The Temporary Betrothal. Lily George

It was a bit of an adventure, actually.” Sophie gladly accepted a steaming cup of tea from Mrs. Wiggs, and spooned sugar in it while she waited for the brew to cool down a bit.

      “Girls? Where are you?” Lucy Williams, governess to the Bradbury family, called from down the hall.

      “In here!” the two imps chorused, and Sophie couldn’t stifle a smile as she stirred her tea. The girls delighted in provoking dear Lucy, who proved to be quite a good sport about it all. Lucy strode through the kitchen door, planting her fists on both hips.

      “Really, I turn my back for one moment and find you in the kitchen,” she scolded. “Is that proper behavior for two young ladies?”

      “I don’t know if it’s proper or not, but the kitchen is the most interesting room in the house,” Amelia replied smartly. “Aside from your rooms, and Sophie’s, of course.”

      “I agree,” Louisa chirped, flipping a long brown curl over one shoulder. “Here, we can steal biscuits and tea. In your rooms, we can loll around on the beds and talk nonsense.”

      “Well, be that as it may, you two must fall into line. Your father returns later this week, and I must have at least a semblance of order and discipline. For his sake, if for no other reason.”

      Sophie choked, the hot tea burning a path down her throat. Lord Bradbury planned to come home from London this week? She’d had no idea it would be so soon. For the two weeks she had been in Bath, no one had given any indication that his lordship would be in residence at all.

      “Are you all right?” Amelia patted her back with a few solid whacks.

      “Y-yes,” Sophie spluttered, trying to take a deep breath. “I—was surprised—that’s all.”

      “Surprised about Papa? Don’t be, Sophie. He’s such a dear. You’ll love him,” Louisa assured her as she took the biscuit tin down from the larder.

      “Yes, he is,” Amelia added, helping herself to a few biscuits. “He’s been so good to us all. We quite adore him. No need to be alarmed, Sophie. He’ll take one look at you and be satisfied.”

      “I don’t want him to be satisfied with me—I want him to be satisfied with my work. It’s a very different thing,” Sophie admonished, draining the last sugary drops from her teacup. Thus fortified, she turned to Lucy. “I haven’t had very much time to begin my work. I’ve only just cut the pieces for Amelia’s riding habit.”

      “I would not worry,” Lucy assured her, an encouraging smile lighting her brown eyes. “His lordship is very just and fair, and he knows you’ve only been in residence for a fortnight. I am certain all will be well.”

      “Even so.” Sophie rose, shaking out her still-damp skirts. “I would feel better if I accomplished a bit more before his lordship returns. Come, Amelia, let us retire to the sewing room. I need to see if these buttons meet with your approval. They were hard-won notions, after all I’ve been through today.” And though they were hard won, they were well worth the effort. Lieutenant Cantrill, with his lean angular face and velvety eyes, drifted across her mind. ’Twould be difficult indeed to keep her mind on her sewing today. But if she wanted to impress his lordship, and keep her position as a seamstress, she had better try to banish the lieutenant from her thoughts—at least until after supper, when she could turn her mind toward his most fascinating problems, and how she might be able to solve them.

      Chapter Three

      A knock sounded on the sewing-room door. “Enter,” Sophie called. Perhaps it was one of the servants to bring her breakfast on a tray.

      Instead, her dear friend Lucy poked her head around the doorjamb. “Oh, good. You’re alone. I thought perhaps the girls would be with you.”

      “No, I think they are still having their breakfasts. Why do you ask?” Sophie tossed aside Amelia’s riding jacket and rubbed her hands together. Working the buttonholes in that stiff wool played havoc with her manicure. Besides, a good gossip with Lucy always broke up the monotony of the day.

      “Something’s happened. You’ve been distracted and vague since you returned from shopping yesterday. And you barely said two words throughout supper last night. What is the matter?” Lucy sank down on the settee beside her, a grin crooking one corner of her mouth.

      “I met someone.” Had she really seemed distracted? To the point that her absentmindedness was obvious to others? Well, she had been thinking about the lieutenant, after all.

      “Really?” A broad smile crept across Lucy’s face. “Is it someone I know? You must tell me everything.”

      “No. His name is Lieutenant Charlie Cantrill.” Saying his name aloud was difficult. It sounded so dignified and so...real, when spoken aloud. “He is a good friend of my family’s, and he rescued me when I got lost on the way to Guildhall Market. I literally bumped into him as I was trying to find my way.”

      “Lieutenant Cantrill?” The governess’s brows drew together, and she looked off into space. “Why is his name so familiar to me? For I don’t know him, but I have heard of him.”

      “He does a lot of work with the veterans of Waterloo,” Sophie added. “I am to help him work with the widows of some of the men who fell during the battle.”

      “No, that’s not it. There was some scandal when he returned from the war—”

      “Scandal?” Sophie’s heart leaped in her breast, and she leaned forward, grasping Lucy’s hands. “Do tell!”

      “I’m trying to remember. Something happened. I think he was engaged to one girl and then the engagement was broken when he returned. As I recall, she was rather well-placed in Society, so it was a bit of a to-do.” Lucy smiled ruefully. “But since I don’t frequent those social circles, I cannot recall much more than that.”

      Sophie sat back. Well, this was interesting. Perhaps Cantrill was a bit of a black sheep. That made him infinitely more intriguing. “Did he cry off? Or did the lady?”

      Lucinda shrugged her shoulders. “I cannot recall.”

      Why, this added an entirely new dimension to his character. Perhaps his moodiness and serious disposition was a mask for his true character. Maybe he was even a bit of a rake, despite his charitable work. Sophie stifled a laugh at the thought.

      “I would watch myself around him, you know,” the governess admonished. “Until we know the truth of what happened, you should be on your guard.”

      “I am to meet with him tomorrow,” Sophie replied, her eyes widening at the thought. “I can’t miss it. I promised my sister I would help with his work with the widows. The lieutenant is my brother-in-law’s closest friend.”

      Lucinda nodded. “If he is a friend of your family, then perhaps there is no need for caution.”

      Sophie nodded. “Do you know, I promised the lieutenant I would come up with a solution to a problem he has, since he was so kind as to rescue me yesterday. But I must confess that, even though I have been pondering it, I have no idea what to do to help.”

      Lucy shrugged. “Tell me. Perhaps we can come up with a plan together.”

      “Well, his family is very concerned with status and his place in Society. His mother wrote that he must give up his work with the veterans and look for a wife. His brother has ordered him to return to Brightgate and assume some of the responsibilities of the family estate.” She sighed. “I understand how the lieutenant must feel. I struck out on my own, and though Harriet supported me, she was reluctant to let me come to Bath at first.”

      Lucy traced a pattern on the rug with the toe of her slippered foot. “Well, perhaps he could give the semblance of returning to Society and status while still remaining devoted to his cause,” she replied, a thoughtful crease marking her straight, fine brows. “After all, as long as he just gives the appearance of being a part of Society—that