Tainted Bride (18 page)

Sophia shrugged. “It makes it more difficult to reject his offer.”

Dorothea’s bright green eyes widened with surprise. “Has he asked you to marry him already?”

She nodded.

“What did you say?” Dory’s grin spread wide and her eyes lit up.

Dory didn’t need to know about the scandalous promise she’d made. “I have not replied as yet.”

“My word, Sophia, you have only been in England for a month and you have had a proposal from an eligible bachelor.”

“Two,” she corrected.

Dory jumped out of her seat. “Who else has proposed?”

“Mr. Wheel was generous enough to ask as well.”

Dory shook her head. “Indeed! I cannot believe it. I never thought Thomas Wheel would marry.”

“He thought we would suit since we are good friends and love would not get in the way of our marriage.”

“Goodness, he didn’t say that, did he?”

“No, but it was nearly that unromantic. He was very kind. It was his intention to save me, I think.”

“I’m a bit jealous,” Dory admitted.

Sophia doubted that. “How many proposals have you refused?”

“Eight. But none as intriguing as yours. All the men who have offered for me have been completely unacceptable.”

“Really? I understood there was a duke in the mix of your ardent admirers.”

“He was forty-two years old. What was I going to talk to him about?” Dory threw her hands up and plopped back down on the bench.

“Indeed.” Sophia echoed Dory’s favorite word.

“Oh, do not look at me like that. You look just like my mother. I would prefer to find someone I can like. It’s not as if I’m waiting on some grand idea of love, for goodness sake. It would just be nice to be fond of the man I marry. Is that so much to ask for?”

“Not at all,” Sophia said.

Dory took her hand. “But what of your problem? What will you do?”

“I cannot marry him.”

“Excuse my interrupting,” Emma walked down the path from the house.

“Not at all,” Dory said.

“I’m a bit embarrassed. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I did hear you say you could not marry someone.”

Sophia shrugged. “That’s okay. Everyone will probably find out eventually. I am going to refuse the Earl of Marlton.”

Emma had a sweet round face and big eyes the color of the sea. Her curly hair bounced around her face as she slumped down onto the bench across from them. “Dan asked you to marry him?”

“Yesterday.” Her flesh was on fire and her voice shook. Fighting tears, she sat up straight and bit the inside of her cheek.

“And you refused him?”

“Not yet, but I must.”

“Why? He’s a good man. Honest, rich and titled.”

Dory took a breath and raised her hands. “Emma is married. Maybe she can help. Unless you want to discuss intimate details with your aunt?”

Sophia shuddered. “It’s rather personal.”

Emma stood and rounded the arbor to take a seat on the same bench. “We do not know each other well, Sophia, but Dan and Markus have been friends forever. I would do anything for him and if he loves you, that extends to you as well.”

Swallowing down the bile rising in her throat, she told Emma about her problem. She didn’t disclose Pundington’s name or that she had been banished from Philadelphia.

By the time she finished spilling the tale, Emma’s eyes swam and she gripped her in a motherly hug. “You poor thing. I want to beat that animal to a pulp for putting you through this.” She pushed back and looked from Sophia to Dory. “It is unseemly to tell you anything about what transpires between husband and wife, but I can see this is a circumstance when some things must be divulged.”

Dory leaned in and Sophia gripped her hand.

Emma smiled and laughed. “You two look like something out of a Greek tragedy.” She sobered. “Nothing about making love to one’s husband is comparable to your experience. What happened to you was an act of violence, Sophia. Dan will cherish you.”

It took three big breaths to ask, “But the act is the same, is it not?”

With a sigh, Emma nodded. “I suppose. I cannot imagine what you have suffered. My only experience is with a man who loves me. I think you must put what happened with Pundington in the category of a beating rather than an act of love or even sex. I know Dan would never hurt you. If he asked you to marry him, he loves you. Frankly, I never thought he would marry after the mess of his last engagement. Do not turn him away because you are afraid, Sophia. These four men who came through Eton together are good. They served their country and care for their families. Markus might have turned out like his father, but he is honest and loyal. Forgive me, Dory.”

