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The words sounded rehearsed, which meant her aunt had made him practice what they were to say. Sophia repressed a grin.
She parried. “Why, Uncle, am … am I no longer welcome in the Abbott household?” Sophia widened her eyes in dismay, letting her lower lip quiver ever so slightly.
Hugh Abbott’s square, gentle face immediately fell. “Never, no, never, my dear niece. You are always welcome here. We love you like you are our own …”
He fell silent as his hand came up to rub his jaw, groping for words to repair the inferred slight as he threw a panicked expression at his wife. Sophia watched, careful to hide any evidence of smugness. The first point might belong to her aunt for cornering her so early in the day, but the second point was hers alone for turning the tables.
Uncle Hugh was floundering; thus, her aunt would now be forced to lead the charge without much help from her husband, who believed he had hurt his beloved niece’s feelings.
Such sentiment did not overtake Aunt Christiana. An elegant woman in her forties, she was a tough and determined opponent despite her lack of intellectual interests. Sophia knew not to underestimate her tenacity. Politely, she looked to her aunt, who was now scowling in displeasure at her husband, likely for being so easily manipulated. Squaring her jaw, she turned back to face her niece.
“Sophia, at the Astleys’ the other night, Lord Saunton asked you to dance, but then deposited you right back with me. I know he is searching for a wife, and he admires intelligent women like yourself. He is ever so wealthy. I hear his estates are thriving and he never gambles. You must make an effort—”
“No!”
Sophia and her aunt both turned in surprise at her uncle’s unexpected interjection. His face was a thundercloud of undisguised ire. “The earl is a scoundrel, and he will not lay a finger on someone under my protection. How could you allow them to be introduced, Christiana?”
Clearly her aunt and uncle had not sufficiently prepared for The Conversation. While her aunt responded in hissed tones to her husband’s interrogation, Sophia grabbed the opportunity, her toast, and her book. Pushing her chair out, she made a hurried departure before they could turn their attention back to her. The handsome young footman, Thomas, stationed near the door, pressed his lips together to prevent a smile as she headed toward the threshold. Throwing him a saucy wink could not be helped, which caused the formidably large servant to snort a laugh. He threw up his hand to his mouth to pretend a sneeze when she exited into the corridor, a flurry of embroidered white skirts marking her path as she strode briskly away. Her aunt would have to find her another day.
* * *
Richard had concludedit was finally time for him to become a real man.Nay, a gentleman.
The morning after the Astley ball, he had accepted he was either on the road to becoming a changed man or he would become a grotesque caricature of the late earl. Realizing he was well on his way to becoming a shadow of his callous father—a true scapegrace who had driven his mother to her untimely death—was the prod he needed to evaluate what he wanted from his life, who he wanted to be.
Over the past two days, he had finally acknowledged that he had hurt his longtime friend and former betrothed, Annabel, with his cavalier treatment of her feelings, not to mention his rakish pursuits. Despite his newfound shame, he was now grateful that his cousin had rescued Annabel by stepping in to marry her in his stead. Richard may have railed against him at the time, but Philip had been a true gentleman. Annabel deserved a real marriage, but Richard would not have changed his ways to be worthy of her.
He must make changes in his life to become a man worthy of the titlegentleman. To be a man his mother would be proud of. In light of which, he had begun to make these changes, but he had a lot of worthless behavior to atone for. He hoped he was up to the task, that it was not too late to correct his course and becomea better man. He also hoped it was not too late to earn the regard of a worthwhile woman.
Miss Sophia Hayward of the cutting remarks was never far from his thoughts. Her forthright manner beyond the public eye reminded him of his prior relationship with Annabel before he had ruined their friendship. No one had ever delivered such a thorough dose of truth to him before. Granted, Miss Hayward was not aware of having done just that. She was a determined young woman, and he … If he could convince her to reveal her true self with him, perhaps …
The thought of seeing the intriguing lady again that evening was ever present, but that was hours away. In the meanwhile, he would meet with his man of business because it was time to put inquiriesinto motion. He needed to discover if his past immoral liaisons had produced anynew responsibilities, despite the care he had taken to not father any bastards. He had never considered such a consequence, and now he was desperate to know. Regardless, he had a long string of apologies to give and financial recompense to pay.
Before his meeting, Richard rang for his butler in his study. He gave Radcliffe a list of the housemaids he had dallied with, much to his chagrin. Fortunately, there were only two girls from his own household, both of whom had flirted coyly with him before he had succumbed to temptation over the past year or two. Sadly, finding a woman to bed had never been problematic. Many were all too eager to throw themselves into his arms—or lap—and he had never been one to turn away a good, wholesome offer of that nature.
He informed Radcliffe that he would pay them each a handsome amount that would provide them with financial comfort and asked the butler to locate suitable new positions for the girls, if they so wished. The hawkish butler would bring the girls to him one at a time so he could meet with them to those ends.
Hisconscience told him he needed to take responsibility, and for his own sanity, he knew he must clean house if he was going to embark on a new way of life. Richard did his best not to wince during the discussion, but Radcliffe showed no reaction, the impeccable English butler that he was.
Or he already knows about the girls.
Richard steeled himself against this unwanted thought.
He intended to go courting in an honorable manner, so it would not do to havehis past indiscretions dusting the banisters,reminding him he did not deserve this second chance he was striving for in order to become the man hismother would have been proudof.
Once he had met with the two maids and arrangements were made, his man of business had arrived for their meeting, where they were now ensconced for his fourth uncomfortable discussion of the day. Richard sat at his desk, pensive as he stared at his bottle-green wallpaper, and waited for his man of business to comprehend his instructions.
Johnson was staring at the list in his slender hand, visibly disconcerted. He was a competent man, integral to Richard’s financial success, who looked inordinately like a banker with his bulbous forehead, meticulous black hair, and tidy, close-shaven beard lining his narrow jaw. They had worked together for some years, but Richard had just in that moment realized he had no knowledge of Johnson’s life. Did the man have a wife? Dependents? Richard had always found that women and men alike were eager to please him, so he had never felt compelled to inquire after such things. Johnson was more than happy to work long hours, for which Richard paid him very well, but did he steal the man’s time from his family?
“My lord, respectfully, I am going to repeat back my understanding of your instructions, so I am perfectly clear on what I am to do.”
Richard cleared his throat. “Go ahead,” he said hoarsely as he fidgeted with his tight cravat. Odd, the cravat had felt like a perfect fit when his valet had first tied it, but now it was a hangman’s noose squeezing his throat shut.
Johnson continued in a strangled voice. “I am to seek, with the help of runners if needed, four housemaids with whom you—ahem—dallied over the past several years. Two of which you do not recall their names, but only their descriptions and their respective households where you encountered them. I am to establish their current circumstances and report back to you. We will then arrange a meeting so that you may … apologize …”
Richard filled in the awkward silence. “I will meet with them discreetly to apologize for my past behavior and offer them a financial settlement to recompense them for my disrespectful advances. If any of them are in untenable circumstances, we will establish what improvements they would like to make and assist each one to take the needed steps to set them up in improved circumstances.”
Johnson looked aghast but managed to respond, “Then once these housemaids—”
