He’d wanted to search out the bastard and place a pistol between his eyes. No, that would be too easy. Justice might best be served by inflicting an injury like that of Lord Kensington’s. Dev had scene red.
But Sophia had been curled up beside him.
She’d not wanted him to abandon her in favor of a violent errand. She’d wanted… him.
In a most primitive and passionate manner.
Which he could not allow himself to dwell upon this morning.
Today, he would address Mr. Dudley Scofield.
It was not difficult to obtain information on the craven lowlife, as Scofield enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and enjoyed considerable, although unfavorable notoriety. After recently paying off most of his vowels, the youngergentleman, Dev had been informed, had gone on something of a gambling spree. And just this morning he’d embarked upon a race down to Brighton. The gents involved had mentioned a possible journey over to the continent.
Dev didn’t have enough time to be led on a merry chase right now. Harold was going to need him at Priory Point if he was still of mind to follow through with their plan. So instead, Dev would head over to Surrey, inspect his new property, and then journey alone to Priory Point. Scofield would pay for his misdeeds when he returned to England. Dev would make certain of it.
Meanwhile, Dev would not sit around like a lovesick fool missing Sophia.
Which was exactly what he felt like.
She had been… a revelation.
Behind her delightfully innocent looks lay the passion of an Italian opera singer.
He’d thought, as far as women were concerned anyhow, that not much could surprise him.
He’d known that he loved her, yes. He’d known that she was sweet and filled with goodness and courage — of course she was — but last night she had invoked sensations and emotions in him that had shaken him to the core.
He’d discovered scratches on his backside that morning.
Every time he thought of them, he could not help but smile.
Little, sweet Sophia Babineaux, indeed!
His groins tightened at the merest hint of reliving parts of last night in his memory.
He’d save that for a more convenient time. It was going to be close to a week before he could see her again.
And when he did, he felt an unspoken agreement existed between the two of them. They would wait to be together in an intimate fashion again, until all was settled with her marriage.
He’d already possibly complicated all of this, he’d realized, by releasing his seed inside of her. For if she were to become with child, as Harold’s wife, the repercussions for paternity were damn near unthinkable.
He’d have any child of his recognized as such.
And so, it would be in their best interest to abstain.
But good Lord, Sophia Babineaux was almost impossibly irresistible.
For him, anyhow. Thank God, her husband didn’t feel likewise.
Sophia Blushes
Sophia had not considered that she would be riding the entirety of the way to Priory Point, which was just a little past Dover, in a carriage alone with her new husband.
With her mother, perhaps, with Rhoda or Penny. In her dreams, with Devlin, but not — Lord help them both — with Harold.
Her mother-in-law, it seemed, thought the two of them would appreciate this.
Lord Harold did not question why his mother had made such an assumption.
