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But something stopped her. She ceased stroking and looked up into his bronze eyes.
“Zach, are you serious about talking to my stepfather about courting me?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Zach jerked, the loss of Sophie’s hand on his shaft tormenting him. What had she said? Something about speaking to her stepfather about courting her? Of course he was serious. How could she think he wasn’t?
“Sophie, sweet, of course I want to speak to your stepfather. I just haven’t had the chance yet, with getting the new production underway.”
Her beautiful cheeks reddened to that radiant raspberry he knew so well. “Of course. I didn’t mean to imply that—”
“I understand perfectly, my love. You don’t want to go any further until we are officially courting, do you?”
“Well, that’s not exactly true. I do want to go further. I mean, we’ve already gone further than I ever anticipated I would without the sanctity of marriage. I just thought…if you are serious about our courtship…well, we should at least wait…”
Zach smiled. She was just so damned captivating. He wasn’t used to waiting for a woman, but he had a feeling Sophie would be worth it.
“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t I escort you home. You can work on your music as instructed. And I will talk to your stepfather.”
“Oh… Well, of course that would be lovely, but I don’t actually know if he’s at home this afternoon.”
“Not to worry. I shall escort you home anyway, and if he is not able to receive me, I’ll leave a message with the butler, and the earl can let me know when he is available to receive my call.”
“I suppose that will be acceptable,” Sophie said. “I do hope he is home.”
“As do I.” Zach winked at her. “I don’t fancy waiting any longer to have you.”
Sophie’s blush deepened. Clearly she didn’t fancy waiting longer either.
* * *
“Thank you for seeing me, my lord.” Zach faced the Earl of Brighton, who sat in a supple leather chair behind a large cherry desk. The walls were papered with velvet-edged burgundy, the molding a darker cherry.
“Not at all, Mr. Newland.” Brighton cleared his throat. “Do have a seat.”
Zach nodded.
“It’s good you stopped by. I’ve been meaning to thank you for the kindness you’ve shown my stepdaughter, Lady Sophie. We are all excited about her singing debut in your production come midsummer.”
“She is quite a talent. In fact, it is because of Sophie that I need to speak to you.”
“I assure you that her mother and I support her performance inclinations. She is a lady of the peerage, but we feel that her talent for singing is paramount, and if she chooses to perform on stage, she should.”
Zach cleared his throat. “I’m very glad to hear you say that, my lord. All of us at the theatre are very happy to have Sophie join us.”
“Now, what is it that you want to speak with me about?”
“Well…first of all, how is Lady Alexandra doing?”
“It’s good of you to ask, Newland. She’s recovering nicely, though slowly. She did lose quite a bit of blood, but the doctor assures us at this point that she will make a full recovery as long as she goes slowly and doesn’t overexert herself.”
Zach nodded. That was good news. It would make Sophie extremely happy, and he wanted Sophie’s happiness above anything. “I’m very glad to hear that, my lord.”
“As are we all, Newland.”
Zach fidgeted a bit with his hands and then spoke. “I would like your permission to court Lady Sophie.”
The earl’s eyebrows shot skyward. “I say, you wish to court Sophie?”