Dory waved off the cut to her father. “Father is what he is and his philandering has made mother a nightmare as well. My brother is a good man and he is lucky to have you.”

Emma blushed. “I am the lucky one.”

Partially relieved and even more terrified, Sophia didn’t know what to say. “Thank you for trying to help.”

“I hope you will reconsider refusing him, but I wish you well either way you decide.”

Sophia hugged her.

Standing, Dory stretched. “I supposed we had better find the others. I would not wish to be branded antisocial.”

Sophia flexed her sore feet. “I supposed you’re right.”

“I have to return to the house before I am missed. I only sneaked away to get a few minutes’ peace.”

“Is my mother badgering you to have a child again?”

“She is relentless.” Waving, Emma took the path back toward the house.

Returning the way they had come, Sophia and Dory ambled through the woods by way of the well-trod path.

The large weight pressing on Sophia’s chest eased and her step lightened. “You know, Mr. Wheel is a great admirer of music, I’m told.”

“Indeed.” Dory rolled her eyes.

“I have it on good authority.” She looked at Dory and they both laughed at her obvious matchmaking.

Alistair Pundington peered through the trees. He was watching them.

She couldn’t breathe. They had to escape.

“Heavens, what’s wrong? Are you ill?”

She grabbed Dory’s hand and ran, pulling her along behind. Her muscles ached and her lungs screamed for air. She would have screamed for help if she could have spared the breath.

Dory called out for her to stop, but she kept running. He was there, in the woods. Alistair had come for her. The forest blurred past. She stepped in a hole and lost hold of Dory’s hand. Sticks and leaves flew by as she slid down an embankment and was stopped by a large bush of brambles, which cut into her skin.

“Oh, hell.” She heard Dory cry from the top of the hill.

“Stay where you are, Sophia. I’ll go for help.”

“No!” Her heart pounded from panic as well as exertion. Every instinct told her Alistair Pundington meant to have her and he would stop at nothing to get to her. Struggling for release, she tried to pull away from the thick twisted branches but every move only fixed her more firmly in their grasp. “Don’t leave me, Dory. He will find me. Please, don’t leave me.”

“All right, calm down. I’ll stay.” She looked this way and that then turned back to Sophia. “I see blood. Are you badly hurt?”

Sophia looked down at her white morning dress and panicked anew. Touching the red splotches, she relaxed. It was only the dark berries causing all the stains. “No. It’s the berries. I’m good and stuck though. Every time I move these stickers seem to tie me up tighter.”

Dory called for help.

An eternity passed before Daniel and Thomas appeared followed closely by the rest of the party.

“Whatever is wrong, Lady Dorothea?” Thomas asked.

Daniel looked down the embankment. “I think I see the problem.”

Thomas looked too. “Seems to be a pigeon caught in your brambles, Marlton.”

“Are you hurt, Miss Braighton?” Daniel asked.

“Stop laughing.”

“Not hurt.” Thomas inspected the area. “How do we get down without falling into the same trap?”

“Marsh, do you have a knife?” Daniel asked.

“Um, yes.” The Viscount handed over a small knife.

“Tom, see what you can do from here. I’ll go around to the bottom.” Daniel’s grin was infuriating.

It seemed as if hours passed where they just stood at the top of the hill gawking at her. The women were all being shocked and calling down to see if she was all right, while the men talked incessantly about the best way to climb down and free her. She was so tired of hearing them, she renewed her efforts to free herself. Fabric tore but she was still stuck.

She heard a noise from the other side of the bush. She was just about to scream, when Daniel’s face poked through the bush.

“Hello.” He sounded jovial, as if they were meeting for tea.

She actually laughed. “Hello, yourself.”

“I shall have you out of here in no time. Do not worry.”

“I have already done that, my lord.”

He continued to cut bits of the brambles away. “How did you get yourself into this, Sophie?”

Her breath came in short gasps. He had been there in the woods, watching her. “Alistair.”

Daniel stopped what he was doing and stared at her. “What do you mean?”

“He’s here, Daniel, on your property. I saw him. He was watching Dory and me.” She struggled again.

He grabbed her leg and she squealed. “Stop fidgeting. Are you certain?”

“You don’t believe me?” Her heart sank.

