She felt the same ache he did, Jack knew. This was the kind of pain he’d wanted to avoid at all costs. Why he had never wanted to pursue Sophie in the first place.

He could see dismay, even anguish, in her lovely eyes. But then she swallowed hard and forced a smile, as if acknowledging there was no resolution to their dilemma.

“You need to go home, Sophie,” he urged more gently. When she stood there, not moving, he added for good measure, “Don’t make me carry you.”

His threat had the desired effect, for she gave him a caustic look, then turned on her heel and left the room, head held high. Following, Jack fell into step with Sophie as she entered the front hall.

She let him escort her out to her carriage and open the door for her, but paused before getting inside. “I refuse to admit defeat,” she muttered in a fierce undertone. “I won’t accept that this is over. And I am not returning home!”

With that defiant declaration, she called out to her coachman to change her direction. “Take me to Lord Traherne’s residence in Berkeley Square.”

Jack felt his brow crease in a scowl. “Why there?”

“I mean to stay with Skye until I can make you see reason—until my parents see reason as well. I know she will understand and support me.”

Sophie climbed inside, but before the door was shut, she had the last word.

“There must be a way we can be together, Jack, but I can see it is up to me to find it.”

And with that final pronouncement, she gave her coachman the office to start and left Jack standing there in the misty night, staring after her as her carriage disappeared.

Three mornings later, Jack was leaving his house for an urgent meeting with the Lord Chancellor when Skye appeared on his doorstep again, clearly prepared to take him to task.

“I am supremely vexed with you, dear cousin,” she announced without even a civil greeting. “Sophie is miserable, and it is entirely your fault.”

Jack not only readily accepted blame, he could have admitted that he was miserable himself. Instead, he invited his cousin inside, resigned to having it out with her.

“You know that Sophie is staying with me after she refused to return home to Mrs. Pennant’s house?” Skye asked as soon as he had shut the front door and dismissed his footman from the hall.

“Yes, I know.”

“Well, what you may not realize is that she is waging a valiant war against her parents. I thought you might like a report on her progress.”

Jack’s gaze sharpened. “I would indeed. What has she done?”

“First, I want to know what malady has addled your brain. Sophie thinks you have abandoned the fight because you don’t love her enough—if at all.”

Jack held back a scoffing sound. “If I didn’t love her, I would not be putting her welfare above my own wishes.”

Skye wasn’t satisfied. “Then what the devil are you about? If you are trying to spare her a scandal, this is not the time to develop an outsized sense of honor.”

“This is not about scandal or honor. I won’t make her choose between me and her parents. I want her happiness above all else.”

“I’ll wager Sophie would say you are her happiness,” Skye insisted. “She loves you, Jack.”

His heart battling a surge of emotion, Jack ran a hand roughly through his hair. “Tell me what is happening with her parents.”

Skye set aside her vexation long enough to give him a recount. “At first they were distressed when she broke off her engagement to Dunmore, but Sophie thinks her strategy in residing with me is beginning to work in her favor. When her father came to visit her yesterday, he seemed anxious to get her back, perhaps even a bit frantic. He pointed to her mother’s ill health and tried blackmailing her, claiming that Mrs. Fortin couldn’t bear to lose their only remaining child, but Sophie said they wouldn’t lose her if they would accept you as her husband.”

“It surprises me that she stated her position so baldly.”

“It does not surprise me. She believes her mother is stronger now than anytime since her brother’s death all those years ago. Mrs. Fortin has been recovering her spirits all summer long and is more capable of facing disappointments. You should have heard Sophie’s retort to her father, Jack. ‘You are welcome to disown me, Papa. I might become estranged from you and Mama, but I will gain a wonderful family in Lord Jack and his cousins.’ ”

Skye sent him a penetrating look. “She thinks you need her more than her parents do.”

No doubt that was true, Jack reflected. “How did Fortin react to her declaration?”

“Oh, he sputtered and blustered for a time. Sophie calmly replied that she wanted to speak to her mother directly before she would agree to return home.”

Tags: Nicole Jordan Legendary Lovers Historical
Source: readsnovelonline.net