Mentally, he made a note of one other letter he’d need to write: to the family jeweler, requesting a ring.
CHAPTER 26
Sophie’s eyeswere gritty as she dragged her bag to the bedchamber door and glanced over her shoulder, checking one last time to make sure that she’d packed everything she would need for their journey to Gretna Green.
Many of her dresses still hung in the wardrobe, but she trusted her mother to ensure they got back to London safely. She was bringing with her only those she could put on herself, since she wouldn’t have Betsy to assist her.
Holding her breath, she eased the door open and peered out into the darkness. It was too early for her brain to be fully awake, but she couldn’t see any figures, and there definitely wasn’t any movement, so she hefted the bag over her shoulder and stepped through the doorway.
Hopefully she didn’t encounter anyone because she was wearing her travel clothes, and, combined with the bag, there wasn’t an easy way to explain what she was doing.
She paused outside her mother’s room. Drat. She should have slipped the letter beneath her doorbeforepicking up the bag. Now she had to awkwardly maneuver into position so that she could slide the letter through the narrow gap without dropping her bag and possibly waking her mother.
She bent her knees and dropped as far as she could, then shuffled closer and eased the letter out of the neck of her coat where she’d tucked it while preparing to leave.
When she placed it on the floor and slid it toward the gap, she feared it would be too large and not fit through, but fortunately, with a little wiggling and a bit of patience, the letter disappeared underneath the door.
Sophie’s pulse thrummed, and she straightened quickly, aware that the slight scraping noise may have disturbed her mother’s sleep. She hurried along the corridor, puffing slightly because she wasn’t used to carrying anything this heavy.
Nicholas had shown her where the servants’ corridors were, and she tiptoed along one, freezing at the sound of voices up ahead.
She pressed herself to the wall and slowly counted down from ten. The voices moved farther away, and when she was certain they were no longer nearby, she rounded the corner and dashed to the exit.
The butler was still in bed, but the main door was unlocked, so she pushed it open and shouldered her bag through.
A carriage stood at the base of the stairs, a figure in front of it outlined by a flicker of light coming through the carriage window. Nicholas must have put a lantern inside. She glanced at the horses and noted a second silhouette in the driver’s position.
Nicholas strode over to her, his features shadowed and impossible to make out. He ducked to kiss her forehead and then took her bag. He carried it to the carriage—making it look weightless—and pushed it against the far side, then he turned to Sophie and offered her his hand.
“Last chance to change your mind,” he murmured.
She took his hand and followed him inside. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
He grinned, the expression now visible because of the warm light thrown by the lantern hanging from the ceiling. “I wouldn’t want to.”
He blew out the flame and knocked on the front wall. A moment later, the carriage eased into motion, crunching over the gravel as they began their journey away from Nunhaven.
Nicholas’s body was firm and steady against hers, and she rested her head on his shoulder and intertwined their hands.
“This is more excitement than I expected from a society house party,” she whispered.
He chuckled. “For me too. In fact, it’s all the excitement that my poor heart can endure for a while. Shall we restrict ourselves to horse racing and stealing kisses when no one is looking after this?”
“At least for a few months,” she agreed, closing her eyes as they bumped over a ridge in the driveway. “Next season, you’re escorting me to the races, and I want to experience everything properly.”
“You could ride Blackheart.”
The offer took her by surprise. “Really?”
“Of course.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she relaxed into the embrace, her eyes fluttering shut since she couldn’t see much anyway. “Not during a race. I have a jockey for that. But there’s no reason why you can’t ride him outside of the racecourse’s working hours.”
“That would be… amazing.”
Her, on a racehorse.
She’d never imagined such a thing.
Her heart lifted, and she snuggled closer to Nicholas. He was giving her so much to look forward to.
