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‘He will pay the money back…somehow.’ She ducked her head. ‘I suppose something else will have to be sold. I’d thought he’d learnt his lesson. And everything else will go on as it always has. Sophie will suffer no lasting stain.’
‘You’re wrong. They will marry. They will have to. No one forced her to get into that carriage, Henri. Both you and your aunt were agreed on that. Sophie went of her free will.’
‘Sophie is young. If she has thought better of marrying my cousin, then what? Will she be forced to marry a debtor? How far will you go to ensure your promise to a dead man? It is Sophie’s future we are speaking about.’
He threw his hat on to the seat and ran his hands through his hair. ‘I don’t know. I want to prevent the scandal from getting worse. Sophie needs to be protected. She is far too young to know her mind. Someone has to decide what is best for her future.’
She wrapped her cloak about her and moved closer to the window. ‘And you know best. Just as you knew best about the notes and who to blame.’
Robert’s breath caught. He had to take the risk and explain. ‘I was ten when my mother died and all the light went out in the world. My father brought me up to trust the rational rather than my emotions. Then he remarried—a bright young thing and he seemed to love her far more than me. He lavished all sorts of material advantage on her to keep her happy. She died giving birth to another man’s child and he killed himself rather than continue. I then fell in love with a woman who I thought would love me for ever, only to discover she was angling after a richer prize. I find it very hard to trust instinct, Henri.’ He reached over and touched her hand. ‘I made a mistake because I wanted to. Does that satisfy your pride?’
‘Pride has nothing to do with it. I know forced marriages don’t work and right now I’m praying we catch up with them before Sophie is irrevocably ruined.’
Robert felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. She hadn’t forgiven him. Henri should understand. Sophie was his responsibility. His head had been so certain that Henri had been in league with Cawburn even when his heart revolted. And he had long ago stopped trusting his heart. Only he wanted to trust it now and wasn’t sure if he could.
‘Ask yourself this one question, Henri—if you were faced with the same evidence, would you have acted differently? I gave a deathbed promise to her father. Long ago I learnt to distrust my feelings, but I did go to you and ask. I wanted you to be innocent. It’s why I went to you rather than going to Carlisle.’
Henri said nothing, just stared out the window at the darkening sky.
* * *
‘There is an inn ahead,’ the coachman called, waking Henri from a fitful sleep.
All of her muscles ached. In the enclosed space, her body was more aware of him than ever. Spending time with him in an enclosed carriage might not have been the best idea she had ever had, but she was stuck, and she wanted to prove him wrong. He of all people should have trusted her implicitly. Without trust, there wasn’t anything. And yet, a tiny voice nagged in the back of her mind, she knew all about responsibility. She wanted to forgive him, particularly after hearing about his childhood. She wanted to feel his arms around her and his lips against her hair. She’d fallen in love with Robert Montemorcy.
Love. It was not a pleasant feeling. Not like the gentle feeling of wanting to make the world a better place for someone else that she had with Edmund, but a wild untamed thing that howled in anguish because he doubted her. She’d get over it. Someday. She had to. She refused to let him use her weakness against her.
‘The horses need a rest,’ the coachman called down. ‘Good a place as any to change them.’
Henri peeked out through the window. A steady rain had begun to fall. A warm light shone through the darkness and an inn sign creaked in the wind.
‘We stop here for the night.’ Robert rapped on the top of the carriage, signalling to the coachman.
‘Are we in Jedburgh?’ Henri asked, stretching slightly. Jedburgh would be fine. They could start looking for Sophie. She wouldn’t have to think about the temptation of spending a night in an inn. ‘Your carriage is much swifter than my aunt’s, I will grant you that.’
‘No,’ Robert said, gathering his greatcoat around him. He seemed remoter than ever. ‘The horses are tired and there is little point in travelling further tonight. Grace has been complaining about feeling ill.’
‘I’m sorry, ma’am,’ the little maid said. ‘I’m not a good traveller. I only need a few moments of fresh air. After that…’
