Chapter 4

This is it, Sophie thought to herself as she stood in front of the mirror, checking out her reflection. The last day of the journey to London.

It was strange now that all she could see in her reflection was the present moment, not what was to come. She could not even begin to imagine what life would be like in London now, she was stuck firmly on being the girl who almost fell overboard last night, and was rescued by him.

By the man who had been on her mind all night long, dancing in her dreams when she did manage to sleep.

I am going to find him, she told herself eagerly, smiling at her reflection. And do what is right.

She needed to thank him, to make him understand just how grateful she was. She had to ensure that he took something from her family, so she was not stuck in a debt of gratitude forever. He might have refused payment from her father last night, but that did not change a thing.

He was probably in shock as well.

The whole incident must have thrown him off kilter, so maybe today he would be thinking much straighter, and he would be happy to take a well-deserved payment.

"Oh, Sophie, you still look a little pale this morning. Shall we see if there is a physician on board who can take a look at you? Me and your father have been worrying all night long about you."

"Well Douglas and I are quite alright."

Her mother pursed her lips together. "You know, you do not always have to chase after that dog, especially if he is doing something silly. You should have woken up your father and I, we could have helped you. I do not like the idea of something bad happening to you. Last night… well, it could have been terrible had it not been for Lord Harrington."

"I know, Mother." Sophie did not need reminding. "But I would not leave Douglas to be hurt either. I do not know what I would do without him."

Her mother just about resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but Sophie felt it none the less. She was always saying that Sophie spoiled her dog, as if Douglas did not deserve it.

Well, she was never going to change anyway, so it did not matter what anyone else said.

"Well, it is time for breakfast, is it not?" Sophie asked brightly, trying to change the subject. "I am quite looking forward to eating this morning."

Sophie did her best to ignore the way that her mother and father exchanged a look. She already had too much on her mind, she did not need to have their stresses piled on top of her as well. Right now all she needed to do was get to the dining hall so she could seek out her savior and have a chat with him.

That was the most important thing.

After that, well she could figure everything else out afterwards.

He was nowhere to be found.

Sophie's heart sunk as she tried to seek out Lord George Harrington, just to see no one who looked anything like him in the room.

Did he not eat with everyone else?

That would be a real shame if she could not get a moment alone with him. Especially since this was the last time they would be given a chance. Once they left the ship and headed off into England, she may well never see his face again. Who knew where he was going? London was a big enough city on its own, but the rest of the country was on offer as well.

There was no telling what might happen.

"Are you alright, dear?" her father asked her as they sat at their usual seat at the dining table. "You look a little distracted. Your mother has been talking about trying to locate a physician on board, and she might be right…"

"I do not need a physician," Sophie insisted again. "I am just trying to see if he is here."

"He?"

She gave him a funny look. "The man who saved me last night."

"Ah, Lord Harrington. Why do you wish to see him, may I ask?"

"Because I did not get a chance to thank him…"

"You do not need to worry so much about that. Me and your mother thanked him profusely last night. I am sure he knows by now how grateful you are."

"Still… I would like to tell him myself."

"Well, he is not often in the dining hall, but you could always speak with Sebastian. They are friends…"

For some reason, this made Sophie's heart skip a beat. So she did have a connection to him, there was a chance that their paths had crossed. But would she not have taken notice of him? Perhaps not because there were so many new people aboard. The only real reason that she did not forget Sebastian was because they always sat at the same table at mealtimes.

"I am going to have a little walk around, just in case."

Luckily her father was immediately caught up in conversation with another gentleman, so it was easy to slip out of his grasp and sight line to take a walk around. As she walked, she realized just how grateful she was that last night had not become common knowledge otherwise she would have been stopped a million times with people asking her endless questions. She did not wish to ever talk about what happened again.

Except for with him.

There were a lot of people in the dining hall, it seemed like everyone wanted to eat together today before they reached their destination, and everything changed. Perhaps not everyone was going to be living in London, a lot of people might just be vising the big smoke, but their time on the ship was coming to an abrupt end and that was really something.

There he is!

