a special
wardrobe.

A knock sounded on the door. Another servant, Nancy, bobbed a
curtsy from the doorway.

“Miss Handley, his lordship would like to know if you will be
done with the waistcoat in time for supper tonight.”

“I will.” Sophie tied a minuscule knot in her thread and
snipped it with a pair of scissors. “In fact, I am done now.”

“Very good.” Nancy took the waistcoat, draping it over her arm.
“He also wanted to know what your afternoon schedule is like.”

Sophie grabbed her sewing basket, tucking her scissors and
thread away. Then she poked her needle into her pincushion. “Well, I had planned
to spend an hour discussing Miss Amelia’s upcoming Season.”

“And after that?” Nancy looked at her expectantly. “Were you
expecting to do anything else?”

Sophie rubbed a weary hand over her eyes. “I would like to take
tea at my friend Mrs. Katherine Crossley’s house, but I can delay that if his
lordship requires my attention.”

Nancy smirked. “I think his lordship thought you had a
gentleman caller coming by this afternoon.”

Oh, of course. Charlie Cantrill. Heat flooded her face, and she
was unable to meet Nancy’s gaze. “No. He will call on me on Thursday, when it is
time for the veterans’ meeting.”

Nancy’s smug expression deepened, and she left without another
word. Botheration, was everyone keeping tabs on her relationship with Charlie?
After all, this was supposed to be a simple act of kindness to keep him in Bath.
Now it was gathering speed, and even the other servants were privy to it. She
rolled her eyes and rested her head against the cushion. If only Lord Bradbury
had been more discreet when he sent Nancy up to see her. Having another servant
question her about her plans concerning a young man was beyond embarrassing.

Oh, well. Nothing could be done about it now. She needed to
retrieve Amelia from the schoolroom so they could begin their discussion. The
sooner she finished her tasks, the sooner she could go see Aunt Katherine. And
really, conversation with the down-to-earth old woman would be quite refreshing
after all the confusion and anxiety she had endured over the past few days.

She rose and hurried down the hall, where she claimed Amelia
from Lucy. They enjoyed an hour of pouring over invitations, deciding which
gowns would do for which occasion. Sophie drew up a list of what she still
needed to do for the Season—which gowns required modifications or trimming. They
agreed upon a new design for a riding habit. Her sartorial future decided,
Amelia skipped off to enjoy tea, and Sophie rushed out of the house for Aunt
Katherine’s. If she hung about too long, someone might put her back to work.

It was a fine day, and the ten-minute walk to Aunt Katherine’s
was just the thing she needed to boost her flagging spirits. For once, it wasn’t
raining. A mild sun broke through the clouds and brightened the colorful gardens
as they began to bloom. Why, it even smelled like spring—the fresh scent of
flowers and earth sweetened the breeze as it ruffled her curls.

She knocked on Aunt Katherine’s door, and Knowles ushered her
in. How good it was to be among familiar faces that reminded her of home and
Harriet. She practically ran into the library and crushed Aunt Katherine in a
warm embrace.

“Goodness, child, I am so glad to see you.” Aunt Katherine
patted the seat beside her on the settee. “I can’t say I’ve always thought so.
When you threw John over, I should have liked to scratch your eyes out.”

Harsh words indeed, but said in such a loving and warm tone
that Sophie could only laugh. “I wouldn’t have blamed you, Auntie dear. But it
all worked out for the best, didn’t it?”

“Tut, tut. It worked out very well for John and Harriet. But
now I wonder—how did it work for you?” The old lady’s piercing gaze searched
hers.

“Very well. I like what I am doing. I like being useful. I feel
myself growing, if that’s the right word.”

Auntie rang for the tea. “Don’t ask me about the correct words.
That is your sister’s job, finding the proper expression for every
occasion.”

Sophie smiled. “True. Oh, Auntie, the dinner party went so
beautifully.” Settling back in her chair, Sophie described the event to the last
detail, enjoying the brightened interest in Aunt Katherine’s expression.

