Page 40 of Love and Other Disasters

“Let us hope for that,” Jasper said and turned around again. Isabelle would be left with him and perhaps Sophie to care for. He could imagine many afternoons like this up here in the nursery. The thought of being a father to Isabelle held a great appeal right now. Because of the child, he knew Sophie far better than he ever might have.

Sophie squeezed his shoulder. “She’ll come back.”

“What if she doesn’t?” Jasper asked, grasping her hand again.

“Then it is up to you to do the best you can. You’re all she has. Believe me, she could do worse.”

Jasper pulled her hand forward and kissed the back of it. “That is kind of you to say so, but we both know how ill-suited I am to such matters.”

The woman’s breath caught as he dropped a kiss to her wrist. “Nonsense, all you need is practice.”

Jasper turned to face Sophie again, and when her hand wrapped around his head, he pulled her forward in the chair. Sophie did not resist him, and Jasper pulled her down to kiss her lips.

Their kiss was prolonged and quiet, so the children wouldn’t hear what they did together. Sophie had him panting for more, though. Jasper wanted this woman. But he would have to be careful in his seduction. He did not want to make the mistake of falling in love with her, or her with him, either.

Everything he’d ever cared about always went to someone else when he put his heart on the line.

Chapter Twelve

Sophie sprinted out to the front drive as a familiar old carriage came to a stop before Ravenswood Palace. She danced on the balls of her feet as the slow-moving grooms jumped down, groaning. The carriage steps were finally dropped, and the most elegant woman Sophie had ever known descended to the gravel drive. Regal. Proud. Clearly exasperated with Sophie’s behavior, too. The woman wagged a finger and laughed. “Sophie Regina Radcliffe. Did you really run out to meet my carriage?”

“Yes, Madam Clover,” Sophie confessed, laughing in return. There was just one woman who she’d ignore the rules of proper decorum for, and that was Madam Clover. The woman who had saved her life just by showing her a little kindness and compassion. “What are you doing here so soon?”

“Soon?” The woman frowned and glanced around. “I’m here to see what has befallen you.”

“Befallen me?”

“I see now my fears were for naught. Come here, child.” Madam spread her arms wide, and Sophie rushed forward to receive her warm embrace. “I have missed you so much, my dear,” she said

“And I have missed you, too,” Sophie promised. “You never answered my letters.”

The madam cupped the back of Sophie’s head the way a mother might her own child and held her close as she whispered, “We received no letters from you. Not for months now.”

Sophie drew back, shocked. “But I wrote to you every first of the month?”

“Never mind that now.” Madam Clover brushed a lock of fallen hair behind Sophie’s ear and sighed. “I am relieved to know we were not forgotten.” She gestured behind her. “I brought some friends of yours with me. I hope you don’t mind. They were as concerned as I was about your silence.”

Three equally elegant ladies descended from the carriage. Eleanor, Persephone, and Ruby. The most sought-after courtesans of the Violet Gardens Pleasure House squealed to see her and rushed over.

Sophie hugged each and found herself near to tears. “I never thought you might come all this way for me. What will the gentlemen in London do without you?”

“Pine away to nothing most likely and flatter us with jewels upon our return,” Eleanor murmured. “Or at least they had better.”

“Goodness Soph, look at you,” Ruby exclaimed. “Do they really force you to dress the dowdy just to be considered a proper governess? If we’d known, we’d never have permitted you to leave us.”

“No, indeed. She should have stayed with us forever,” Persephone said, glancing up at the facade of Ravenswood Palace and suddenly smiling. “Now, what deliciousness do we have here?”

Sophie glanced over her shoulder to see Lord Jasper watching them from the top of the staircase. She whispered his name to them. But heat warmed her cheeks as he strolled down the stairs—swaggered, really—and extended his hand and a charming smile to Madam Clover. “My dear lady. Welcome to Ravenswood.”

“Ah, you must be the Lord Jasper our Sophie has told us so much about in her letters.”

His smile faltered as he glanced toward Sophie, but he inclined his head, eventually. “Guilty. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madam Clover. Sophie speaks so highly of you. Ladies, you must be tired after your journey. Would you care to follow me inside for refreshments?”

“That would be very agreeable after our long journey, my lord,” Madam Clover said as she smiled up at him. “It has long been a dream of mine to be reunited with our dear Sophie. She is quite the treasure, isn’t she?”

Lord Jasper glanced at Sophie and smiled wider. “Agreed.”

Sophie could feel her cheeks turning red. She had never been comfortable receiving compliments in front of other ladies. “You’re too kind.”