AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was nothing the man could do but take his leave. Sophie ran to hug her father. ‘Oh, Papa, thank you. But how did you know about that wager? Mama said...’
‘I know she did, but she didn’t know that Mark and Adam had already told me about it. You did a very foolish thing, you know, going into the city alone and trying to sell your necklace. It is extremely valuable and it is no wonder Rundell wondered if you had stolen it.’ He smiled. ‘Now, we will have no more tears. You are home again and it is all forgotten.’
‘But, Papa, Viscount Kimberley paid Teddy’s debts and now I will not be able to repay him.’
‘But why should you? You are not responsible for your brother’s profligacy. I offered to pay him and so did Mark, but he would not hear of it. He begged us not to mention it again. He said the pleasure of seeing you smile was recompense enough.’
‘Oh.’
‘Run along now. I have work to do.’
She gave him another hug and left him. Lord Gorange had been ousted and for that she was grateful, and she supposed the ache in her heart would fade in time. She would content herself with helping Jane with her good works and loving her nephew.
Adam would have left by now and be on his way back to Saddleworth; it would be safe to visit Jane. She set off on foot and was passing the Fox and Hounds when she saw the stage draw into the yard, later than scheduled. Several passengers left it, others boarded it. She saw Adam standing in the yard watching his trunk being loaded and dodged down Church Lane so that he would not see her. She could not bear the pain of saying goodbye.
Mrs Caulder, the rector’s wife, was in her garden. ‘Sophie, you are back. How was London?’
‘Very interesting, Mrs Caulder.’
‘Tell me what you did. Did you meet anyone exciting?’
Sophie gave her a watered-down version of her adventures, and by the time she returned to the main road, the stage had gone and the inn yard was empty. She went on her way with a heavy heart. He had gone.
She passed through the village out onto the road to Broadacres. Her way led her past a row of cottages and the blacksmiths and then she was in the open. Immersed in her dismal thoughts, she was not paying attention to others on the road and only moved aside when she heard the horse coming up behind her. She gasped when she saw it was Lord Gorange.
He passed her and pulled his mount across the road in front of her, blocking her way. ‘You thought I’d be fobbed off by that little charade, did you?’ he said, smiling. ‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat.’
‘I cannot think you are so in want of a thousand pounds that you must continue to bother me,’ she said haughtily. ‘Especially since Teddy is far away and you will not have to pay him.’
He laughed. ‘It is not Teddy’s little wager I am concerned about, but a much larger one.’
She was curious in spite of herself. ‘Who with?’
‘Why, Captain Moore, who else?’
‘That mountebank. I cannot see what it has to do with him.’
‘A wager is a wager and, win or lose, it has to be paid, and I do not choose to lose.’
‘That is no concern of mine. Lord Gorange, you have had your answer, so please move aside and let me pass.’
He did not oblige, so she turned and started to walk back the way she had come. He rode round her and blocked her path again, bringing his mount so close to her she was afraid the stallion might kick out and injure her. She reached up and grabbed the reins with one hand and his foot in the stirrup with the other, yanking it upwards as hard as she could. He yelled as his foot left the stirrup and he was deposited on the ground. Astonished at how easy it had been, she stared down at him, then with a satisfied smile, flung herself up on the horse and galloped back towards the village. It was only when she was within sight of the cottages on the outskirts of the village she realised what an inelegant picture she must make and pulled up and dismounted. She led the horse back to the livery stables beside the Fox and Hounds from where it had no doubt been hired.
‘I found this animal wandering down the road,’ she told the ostler. ‘He must have thrown his rider.’
‘I will have someone look for him, Miss Cavenhurst.’
She handed the reins to him and left, passing the front of the inn.
‘I fear that will not be the end of his lordship,’ a voice said against her ear. ‘It will have to be something more permanent than that.’
She spun round. ‘Adam!’
‘As you see.’
