Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

“Oh, dear… I can’t keep my eyes open. I think I’ll go to bed,” Penelope said, rising from her chair by the hearth.

The Dowager Duchess said the same, but Sophia lingered, making an excuse about finishing the last few pages of a book she had been reading. But her apparent attentions were merely a cover – Sophia was waiting.

“We’ll see you in the morning, Sophia. I must say, it already feels like I have two daughters,” the Dowager Duchess said and then she kissed Sophia on the cheek.

Sophia smiled, thanking her for her kindness. But when the door closed behind them, she shut the book and rose to her feet. Her heart was beating fast, but she knew she could not rest until she knew the truth as to Jasper’s strange behavior. He had not said a word to her at dinner, nor had he appeared in the drawing room after smoking, as had been his custom on the previous evenings they had spent together. It was as though he had entirely changed his mind, and that the apparent feelings he had displayed had been nothing but an act.

I just don’t understand.

Sophia thought back to that moment in the garden, and the readiness with which Jasper had agreed to help her in her ploy.

She felt thoroughly confused, but more so, she could not help but feel hurt by his behavior and saddened at the thought of her hopes being dashed. Her feelings for Jasper were growing stronger by the moment – the ruse now becoming far more than just a game. These feelings were real. They meant something, and to have them played with in this way was cruel.

“Yes, yes, goodnight, Cousin, goodnight, Ethan,” Jasper said, and Sophia watched from a crack in the drawing room door as her cousin and Henry made their way upstairs.

Jasper, it seemed, was about to retreat to his study, but Sophia opened the drawing room door, stepping out into the hallway to confront him. He could not ignore her now, and an awkward look came over his face.

“Ah… Sophia,” he said, and she raised her eyebrows at him.

“Sophia, indeed. What’s going on?” she hissed, and he shook his head.

“Not here,” he said, motioning for her to follow him to his study.

As he closed the door behind them, Sophia spoke first. She was angry at the casual manner in which he had cast her aside, and felt he owed her an explanation – as well as an apology.

“Why are you being so cold?” she demanded.

He poured brandy from a decanter on his desk, swirling the contents of his glass as he pondered her question for a moment.

“There’s no reason to continue with this,” he said, and Sophia’s eyes grew wide with astonishment.

“But… what do you mean? There’s every reason to continue. You said yourself it was advantageous to appear to be courting – for your own business interests!” Sophia exclaimed.

To end their ruse now would be a disaster, though admittedly more so for her than for him. Jasper’s advantage had been negligible next to Sophia’s fear of what would happen if her own prospects changed. If Henry discovered the truth…

“I’m sorry, Sophia. But… there’s no reason to continue, is there? You’re no closer to finding a suitor in exchange for Henry,” Jasper said.

Sophia was shocked. She had barely had a moment to do so. She had expected to return to London, freed from Henry’s advances, intent on finding a man with whom she could fall in love. But matters of the heart were never so simple, and she had not considered how she would feel in light of Jasper’s apparent act. It had all seemed so real, and to discover it was not was heartbreaking.

“But I thought…” she began, even as she held back her words for fear of embarrassing herself.

It was clear he did not feel the same for her, and now she held her tongue, intent on not telling him of Henry’s threats, on not saying anything to expose herself further. She had truly believed there was something between them – a growing affection, a bond developing, the blossoming of feelings she had not thought possible.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. You’ve won yourself some time. Henry might think twice now about pursuing a match,” Jasper said, his tone curt and dismissive – businesslike.

It was as though the whole thing had merely been a transaction – a convenience for a few days that had now come to an end. There was no sense of feeling in Jasper’s voice, no question of affection – even the slightest hint. He was cold, and it brought tears to Sophia’s eyes.

“But… Ethan… no… it won’t work, Jasper. It had to be for longer. It couldn’t be just a few days. Ethan told me himself. You’ve seen what he’s like. He’ll force me to marry Henry, and then what will I do?” Sophia exclaimed, filled with dread at the awful prospect of marrying Henry and living a life of misery at his hands.

She had thought she had escaped. She had thought she had found the man with whom to make her escape…

“It won’t come to that, I’m sure. Your cousin won’t force the match. He’s still relying on a business deal between the three of us – myself, him, and Peter,” Jasper said, still speaking in a businesslike tone, with no regard, it seemed, for Sophia’s feelings.

She did not understand, but she knew there was no point in arguing. He would only repeat his words. His mind was made up, and Sophia could only feel foolish for having been blinded by the possibility of romance – a romance she had conjured up for herself…

“Then I’ll leave you,” she replied, and he nodded.

