Forever.
She was going to play the part of his grieving widow.
Dev seemed to read her mind. “You are going to have to be something of an actress, Sophia. I’m going to wait in the cave, with the light burning and a disguise for Harold. It will be vital he get away from Priory Point and Dover unrecognized.”
Harold was leading them back to the cliff once again. Now that he’d experienced some success, he seemed to not be wavering at all. “Stewart is going to join me after my memorial service. It would look strange if he, my valet, were to leave without attending.”
Joy could be heard in Harold’s tone. Not the words themselves, but in that he could speak them openly before Dev and Sophia. This was why he did this. All he wished for was the freedom to love. The same thing Sophia and Dev wanted.
Only for him it would come at a much greater price.
He must give up his home, his family, his birthright… everything.
The risks of him not doing so, but continuing to live as he did here in England, were too great.
Now that Harold had proven he could perform the stunt, other realities of what they must do came into play.
Sophia mostly dreaded deceiving his mother into believing her youngest son had perished. Although she now knew that the duchess had likely taken part in the manipulation of her marriage, she’d also learned that it had been done out of fear for the son she loved dearly.
And now Sophia was going to perpetrate a horrible falsehood upon her. With a dawning horror, she stood back and pondered all the ramifications of their deceit as Dev and Harold considered varying techniques for Harold’s fall.
She’d not been listening to them closely, caught up in her own thought, so when Dev seemed to slip, and then lose his balance and fall into the water, she ran to the cliff’s edge in a near panic.
“Dev!” She could not stop the cry that was dragged from within her.
Harold laughed, catching her by the hand.
“I’m going to try it now. You tell me afterwards if I’m as convincing.”
Her heart raced, her emotions becoming more unsettled as the planning proceeded. She nodded, nonetheless and watched encouragingly as Harold pretended to jest for her, lost his footing, and then tumbled over the side of the cliff.
We are most certainly all going to go to hell for this, she thought as she traversed back to the cave.
* * *
Dev knewSophia was beginning to have doubts. He could see it in her eyes every time they referred to the deception required after Harold’sdeath. Ironically, it seemed, the more confidant Harold became, the less certain she was.
If Sophia later regretted any of this, if she could only come to him filled with guilt, Dev would never forgive himself. Therefore, they all must be absolutely certain Harold wasn’t feeling coerced or pressured in any way.
And so, later that day, while Sophia took tea with her mother-in-law and a few of the aunts, Dev pulled Harold aside for a private discussion in the library. The other men were enjoying the billiards tables this afternoon, and so he did not think they would be interrupted.
Harold, too, had a few things to say.
Before Dev could even pour a splash of whisky, Harold approached the subject of Sophia.
“I’ve grown rather fond of Sophia, Dev,” he said. “She’s not at all the sort of lady I’d thought she was before I married her.” This was an intriguing notion for Dev to ponder. He realized, then, that Harold had never had a close relationship with a young woman. All he’d ever known were those who had been presented to him by theton–– the seemingly endless parade of laced-up, parasoled, empty-headed debutantes. And Harold had had no reason nor inclination to pursue any of them.
Until Sophia.
And, hell, Dev, himself, had thought Sophia was one of them when he’d first stumbled upon her trapped behind the lion with Peaches. “There is more to her than meets the eye,” he agreed.
“I do believe that being with her this past week is what it would have been like to have a sister,” Harold continued. “I suppose you realize how clever she is. But even more than that.” He frowned as though searching for the right words. “Without having to convince her, without explaining to her my frustrations with myself… it is as though she understands a great deal of what is in my heart.” Harold took the glass Dev handed him and then raised it to his lips. “And she does not judge me.” He shook his head side to side. “She’s not once acted disgusted by…” Seeming to realize how intimate his words were, he turned his head and stemmed the flow of words. “She gives me hope, Dev,” he said instead of whatever he’d been thinking a moment before.
Dev could not help but smile at this. Could he find the words to express all that she’d come to mean to him in so short a time? Brave, compassionate, forgiving, sensual…
Dev was happy to learn that Harold felt hopeful. He would be even happier when he could see some optimism in Sophia again. Perhaps after Harold took the fall and made his safe getaway.
“She’s afraid for you. She’s afraid you’ll regret giving up your family,” Dev said.