“It sounds like you did very well by young Amelia. What a
brilliant debut for such a well-connected young lady. She will be able to make a
most eligible match when she has her first London Season next year. Will you go
with the family to London?”

“I don’t know.” Aunt Katherine had such a way of winnowing out
secrets. She pounced on the one subject Sophie thought she could avoid—the
future. But now, looking at Auntie’s kindly, wrinkled face, she felt compelled
to tell the truth about everything—her sham courtship and Lord Bradbury’s
puzzling attentions.

They were interrupted by the arrival of tea, and Sophie took
the few extra moments to gather her composure. She must be honest and open with
Auntie—because the wise old woman could help her sort through her jumbled
emotions, much in the same clear-eyed way Harriet used to.

“Auntie, I made a blunder. A stupid blunder, which could cost
me dearly. I dreamed up the idea of a faux courtship with Charlie, so his mother
would stop pestering him to return to Brightgate.” Now she had Aunt Katherine’s
full attention. The old woman had even put aside her interminable knitting once
she began to speak. “And I am not sure what Lord Bradbury’s intentions are,
but—he gave me a diamond bracelet.” The words tumbled out in a rush.

“Well, really.” Aunt Katherine’s gaze was bright, and she
smiled. “Now this is all quite exciting. So you have two young men interested in
you?”

“Yes. No. Not really. I don’t know.” Sophie placed her teacup
on the mahogany side table. “My courtship with Charlie is merely a ruse, and
it’s possible that I received the diamond bracelet as a simple thank-you gift,
as Lord Bradbury implied. On the other hand, the two of them were squaring off
like two rams at the dinner party.”

Aunt Katherine laughed and clapped her hands. “How
delightful.”

“Not really. Oh, Auntie, I am so confused. I don’t know what to
do. I was trying to help Charlie, but I made such a cake of myself.”

“How so? It seems to me you have done beautifully. You were
trying to help a friend, were you not? And so what if Bradbury gave you a
diamond bracelet? The man can well afford a diamond carriage, from what I
hear.”

Sophie massaged her temples. Her head was beginning to pound.
And she wasn’t making her meaning clear.

“I just—I just don’t know. It all seems to be wrong, somehow.
Just when I think I have Lord Bradbury or Charlie figured out, they begin
behaving in a different manner. It’s all so confusing.”

Aunt Katherine clasped Sophie’s hand. “The most important thing
for you to determine is how you feel. Let’s begin with Charlie. Now, you threw
my John over when he returned from Waterloo with a missing leg. Do Charlie’s
injuries offend your sensibilities?”

Sophie paused. How to explain the difference between the two
situations without hurting Auntie’s feelings? Drawing a shaky breath, she began,
“Well, it was not so much that John’s injury offended me. It was more than that.
You see, Auntie, when he came back from the war, he had changed altogether. He
was a different person.”

Aunt Katherine nodded, her keen eyes resting on Sophie’s face.
“Go on.”

“But I didn’t know Charlie before the war. As I know him now,
well, that’s the only way I have known him. So his injury is merely a part of
him. Does that make sense?”

The old woman folded her hands in her lap. “I believe so. Do
you love him? Or do you love Lord Bradbury?”

Sophie paused once more. It was too soon to know for sure,
wasn’t it? She enjoyed Charlie’s company, esteemed him for the work he did—she
liked him very much indeed when his guard came down, and he permitted himself to
joke about.

But love? After her experiences with John Brookes and
Lieutenant Marable, she was reluctant to admit to love, or even permit herself
to fall in love.

“I esteem Charlie greatly, but I don’t love him—why, I hardly
know him.” It was difficult to say those words. Something inside her resisted
them.

“And what of Bradbury?” Aunt Katherine patted her back with a
gentle hand.

Sophie heaved a great sigh. “I am hoping that, in time, I can
have his recommendation so I may start my own couturier. That is what I want—I
want to become more than just a flighty young woman—a flibbertigibbet.”

