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CHAPTER8
“I’m wary of telling you to slow down. You have grabbed that carafe out of my hand so many times already this evening, you are in danger of shattering it.” Stephen’s words made Jeremy look up from the claret carafe in his grasp.
“I am hardly that bad,” Jeremy muttered. He didn’t refill his glass this time but placed the glass and carafe behind them on a solitary table, deciding he’d had enough for one evening.
“Hmm, debatable, but very well. At least you have halted with your drinking for now.” Stephen coupled his dryness with a smile, but it was one that Jeremy could not return.
He was too distracted. Good Lord, he thought he was in danger of making himself sick, for there was only one thing on his mind at the moment.
Well, one person.
“Jeremy, allow me to give you some friendly advice.” Stephen tugged on Jeremy’s shoulder, clearly trying to get his attention, though Jeremy was distracted. His eyes were flitting through the crowd in the ballroom, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of Sophia.
“What is that?” Jeremy said, his eyes moved over the glittering jewels at ladies’ necks and the pristine ivory gloves. He was looking for a pair of dark eyes.
“If it is a lady you seek to distract yourself from, then neither claret, brandy, nor whisky will do that task.” Stephen laughed and gestured to the women in the crowd. “Only the lady you are thinking of can do that for you.”
“What are you saying?” Jeremy asked, turning his gaze on Stephen again.
“I am saying, whoever this lady is. It sounds to me as if you need to get her out of your system. For good.” Stephen shrugged, as if the idea were a plain one to see. His eyes lit up a second later as he found a woman in the crowd. “If you will excuse me, Jeremy, I find myself much in need of distraction myself.”
“Careful,” Jeremy warned as Stephen stepped away. “Lady May wants only one thing from a man. That would be a husband.”
“Something tells me she’ll change her mind for me.” Stephen added the words with a falsely proud smile before he walked off. Jeremy laughed at his friend before he searched the crowd again, looking for Sophia.
Get her out of my system… one night is usually enough for that.
Yet she was very much stuck under his skin, that was plain to see. He practically burned for her, not just wanting another night with her, but to be beside her.
In answer to his longings, she appeared. Stepping through the main door of the ballroom with Lady Rumpton on her arm, Jeremy found his eyes moved unblinkingly to her. This evening, Sophia was wearing a bold Pomona green dress. It was stunning and highlighted the curves of her body beautifully. When Jeremy remembered just how his hands had explored those curves, he practically growled under his breath, trying to stop such thoughts.
Enough! You cannot think of such things here.
Then, a gentleman stepped close to Sophia’s side and whispered something in her ear. The proximity made Jeremy stand taller, instantly uncomfortable. This gentleman was the new Lord Elkins, Sophia’s brother-in-law, but from the way he placed his hand on Sophia’s back as he whispered something to her, Jeremy had a feeling there wasn’t much in their relationship that resembling siblings.
For one thing, Sophia had paled at that touch. She had stepped forward a little, jerking Lady Rumpton at her side in her effort to step out of Lord Elkins’ grasp. She was also keeping her head averted from Lord Elkins, as if in the attempt to stop him whispering so closely in her ear another time.
She is unhappy beside him.
Jeremy crossed the room. As he went, many people tried to stop him. Gentlemen he knew asked him to join their conversations, but he politely informed them he would talk later. Occasionally, an eager and ambitious mother would reach out to him, wishing to introduce him to their daughters. Once more, Jeremy put upon a smile and promised he would return later, before he stepped away again.
By the time he reached Sophia’s side of the room, Lady Rumpton had hurried off and Lord Elkins was deep in conversation with another gentleman. Sophia tried to step away too, but one glance from Lord Elkins made her fall still.
What is going on? This is not the lady of freedom I have come to know!
Jeremy waited until Lord Elkins was drawn into conversation with this other gentleman again before he made his approach. He stood at Sophia’s side, softly brushing his arm against hers, aware of the way that she gasped at that touch. For now, with Lord Elkins’ back turned a little, he hadn’t noticed Jeremy’s arrival, and Jeremy was desirous to keep it that way.
“Good evening, Sophia,” he whispered, so only she could hear him. He kept one eye on Lord Elkins, watching in case the man turned to look this way.
“Shouldn’t we be returning to formalities, Your Grace?” Sophia said, her voice lilting with humor. “Although I will admit, it’s hard to address you as ‘Your Grace’ now.”
“Formalities are rather difficult, aren’t they?” he said, turning his smile on her. He was thrilled to see she was smiling too. Her hands were looped together in front of her, tightly, as if she were trying to keep them down and away from touching anything else.
Perhaps away from touching me?
The mere thought prompted him to lift his hand to her and proffer it forward. She stared at that hand as if he had offered her a dead frog.
“What is that?”
