‘I have lots of spare time,’ she said.
There was barely a breath of air between them. His whole body was aching to close the gap between them, to feel her flush against his body, but he didn’t move, the slightest grip on his mind holding firm as it battled against what he craved.
‘I will always treasure this, Sophia. For as long as I live this will be one of my most prized possessions. I shall have it framed and put in my room.’
‘Oh.’
She was gazing up at him, and it would be the work of nothing to lean down and press his lips to hers. Her mouth would be soft. She had probably never been kissed before and coaxing a response from her would be delicious. If she were less important to him, he might have done it. But it would complicate everything, adding emotion to this already unusual arrangement, something that would hurt at least one of them. So, he did the most painful thing he had ever done. He stepped backwards, dropping his hold on her and letting his hand fall from her face.
‘Would you mind if we showed my other brothers?’ he asked into the strange silence.
‘Of course, you can show whomever you like. However, I should be off now. It does not look as if Emily and Kate are going to return anytime soon, so I would be grateful if you could pass on my goodbyes. I would wait for them, only I have an appointment at the modiste to finalise my outfit for the ball on Friday.’ Sophia appeared to be back to herself, no hint that a moment of something different had passed between them. ‘I wanted to wear my favourite blue dress, but as Marrisa pointed out, Lady Albrighton’s events are all about fashion and we have all had to get something new, otherwise we shall be judged and found wanting.’
Somehow feeling he had taken a wrong turn, Christopher said, ‘I am sure you will look lovely in whatever you wear.’
‘Of course, that is a given.’
They both laughed at her joke. He was almost desperate for her to stay so that they could talk more, but she was already moving towards the door and before too long, she had gone, taking a piece of him with her. A piece he had not wanted to give.
Chapter Twenty-one
Receiving Robert when she had a headache had been a mistake. Over the last week, Sophia had seen him on a handful of occasions. He had called on her at home twice and they had taken one ride in the park, Marrisa along as chaperone. The ride had not been a success. Robert and Marrisa did not get on well, and Marrisa did not try and hide her dislike of him. Sophia could not fault Robert on his manners, but she could see the exhaustion in his eyes after Marrisa rebuffed his attempts at friendliness.
Fortunately, Marrisa was out today, so they were chaperoned by one of the maids, who had already nodded off in the corner of the room. Robert didn’t appear to notice that Sophia wasn’t quite herself. His eyes were alight with happiness as he discussed a lecture he had been to the day before. It was something to do with the improvements in field drainage, which was no doubt an important topic for him, but one she could not follow as her head ached. No amount of tea was taking the edge off the throbbing pain.
‘Robert,’ she said, when he finally paused to take a bite of scone, ‘what did you do with the painting I gave you?’
He swallowed his mouthful. ‘When did you give me one?’
Her heart thudded painfully. She had taken a long time over the drawing, pouring almost as much of herself into it as she had of the boy for Christopher. ‘It was of Ares.’
‘Ah, yes. How I loved that dog; he was great at rooting out game. Do you know he…?’
‘What did you do with the painting?’ she asked, not willing to listen to another tangent.
‘Oh, goodness. That was years ago.’ Catching a glimpse of whatever expression was on her face, he said, ‘I would not have thrown it away.’
She was sure that he wouldn’t. He was not the type of man who would treat a gift with such disregard, but that was somehow not the point. ‘Do you have it hanging up?’
‘I…’ He rubbed a hand along his thigh. ‘I am sure that…’ He cleared his throat. ‘It is a big house, Sophia. I am sure that it is somewhere.’
She nodded, dropping the issue. While it probably was in his house, it was not being treated with reverence. Nor should she expect it to be. It was just one of her drawings after all. It was only Christopher’s reaction to her painting yesterday that had drawn attention to Robert’s lack of enthusiasm to a similar gift she had bestowed on him. Oh, he had been as polite as always, had complimented her on her design, but he had put it to one side almost immediately and had never referred to it again.
She wasn’t so obtuse that she could compare the two paintings. One was of a beloved pet, the other was of a much-loved, much-missed brother. Or as near as she could manage anyway, not having met Sebastian. Robert had loved Ares, but it was not the same as losing an older brother, or at least she supposed it wasn’t, not having either a dog or a brother. But her sentiment behind giving the illustrationshad been the same; she had wanted the two men to have reminders of someone they had loved and lost. There would be no way of knowing if Christopher ever followed through on his promise to have it framed and put in his bedroom, but she did not think he had faked his emotional reaction to the drawing.
In the time that she had been thinking, Robert had returned to the subject of drainage, but at least her headache had cleared. Perhaps all she had needed was a little clarity on a topic that had been bothering her ever since Robert had turned up in London.
‘Sophia,’ said Robert, shifting forward in his seat, glancing to the maid, who was now snoring softly. ‘I have something I wish to discuss with you. It is the reason I have come to stay in town, in fact.’
‘Oh?’ Headache receding, she decided that she would like a scone after all. Taking one from the cake tray, she placed it on a delicate porcelain plate. It was one of her favourite patterns with interwoven leaves. She was so busy admiring the work of the artist that it took her a while to realise that Robert hadn’t continued speaking. ‘Sorry, Robert. Did you say something?’
‘No, I… This is a delicate matter, Sophia, and I have no wish to hurt your feelings, but I wanted you to know that I know the circumstances of your engagement to Lord Christopher.’
‘It is hardly a secret, Robert. Half the Ton was in attendance, or at least that is how it felt.’
‘It is being said that you were caught in a rendezvous with him, but I know that part of the story is untrue.’ Robert’s earnest expression never wavered. ‘You would never act in such an improper way.’
‘You are right that it is not true. We were unlucky. We happened to accidentally be in the same place at the same time and before we could gather our wits and go our separate ways, there were all these ladies demanding we marry. It was very disorientating.’ Although, ifshe had not met Christopher, that perhaps would have been a greater shame. She’d had more fun this Season than in any previous one.
