This could be due to the traumatic events that had occurred over the past month, but even Sophia was beginning to doubt such reasoning.
This was not the time nor the place to discuss such a possibility with Dev…
And then he turned to her. “Is it true? Are you…?”
…or so she had thought.
Lacking privacy in her life was becoming intolerable. If it wasn’t the housekeeper, it was her maid; if not the maid, then the duchess. She was going to have to rectify this situation somehow.
But, she could do nothing about it now. “I am not certain. But the duchess is hopeful — more than hopeful — desperate for me to be.”
Her words must have held a hint of resignation, for he leaned closer to her in concern. “You’re all done in, aren’t you?” His tone softened. This was her Dev. This was the voice that would be her undoing.
“I’m well enough. It has been a long journey… I never would have thought anything like this could happen. Everything, Dev, has spun out of control, and I… I miss you so.” She could not contain it. Just as on that first occasion, when she’d told him she loved him.
When had that been? How soon had she known?
From that first instant, when he’d dropped into the corner behind the lion’s cage with her, she’d known.
She’d known he was safe.
She’d known he would protect her.
She’d welcomed his nearness even then. And now, at the worst possible time, she needed him more than ever.
“Sophia, I cannot take Harold’s birthright.” He pulled her into his arms. They must be ever so careful. The door was not locked. They could be interrupted any moment. “And yet, you may be carrying my child.”
He had the right of it, for certain. They needed to locate Harold and bring him back somehow.
She pressed her face into his chest and rubbed her hands over his back. “Dev,” she said and then tilted her head back.
It was as though neither of them could stop it, this connection, this need. His mouth was there, waiting for hers. Their kiss was tender, comforting, two people afraid to release their emotions, afraid to allow anything more.
Sophia knew it would end, any moment, any second.
She pressed herself into him, as close as was humanly possible. She’d pulled back her veil when they’d entered the house, and now it covered only her hair. His hands searched beneath it until he found her nape.
Sounds from outside the door penetrated their need, and they pulled away from one another abruptly. Sophia turned from him, and found herself facing the duke.
Her mother was here!
Dev had turned back toward his father and ignored the newcomer.
Her mother seemed flustered, but to Sophia, appeared familiar and comforting. “Darling, oh, darling, such a horrible time for us all.” She pulled Sophia into her arms. The tears Sophia had been holding back finally escaped.
“Mama,” she said. Her mother’s sympathy was her undoing. A wanton woman one moment and a weepy child the next.
“Come, dear, let’s get you to your chamber so that you may rest. The duchess has told me everything. I’m going to assist you into your bed, and you are going to have a well-needed night’s sleep before leaving for Kent tomorrow.” Her mama did not acknowledge Dev as she led Sophia out of the room.
The “Other Matter”
Dev was duty-bound to assume the burdens of the dukedom until matters of the estate were settled. As he was the closest living male relative, his responsibilities were social, legal, and financial in nature. No one questioned that any other person ought to step into the ducal shoes his uncle had left behind. Most, in fact, looked to him as though he’d already inherited the title, for the moment, anyhow.
He drew the line, though, and snapped at anyone who dared address him as“your grace.”
No legal declaration as of yet had been made and would not be for an undetermined length of time.
Two issues remained in doubt, first the question as to whether or not Sophia was carrying, and the second, the fact that a death certificate had not yet been issued for Harold, as a body had never been recovered.
