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“Why not now?”
He grinned. “Because I discovered livingirreligiously.”
She rolled her eyes at that but couldn’t help smiling too.
They went back to the house, the presence of Sophia’s mother finally persuading Jay to let go of her hand.
It was a relief to be free. Though also…colder. She felt a little unbalanced as she stepped back through the kitchen door.
Her mother heard their footsteps and came out of the living room. She frowned at Jay in surprise.
“TheHonourableJeremy Orton. Here again.”
Sophia met her mother’s unspoken question with an internal wince. Even she could tell she was being a little rude.
“Actually, as a viscount’s son, it’s just Mr. Orton in conversation. But, please, call me Jay,” he said with an easy smile.
Sophia’s mother did not reply in kind. “Are you staying for dinner?”
“No, no. I’m on my way out. As soon as I call for a taxi.”
“Banned from driving, are you?”
Jay smiled, a little more sharply than before. “Just taking a break from it. Good afternoon, Mrs. Clements. Sophia.”
He nodded at them in turn and started to walk towards the front door. Sophia gave her mother a reproachful look then hurried after him, taking the car keys from the side table in the hall.
“Jay, wait,” she said as he stepped out of the front door. “I’ll drive you home. Sorry. I would have offered. I didn’t realise you were using a taxi.”
“It’s OK, Soph,” he said, the sharpness fading from his smile. “You don’t need to ferry me around. I’m just not meant to drive because of my wrist. Can’t change gears.”
Sophia ignored him and took hold of his hand, towing him after her around the front of the house to the gravel driveway at the side.
Jay smirked down at their joined hands. “I’ve made a monster of you. A hand-holding addict. I knew I gave good hand but—”
“Get in the car, Jay.”
He laughed and did.
They drove in what Sophia thought might be called a companionable silence, until Jay let out a long, amused sigh and said, “I didn’t know cars couldgothis slow.”
“I’m a very careful driver.”
“Clements, you’re basically astationarydriver. We’ve been going fifteen minutes and I swear I can still see your mother glaring at me through her net curtains.”
“We don’t have net curtains.”
“As always, Clements, you are very far away from the point.”
But he was laughing, and even though Sophia knew he was laughing at her, it didn’t seem bad or even embarrassing. Somehow, it was nice.Companionable, just like their silence had been.
Sophia pulled up outside the vast brick facade of Rakely House.
Jay undid his seatbelt but made no move to get out of the car. Instead, he turned towards her. “What are you doing tomorrow, Clements?”
“Well… I’ll run in the morning, then after breakfast I’ll probably shoot. Then I think lunch out with mother in town. She wants me to try on more dresses for the party. Then dinner I suppose, and—”
“What I meant is, would you like to come over?”
