It was what she’d wanted, to be free of this marriage. It was also what Harold wanted. But with such a tremendous price to pay!
She’d hardly been able to look the duchess in the eye when she’d spoken with her before dinner. Sophia shivered and stood looking out the window. God, the view was spectacular — rocks, cliffs, and the sea. Her window revealed everything that made Priory Point so very beautiful, and yet so very dangerous.
She contemplated that she would forever have mixed feelings of her time here.
A tear escaped. She must find something to distract herself. Sophia picked up a book of poetry and tried to lose herself in some verse.
It was useless though.
She could not sleep. She’d be lucky to sleep at all that night. Even Peaches seemed more agitated than normal. Sitting on the floor, Sophia took a small toy and played hide and seek with her pup. She welcomed any diversion that might feel ordinary.
When would her life feel normal again? If it did — when it did — she vowed she would never take it for granted.
Sophia snatched the chew-toy out of Peaches’ mouth and hid it behind her back. But Peaches was not interested. For Sophia had failed to notice that they were no longer alone.
Peaches noticed though.
The pup welcomed Dev as though he were her long-lost best friend.
Smart dog.
Dev shushed Peaches affectionately and locked the door behind him.
He was dressed formally, as he had been at dinner. But seeing him in her bedchamber like this caused her heart to skip a beat and a flush to warm her cheeks. Even so, she drank in the sight of him. His jacket and breeches fit perfectly, almost too perfectly. Freshly shaven, with his normally unruly hair tied back and boots polished to a high shine, he brought with him a masculine energy foreign to her very feminine abode.
Sophia had already changed into her nightgown and dismissed Penny.
“I could not remain downstairs any longer.” Sophia spoke apologetically.
Harold had felt the same. The guests had been playing a game of charades and it had been impossible to summon enthusiasm to pretend enjoyment.
“I presumed as much.” Dev reached down and helped her to her feet. Without hesitation, she moved into his arms.
“I feel as though my selfishness is to blame for all of this,” she whispered into his chest. “I’m frightened for him.”
“Sophia,” Dev said, “you haven’t a selfish bone in your body. It is Harold who has been pushed into taking such drastic measures. He’s admitted to me that he would have done something like this regardless. He and Stewart have been dreaming of leaving England for a long time. This gives them an opportunity to search for a place where they can live their lives without fear.”
“I know,” she said. “He’s told me this too. I just wish…”
“So do I.” He rubbed her back. “He couldn’t have done this without you, you know — the swimming, the encouragement, the friendship…”
“Harold is a good man, a good person. Her grace is going to be distraught with grief. Is there no other way?” She knew there was not. She’d pondered endless possibilities and dismissed all of them for one reason or another.
“It is what Harold wants. He is pleased that in doing it, he can set you free as well.”
A muffled sob escaped her. “I cannot imagine what would have happened if I’d never met you…” Peaches began jumping at Sophia’s feet in concern. The pup did not like it when her mistress was upset.
With her cheek pressed against the linen of Dev’s shirt and his arms stroking her hair and back, Sophia released the tears she’d held back all evening. “I’ve missed you so much. And now that you are here, I never want you to leave.” She sighed and wiped her face with the sleeve of her nightdress. “I’m being ridiculous. Penny will return eventually to check on me. Having a lady’s maid and governess, I have discovered, are disturbingly similar.”
Dev did not release her. Instead, he nuzzled her ear. “I once had a valet, just before I bought in. He wanted to follow me to war, attend me on the battlefield.”
Sophia tilted her head to listen but moaned softly at the sensations his lips ignited.
“Buthehad not enlisted. I did not wish him to put his life in danger simply because I chose to. I found other employment for him before I went away. Since I’ve returned, my father has been telling me I ought to hire myself a valet…” Dev chuckled. “…if I intend to live as a proper gentleman.”
Throughout his narrative, Dev had been inching them toward the door. She didn’t realize what he was up to until he reached behind her and tugged at the knob, testing the lock.
“She will sit outside and wait,” Sophia whispered.
