Sophie eyeballed the pithy lord, knowing he was speaking the truth. Thomas most certainly wouldn’t object to having another Fairfax off his hands, even if it was under scandalous circumstances.
‘Now you wish to marry me?’ she repeated, feeling as though she would very much like to shoot him again, given half the chance.
‘Now I’m honour-bound to marry you,’ his lordship corrected, ‘despite a lifetime avoiding the thing,’ he muttered darkly.
‘You are insufferable!’ Sophie expostulated. ‘And if you don’t tell your men to make all haste this instant, I shall have no choice but to swim to shore!’
‘But certainly,’ Lord Rotherby replied, smirking. ‘You need only ask… Horace?’
The door opened instantly, confirming Sophie’s suspicions that he was indeed listening to every word being spoken.
‘Miss Fairfax has bid me to instruct you to make all haste to Calais!’ Lord Rotherby ordered abruptly. ‘Please ensure her request is treated as though it were my own, for she is shortly to be my wife. Oh, and she has also recommended the attendance of a doctor when we dock, which is probably a good idea, if only for the sake of my shirts.’ Lord Rotherby looked down at his discarded torn shirt and sighed. ‘It’sItaliansilk by the way,’ he amended, as though the words offered all the explanation in the world.
‘Oh!’ Sophie exclaimed, enraged. ‘Horace, please ignore his lordship’s order,’ she countered, before the long-suffering groom managed to close the door. ‘I do believe his wound has become infected already for he certainly seems to be delirious.’ She paused to steady her voice. ‘I am in no way betrothed to Lord Rotherby, nor expecting to be, and if you can’t turn around, I require only to be set down at Calais, from where I shall join my sister, the Viscountess Damerel.’
Horace waited stoically as though accidental abductions, crossbow shootings and brief betrothals were all commonplace features in his life.
‘You’ll do no such thing,’ Lord Rotherby interjected in his quiet, glittering voice. Horace eyeballed his employer darkly. ‘No not you, Horace,’ he added in the next breath. ‘You may withdraw and do as I request, while Miss Fairfax and I continue our… discussion.’
The blinking Horace eyed them both disparagingly, before backing out as swiftly as he could.
‘And now we’ve upset Horace,’ Rotherby said with a sigh. ‘Be so kind as to pour me a glass of bourbon, my dear. I’m finding this crossbow wound a littlede trop…’
‘I will not!’ Sophie replied witheringly. ‘If you wish to develop the fever and die when we reach land, please do so with my compliments. Until then, however, you are my responsibility and I will not assist you to an untimely demise!’
At this, his lordship’s eyes widened. He sat forward, his dressing gown falling open to reveal a glimpse of his golden throat.
‘You know, you are the most intriguing female I’ve ever met,’ he murmured, before wincing. ‘No one, not even my indefatigable tiger, has ever denied me anything to my face. Yet here you are, within my world, behaving as though I were the one in my short-tails.’ He stood up and made his way towards her, his eyes oddly bright. ‘You really are refreshingly singular, Miss Fairfax, and I find, quite disconcertingly, that I care more for your reputation than for my own at present. It is both irregular and mystifying, but no one has ever shot me and then taken the greatest care to ensure I didn’t die before.’ He smiled in a strained fashion. ‘So we will just have to make the best of it instead.’
Sophie stared, feeling as though she’d fallen into a nightmare, from which there was no waking.
‘But—’
‘I will seek out an English pastor as soon as we land in Calais, though of course it may take a few days. In the meantime, I have a friend in Paris, and a most sensible aunt travelling through Europe who, if discoverable, would make the perfect companion until we can be wed. With a little luck, it won’t take long to find a pastor, for I have no desire to duel with every member of the Fairfax family before the sennight is done.’
Rotherby paused in front of Sophie then and, taking her hand, slowly raised it to his lips. He was standing so closely that his subtle cologne made her senses swim, and she had the most irrational urge to reach out and touch his warm, golden throat, to see if it felt as good as it looked. Instead, she clenched her teeth, determined not to show how he distracted her.
‘I know this is a damnable business, Sophie, and not at all what you expected, but I will make it right in the eyes of the world– I give you my word,’ he murmured, touching her shoulder briefly.
Startled, her eyes flew to his, to find his expression gentler than she’d come to expect, yet she knew he was well-versed in the female mind too.
‘And uncomfortable though it must seem, I believe it would be prudent for you to practise addressing me by my first name, Dominic,’ he added with a frown.
‘We have a part to play when we reach European society,’ he continued, ‘and while I intend to place you under the protection of my friend or my maiden aunt as soon as possible, the French haute ton will expect a certain familiarity between us…’ He smiled faintly. ‘Are we agreed?’
Sophie caught her breath as a bewildering mix of feelings coursed through her body, echoed by the question in his eyes.
‘No, we are not agreed!’ she replied heatedly. ‘I have not given you leave to call me by my first name, and I refuse to confuse things further by using yours. I have no intention of marrying, and once we reach Calais, I will do everything possible to distance myself from you. If you have any sense of self-protection, you will do the same!’ She paused to draw a steadying breath then and watched a shadow flit across his face. ‘I’ve no idea what prompted you to flee the country in such a rapid fashion,’ she continued, ‘but I assure you that, despite my predicament, I have no desire for my name to be further besmirched. So, if you are quite finished trying to decide the rest of my life, I will happily remove myself to the other end of this boat, and remain there until land is reached.’
‘On the contrary, Miss Fairfax,’ his lordship replied, all trace of his previous charm eradicated. ‘You will remain here in the master cabin while I take the second, and I will brook no dissent. We may disagree on many things, but on this I remain firm.’
He strode to the door then, his dressing gown falling open and prompting a ready blush in her cheeks, as he turned to address her for a final time.
‘I prefer not to discuss the circumstances under which I left London, but suffice to say they are temporary, and less detrimental to my name than your current situation is to yours. In the meantime, perhaps the solution I have proposed will be more acceptable if I clarify it will be for the avoidance of scandal only. It will be amariage de convenance,if you wish it.’
Sophie watched a muscle flex in his jaw as he spoke.
‘What I wish is of no relevance to you,’ she replied icily, ‘and I assure you thatanymarriage with a Rotherby would be considered amesallianceby a Fairfax!’
