“So we could arrange for a messenger to intercept her with a letter before she arrives, informing her of our plan and asking her to meet us at your country estate in, say, a week’s time.”
The idea had some merit, but he was concerned that regardless of what they said in their letter, she would still turn up here to try to smooth things over and, in doing so, make the situation worse.
He said as much to Sophie, and quiet descended as they mulled over the possibilities.
“Perhaps we just need to make it clear to her that coming here wouldn’t achieve her goal,” he mused. “If we list everything we have done to show that nothing is amiss in our engagement and assure her that Lady Wembley, your mother, and the baron are all supportive of us, then she would be reassured enough to turn around.”
Sophie shifted position, bringing herself closer to Nicholas, and he leaned into her, enjoying her warmth and softness. “I wish I could include a note from my mother, as I’m sure that would do the trick, but we can’t tell her that we intend to elope. She’ll take it with grace if we simply go ahead, but if we give her the opportunity to interfere, she will.”
“We can’t risk it,” he agreed. “Really, all we need to do is decide between three options. One, we stay and wait for Mother to arrive, hoping she doesn’t do anything to cause trouble. Two, we send Mother a letter in the hopes that she’ll turn around, in which case we would remain here as initially planned, but we run the risk of her continuing on anyway. Three, we elope.”
“What do you think her most likely response would be if we did that?” Sophie asked.
“We’d run the risk of her turning up at Nunhaven, but I think it’s more likely that she would listen to our request because she’d know how much more attention her arrival would garner than if we’d just eloped.”
Gentle fingers brushed his hair behind his ear, and Sophie’s lips feathered over his cheek. “This affects you more than me. What are you most comfortable with?”
Nicholas sighed and angled his face toward her, silently seeking another kiss. “Honestly, I’d like to wait for her to arrive and speak with her. That’s the most honorable approach. But if our goal is to avoid people wondering if anything more is going on than a romantic entanglement, then I believe elopement is the most likely to succeed.”
He did his best to ignore the part of him that got a naughty thrill at the idea of fleeing into the sunset with Sophie because that wasn’t what this was about.
They had to focus on the management of risk.
In his opinion, the highest risk of something going awry was if his mother came to Nunhaven, and the most probable way to avoid that was to elope.
Unfortunately, there would be some level of scandal. It was unavoidable.
But Nicholas and Sophie had already demonstrated their commitment to the guests, and if they left Lady Wembley and Lady Carlisle letters to inform them of their plan, he trusted them to play down the matter to others.
If they then retreated to the country until next season, there was no reason why the original plan couldn’t work.
Provided Lady Blackwell didn’t march into Nunhaven demanding answers, of course.
“Let’s do it,” he decided. “Is tomorrow morning too soon?”
A mischievous smile curled the corner of Sophie’s mouth. “Not at all. We’ll have to leave in the early hours, before anyone else stirs.”
His heart sped up in anticipation. Lord, this was how he got himself into trouble. The excitement got the better of him. “I’ll arrange to have my carriage waiting, and I’ll pack only the necessities. We’ll need to travel light.”
“I can pack my things too.” Sophie’s bright eyes twinkled. “It will be a fun challenge. I’m not accustomed to organizing my own bag.”
“Make sure it’s something you can carry without drawing attention,” he warned her, suddenly picturing her trying to drag a stack of cases half her height through the manor. “We need to be discreet.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know. Trust me.”
He tilted his chin up and kissed her. “I do.”
“I’ll also write a letter to my mother,” she added. “And I’ll leave one with her to pass along to Kate.”
Nicholas’s gut dropped. Fuck. Now he’d have to break the news to Theo that not only had he been caught alone with Sophie but that he was eloping with her too.
Hopefully his brother would continue to be understanding.
“I’ll write to Mother and Theo. Perhaps you could also pen a missive to Lady Wembley to assure her that you’re leaving of your own volition, and I’ll do the same to Lord Wembley so he knows my intentions really are pure.”
She nodded, her chin jutting out stubbornly. “We have this under control. Everything will be fine.”
God, he hoped so.
