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CHAPTER16
“Nick?” Sophia murmured, watching as Nick’s face emerged a little more from the shadows as he sat forward. He was sat in the very middle of the staircase, as if guarding his house. He was barely dressed at all, in his trousers and with his shirt loose around his body, with no cravat, waistcoat, or jacket at all.
“You sound surprised,” he whispered, his voice dark.
“Have you been awake all night?”
“Mostly.” Nick took a drag on his pipe. His eyes were penetrating Sophia now. She didn’t move. She considered running past him and heading straight to her room, but she didn’t know how that would work. She could still remember clearly the day she had stood on these same stairs and Nick had taken hold of her wrist, determined not to let her go.
Would he do the same again?
“You needn’t have worried,” Sophia said, trying to adopt a nonchalant tone, though she was aware she failed when her voice broke in the middle. “I have returned. I am quite tired though, so I think I will retire to my chamber.”
She walked slowly forward, testing the waters to see if Nick would move. At first, he did nothing, except puff on that pipe. It made Sophia more confident, and she took more steps. When she got within two steps of Nick, he moved swiftly to his feet. The suddenness of the movement made her flinch and stop, as he stepped to the side to stand in front of her, blocking her path.
“Should I ask where you have been? Or should I be able to take a guess?” he asked, leaning toward her. Now so close to Nick, Sophia could see the lines in his face.
There was a puffiness under his eyes, betraying his lack of sleep, and the creases in his brow were so deep that it suggested he had been frowning all night.
“I…” Sophia struggled to speak. She was too aware of that look and how close he was standing to her. It made her tremble out of fear. “I was with a friend.”
“Your lover, you mean?” Nick sneered with the words and tilted his head to the side. He watched her as an owl would watch its prey in the night, with the head cocked at the odd angle and the eyes not blinking. That look made Sophia wrap her cloak tighter around her body.
“Where I was does not concern you, Nick.” She’d had enough. There was enough turmoil going on in her heart without having to deal with Nick’s strange behavior. “If you would excuse me, I wish to retire to my chamber.” She reiterated her wish and tried to step past him, but he moved to block her path. She was forced to stumble down a step, so that she did not collide with him. “Out of my way, Nick.”
“You do not follow my orders, why should I follow yours?” Nick’s voice had grown deeper as he puffed on the pipe another time. He used the pipe distractedly, as if it gave his hands something to do in this awkward moment. “Do you follow his orders, I wonder?”
“Nick, please, listen to me –”
“No.” He snapped the word. It was so loud that Sophia veered backward. Nick stepped forward again, matching her step so that they were still standing near to each other. “How could you do it, Sophia?”
“Do what?”
“Spend a night withthatman? How many nights have you spent with him I wonder? Harloting yourself.”
“What did you call me?” Sophia bristled at the insult. This time, she stood her ground. She did not cower away or back up, even when Nick dropped to the step in front of her. “I am no harlot!”
“You act like a lady of the night, do you not?” He as good as spat the words as he dropped the pipe beside him. Sophia watched as the pipe rolled away on the stairs and tobacco tipped out. It burnt and curled on the marble steps, with smoke dancing in the air.
“I will not be insulted like this, Nick.”
“And I will not be insulted by the lady under my roof running off to spend her nights with another man.”
“Just because I live under this roof does not mean I belong to you.” Sophia stood tall. She felt what little good it did. With Nick towering over her at his greater height and standing above her on another step, her attempt was futile. “Do you understand that? I married your brother, not you!”
A muscle seemed to twitch in Nick’s jaw. He said nothing. Sophia felt a tremble to her hands when she realized Nick was not agreeing with this statement of fact, he just continued to stare at her.
“Leave me be. I am going to my room.” Once more, Sophia tried to step around him. He reached for her arm, clasping over it and jerking her toward him, so that she could not get away. “Get off me, Nick! Or I swear, I shall scream this house down and all your servants will come running.”
His hand released her. That threat was enough to make him quiver.
After all, Nick values his reputation and appearance more than anything else, does he not?
Sophia hid her temptation to smile at her small win. It might not last long, but she was glad she could put him in his place.
“Do not touch me again.” Her voice was deathly quiet as she pushed past him and hurried up the stairs.
At first, she thought she had escaped. After all, his footsteps didn’t follow. Yet when she reached the corridor and could feel her hands shakings, footsteps then followed. They were fast, as Nick clearly ran up the stairs.
