Fanning herself languidly, Miss Sangford cast her eyes upon the other guests and pretended to notice the earl for the first time.
“Ah, I see your neighbor is in attendance. What noble friends you have, Miss Grant. I wonder if it would be possible to be introduced to him? I believe we have mutual interests.”
Now that the moment had come, Sophia was very unwilling to see it through. But a bargain had been struck. There was no way around it.
“I shall ask his nephew to do the honors,” she said grudgingly, “as I am unable to leave my seat without exerting myself. You remember Mr. Mannerly, I hope?”
Miss Sangford looked Tobias up and down, settling at last on a look of happy surprise. “Ah, yes, I thought you looked familiar. Help me, if you will. Where was it we met before?”
Sophia wished she could kick their tormentor in the shins and get away with it. The vixen could do with a good thrashing. How she slept at night with all the mischief she plotted by day was beyond Sophia’s extensive imagination.Humph!In alllikelihood, she slept like a baby, having no moral compass to burden her thoughts.
If his rigid body language was any indication, Tobias was equally appalled by Miss Sangford’s question. He glared at her, clenching his jaw before answering.
“I believe it was at church.”
“So it was! A wedding, if I recall. Although for the moment, I cannot quite put my finger on whose wedding it was.”
The warning shot had been fired.
Tobias heeded it, balling his fists at the manipulation, then releasing them helplessly. “This way, if you please.” He gestured. “My uncle is over there, standing beside Lord Howell.”
Sophia hated having to see him beholden unto a person of such low character. It grieved her that the reason he was bound thus was to protect her. She saw Miss Sangford’s face fill with triumph as she lifted it toward her target, her eyes gleaming, her lips pouting. And then Sophia watched that triumph drain away.
“The viscount is with him.” Miss Sangford did not seem pleased. But, then again, when was she ever pleased unless she was plotting mischief?
“Yes,” Tobias said, “they are friends.”
“You did not tell me this.”
Was that an edge of panic in her voice? Miss Sangford kept her gaze focused rigidly on the viscount, not stirring a muscle, rather like a doe who hoped the hunter would not notice her before he moved on. Sophia grimaced at the thought. Miss Sangford was no gentle-eyed doe.
“Why would I mention their friendship?” Tobias enquired. “What relevance did it have to our arrangement? You demanded to meet Lord Carthige. We have complied. What does it matter whether Lord Howell attends also?”
“You must separate them.”
Sophia, watching the scene unfold between Tobias and his nemesis, drew a delicious conclusion. She declared it with relish. “Lord Howell knows you! Well enough not to like you! You’re afraid he’ll reveal your wiles to the earl.”
“Hush!” Miss Sangford bit back in a low voice. “People will hear you. You don’t want your secrets exposed any more than I do.”
“What would you have us do?” Tobias asked. “I have no excuse to call Lord Howell away. You are going to have to put on your best façade and hope his lordship believes you are a changed woman.”
“That man,” Miss Sangford said through grinding teeth, “is a buffoon. For all his money and fine breeding, he wouldn’t know a good woman if she sat right on his lap!”
“Tried it, have you?” Sophia couldn’t help herself. There was nothing in their agreement that said she had to be polite.
Her enemy gave her a withering glare.
“It would be amusing if my uncle were to look this way at this exact moment,” said Tobias.
They waited as Miss Sangford struggled to swallow her rage, attempt a smile, and fail miserably. The result was a rather frightening rictus, which Sophia would have loved for Lord Carthige to see.
“I’ll show youamusing,” Miss Sangford said, her lips tight with the effort at smiling. “You get Lord Howell away from the earl, or I leave now and start writing a detailed letter to our host. I might even add a few trimmings if I let my imagination go.”
When Tobias did not move, she added, “Now, if you please.”
He looked helplessly at Sophia. She had no idea what to do. Her nerves were already strained with the public attention on her. Miss Sangford’s threat pushed her up against a wall. Her brief satisfaction at seeing her enemy writhe was spent. All that remained was fear. Her heart began to race. Her throat wasclosing. She looked for Katie, her wide eyes signaling for help. Katie materialized in an instant, grabbing an aromatic pouch from her mistress’s reticule and holding it firmly beneath her nose.
“Don’t… let… my father… see,” Sophia panted between gulps of breath.
