Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

“Irarely go to Loweshire now. The estate holds no interest to me – it’s all going to ruin… though that’s not to say I am, of course,” Henry said, laughing at his own joke as he leaned in a little too close for Sophia’s liking.

She was trapped with him – and her cousin – the three of them standing by the window in the morning room. Sophia felt angry at the way Jasper had played a game with her – or so she believed. He had surely known that she and Henry had a history and that this encounter would serve only to raise the question of their marriage again. It was a question Henry had asked almost a year ago, and one Sophia was yet to give an answer to. Ethan had pressured her to say yes, but Sophia had refused. Henry was like so many other men. There was nothing intrinsically wrong with him, but there was no spark between them either, and the thought of marrying him had been far from appealing.

“You’re far better off in London,” Ethan said, and Henry nodded.

“Absolutely, especially given the company. I’m so pleased with this… happy coincidence,” he said.

Sophia grimaced. There was nothing happy nor coincidental about their meeting, and glancing across the room towards Jasper, Sophia knew it was he who had been playing games with her. He had surely known of his cousin’s attempts at courtship – and their failure – and she could only imagine the delight the Duke had taken at the thought of bringing them together and watching the results.

She did not know why he had done it, but now she feared her cousin would only use this “chance” encounter to press the possibility of marriage further. Her mother, too, had been keen for her to make a match and had been disappointed at Sophia’s resistance. But there was no question of her marrying Henry, and the thought of it only made her shudder.

“Yes, a coincidence,” Sophia replied, glancing again towards Jasper, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable.

She wondered if perhaps he had had a change of heart. Did he feel guilty, perhaps?

“But a happy one,” Henry replied.

Sophia nodded. There was nothing else she could do, and now she was resigned to Henry’s company – and the persistence of his request – for the remainder of the house party. He now went off to speak to his aunt, leaving Sophia and Ethan alone, but promising her a walk in the garden later on, or his company in a more… private place.

“Well, Sophia, you’re spoiled for choice now,” Ethan said, as soon as Henry was out of earshot.

Sophia glared at her cousin. “And am I supposed to be happy about that?” she asked.

Ethan sighed. “Oh, Sophia. Why can’t you just make a match? All those eligible bachelors you’ve turned down. Isn’t there a man in London who matches your standards?” he exclaimed.

“Not one of your choice, no. This is all a game on the part of the Duke. He knew very well there was the question of mine and Henry’s engagement. He wanted to see the reaction,” she said, glancing again at Jasper, who was now deep in conversation with Peter.

“And would it be such a bad thing? A match, I mean? Why can’t you settle down, Sophia? You can’t live on my charity forever,” her cousin said.

Sophia’s anger flared. She raised her finger to Ethan, pointing at him as she spoke. “It’s not your charity, Ethan. It’s my father’s inheritance. If I’d been born a boy, you’d be a solicitor, or you’d have had some other middle-class profession, your face pressed to the window of what might have been yours. But circumstances dictated things to be different, and here we are. But don’t you dare suggest I live on your charity. I don’t. And I won’t live waiting for a husband either – not of your choosing, or my mother’s,” Sophia exclaimed, and before her cousin could reply, she had stormed out of the room, letting out a deep sigh as she closed the door behind her.

Despite her words – and there was some satisfaction in putting her cousin in his place – Sophia knew her sentiment was an empty one. She could not resist marriage forever, and the arrival of the Viscount had once more raised the question of her accepting his proposal. Despite her father’s allowance, Sophia knew she could not live the rest of her life as a spinster – nor did she want to. But what Sophia wanted was choice, and she feared she was about to be forced into a marriage, not of her own choosing, but of Ethan and her mother’s choosing.

“But I can’t. I won’t,”she muttered to herself, hurrying off down the corridor, her mind filled with thoughts as to how to extract herself from the inevitable second proposal.

She could run away. The thought had occurred to her before, though it had been couched in romantic terms, rather than a necessity of flight. She had imagined sailing to some far-flung place, a stowaway on a ship, destined for exotic climes or fleeing across the Continent to Florence or Venice, and living out her life surrounded by the opulence of the baroque. But in truth, running away was not an option. An unaccompanied woman – even a determined one – did not simply run away. She had her allowance, but it would not be enough to live on as she was accustomed, and now, pausing outside a door marked “Library” on a brass plaque, Sophia sighed.

They’ll force me to marry him. I know they will. The only way to prevent it would be… to be betrothed to another.

Suddenly, another drastic thought occurred to her.

It was so remarkable as to be quite ludicrous, and for a moment, she dismissed it as an idle possibility. But the thought persisted, her heart skipping a beat as she considered the possibility of what she was contemplating.

Oh, but it’s nonsense. I can’t possibly…

But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a solution to her troubles.

