Lover Be Mine (Legendary Lovers 2)
A faint smile wreathed Jack’s mouth as he pictured Sophie challenging her father. She had finally set free the rebel he knew was inside her. But confronting her mother would be much more difficult for her.
When he said as much to Skye, she shook her head. “Love has changed Sophie, Jack. She is willing to battle for you now, even if it means opposing her parents. And you should do the same for her.”
He started to reply, but Skye held up a hand. “I want Sophie for my new cousin, but more importantly, you need her for your wife. You can’t deny that she is your ideal match.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Then why in blazes are you giving up!”
“I am not giving up. I am pursuing another course of action.”
“What course?”
“I cannot tell you just yet.”
Skye nearly stamped her foot. “Sometimes you are so maddening, you make me want to scream.”
Jack sobered. “I regret being overly secretive, love. But I don’t want to give Sophie false hope, not until I am more confident my plan will work.”
“What plan?”
“Take yourself home, Skye. And tell Sophie that I love her.”
Skye gave him a darkling glance. “You should tell her yourself.”
That would be impossible, Jack thought. In the first place, he didn’t want to raise Sophie’s hopes only to crush them. And in the second, he couldn’t be close to her and not be able to touch her, to kiss her, to make love to her. It was better for them both if he stayed away until the odds were greater that he could convince her father to relent.
Not replying, Jack opened the door to his cousin.
“I sincerely hope you know what you are doing,” Skye muttered as he ushered her outside.
“So do I,” Jack said in a low voice. “Believe me, so do I.”
Jack received a second bit of surprising news later that day, this time from Quinn: Prince Raoul de Villars had arrived in London to consult with preeminent physician Otto Geary, whose care of wounded veterans was unorthodox yet highly successful.
When Jack called at his father’s hotel, he discovered the prince looking even more ill than when they’d parted in Navartania the previous week. The journey had evidently been hard on him, but he had still managed to leave his bed and dress in elegant attire.
“So you decided to put your faith in our British medics?” Jack asked after their initial exchange of greetings.
His father managed a pained smile. “Oui. Your cousin, Lord Traherne, is persuaded that I can be helped. The longer I delayed, the weaker I became. I decided that I would not be content to die just yet, now that I have found my son again.”
Jack quelled his instinctive emotional protest, merely saying congenially, “You should have alerted me of your arrival. I would have invited you to stay with me rather than at a hotel.”
“I feared I would be … how do you say it, pressing my luck? Also, Mr. Geary is to examine me on the morrow, and if I am to undergo surgery, I will likely reside at his hospital for a time.”
“You are welcome to recover from the surgery at my home, if you like.”
“Merci … I would be grateful, Jack. Your offer means more than I can say.”
Aware that he was no longer clinging to his enmity, Jack wanted to give credit where it was due. “You have Miss Fortin to thank for my change of heart. She is eager for us to put our differences in the past.”
“How is your courtship proceeding?”
He grimaced. “We are at a stalemate at the moment.” Jack quickly explained about her father’s continued opposition and his own determination not to divide Sophie from her parents. “My mother was alone without family when she died. I won’t have Miss Forti
n facing the world alone. Nor will I let her be shunned by her loved ones. At the moment she has left home in protest of her father’s stance and is living with my cousin, Lady Skye.”
Prince Raoul smiled. “Clara would have made such a protest.” The prince fell silent for a moment before repeating a previous contention. “Jack … I meant what I said. I loved your mother deeply, but I was weak and craven. I should have fought for the right to wed her.”