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“You know what you must do.”
He stood and stared at her. His brown eyes shone with the pain of his conflict. She wanted to reach up and caress his cheek with her hand, touch his hair one more time, kiss his lips and tell him everything would be all right.
But it wouldn’t be all right.
And she would never be able to touch him intimately again.
“I have been thinking about this all day,” he said. “I want you to know that I never touched her. She kissed me.”
Sophie stared at the rug. “I know. Somerton told me that, too. And that he believed you when you said her dress was undone before she even entered the room.”
“It’s true, Sophie.”
She nodded.
He sipped the rest of his brandy and then knelt before her chair. He clasped her hands and brought them to his warm lips.
She tried not to look at him but she couldn’t stop herself. Seeing the tortured look on his face, she almost relented. But that would be wrong. She couldn’t harm him. She couldn’t be responsible for ruining his and Emma’s life.
She had to be strong. No matter how much it hurt. And it hurt more than any pain she’d ever felt.
“Sophie,” he whispered against her hands. “I want to marry you.”
“No,” she mumbled. “We cannot. It would only ruin us all.”
“We can tell people who your father is. Everyone would understand.”
She closed her eyes to keep her tears from falling. “No one would understand, Nicholas. Besides, unless my father admits to it, nothing will change. No one will believe us. And my father will never let the truth out.”
Because doing so might open a much bigger round of gossip. So large that he would look like a fool, and Somerton and his sisters would be ruined.
“You must do the right thing by Miss Littlebury,” she whispered.
He rose from his knees and stared down at her. Anger clenched his fists. “You want me to marry Miss Littlebury?”
No! “Yes. She will be ruined by her actions. While it’s not fair, unfortunately, it does happen.”
Nicholas reached down and yanked her to her feet. “You want me to marry a woman you know is not my match?”
“Nicholas, I could not determine who your match is. Maybe it is Miss Littlebury.” She tried to keep her voice calm in order to soothe his anger.
“It’s not Miss Littlebury but apparently everyone wants to believe it is.”
“What do you mean?”
He pulled her close enough that his breath heated her cheeks. “If I don’t marry her my father will release a scandalous rumor about my daughter.”
“Then why are you even here?” she cried. “You would never let anyone hurt your daughter.”
He inched closer to her lips. “Tell me you want to marry me. I will move heaven and earth and damn the consequences.”
Oh, God, how she wanted to say those words to him. “No,” she said, pushing him away. “I cannot marry you.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. “So you want me to marry Miss Littlebury?”
Sophie fought back the tears. She didn’t want him to marry Miss Littlebury, but she knew it was the right thing to do for him. “Yes.”
“Very well, then.”