The other guests were leaving the morning room now, and Sophia slipped into the library, hiding behind the door until they passed. There was talk of a walk in the park, but Sophia’s mind was now made up, and when the rest of the party had passed by, she slipped out onto the corridor, her heart beating fast.

She did not know what the reaction would be to her plan, and there was no one in whom she could confide about it, but now she made her way to Jasper’s study, hoping to find him alone. She knew she was proposing something astonishing, but the alternative was too much to bear, and if her plan bought her a little time – time to make a match for herself – it was worth the risk.

The door of the Duke’s study was slightly ajar, and Sophia could hear the scratching of a quill from inside. She did not know whether to knock or flee. Her heart was racing, and taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock.

“You can come in,” the Duke called.

Sophia was taken aback – she had not even knocked.

But pushing open the door, she found Jasper sitting behind a large desk covered in correspondence. He looked at her and smiled, beckoning her over.

“I… I’m not disturbing you, am I?” Sophia asked.

She did not want him to know how angry she had been with him before, but her anger remained, and had she not had a request of him, she might well have told him just what she had thought of his game.

“Not at all. You left the morning room rather hurriedly,” he said, and Sophia could detect a slight note of regret in his voice, as though he felt guilty about what he had done – and so he should.

“Yes, well, I was rather surprised at the arrival of Henry,” she said, and the Duke smiled.

“I thought you didn’t know one another,” he said, and Sophia glared at him.

“Yes… well, I wasn’t going to give you… it doesn’t matter now, though. I was surprised to see him, given… our history,” she said, closing the door behind her.

The Duke looked at her with a questioning look on his face – a curiosity as to why she had come.

“You were engaged to be married,” he said, and Sophia shook her head.

“No, he thought we were. But we were never engaged, no. The proposal was made, but I left it… hanging,” she replied.

Her heart was no longer beating fast. She was not afraid of the Duke, nor was she willing to allow herself to be intimidated by him. He had come across as detached and aloof, but the fact of his playing games with her suggested he was not so disinterested as might at first have been assumed.

“You don’t like him, then?” Jasper asked, and Sophia blushed.

It was not that she did not like the Viscount, but nor could she say she liked him either. He was a man with little about him – no interests, no passions, no flare. Sophia did not want to speak ill of him – Jasper was his cousin, after all. But neither would she lie, even as she had already done so at breakfast.

“I don’t like him enough to marry him,” she said, taking a more diplomatic approach.

The Duke laughed. “I wouldn’t want to marry him either,” he said.

It was the first time Sophia had seen Jasper laugh properly, and she smiled, not knowing quite what to say.

“Well… no, I suppose you wouldn’t,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I think he’s a frightful bore. He’s my cousin, of course – I love him dearly, but I wouldn’t inflict his company on any woman for the rest of her life. He doesn’t have a shred of business sense about him either. He’s worse than my father when it comes to money, and his estate… well, he’s let it go to ruin. He complains about his tenants, but it’s his fault they behave the way they do,” Jasper replied, shaking his head.

Sophia was relieved to hear the Duke speak about his cousin in such a way. It exonerated her own feelings towards him and made her realize she had not been wrong in forming her own opinion.

“Yes, well, I won’t be marrying him,” Sophia said, and the Duke smiled.

“No, but you will be if your cousin has anything to do with it,” he replied.

Sophia blushed, but she was determined to see her plan through, and now she took a deep breath, intent on asking the question she had wanted to know the answer to since breakfast.

“Why did you invite him when you knew we had a history together?” she asked.

Now, it was Jasper’s turn to look embarrassed.

“Well… I thought it would be… a game, that’s all,” he said.

“It wasn’t a very amusing game. And what’s more, you’ve made my cousin – another ridiculous man – think of the possibility of the two of us marrying. He’s insistent on my making a match. It’s unbearable,” Sophia said, and the Duke looked decidedly guilty.

“I’m sorry,” he said, but Sophia shook her head.

“Saying sorry won’t help me. I’m to be married to a man I can’t stand, and it’s all your fault for inviting us both to the same house party,” she said.

The look on his face – to her relief – was one of guilt, rather than anger. He did not make any attempt to defend himself or justify his actions. Instead, he held up his hands and admitted his foolishness.

“Yes, I’m sorry…” he said, and Sophia shook her head.

“There you go again. It won’t help. Ethan’s going to insist on my marrying Henry. There’s nothing I can do about it, except…” she said, and here she paused, knowing there could be no going back if she said what she was about to say.

But a smile spread across the Duke’s face, and he laughed.

“Oh, I see. You want me to propose to you,” he said, and Sophia’s eyes grew wide with astonishment.

She shook her head. That had not been what she intended to ask. It was an extraordinary suggestion, and she knew no one would ever believe it.