Aunt Katherine leveled the same assessing gaze on Sophie that
she had before, and cocked her head to one side, causing her corkscrew curls to
shake.

“A diamond bracelet, even from someone as wealthy as Bradbury,
is a very extravagant gift. You should know that his lordship may have designs
on you, too, pretty little Sophie.”

“Surely not, Auntie. I’m just a lady’s maid to him. But
then—it’s hard to tell what his designs may be. He’s so secretive, Auntie.”

“Well, if he offered for you, would you have him?”

Sophie paused. She loved Amelia and Louisa like sisters. It
would be wonderful to stay with them forever, watching them mature into women
with families of their own. If she married his lordship, she would never worry
about money again.

But she disliked the cold and calculating way he assessed her,
the way he ordered her about. Would a life with Louisa and Amelia be worth
it?

“I couldn’t say,” she replied flatly. “I don’t love him, but I
love his daughters.”

Aunt Katherine sat back, appearing well pleased. “I shall help
you, Sophie. But you must trust me.”

Sophie shrugged, gazing at the old woman in wonderment. “Help
me? How?”

At that moment, Knowles entered after making a discreet scratch
on the door. “Lieutenant Cantrill and Mrs. Moriah Cantrill, Mrs. Crossley.”

* * *

Mother had done nothing but prattle on the way over to
Aunt Katherine’s, wearing Charlie’s nerves to a frayed edge. What a relief to
enter Aunt Katherine’s salon, to be braced by the old woman’s indomitable
spirit. But wait— Charlie stopped short in the doorway. Sophie was there. The
very woman his mother had been chattering on about for the entire morning was
now before him, as radiant as the morning sunshine. She was confiding in Aunt
Katherine; he could tell by the way they sat closely together, bent forward like
two willow branches on opposite settees. But whatever the confidences were, they
fled as Sophie sprang into social action. Charlie held out his hand. Hers
betrayed not a tremble. She was so very good at handling the social niceties
with grace and poise.

She really was made for Society, that was certain. His heart
gave an extra beat.

“Mrs. Crossley, I believe you met my mother some years ago in
Bath,” he began, attempting to rise to the occasion as Sophie had done.

“Mrs. Crossley, so good to see you again,” Mother effused,
before turning to exclaim over Sophie’s gown and her hair. Then she immediately
launched into a recounting of the evening for Aunt Katherine’s benefit. “If only
you could have been there, Mrs. Crossley,” she breathed. “It was a brilliant
occasion, and Miss Bradbury handled herself so well. Of course—” she turned a
dazzling smile in Sophie’s direction “—she owes it all to her tutor. Miss
Handley was exquisite.”

Sophie returned the smile. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Mother rubbed her hands together briskly. “Now, Mrs. Crossley,
I am sure you enjoy hearing the latest news as much as I do. So I shall not
hesitate to inform you that my son and Miss Handley have been courting. Is that
not famous? I am beside myself with delight.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie caught a glimpse of
Sophie as she started in her chair. Color bloomed in her cheeks, making her look
like a rose in full blush. But she said nothing. Only the corners of her mouth
turned downward slightly. She appeared not to feel Charlie’s gaze upon her.

Aunt Katherine pursed her lips in an amused fashion. Her eyes
twinkled merrily. “Was it supposed to be a secret courtship?”

“Charlie mentioned that they had been keeping it quiet,” Mother
replied with a chuckle, “but I am too delighted to keep the matter to myself. I
have already written my brother, Arthur, about it. Do you remember Arthur, Mrs.
Crossley? He, too, is a veteran.”

“Of course I do. He settled somewhere abroad, did he not?” Aunt
Katherine asked the question in a polite tone, but kept her eyes fastened on
Charlie. Under such close regard, his face began to heat. Dash it all, he was
tired of Mother and of any more talk. He stood so quickly that his chair scraped
across the floor with a teeth-jarring sound.

Mother ignored him. “Yes, he settled in Italy. He’s made a
fortune in shipping. Vinegars, wines and all sorts of similar goods.”