All of a sudden, her heart skipped a beat because she spotted him. She could hardly believe it.

It was tempting to pause, to watch him for a moment and to adjust to the mere sight of him, but she knew that time was of the essence, and she could not waste it. Nervous or not, she had to confront him now while they were both still aboard.

With her pulse absolutely pounding, she stepped closer to him, drinking in the warm sensation that she felt merely being close to her hero.

"Lord Harrington?" she asked quietly. Thankfully, it was loud enough for him to hear her. "I just wanted to speak to you for a moment."

Something flickered in his eyes, but she had no idea what it was.

"Is everything alright?" he asked her while edging himself away from the crowds just a little.

"Erm, yes." She could feel a heat burning in her cheeks as he stared at her intensely. "I just wanted to thank you for everything that you did for me last night. I did not get a chance to say it in all the chaos."

"Oh, I see." His lips turned down in to a small frown. "Well that is quite alright. Your parents thanked me quite enough."

Panic struck her as it seemed like he was already trying to pull away from her. She was not nearly done yet.

"But I would like to thank you," she said a little louder so he could not ignore her. "Personally."

"That is quite unnecessary."

As he walked away, Sophie found herself with very little choice. She knew that this was going to be the last chance that she got to speak with him, so she did not hesitate to follow him. Once he had heard her out, he would not ever have to speak with her again, if that was what he wanted.

Although she could not help but feel a little disappointed that might be what he wanted…

"Lord Harrington, please…"

But he was either acting like he could not hear her as he left the dining hall and walked through the ship, or he had truly started to block her out. But Sophie was determined, and if she thought that she was doing the right thing—which she absolutely did right now—then nothing would get in her way.

"Lord Harrington, what you did last night was heroic," she continued a little breathlessly as she followed him. "And I cannot get off this boat knowing that I have not repaid you for everything. It would not be right. If I had been left to fall, then I would have eventually ended up drowning in the water. I am very aware of that, so please let me do the right thing. Let me pay you for what you did for me. Or if money is not what you wish for, then please let me repay you in some other manner…"

By the time he stopped, they had made it on deck once more, away from everyone else who was still eating in the dining room.

As he turned to face her, leaning a little too close, sparks of feelings that Sophie could not even begin to place fluttered through her. What was he about to do? Her heart leapt into her throat as the possibilities flickered through her mind, and she wondered quite how literally he was going to take her offer.

The moment she could feel the intensity of his breath on her face, and her lips began to tingle, Sophie realized that maybe she did not mind…

"You could be making a mistake, you know," he told her huskily. "Offering anything. You need to be far more careful with your words when the boat stops, or you will not survive in London."

"Because…" she replied breathily while swallowing back her fear. "Because of all the society rules? My father has been telling me all about the ton."

"A ruined reputation is everything in the big city, and if I were a really bad gentleman, then I could ask you for something that you are not willing to give."

His hazel eyes sparkled.

He was teasing her, and surprisingly she liked it.

Her heart was racing now, pounding faster than it had ever gone before. Sophie could hardly stand it. The air in her lungs seemed to be depleting by the moment and there was not a damn thing that she could do about it.

But she did not want him to know that he was making her feel this way. So she jutted her chin out and tried to exude confidence in the very way that her aunt had taught her to do when she was young. Fake it until you make it. That was what she always said.

"I will at least listen, whatever you ask of me, because you saved my life, Lord Harrington."

"George," he corrected her. "Please, call me George."

"Then I would like it if you would call me Sophie, please."

His smile twisted up, making her tummy do silly feeling flip flops.

At this point, she was sure that he had to know the effect that he was having on her. She was hardly able to push it down any longer. Was this the sort of gentleman that she would marry once she got to London? Someone who was tall, dark, and very handsome. Strikingly gorgeous and seemingly very sweet as well. Fun, if she wanted to be teased forever…

"I think I know what I want."

His words shocked her, especially because he said them with such conviction.

She was not expecting him to say this, but now because he had teased her, she had no idea which way this was going to go.

George truly had her on edge.

But she continued to remain strong. "Please, tell me what it is you would like."