“No. That’s not what I want,” she said, and the Duke looked surprised.

It was as though he felt a sense of rejection at her refusal of his offer, even though what she intended to ask seemed remarkable enough to her.

“Then what?” he said.

“Well, seeing as it’s your fault that Henry and I were brought back together so unexpectedly, I thought you might help save me from the prospect of another proposal. If Henry can see I’m interested in someone else, and if that someone else appears interested in me, perhaps it’ll make him think differently as to the prospect of marriage,” Sophia said.

She knew it was a risk, and an extraordinary thing to do, but she wanted to ensure – beyond a doubt – that there could be no question or ambiguity as to her feelings. The Duke pondered her suggestion for a moment, his eyes narrowing. Sophia wondered what he thought – what he really thought. Was this all a game to him, or did he have a genuine sense of remorse at the thought of the trouble he had caused? Would he help her?

“What a remarkable suggestion,” he said, and to Sophia’s surprise, he rose to his feet, coming out from behind his desk with a smile on his face.

“Ethan won’t be interested in my marrying Henry if he thinks there’s the possibility of –” Sophia began, but Jasper interrupted her.

“Of your marrying further up the tree,” he said, and Sophia blushed.

“Well… yes, I suppose so. I know he’d be willing to allow me to… make my own decision,” she said.

Her heart was beating fast again, and now the Duke stepped forward, his eyes fixed on her, a smile playing on his face. This was surely another game to him, even as Sophia stood her ground, determined to get what she wanted in exchange for the enjoyment he had obviously derived from seeing her discomfort at Henry’s presence.

“And you’ve chosen me. How flattering,” he said.

“Will you help me or not?” she asked, and the Duke nodded.

“I think I will, yes. You want me to… give in to your flirtations?” he asked.

Sophia had not entirely decided what form the pretense would take. Her cousin would need to be convinced of the genuineness of what they were doing, and it would certainly require reciprocation on the part of the Duke.

“Only for the duration of the house party. It’s only for a few days – enough to convince him, and Henry, of my… desire for another,” Sophia replied.

Jasper smiled. “I’m sure we can make a pretense of it,” he said, and he stepped forward again, gazing down at her with a look she could not quite fathom…

“Well, that’s very kind of you,” she said, taking a step back, even as he put out his hand and placed it on her arm.

She inhaled sharply, not knowing what his intentions might be.

“In public, and in private, we should… make a show of it,” he said, and Sophia’s heart skipped a beat.

“Yes, in public… certainly,” she said, surprised at the shiver coursing through her at his touch.

She had come to his study with a simple request – albeit an extraordinary one – and yet in granting it, there seemed now to be a new intimacy existing between them, one Sophia had never dreamed of after their first encounter. Gone was his aloofness, replaced by an apparently genuine regret and intent to set things right.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable by inviting Henry to the house party. I suppose I just wanted to liven things up a little. Otherwise, we’d have spent the whole time listening to Aunt Helen and Aunt Nora telling us about our auras and energies,” Jasper said, and Sophia smiled.

“Yes, well… I’m sure you could’ve found a less divisive diversion,” she said, and he nodded.

“This one, I’m sure, is going to provide ample diversion. Do I wait for you to make the first move, or shall I rouse Henry’s jealousy for you?” he asked.

Sophia did not want to make the Viscount angry – nor even jealous. She merely wanted him – and Ethan, and her mother – to realize that she was capable of making her own decisions, and deciding for herself who she should marry.

“I… well, I suppose I should be the one… but you should reciprocate, of course. Don’t make it seem like I’m… seeking attention where it’s not wanted,” Sophia said.

The Duke smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can perform,” he said, withdrawing his hand from her arm.

Sophia was about to reply, but footsteps in the hallway brought her back to her senses, and a sudden knock at the door caused her to start. It opened – without invitation – revealing Peter and Penelope.

“Come on, Jasper, it’s…” Peter began, but the sight of Sophia caused him to pause, and he looked at the Duke with a quizzical expression.

Penelope, too, seemed surprised, but to his credit, Jasper now cleared his throat, adopting a business-like tone.

“Yes, well, I’ll see what I can do. If you want to invest your money in such a scheme, so be it. I’ve had dealings with these people. We can talk about it later,” he said, nodding to Sophia, his expression adopting that same aloofness as before.

Sophia nodded, grateful to him for playing her game, even as she felt certain he was still playing his own.

“Thank you,” she said, and with that, she left his study, still uncertain if she had done the right thing in making such a remarkable proposal.

Returning to her bedroom, she closed the door and sighed. Her life had just become far more complicated, and the thought of what was to come, as intriguing as it might seem, filled her with trepidation…

“But if it stops Henry from thinking himself certain of my hand,”she muttered to herself, even as she felt certain it would not be as simple as that.