“Let her come, Colt. We have two drivers. We will station one outside the carriage door when we stop,” Stephen said. “But Sophie is right; we are wasting time.”
She watched as Patrick glared at his friend.
“Please close the door and let us be on our way,” Sophie said, moving across the seat to jam herself into the corner in case he followed through with the threat to lift her out.
“All right,” he said after a few tense seconds. “But first, you will go upstairs and change your clothes, and second, you will leave a note for Lady Carstairs in case she wakes and grows worried over your absence,” he said. “Leave Doddy inside, as we cannot take him where we are going.”
“You will leave without me,” Sophie said, unmoving. She was onto their tricks.
“You have my word we will not.” Patrick’s sigh could have felled a forest as he stepped out of the carriage.
“He does not give that lightly, Sophie, so hurry along and do what he asks of you,” Stephen said.
She climbed out, taking the hand Patrick held out. When she began to walk away, he held her still. She looked up at him.
“I need you to be safe,” he said slowly. “Do you understand that, Sophie?”
She nodded, not understanding at all. He released her, and she ran inside with Doddy.
CHAPTER 24
“Thank you,” Patrick said as he joined Stephen inside the carriage once Sophie had entered the Monmouth town house. “However, I would have been grateful had you backed me up about her staying here,” he added.
Stephen waved his words away, instantly understanding what Patrick’s gratitude had been for. “What she did tonight took courage, Colt. I have no fears confiding in her. I like her, and believe she will keep you on your toes.”
“How so?” Patrick queried. He did not bother to deny his feelings or intentions toward Sophie. Stephen was no fool, and while Patrick wasn’t sure what the future held for them, he knew that she would be in it, even if she didn’t.
She’d run to you tonight.That, to him, was telling.
“Sophie has lived with fear for years. There has probably never been a point in her life when she was without it. Of course, now she has Lady Carstairs and wealth, but she still has the fear of exposure,” Stephen said.
Patrick nodded.
“It is my belief that when she is wed to you, she will finally feel safe, and her natural nature will surface.” Stephen laughedas Patrick scowled at him. “You will wed her, my friend, and she will finally be happy and live without fear. Sophie will heal you, as you will heal her.”
“I am not broken,” Patrick said.
“Of course you are. Your parents were horrid people who taught you not to trust others. Even though you were loved by your aunt and sisters, I’m the only person you truly let in, Colt, so don’t deny it.”
“I always felt bad for hating my parents,” he said softly. “But I did.”
“Understandable, and for what it’s worth, I hated your parents, too, for the pain they caused you.”
“Thank you, but my life wasn’t bad. As you say, I had my sisters.”
“And a father who drove you hard so you would be his replica when you took his title. He never let you be anything but a future earl, Colt.”
Patrick nodded because the words were the truth.
“I could not have chosen a better person for you to live your life with, my friend.”
“As we barely know each other?—”
“I’ve never seen you with anyone like you are with her.”
“Perhaps” was all Patrick was willing to add to that.
Looking out the window, he watched Sophie slip outside the door once more, and he climbed out to meet her.
