Page 55 of A Stranger’s Gamble

Sophie’s father bowed over the woman’s hand.

“And, of course, this is Sophie.” Her aunt put an arm around Sophie.

“Very pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Sophie said. “This is my friend Miss Frasier.” Sophie nodded toward Beatrice.

“Ma’am,” Beatrice said.

“You are the last guests to arrive,” Mrs. Eldridge said. “I believe dinner will be served directly.”

Sophie wanted to ask which one of the gentlemen was Lord Monthemer but knew she couldn’t. Would they seat him beside her? Her spirits fell. Adam was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps Lord Monthemer hadn’t brought him. That was likely the case. After all, it was one thing for Lord Monthemer to bring a man like Adam to a party, quite another to bring him along to a house party.

Mrs. Eldridge made introductions to some of the quests. Sophie’s nerves further frayed when the older woman introduced two more gentlemen, but neither were Lord Monthemer. Twenty minutes later, when dinner was ready, Sophie walked down the hall alongside Beatrice behind Sophie’s father and aunt, who followed the other guests toward the dining room. She suddenly longed for home where she could ride Ophelia and forget her troubles. Her father had accompanied her on one ride two days after he’d arrived. Perhaps she could talk him into a morning ride tomorrow.

The hallway opened up and Sophie looked over the banister at the second floor and caught sight of two men going out the front door. Her heart jumped. She would recognize Adam’s broad shoulders anywhere. Was he leaving?

Her knees weakened, and she gripped the banister. In her room, the plan had seemed perfectly logical. Now that she was about to face Adam and Lord Monthemer, she wasn’t so sure. What if Adam didn’t understand why she’d lied about who she was? After all, a man in his social position might feel a woman of her wealth had intended to make a fool of him. No, Adam was too level-headed to think so irrationally. Wasn’t he? Only last night, he had dragged Lord Emerson out of Lord Emerson’s carriage. That wasn’t rational. She and Beatrice neared the stairs leading down to the foyer. Sophie slowed, with Beatrice beside her.

“Keep going,” Sophie whispered.

Beatrice frowned.

“Keep walking,” Sophie whispered. “I will return soon.”

Sophie veered to the right and started down the stairs. She looked over her shoulder to find that Beatrice had halted. Sophie waved for her to keep going. Beatrice’s frown deepened. Sophie gave her a pleading look, then turned her attention forward and hurried down the rest of the stairs.

Sophie burst through the front door and out onto the steps in time to see a carriage headed down the drive. Her heart fell. Adam was leaving. She looked wildly about—for what she didn’t know—and found no help.

Sophie yanked up her skirts and hurried around the side of the house. The stables came into view. She had to hurry. The carriage wasn’t as fast as a single rider, but she could still lose Adam on the country road if he had too much of a lead.

The young stable hand balked at giving a young woman a horse when night was quickly falling, but Sophie threatened to have him discharged if he didn’t comply. He had a horse saddled in ten minutes, and Sophie was off.

Her father would be furious, but if things went as planned, that wouldn’t matter, for she and Adam would be married. Her father said he didn’t want her to be alone. She wouldn’t be alone.

Sophie rode to the end of the long road without catching up to the carriage and reached a fork in the road. She didn’t know where the left road went, but the road to the right led back into town. That was probably the direction Adam had taken. She urged her mare into a gallop for one mile, then slowed to a canter. Night was fast approaching. She was suddenly glad of her muff pistol in her reticule. The small weapon wasn’t powerful enough to be fatal, unless fired at near point-blank, but she would frighten any assailant. Thankfully, a three-quarters moon hung among sparse clouds, and she could see well on the road. The night was unseasonably warm for autumn, and she was only slightly chilled.

Panic tightened her stomach. If she didn’t find Adam, her father would likely get Lord Monthemer to procure a special license and force her to marry right away. There was no way to avoid her father learning that she had left Mrs. Eldridge’s estate. She fought tears and wondered if she shouldn’t return to her aunt’s home and hire a carriage to take her back to Invergarry—but that would only end with her married to Robert Barrett. Surely, her father wouldn’t really be that cruel?

The creak of a carriage wheel caught her attention, and she dug her heels into her horse’s ribs. A moment later, she discerned a carriage up ahead on the road. Sophie started to urge her horse to go faster, then realized the carriage might not be Adam’s. Even with the moonlight, she couldn’t be certain. There was no turning back, but that didn’t mean she wanted to make a scandal by stopping a stranger’s carriage on the road.

She resisted the urge to glance back, for the estate was long out of sight. She had made her bed, and now had better hope she didn’t have to lay in it with Lord Monthemer—or Robert Barrett.

The carriage turned up a long drive, and she followed at a safe distance. Tall hedges lined the drive on each side. A large well-lit mansion came into view up ahead. Was this Lord Monthemer’s estate? Fear stabbed. She knew this place. It was nighttime and had been eight years. The hedges hadn’t been here then, but she was sure this was Imogen’s home. Had Imogen’s family sold the house to Lord Monthemer?

Sophie maintained her distance from the carriage in readiness to gallop away should it turn out that Adam wasn’t inside.

She slowed. If she got any closer to the front entrance, she might be seen. Wonderful. She had nowhere to hide once the carriage stopped—if, that is, someone didn’t spot her first. Sophie urged her mare through the hedge and off the drive toward a large tree. She reached the tree, dismounted, and tied the horse to a low branch.

Sophie lifted her skirts and hurried as fast as she dared alongside the hedge until she neared the house. She peered through the hedges just in time to see the carriage stop. She pushed through the foliage and winced when her feet crunched on gravel and slowed in her creep forward. She reached the rear of the carriage as the carriage door opened and a man stepped out.

Adam.

Sophie thought she might cry. He started toward the mansion. Fear froze her in place.

Move!

She stepped out from behind the carriage. “Adam.”

He spun. With the light behind him, his face remained in shadow, and she couldn’t discern his expression. The carriage started forward.