Page 51 of Love and Other Disasters

“I know this place very well. I’ll be back soon,” he promised, and he strode away without waiting for a further response from her, his long legs carrying him into the darkness until she couldn’t hear him anymore.

Sophie hoped he wouldn’t be long and blushed, remembering how he’d held her tonight. She was only human. Compliments and kindness had always gone to her head for their rarity. Especially consideration from handsome rakes. That had been her mistake before. She’d believed the compliments a sign of a true romance and not what they really were; a remedy for boredom by an entitled and wealthy gentleman who’d decided she’d be grateful for his fleeting attentions.

She’d learned the error of her ways in the end. Men did not look at her and think of honor or matrimony. Jasper was no different, but he was honest about that. He was nice to her because she’d helped him, and he was with no other female companion that appealed to his sensibilities. He was lonely.

Sophie knew that feeling all too well, too. She huddled into her blanket to watch the distant lights alone and waited impatiently for Jasper’s return.

Chapter Fifteen

“That’s it. Done. The last man on their way home,” Jasper crowed as Threadwell’s carriage disappeared down the little-used laneway out of the estate. He turned to his companions and grinned. Madam Clover offered him a wry, tired smile. He walked to her and took up her hand to kiss the back of it. “I cannot thank you enough for coming to our rescue.”

“We should all thank Sophie for her inspired ideas,” the woman demurred, eyes turning to the blushing governess. Sophie had grown quiet since the first carriage carrying his guests had rolled away.

“She ought to be dancing a jig,” Jasper teased, hoping to earn a smile from her.

“I’m much too tired for that,” Sophie warned, sounding for all the world like she needed to go to bed. He wished it could be his own.

“Perhaps tomorrow we will celebrate our success,” he murmured and turned back to the London madam. “This is your share, less the amount we agreed upon.”

Madam Clover counted the money right in front of him and then added it to the pockets hidden under her cloak. “Thank you, Lord Jasper, for a most exciting stay. I look forward to the next time we meet. Perhaps then it will also be a day of celebration, and our Sophie will dance.”

He inclined his head. But he was hoping she was not thinking it might be Sophie’s wedding day to Nash. That would be over his dead body. Nash could not divorce Laura if they’d made another child together.

He offered his arm to the weary older woman and led her across the uneven ground to where her companions waited. Madam Clover and the ladies had been enthusiastic about the night just past, and the next orgy was highly anticipated, too. When he found the right venue, he was assured of success with their eager participation.

But he owed his success entirely to Sophie. A woman with a remarkable mind and unexpected boldness. To think he’d scoffed at the very idea that a plain governess could be of use to him. Except she did not seem plain anymore. There was a subtleness to her beauty that he’d come to appreciate.

Since the women had already said their goodbyes, Jasper helped the madam enter her carriage, and handed her companions in one by one next. It was a tight fit with the local girls included, but Madam insisted on delivering them back to the village herself. Some of them had decided to make the journey to London though and had possessions to collect.

When he looked around, Sophie had hung back and there were tears in her eyes. He closed the carriage door and stepped back a little. The women crowded the windows, blowing kisses to Sophie, who seemed to be getting more upset by the minute.

When the ladies were finally ready and shouted out to go, the coach rolled away and slowly disappeared from sight. He strolled back to Sophie.

“Thank you,” he said, holding out his hand and the money Madam Clover insisted upon paying her. An advance on her inheritance, in case she ever needed the funds to return to London, where she would be welcomed again.

“What is that for?”

“For being the woman you are.”

She took the money, counted it, and stared at him. “I can’t accept this much from you.”

“Well, if you don’t accept it, I’ll have to run to the stables, saddle a horse, and give chase after that carriage. It’s not from me, but Madam Clover herself.”

“I never truly expected anything.” Sophie worried her lip. “You could keep it. Use it for this place instead.”

“That would be stealing,” he said, and then he jabbed his thumb into his chest. “Rake, not thief.”

“Not so wicked either, or you would have joined the orgy,” she accused.

“I’ve never been one for public nudity,” he told her. At least not since he was twelve or eleven and swimming at night with his brothers. He moved closer to her and noted she seemed less inclined to cry now, thanks to their banter. He was glad he could pull her out of her mopes so easily. “I prefer a private and leisurely passion. Besides, it was damn cold last night. That can diminish a man’s proportions, let me tell you.”

Sophie sputtered a laugh and glanced around the clearing. He wondered if she might be regretting not taking part in the event. She’d been dressed for it under her cloak. Wearing the little red dress she’d found forgotten somewhere in the palace. Silk and satin had transformed her body into that of a siren.

A siren who had made no sign she’d welcome a renewal of his seductions so far.

Not wishing for them to become awkward with each other now, he looked around. The only evidence of the night just past was the trampled grass. The fire pit was filled in, torches extinguished, and chaise lounges used for beds carried back to the palace for a good beating and then a return to their rightful places. The only evidence left of the night just past was himself and Sophie, out on the estate grounds when they never normally would be found together at this early hour.

Yet he smiled. Staying up all night with Sophie wasn’t a bad way to spend any evening. He’d enjoyed her company and their little talks. “I don’t know about you, but my bed is calling me.”