"I would like to ask for your friendship in London, Sophie."

"Friendship?" Of all the things she feared he might say, this was not it.

"Yes. I am worried how you might view me, should our paths cross in London." Ah, so he was going to London. That was something to take note of. "I would like you to think of me as a friend."

"Not my hero?"

He chuckled lightly. "I did not really do anything heroic. Only what anyone else would have done."

"Well, I think it was heroic."

"Which is why I would like you to simply think of me as a friend."

Confused, Sophie knew that the only thing she could do was agree with him. If this was really what George wanted, then so be it. "Fine, I will offer you friendship."

There was a flame flickering deep inside of her. it seemed to be sitting in the pit of her stomach, and something about George's words only inflamed that fire. Was this the spark that she had read about in books? Was this how it was supposed to feel? Much as she had enjoyed talking to Sebastian, she did not feel anything like this.

This was far closer to attraction than anything she had felt with Sebastian.

Actually, it was closer to desire than she had ever felt before.

Did George mean it? Did he really only want friendship with her? Because there was a glimmer in his eyes that told her otherwise.

The way that George was looking at her, it reminded her of the stories that her aunt used to tell her when she talked about being courted, before she married the king. She told Sophie tales of men that bored her, and made her want to run in the other direction, but she also talked about fire.

The fire had to be this.

With a heat in her gaze, she nodded at George, glad that they had come to some sort of agreement. It might not have been what she was expecting out of this conversation. Far from it, if she was honest with herself. But it was something. It gave her a glimmer of hope that she would in fact see this man again once the boat docked.

"Alright, well I suppose I should return to the dining hall," she declared as she backed off a little. "I do not want my parents to worry any more about me than they already have."

He smiled understandingly. "Ah yes, I am sure they will be looking for you already. Best not give them anything else to panic about."

Sophie backed away, keeping her eyes on him the whole time. She found herself quite unable to drag her gaze away. It was almost as if there was an intense magnetic tug between them, some kind of invisible string that was intent on pulling them back together no matter what.

If that was true or not, she supposed she would simply have to find out once they docked.

***

The afternoon came far too quickly.

Sophie might have packed up all of her belongings, ready to head for Gracemeadow Estate, but she was not quite prepared to be on dry land just yet. The boat trip itself had been such an adventure, and she was worried that she might forget it all once in London. Her life might be so swept up in balls and operas that she pushed all of this out of her mind.

Including the way that her new friend, George, made her feel.

Surely, I would never forget that, she thought anxiously to herself as she followed her parents to where they were to disembark. Not when it was so strong and fiery, so exciting…

"Ah, Sebastian…" As soon as her father called out that name, Sophie's eyes snapped up. But not because she wanted to see Sebastian himself, she actually just wanted to spot George again.

Relief and excitement flooded her as she saw him there, with his friend, with that strange little smile playing on his lips. It was a smile just for her, and she knew it. No one else could possibly understand what that meant.

"I suppose this is where we part ways," her father continued as he clapped Sebastian on the back. "It has been wonderful sharing dinner times with you, you are a very interesting fellow. And of course I must say a final thank you to Lord Harrington for saving my daughter. I will always be grateful to you for that. You have no idea. You are a gentleman, Lord Harrington. One of the best."

Sebastian's brows furrowed in confusion as he darted his eyes between Sophie's father and his friend.

It was obviously not something that George had gone off bragging about. She suspected as much after their little talk earlier in the day, but it was nice to see this in action. It felt like they had a little secret, just the two of them, that no one else could understand. A little bubble that only they could enter, and no one could leave.

Unfortunately, she could not discuss their little secret because the crowd had started to move now, and there was no chance they could have a moment alone.

Their eyes locked in for as long as they could, but it was not long before they were driven apart by everyone, and Sophie had to concentrate on getting off the boat and not falling.

The last thing she wanted to do was have her first steps on London soil her tumbling to the ground. That would not be a good first impression.

But she could not shake George out of her mind. She could not stop thinking about him. She could not stop wondering if she was ever going to see him again…