She had no future with Jack, though, Sophie tried to tell herself, remembering what she’d learned about his dark past and the emotional fetters left over from his childhood. The barriers he’d erected would prevent him from giving her his heart.
And it was best to cut all ties with him cleanly, before she fell in love with him, even if it hurt like the very devil. For the pain would be much, much greater if she wound up suffering an unrequited love for Jack when she was irrevocably wed to another man.
She had no choice, Sophie thought with heart-wrenching regret. Tonight when he came to her room, she would end their illicit romance once and for all.
Even so, knowing that she would never again be with Jack after tonight, never share repartee or laughter or passion with him again, left her shaken.
Sophie’s betrothal to the Duke of Dunmore was formally announced before the evening drew to a close. Her parents were clearly elated, but for Jack, the public declaration struck another blow to his chest.
Sophie’s own expression was stoic, except for the brief moment when he caught her gaze. Her eyes held sorrow and profound regret before she purposefully glanced away.
Skye, on the other hand, looked troubled, while Mrs. Pennant seemed jointly vexed and distressed. As the assembly was disbanding, the elderly lady approached Jack in order to chide him for his failure.
“You promised to prevent my grand-niece’s misguided engagement,” she accused.
“My efforts are not over,” Jack vowed grimly.
“Oh, no?” the elderly lady replied in a scathing voice. “What can you possibly do at this late date?”
“I still mean to persuade her to change her mind.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “Sophie will never renege now that she has given her word, nor will her father. And surely you have not forgotten that Oliver wants a duke for his daughter.”
“No, I haven’t forgotten. But I am not giving up.”
Evidently Mrs. Pennant put no stock in his pledge, for distress overwhelmed vexation in her expression. “Sophie is so full of sweetness and life, I fear wedding Dunmore will drain the spirit out of her. I prayed it would not come to this, but there is no hope.”
Choking back tears, she moved away then, leaving Jack to silently repeat his promise about not giving up.
He’d vowed he would never be helpless again, and he didn’t intend to stand impotently by while Sophie wed Dunmore or any other man.
When Jack climbed the trellis to Sophie’s room late that evening, he found the window open and slipped inside, determined to make her change her mind about her betrothal. As last night, she was sitting at her dressing table, garbed in her nightclothes, her rich dark hair curling down her back.
For a moment she didn’t acknowledge his presence at all. Then slowly Sophie glanced over her shoulder and rose to her feet.
He considered it a favorable sign that she moved across the room, straight into his arms, and buried her face in his chest.
“I should not have invited you here to my bedchamber.” Her lament was muffled while guilt edged her tone. “We should not be alone together now that I’m betrothed. This must be the last time, Jack.”
“No, it mustn’t. You can still reject Dunmore’s proposal.”
She shook her head sadly. “We always knew this time would come.”
“I didn’t know it,” Jack insisted. “I’m not willing to accept your marriage to him.”
She sighed and rubbed her cheek against the fabric of his shirt. “I wish it could have been you instead. I would far rather wed you than the duke. But you are only acting out of a desire to protect me.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Isn’t it? Your affections aren’t engaged.” She drew her head back to look up at him. “If I believed we could have a love match …” She left the thought unfinished as she reached up to take his face in her hands. “You don’t love me, Jack, and I doubt you ever could.”
Her assertion struck him with unexpected force. While Sophie waited expectantly, her violet eyes searching his face, Jack opened his mouth to reply but then quickly shut it again.
He was in much deeper with her than he’d realized. In truth, he was a little stunned by the strength of his feelings for Sophie.
But the question was, could he give her the love she longed for? Irrefutably, he cared for her a great deal. Why else would he feel so desperate at the thought of her wedding Dunmore?
But love?