He cut another branch away. “If you are certain you saw him then I believe you, Sophie. But, what would he have to gain by seeking you out here. He must know he cannot access you on my property.”

“He thinks he is above all consequence. He thinks I belong to him. He will come for me.” Every word brought her closer to the dread that had gotten her into the brambles in the first place.

She squirmed again and the brambles dug deeper into her dress.

“Sophia! Calm down and listen to me carefully. You are not his. He will never harm you again. I’ll see to it. Do you believe me?”

She looked at his beautiful face and sincere eyes. Her heart slowed and her breath calmed at his fierce assurance. “I believe you, Daniel.”

“Then be still and I’ll cut you loose.”

He did just as he said and in a few more cuts, she was free. Her dress had not survived. Stickers shredded the delicate fabric as Daniel lifted her out of the bushes. Sophia was similarly scratched in dozens of places, which couldn’t be mentioned, but she was free and otherwise unharmed. Though, her embarrassment was considerable. Her face burned with mortification. “Thank you, my lord.”

He bowed. “At your service, my lady.”

Getting away from him and her total failure to behave like a lady was first priority. “I’ll go back to the house.”

“I’ll walk with you,” he said.

She didn’t argue. She was more afraid of being alone and having Alistair find her than she was of additional embarrassment.

“Sophie?” he said.

“Hmm.” She stared down at her dress. The week was proving disastrous on her wardrobe.

Daniel’s voice had taken on an official tone. “Once I have seen you to the house, I’ll have to go and look for Pundington. If he is smart, he will have quit the premises, but we must be sure.”

“You believe me then.” She relaxed as relief washed over her.

He nodded. “I believe you. I’ll take some men with me to look for him, but will tell them you saw a highwayman lurking in the wood. Can you tell a small lie if they ask questions?”

She nodded. “I won’t lie to my aunt though. I’ll tell her the truth and Dory of course.”

He inclined his head. “I’m certain Lady Dorothea and her ladyship will keep your confidence, my love.”

She stopped walking, forcing him to turn. “Must you go after him? As you said, he has likely left the area by now. You could be hurt.”

He touched her cheek. “I’ll be fine. He would never think you would tell anyone whom you saw. He does not know you told me.”

“No, I suppose he wouldn’t. A proper lady would not have told a soul. A proper lady would have gone to her grave with the knowledge that she’d done right by her family.”

“Sophia.” His voice was so stern, she snapped her head up. His expression softened when he looked at her. “I’m glad you told me. You are not to blame for violence forced upon you when you were little more than a child. Telling me was the right thing to do. We shall get through this together.”

Tears ran freely down her face. His kindness stung as deep as any censure and she dashed toward the house.

Their delay allowed the rest of the group time to catch up with them. Dorothea and Elinor rushed ahead and hurried Sophia toward the house.

Sophia rushed up to her room where Daphne and Dory joined her. She told them about Alistair Pundington in the woods.

Dory turned white as parchment.

Aunt Daphne’s face burned red. Through clenched teeth, she said, “You rest, my dear. I shall have dinner sent up to your room.”

It was strange to see her stoic aunt so close to losing control. Sophia’s mind raced with what might have happened if she had been alone on her walk or not spotted Pundington when she had. A knot lodged in her stomach and she brushed away her tears. He might have dragged her away and no one would have known for hours. If he’d left her dead in the woods, it might have been her final resting place. A chill ran up her spine.

It was dark when Marie arrived with her dinner. She ate two bites of the delicious fish before pushing the plate aside. She sipped her tea and focused on the warm liquid sliding down her throat to her stomach. “I think I have gone mad.”

The empty room did nothing to quiet her worry. She tried to think of something besides his twisted leer peering out from behind a stand of trees. Those pale eyes too big for his face and set too deep in their sockets brimmed with hate and lust. He had smirked when she saw him.

When she attempted to push that thought aside, her mind wandered to Daniel Fallon’s intentions to seduce her that very night. Her life was careening out of control.

She placed her palm against her pounding breast and willed her heart to slow its jackrabbit pulse. Whatever the source of her anxiety, the events of the day or the events to take place in the night, she had to gain control. Bile rose in her throat.