“Goodnight,” he said, retreating to the far side of his desk and sitting down to examine a pile of correspondence.

Sophia left the room, and as she closed the door behind her, tears rolled down her cheeks.

As the door closed, Jasper swore under his breath. He hated himself for what he had just done, but he had done it for Sophia’s sake, and not his own. Henry’s threats were ringing in his ears, and all through dinner, he had felt his cousin watching him – daring him, it seemed – to pursue a match with Sophia. He had not expected his feelings for her to grow so strong in such a short time, the intensity of his desire for her almost overwhelming.

But Henry had been right – there was surely more to it than met the eye, and whilst Jasper could not deny his feelings for Sophia, the thought of being played for a fool by Ethan angered him beyond words. If Henry had been played in just the same way, then Jasper was not about to make the same mistake.

And so I’ve thrown her into the lion’s den.

Jasper poured himself another glass of brandy and drank it in one gulp.

But he had worked too hard to regain what his father had so foolishly lost, and the thought of it being taken from him – stolen from him – was not something Jasper intended to entertain. He knew just what Ethan was like, and whilst he felt certain Sophia was his victim, too, he could not allow his own good fortune – and the fortunes of his sister and mother – to be destroyed.

The look on Sophia’s face had pained him terribly. She had been devastated, and Jasper could not help but wonder if her feelings for him were sincere, even if Henry was right about her motivations.

But that’s what was meant to happen. You were supposed to fall in love with her.

Jasper had fallen in love with Sophia, and there was every possibility she had fallen in love with him. But over them both stood the puppet master – Ethan. He was the one who had put Sophia up to this. He was the one who had seen the advantage in a match with a duke over a viscount. Jasper’s success in recovering his father’s lost fortune was well known, and Ethan was no doubt eager for the possibility of a share in it…

Well, it won’t happen.

Jasper pushed aside the pile of correspondence in front of him with a sigh.

For a while, he sat in his study, gazing into the dying embers of the fire, the candles waning in their sconces, his mind filled with thoughts of Sophia. She had seemed so genuine, he had fallen in love with her, and yet now…

I’ve been nothing but a fool. I know that now.

But such knowledge could not prevent those same feelings from remaining – feelings he knew could not so easily be forgotten.

“My Lady? Are you all right?” Spencer asked, and Sophia looked up, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She was stuffing dresses, petticoats, shawls – everything she had brought with her to Weston House – into a bag, determined to leave immediately.

“I’m leaving, Spencer. I’m going home, right now!” Sophia exclaimed as the maid hurried to her side.

“Now, My Lady? But it’s almost midnight. We’re leaving in the morning, aren’t we?” she replied, staring at Sophia in astonishment.

“I want to go now. Summon a carriage… I won’t stay here a moment longer!” Sophia exclaimed, sobbing as she collapsed on the bed.

Spencer kneeled at her side, taking her hand in hers. “Oh, My Lady. What’s happened? Why are you so upset?” she exclaimed as Sophia looked up at her through her tears.

“I… no… the Duke… I can’t…” she stammered, overwhelmed by the tragedy unfolding around her.

Jasper’s rejection was not only that of a spurned lover. In casting her aside, he had condemned her to a loveless match – to marrying Henry and living a life of misery. It was terrible – worse than terrible – and Sophia did not know how she could continue, knowing the future awaiting her.

“My Lady, please… you’ve got to calm down. Shall I fetch His Lordship?” Spencer asked, but Sophia shook her head.

The last person she wanted to see was Ethan. He had threatened her earlier, and now Sophia knew just what he would say when he discovered she had been cast aside. He would be angry with her – his own business prospects ruined – and in revenge, he would have no qualms about seeing her married to Henry.

“No, I want to leave – the two of us,” Sophia said, but she knew she was not making any sense.

She could not leave. There would be no carriage to take them – not at this time of night. Sophia was trapped, and she knew she would have no choice but to wait until the morning.

“Please, My Lady. Why don’t you try to sleep? I’ll wake you first thing in the morning. I’ll tell His Lordship you’re not feeling well and want to go home,” Spencer said, and Sophia nodded.

She was grateful to the maid for her comforting words, but they could not take away the pain she felt at the thought of what Jasper had done to her.

Sophia did not sleep that night, tossing and turning, her mind filled with thoughts of the future – a future now dashed to pieces at Jasper’s whim. But it was not only her fear of marrying Henry that kept her awake, but her sorrow at the loss of what she had believed to be the beginning of something more – a happiness, a growing affection, a love…

I do love him.

She pulled the blankets over her head as tears rolled down her cheeks, knowing it was a love now lost.