‘I did,’ he replied caustically, ‘and let’s just say the apple never falls far?—’
But the rest of his words were lost as a shrill cry split the night, prompting the horses to rear violently. Sophie gasped, reaching for Lu Lu as Weston thumped the coach roof, before she realised something had changed.
‘Lu Lu?’ she whispered furiously.
ChapterTwenty-One
FOOTPADS AND BREECHES
Moments later
‘Mais, where is the champagne,ma chérie?’ Lu Lu asked groggily as Sophie attempted to prop her up. ‘And why is this chaise longue so short?! I understand Versailles could not be refurbished in quite the same style butalors, I think some of my hats have more padding!’
‘Please accept my apologies,’ Sir Weston muttered drily.
‘Sir Weston!’ Lu Lu exclaimed. Her eyes narrowed as she shook back her hedgerow hair. ‘But, why are you here? I told you I—’ She paused to pull her cloak tightly around her small person. ‘I told you I would not be seen in your company anymore,’ she pronounced sharply.
Sophie swung her gaze from Lu Lu to Sir Weston’s smug indifference in disbelief. Could Sir Weston also be the dishonourablestupideat Versailles?
‘Did you see Sir Weston at the ball, Lu Lu?’ Sophie asked, scowling.
‘Not all gentlemen are made equally. Some are more honourable than others.’
‘I had the misfortune to do so,oui!’ Lu Lu glared. ‘And then I learned he had the manners of– what do you Fairfaxes call it?– a pigwidgeoned dunderhead!’
Sophie turned back to Sir Weston with rage snaking up from the pit of her stomach. How she could have ever believed him the most proper of gentleman was fast becoming a mystery of unknown proportions. He was the very opposite: a duplicitous libertine who thought nothing of deceiving and insulting others in the pursuit of his own ends– which, she was increasingly convinced, was Rotherby’s ruin.
‘How dare you insult my friend!’ she accused.
‘Oh come, come Sophie,’ he wheedled. ‘It was just a little kiss. It was Le Grand Bal Masqué de Versaillesafter all!’
‘Oh is that all it was?’ Lu Lu remonstrated, waving her fan in Weston’s face so furiously that Sophie would have laughed in any other circumstances. ‘You, sir, arenogentleman!’
‘No, he is not,’ Sophie seethed, feeling as though she had never seen the world so clearly.
‘He is a cad and a trickster and a libertine! In fact, he isallthe things he would have had me believe of Lord Rotherby.’
‘Absolutement,ma chérie!’ Lu Lu said emphatically.
Sophie withdrew the miniature crossbow from her pocket and levelled it at Sir Weston.
‘I havenotgiven you leave to use my given name, sir,’ she challenged. ‘And I do not require your escort or the protection of your name. Stop the carriage at once!’
‘Why?’ Sir Weston laughed. ‘Because of thattoy?’
‘It is not a toy,’ Lu Lu declared indignantly. ‘She shot my dear Dominic with it, and I sincerely hope she shoots you too. But, is that why we are here,ma chérie?’ she added fretfully, turning back to Sophie. ‘Because you wish to marry this…toad?Non, non, non!You must not marry this one when it is as plain as a pikestaff you’re already in love with my Dominic?—’
‘I said as much!’ Sir Weston cut in savagely.
‘I am not marryinganyone,Lu Lu!’ Sophie countered forcibly. ‘Particularly someone with the moral compass of the amphibian you describe. But mostly because noblemen seem only to choose marriage when faced with scandal or a vendetta– not because they are in love.’
They were words Sophie never expected to hear from her own mouth and, briefly, Lord Rotherby’s voice reached through her thoughts.
‘Even the strongest of attachments rarely last a lifetime.’
She swallowed, feeling a wave of intense sadness threaten to engulf her. Lord Rotherby might be a liar and a libertine, but he’d also been right. Whatever she’d expected from the marriage mart had been entirely nonsensical and had she but taken his advice at the start, she might have saved herself a mountain of heartache.
‘I am not marrying anyone,’ she repeated, levelling the crossbow with renewed intent. ‘Stop the coach!’
