On the day before Nicholas’s return to Cornwall, he and Sophie spent a chilly afternoon at the zoo and were pleased to be back in the warmth of the parlour; Sophie, seated in an armchair at the fireside, Nicholas standing with his back to the fire. Silence surrounded them and then Nicholas stepped forward and reaching down, took Sophie’s hands in his.
‘Sophie, look at me.’
Sophie looked up into his face and her heart missed a beat. He was looking at her with such intensity that she felt almost afraid. She could feel the colour rushing to her face and knew that the moment had come.
‘Sophie, my dearest Sophie, you know how I feel about you, don’t you?’ When she didn’t reply he went on, ‘How I’ve felt about you ever since the first day I saw you?’
Sophie found she couldn’t speak, but she nodded.
‘I haven’t much to offer you,’ Nicholas said, ‘but I love you more than anything in the world. Will you marry me, my dearest girl? Marry me and be my wife?’
She looked away, hesitating. Gently pulling her to her feet, Nicholas slipped his arms round her, and held her close against him. He could feel her heart thumping against his chest, the pliant warmth of her body against his, and he was seized with a desire to possess her so strong that, for a second or two, he had difficulty restraining himself and thus undoing all his careful, gentle wooing. After a moment he relaxed a little and cupping the back of her head he tilted her face to his and simply murmuring the word ‘Sophie’, kissed her on the lips.
For a second she froze, but as his kiss was simply the gentle brushing of lips, she relaxed against him. She felt the strength of his arms about her, warm and protective.
This is how it must be, she thought as he held her close and she slipped her arms round him, feeling his breath on her neck. This is what it means to love and be loved. She had never received a kiss from anyone who was not a relative before; the only man had been her father, who would kiss the top of her head as he wished her goodnight. She had no brothers, no cousins, and until she’d met Nicholas, so tall and handsome, no man had paid her any attention at all. Now here she was, folded into his embrace, her whole being bursting with happiness, and she raised her face to him again, her eyes brilliant with tears of joy.
Nicholas looked down at her. ‘Is that yes, my darling girl?’ he whispered.
‘Oh yes, Nicholas. Oh yes.’ And his second kiss was as gentle as the first.
‘Let’s get married soon,’ he said as he led her to the sofa and sat down at her side, her hand still grasped in his. ‘There’s no reason to wait, darling girl, is there?’
‘No, Nicholas. I long to be your wife,’ Sophie said. ‘But I shall have to tell my grandfather. I believe he is my guardian and will have to give his permission for my marriage while I am still under age.’ She smiled shyly up at Nicholas. ‘I’m sure he won’t refuse it, but if by any chance he should, well, we shall only have to wait until the end of March. I’ll be twenty-one on the twenty-fifth.’
‘I am a professional man; surely he can have no objection,’ said Nicholas.
‘I don’t know,’ Sophie replied. She hesitated, wondering if she should tell him her grandfather had made him her heir, but bit back the words. Hannah had suggested he might be after her fortune and if she didn’t tell him, no one could accuse him of being a fortune-hunter. ‘You know how difficult he can be!’
Nicholas forced a smile. ‘Yes, your aunts have been in despair.’
‘I think...’ Sophie said carefully as she sorted her thought in her mind, ‘I think it would be best if I tell him. I said I might go back and spend Christmas with them at Trescadinnick. If I do that it would be the perfect opportunity to tell him, to tell them all.’ And Charles will know once and for all that there is no question of my marrying him, she thought with quiet satisfaction; but she didn’t say that either. No need to spoil the perfect evening.
Later, having kissed gently her once more, Nicholas took his leave. ‘I’ll come round in the morning to say goodbye,’ he promised.
Returning to the house in Clayton Street, he spent one last enjoyable night of energetic sex with Dolly, and when he got up in the morning he knew a moment of regret that this would probably be for the last time. He certainly wanted no further connection with her, but there was no doubt that she knew how to please a man in bed.
As he crossed the town for his final visit to Hammersmith, he was entirely unaware of the figure still sloping along behind him. Luke had followed him each day and had watched Nicholas squiring Sophie about the town. He knew what she looked like and where she lived. It didn’t look like a rich woman’s house, and she didn’t look like a rich woman, but if Nicholas Bryan was investing so much time and money in her, Luke thought, surely there must be something in it for Dolly and him, and once again he settled down to keep watch.