Gabriel sighed and shook his head. “We are just friends.”
“I did not ask.”
“I am telling you nonetheless,” he said sharply. “Lady Clarissa is a friend, we are meeting for business reasons, and that is all.” Then he took a step back and looked at her closely. He furrowed his brow, he tilted his head, and a smile touched his lips. “There is no need to be jealous.”
“I am not jealous!” she cried.
“You are,” he said rightly. “Lady Clarissa and I have a past, but that’s all we have. A past that I have no intention of revisiting, Sophia. Ever.”
She looked away. “I told you that I do not care.”
“Care or not,” he pressed on her. “You deserve to know it. I should have told you about today, and I am sorry that I did not. But please, do not read too much into this. You are my wife, Sophia, and…” He hesitated and she dared to look at him, surprised by how nervous he suddenly was. “And that means something.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Really?”
“Yes,” he said. “Really. Now, I am going back inside, but only because Lady Clarissa’s business is one that I cannot afford to lose. Before I do, I need to know, are you well? Are you… do you understand what I have told you?”
Sophia should not have cared. Dammit, she did not want to! But the sight of her husband with another woman had torn her apart, and being told now that it meant nothing stitched her back together. She did not want to care for her husband, she did not want to feel anything for him, but the truth was impossible to ignore, and she was just about ready to accept it.
How did it come to this? How did I allow myself to… that’s the problem with change, isn’t it? You never know who you are going to change into.
“I do.” She smiled, making sure he saw the truth of it in her eyes. “Will I see you at home later?”
“You will,” he said. “For supper, if you’ll have me.”
“That will be nice.”
They shared a smile, and it was the first time all week that the awkwardness and tension that surrounded them wasn’t there. It felt genuine and real, as if Gabriel was finally willing to accept what she herself knew to be true.
“I will see you then.” Another smile and he walked back inside.
Sophia stayed on the street, basking in the sun, radiating its warmth like she had not done all week. Her mood soared, her loneliness vanished, and once again she found this marriage to be full of surprises.
For once, these surprises were the good kind. For once, she liked what she saw and could not wait to see what might come next.
CHAPTER 18
“Question…” Lord Alexander Sommerton leaned forward so that his elbows rested on the table. “Are you worried that the club is about to run out of liquor? Did somebody warn you of the possibility? And do you know something that I do not?”
Gabriel scowled at his best friend. “What are you talking about?”
“The rate that your drink is going down,” Sommerton noted with a tiny smirk. “Looks to me as if you are trying to finish this drink as quick as you possibly can, so that you can refill before stocks empty.”
“Funny.”
“I am not trying to be. Merely curious about your current rate of consumption. Is there a reason you seem so intent on plastering yourself so that walking will soon become impossible? Or are you just that thirsty?”
“Maybe the company is the problem.” Gabriel held a tankard of ale in his right hand. It was half-full, but he threw the rest of it back in one large mouthful, not caring that some spilled down his front. “Were you not so boring, I would not feel the need to drink so vivaciously.”
“Ah, yes, that must be it,” Sommerton said with a purposeful rolling of his eyes. “Shame on me, inviting you here to drink with me. I should have remembered how much you detested my company.”
“Do better next time then.” Gabriel went to have another mouthful, only to find the tankard empty. A sneer took his face, and he swiveled in the booth to catch the attention of the barkeeper.
Thankfully, Sommerton said nothing, even as he continued to eye Gabriel in a way that reeked of judgement. Rightfully so, because Gabriel deserved to be heavily judged and scrutinized. Not just for the way he was behaving either, but for his being here also.
He had, after all, promised to join his wife for supper this evening. He even looked forward to it. But Gabriel was just now coming to terms with his cowardice, which in turn was the reason he chose to meet with Sommerton instead.
It did not excuse his actions, nor did it justify them. If anything, it only made him feel worse.
