“You have been above reproach.” Lady Carlisle set her needlework aside. “I don’t see any reason why she would disapprove of you. You are lively, yes, but you behave well in social settings, and you’re an earl’s daughter. Mr. Blackwell is an untitled second son. He would do very well to marry you.”
Sophie blinked rapidly, the backs of her eyes hot. Did her mother really feel that way? As if Sophie was a prize?
She’d never said as much.
“As to whether there’s a valid reason why she might not want Mr. Blackwell to wed at all, I can’t think of any, but I’ll ask around.”
“No, please don’t. I don’t want to cause him any problems.”
Her mother nodded in understanding. “Very well. Let me know if you change your mind.”
Sophie doubted she would. Her innate curiosity meant she wanted to know what was going on but not if digging around would cause any issues for Nicholas.
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to earn his confidence.
CHAPTER 14
Lincolnshire,
April, 1824
“I’m eager to arrive,”Sophie said as she bounced her knee, practically vibrating with repressed energy. “I didn’t realize that Lincolnshire was quite so far from London.”
They’d been travelling for days.
Days.
That was a long time to be enclosed in a carriage with her mother and their respective maids. If she couldn’t stretch her legs soon, she might go mad.
Her mother tsked. “Stop fussing. We’re almost there.”
Sophie sighed. “You said that three hours ago.”
“And compared to three days of travelling, we were close. You are terribly overdramatic, my dear. Anyone would think we’d pushed on without stopping for food or sleep.”
Sensing that her mother had no patience for her restlessness, Sophie stared out the window. Green stretched in every direction. She’d seen the countryside during their journeys to and from their rural estate, but that was much closer to London.
Out here, the grass was more vibrant, and leafy trees dotted the landscape. It was beautiful, and what she really wanted was to get on a horse and let it gallop through the fields as she clung on for dear life.
Ambling along at their current pace, cooped up, was getting to her.
Perhaps she wouldn’t have been so bored if they’d travelled in convoy with Nicholas or—even better—with him in the carriage. But her mother had insisted that it would be inappropriate for them to travel together considering there was no understanding between them, so Nicholas had to make his own way.
She rested her chin on the back of her hand and gazed into the distance. No doubt Nicholas had made better time than them, and he’d probably had a lot more fun on the way.
Beside her, Betsy groaned and clutched her stomach. The poor thing was prone to carriage sickness. Sophie had given her the opportunity to stay behind, but Betsy had insisted on accompanying them.
Now, Sophie had to wonder if she regretted that choice.
They rounded a bend in the road, and a building gradually came into view.
Sophie bolted upright. “Is that it? Are we here?”
She couldn’t tell much about the building from such a distance except that it was rectangular and a very pale shade of yellow.
Lady Carlisle looked out the nearest window and nodded. “Yes, that’s Nunhaven.”
“Thank God!”
