‘Chris,’ said Warbett, grinning widely, ‘I heard you are not going to join us at the Lock and Barrel. It is going to be a good ‘un; do say you will change your mind.’
‘Thank you, but no. Another time, gentlemen.’
He skirted around them, moving as quickly as he could.
‘Are those not your friends?’ Sophia asked at the edge of the dance floor.
‘They are.’
Raising an eyebrow, she said, ‘We are not really betrothed, you know. You can go with them to whatever entertainment is on, if you wish to. My family is here as well as Tabitha and I shall manage to have a good time regardless.’
She would be fine, but would he? ‘Are you trying to get rid of me?’
‘Of course not.’ They took their places as the music began. He slipped his hand into hers and they began the familiar steps. ‘Only I should not wish this dance to be something you feel you have to do. I have said all along that I do not want this arrangement to change you and I have meant it every time I have said it.’
‘It is fine. I am beginning to think those men and I have less in common than I thought.’
‘Hm. I would agree with that.’
The dance separated them for a moment. When they were back together, he asked, ‘Why do you think that? Do you know them?’
‘Not well. I know Mr Ashburton is after a wealthy bride but that the women I have spoken to are giving him a wide berth. He does not seem to be as kind or as funny as you.’
Something was opening up in his chest, unfurling into all the spaces in his body. ‘You think I am funny?’
She shrugged, biting her lip in a gesture he had come to recognise as her trying to stop herself from laughing. ‘I know that you think you are.’
‘You know that I am.’
‘Have you ever made me laugh?’ She paused, pretending to think deeply. ‘Oh, yes, there was that time we were playing pall-mall. That was very funny.’
‘Oh, was it now?’
‘The way you could not seem to get the ball through the hoop was particularly amusing.’
Being teased by his brothers was as vexatious as hell. Being teased by Sophia was not: strange that.
The dance ended far too quickly for his liking. They laughed all the way through it, to the point that the stuffier members of the Ton had taken to glaring at them. He’d thought Sophia might mind that, but it only amused her more. There was no longer a reason to hold her hand, so he dropped it. He held out his arm instead, but she was distracted by spotting Tabitha in the crowd and didn’t notice. He let it fall, feeling oddly bereft.
‘Thank you for the dance, Christopher,’ she said when they reached the edge of the dance floor.
Christopher realised he was being dismissed. It had never happened before. Never. It was a little like a punch to the stomach and he was glad no one could read his mind to know just how humbling it was to find out he did not care for it. Sophia and he barely had any time left together in which they could speak to each other at events like this and he did not want to be parted from her. It may be selfish, but Tabitha would remain a friend forever and would always have the privilege of talking to her.
‘May I fetch you some lemonade?’ he asked before she could make her excuses.
‘Oh, yes, please. If you do not mind, that is.’ She paused. ‘I can always get one later. I am sure you have better things to do.’
He could go back to his brothers or find some other acquaintances or perhaps take a turn at the gaming tables, but none of those options appealed to him. ‘I shall be right back,’ he said instead.
He pushed his way through the crowds to the refreshment tables, which were filled with everything one could want. Lady Albrighton was never one to scrimp on the details. Another acquaintance hailed him, but he only waved and kept on going. He didn’t want a repeat of his conversation with Graham and Ashburton. As his hands closed around two glasses, he paused. For the last few years, he’d been hellbent on one course with only his family responsibility to keep him on track, but after a few short weeks with Sophia, his interests had changed. He would rather spend the evening talking and laughing with her, than with men he’d been going about town with for years.
Turning, with the glasses now in his hands, he slowly made his way back to her side. Perhaps this was what growing up and becoming a proper man felt like. This time last year, he would not have turned down an invitation to go somewhere different than a Society ballroom stuffed full with the Ton. But the idea of going to the Lock and Barrel was about as appealing as having sticks poked in his eyes.
When he thought about going on the Grand Tour he’d been planning for years, he still got a jolt of excitement. He wasn’t a completely changed man. The thought of seeing places he had only read about still filled him with wonder. Since meeting Lotte and later his other niece and his brother’s wards, there had been a bittersweet ache at the thought of leaving them behind and missing part of their lives while they grew. He’d always known that they didn’t need himand he would return. Now there was an extra weight. Sophia was leaving his life anyway, but the thought of being away from her in a different country was tugging painfully at something deep within him.
As he handed her drink to her, he decided not to worry about it. Putting unpleasant things to one side and moving on was something he was good at. Ultimately, it would hurt to be away from this woman, but he would get over the loss; he always did.
Chapter Twenty-four
