A Bright Particular Star (12 page)

“
Marrying one
’s
childhood friend is quite a different proposition to pulling h
er out of a scrape.
”

Sitting upright and very still, Sophie lifted her chin.
“
You don
’t
think he will wa
nt to marry me,
then?
”

Theo shifted in his chair.
“
I didn
’t
say that,
”
he demurred
gruffly.
“
Any man would be proud to marry you.
Just can
’t
see how things will work out as you hope when you
’
ve not seen Verney for
years.
People change and f
eelings
on either side may have altered
when you m
eet again.
Besides, you may—
”

“
Yes?
”
she prompted.

Theo tossed ba
ck the last of his
brandy.
Then, choos
ing his words carefully, he said
,
“
You may decide your future lies el
sewhere and not with Lord Verney.
”

“
I have considered that.
”

He paused in the
act of re-filling
his glass and looked up
.
“
You have?
”

Sophie nodded.
‘
S
hould the idea of marriage pr
ove a distasteful for me or
James, I
’
ve decided to employ a suitable companion and set up my own establishment.
Olivia can join me when she comes of age.
”

“
It won
’t
serve,
”
replied
Theo
, shaking his head
.
“
Unless your companion has exclusive entrée to the
ton
, you will
both
be forced to live on the fringes o
f society
—
deuced awkward
for two girls of good birth and background.
”

“
I don
’t
much care for society.
”

“
E
asy
to say when you
’
ve not experienced the difficulties of being
excluded from it,
”
he observed
.
“
I don
’t
care for the caprices of the
haut ton
either, but
it
’s
essential to be accepted if you want to mo
ve in the right circles.
I couldn
’t
bear to think of you l
iving among vulgar mushroom set.
They are not
the company I would consider proper for you and Miss Sloane.
I’m
sure my mother or sister would sponsor you, or my sis
ter-in-law, the Countess of Bram
well—
”

“
I could not i
mpose on your family
,
”
she
argued
.
“
Besides
, we are running on too fast
.
I have not seen James yet, let alone raised the subject of marriage.
All I ask from you is safe passage to London
.
A
n
y problems
arising
after that
will be my responsibility.
”

He gave an exasperated sigh.
“
You’re
a stubborn girl.
”

‘
S
tubborn
and
impulsive,
”
ackno
wledged Sophie, with a little smile
.
‘
T
raits not
likely to make me admired in London
society.
”

There was a queer hunger in his
voice
as he said,
“
You
’
ll be much admired, all right.
Be the toast of the
ton
in days
.
You’re
a deuce sight
more attractive than the colourless
debutantes of my acquaintance.
”

Her face glowed with pleasure.
‘
T
hat is the nic
est thing you
’
ve yet said to me
!
”

****

A
s his dark gaze held hers
, Sophie could not look away
.
His
compliment held
more meani
ng than
flowery, eloquent praise
would have done
.
He h
ad not eulogised over her
figure or
,
as one
gentleman
in Bath had
once
done
,
written an ode to her
eyes, but his look and acc
ompanying words had set her
heart
pounding and sent the sweetest of sensations surging thr
ough her once more.
She chided
hers
elf
not refine too much on his words.
After all, he
was a man of the world and
no doubt
an accomplished flirt
.
Despite his praise
, he
was most likely
wishing he was
with his fr
iends rather than chaperoning a
country miss to dinne
r
.

“
If your inheritance is substantial
, you
’
ll find your
self pursued by fortune
hunters,
”
said
Theo, taking another sip of brandy.

“
I doubt my fortune is large by London standards,
”
replied
Sophie.
“
Of course, Perry and Aunt Eudora covet the
…
my inheritance, but they are odiously avari
cious
anyway.
”

“
In my experience, many people are,
”
observed Theo
.
“
May I ask if you will gain
access to your inheritance on your birthday?
”
His expression changed as he r
ealis
ed
how his words migh
t be construed
and
he hastened to add
,
“
d
on
’t
think
I
am int
erested in your money.
Dash it all
, no!
I was merely going to point out that if you don
’t
become engaged to Lord Verney soon, the fortune hunters will fl
ock to your side when they discover
you are wealthy.
Depend upon it
, the
Verney
’s
butler will have to fight them off with a broom!
”

“
T
hat sounds uncomfortable,
”
said Sophie, giggling at the image this conjured up.
“
T
o answer your question,
yes,
I gain
my inheritance on my birthday
.
”

“
T
hen for pity
’s
sake do not publicise
the
fact when you reach Town
,
”
he urged.
“
Rum characters are always on the
lookout
for heiresses to become leg shackled to, by fair means or foul.
Verney and his mother will need to protect you
!
”

“
I’m
sure they will.
”
She wondered if this was the right moment to explain
about the peculiar form
her i
nheritance took and decided
it
was not
. I
t would embroil him further and that would be unfair.
He wanted
to be
rid of her, not
feel an even greater sense of obligation.
The
Devereux
Star was well
hidden and unless the necessity a
rose she would not reveal
its existence, or whereabouts.
She
change
d
the subject to the on
e that had been bothering
her all afternoon.

“
D
o you think we might have been mistaken about someone following us?
Perhaps the
person was simply
enjoying a lark
.
”

He shook his head, frowning.
“
We were being followed, although by whom and for what reason remain a mystery at present.
If it was your cousin, I would have expected him to have des
cended upon us
by now.
The whole thing is decidedly odd.
”

There was a knock at t
he door.
The landlord entered, saying
a gentleman craved th
eir indulgence in sharing their
parlour for an hour.
T
he visitor had
, it seemed,
professed to know Miss
Devereux
when he had ov
erhea
r
d one of the maids speak
of taking a hot brick up to air her bed, and was desirous of meeting her.

Sophie
’s
heart
began to
race, but she saw only a
flash
of anticipation in Theo
’s
eyes.

“
You
’d
better show him in,
”
he said
smoothly
.

She jumped to her feet as the landlord went out.
“
Is it
Perry
, do you think
?
”
she whispered in an urgent voice.

Theo, who had
positioned
himself between Sophie and the door, made no r
eply.
She watched
him reach
down
inside
his r
ight boot and
,
w
hen he withdrew a
small
but eminently serv
iceable pistol,
she let ou
t a
squeak of surprise
.

“
Just
a p
recaution
,
”
he murmured
,
shield
ing
her body with his
.
“
I believe we are about to discover the identity of our pursuer.
If it is your cousin and he turns ugly, he
’
ll feel nothing more than
the
weight of my fist, but I
’d
rather be prepared for the unexpected.
”