Regency Affairs Part 2: Books 7-12 Of 12. Ann Lethbridge

The man who promised passion, but never mentioned his finer feelings?

      Marry in haste, repent at leisure.

      She had certainly married in haste. She hadn’t even given herself time to think. And Richard had never claimed anything more than desiring her. Was desire enough to build a marriage?

      And she was stuck here until Richard returned, unable to dress herself without assistance. Silently she cursed the twenty-four hooks of her corset and the fifteen back buttons of her going-away dress. The other dresses she’d packed were just as bad. Without assistance, she was as helpless as a babe in arms.

      Sophie swung her feet on the floor. ‘Hello? Is anyone there? Richard! I’m awake.’

      Jane hurried in. ‘Oh, I hope I didn’t wake your ladyship with my tidying earlier.’

      Sophie’s throat closed. Jane, not Richard, had tidied the room. ‘You are back.’

      ‘Mr Myers and I arrived back from the hotel early this morning. I could hardly allow my lady to be on her own on the morning after the wedding.’ Jane’s plain face broke in a wreath of smiles. ‘I need to have my lady looking her best for her new husband.’

      ‘You tidied everything up?’ Sophie’s face flamed.

      ‘There wasn’t much. Your clothes hadn’t been properly hung and the fire needed cleaning and restarting. The master said that I wasn’t to disturb you, that you needed your sleep.’ Jane bit her lip. ‘I dropped the shovel as I went out, but you slept for another hour.’

      ‘You have done nothing wrong,’ Sophie assured her, trying to peer around Jane, hoping to see if Richard would suddenly appear, having heard the murmur of voices.

      Her maid’s shoulders sagged. ‘I am so glad. I want to be a good maid, your ladyship. I want to serve you well, particularly now you are a viscountess and will some day be a marchioness. I never thought I’d be a maid to such quality when I first entered service.’

      ‘Is his lordship here?’

      Jane shook her head quickly. ‘His lordship went out over an hour ago. He didn’t tell me or Mr Myers where he’d be going.’

      ‘Did he say when he’d return?’

      ‘I doubt he will be long. He thought you’d sleep as you had such a big day yesterday with the wedding and all the preparations. You were such a picture, my lady. A fairy princess bride could not have looked finer.’

      Sophie silently blessed Jane for not remarking how odd it was that a man should leave his bride on the morning after their wedding night.

      ‘I suspect he has gone to see his father.’

      ‘I shouldn’t like to speculate.’

      ‘We are not going on our wedding trip until his father departs from Newcastle.’

      ‘Do you know where you are going?’

      ‘The Alps, I believe.’

      ‘Mr Myers and I are to go on the trip.’ Jane clapped her hands. ‘I have always wanted to go abroad. The delay will give us time to get you a proper wardrobe. One fit for a peeress!’

      Even her maid didn’t consider her a fit person to be Richard’s wife.

      Jane began detailing the sort of costumes Sophie needed, from walking dresses to ball gowns and parasols for keeping the sun off. Sophie listened with half an ear and tried to ignore the tiny hard knot in her stomach.

      If Richard had not returned by the time she finished breakfast, she would go to her stepmother’s rather than sitting around here, waiting. She’d use the pretext of sorting through the wardrobe she’d left and seeing if any of it was suitable. She wouldn’t go and see Lord Hallington until Richard was with her—that would be prying. She didn’t want Richard to think she was checking up on him or becoming a shrewish wife, but if she remained here, waiting, she’d go mad.

      ‘There you are, my dear,’ her stepmother called out from the sitting room.

      ‘I … I came back for some of my things,’ Sophie called back.

      ‘Is dear Richard with you?’

      ‘No, I believe he went to see his father.’

      ‘His father is here, dear, taking tea with me in the small sitting room. Neither of us expected to see you today. But I am ever so pleased you called. We have something to ask you. Can you spare a moment?’

      Sophie’s stomach knotted. Richard wasn’t with his father. He had gone somewhere else. The knowledge thrummed her. ‘I … I …’

      ‘No doubt Richard will be along as soon as he discovers where his father is. You will have time for a cup of tea.’

      Sophie breathed more easily. Her stepmother thought that they had just parted. The last thing she wanted to explain was how she’d woken up alone, without even a note. And Richard was sure to come here once he had finished whatever he was doing. Staying in those empty rooms would have given her time to panic. This way she could begin her acquaintance with her father-in-law properly.

      ‘I am sure he will be,’ Sophie said, going into the small sitting room.

      Her stepmother and father-in-law were sitting in front of a fire. A variety of china pigs were placed in front of her father-in-law and it was obvious they had been discussing their respective collections. Her stepmother probably wanted to know where one of the china pigs was. Sophie attempted to remember if any had broken lately.

      ‘What is it that you wanted to ask me?’ Sophie asked, opting for a bright voice as her stepmother passed her a cup of tea.

      ‘Where did you say you and dear Richard met?’

      The back of Sophie’s neck prickled. The story was foolproof, but somehow it didn’t seem right to lie any more to her stepmother or her father-in-law. They deserved the truth, but Richard might want to be there when she explained fully.

      Sophie mentally sighed. She had to play for time. She placed the cup down with a clank. ‘We met in Liverpool last spring. I was there for the ship launch. You remember, Stepmother, the ship launch. It was such a big occasion.’

      ‘That’s what I thought. We were there on the nineteenth of March.’ Her stepmother gave a smug smile. ‘I consulted my diary. You enjoyed the play very much.’

      ‘Yes, it was … it was that evening when we went to the theatre that I first encountered Richard.’

      ‘Impossible!’ Lord Hallington thundered, banging his fist down.

      ‘Impossible?’ Sophie clasped her hands together and looked to the door, hoping Richard would appear. ‘No, no, I assure you it was then. Richard could not get me out of his mind. It was why he journeyed up to Newcastle and we became engaged. Things progressed more quickly than either of us imagined, but why wait?’

      Sophie included her father-in-law in her smile. She was proud of her explanation.

      ‘The nineteenth of March is my birthday, my dear. Richard was at Hallington for the entire week. In fact, he stayed ten days,’ her father-in-law said in a firm voice. ‘Perhaps you are remembering the date incorrectly.’

      ‘Hornswoggle! The nineteenth was when we were in Liverpool,’ her stepmother declared stoutly. ‘It was the only time we were away from Newcastle, except to go to Corbridge for Christmas and the New Year. And the one short excursion to Carlisle Sophie made when I had a cold. I have shown you the diary.’

      ‘Do you have an explanation, Sophie?’ Lord Hallington asked. His brows lowered. ‘How could my son be in two places at once?’

      ‘Yes, I want to hear it.’ Her stepmother pinned her with her gaze. ‘We have been arguing over this for more than an hour.’

      Sophie sank back against the sofa, suddenly sick. She had to tell the truth without Richard being