Three Original Ladies 02 - Lord Trowbridge’s Angel (12 page)

The future stretched before him as featureless as a tide-washed beach. The only thing he could think of doing was writing a long letter to Sophie, casting himself on her mercy.

If she still refused him, Frank would not be able to bear staying in London. He would go down to Oxfordshire. It was time that he stopped being a useless fribble.

With his mind made up on this point, Frank walked home and set about writing his letter.

{ 17 }

FANNY EVENTUALLY COAXED SOPHIE
out of the attic and into a warm bath. When she was bundled in her cotton flannel nightrail and tucked up with dinner on a tray, Sophie’s sister told her she would be back when she had eaten.

Sophie could eat only some soup and a bit of baked custard. She carefully kept her mind a blank, but her body was not deceived.

When Fanny returned, she had Alexa in her arms. As she nursed her baby, she insisted on knowing what terrible thing had occurred. “For I have never been so shocked in my life as I was at finding you so distrait.”

Sophie said, “I will tell you, but then let us not speak of it.”

“All right. I would not ask it, Sophie, but I am terribly worried about you, and want to help if I can.”

“Frank has a mistress. Lady Manwaring. The day he first kissed me and told me … well, promised me that his intentions were honorable … she came to him that night and stayed with him until one in the morning. He put her into a hackney wearing his dressing gown. It was a betrayal of the worst sort.”

“How did Shrewsbury know this?” Fanny’s voice was tight.

“He was on his way to see why Frank had not been at a ball that night. He witnessed the hackney business.”

Her sister remained silent for a time. The only sounds in the room were Alexa’s smacking sounds as she nursed.

“You are right,” Fanny said with spirit. “It was a betrayal. We will not speak of it further. I will write to Peter and Elise. I will tell Buck.”

~
~*

Upon receiving a letter from Frank the next morning, Sophie could not bear to read it, nor could she bring herself to destroy it. Instead, she locked it in her jewel case until she determined what Lady Manwaring had to say.

Dressing in her apricot dress with the Van Dyke collar and white wool spencer, she slipped out of the house before rehearsal. Her maid, Sally, accompanied her. Not knowing the Manwaring’s address, she asked Perkins to fetch a hackney for her.

“Lady Manwaring’s residence,” she told the jarvey.

The townhouse was but two blocks away. The gray house was large and imposing, set back from the street with a large rose garden in front, divided by a flagged walkway. Sophie walked with as much dignity as she could up to the front door and rapped sharply with the knocker.

A butler of indeterminate age answered and took her card up to his mistress.

Leaving Sally on a bench in the hall, she entered a sitting room of gold and white, the perfect setting for a strawberry blonde beauty who was dressed strikingly in royal blue.

“Good morning, Lady Manwaring,” Sophie sketched a little curtsey as best she could. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“Remind me where we met, my dear. It is the most frustrating thing, but I cannot remember,” the woman said with her gamine smile.

Because there was a distinctly speculative look in the lady’s eye, Sophie was convinced she knew all about her and was just trying to put her at a disadvantage.

“I am the woman you met with Frank at Lord and Lady Kent’s ball.”

“Ah … yes, I remember. You must be intimate with Lord Trowbridge if you call him Frank.”

Sophie cursed herself for the slip of her tongue. “Frank is a close friend of my family’s.”

“Ah … let me guess. You are wondering if I am Frank’s mistress.”

“More specifically, I beg you to tell me in all honesty if you were with Frank four nights ago.”

Lady Manwaring tipped her head to the side and looked up, as though she were trying to remember.

“Yes. Yes, I was. We stayed in that evening.”

Sophie’s heart instantly protested with a sharp ache. She forced herself to ask the next question.”And what time did you leave?”

“That is a very impertinent question.”

“I am cursed with a very impertinent nature.”

The lady pursed her lips, once again putting her head to the side. All at once, comprehension seemed to dawn in her eyes.

“Frank put me in a hackney. When I arrived here, it was just after one a.m. Does that tell you what you want to know, Miss Edwards?”

Sophie did her best to remain erect as the blow pounded into her. Shrewsbury was right.

The world was spinning off kilter, but she managed to say, “I will show myself out.”

Holding tightly to the stair railing, she willed herself not to fall. The door to her future had just slammed in her face. Her insides twisted with this cruel betrayal of her trust. It was surely the worst thing that had ever happened to her. She barely caught herself in time to prevent a fall down the stairs. Her knee ached abominably.

When at last she gained the ground floor, she nodded to Sally, who waited for her on a bench. The butler opened the door.

It was raining, and she had not brought her umbrella. But she could not stay in this house. Moving as quickly as her knee would allow, she went out the door the butler held open. Sally followed.

Staring down at the muddy streets, she held up the hem of her skirt and tried to avoid the puddles. That was how she came to cannon squarely into a gentleman.

Startled, she looked up to see Frank observing her. His face shifted from surprise to concern. He grasped her arm and said, “Sophie! Angel! Share my umbrella. You are wet through.”

“I am not, nor have I ever been an angel. Particularly not
your
angel.” She yanked her arm out of his grasp, amazed she could tolerate the fresh pain lancing through her.

“But what are you doing out at this hour of the morning without a pelisse or an umbrella? Surely you could see it was going to rain.”

“I have been to see your mistress, Lord Trowbridge. Any relations between the two of us are now at an end. Good day.” She tried to move off swiftly, but her knee was painful in the damp and her limp most pronounced. She welcomed the flood of anger that now held the pieces of her heart together.

Frank followed her, sheltering her with his umbrella. “Sophie, she is no longer my mistress. I broke with her the morning after the Kents’ ball.”

“I do not believe you. You are capable of the very worst deceit. On the same day you kissed me, although I imagine it meant little to you, you spent the night in her arms!”

He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her so she faced him. The rain cascaded down over all sides of his umbrella. Frank’s face was tight and grim. “Who told you such a tale?”

“Lord Shrewsbury. And Lady Manwaring confirmed it just now.”

“It is completely untrue.” He shook her slightly in his vehemence. “Lady Manwaring came to me that night, pleading for me to take her back. She was the worse for drink. I left her on the sofa in my library to sleep it off, then went upstairs and spent the evening lost in dreams of you.” He put his gloved hand to her cheek and wiped the raindrops away with his thumb.

Sophie could not move.

“I forgot her completely, Sophie. When I remembered to check on her, it was past midnight. I saw her to a hackney. That is a true account. You must believe me, Sophie. I swear it on my life!”

His earnestness penetrated the sad fog in her brain, but she was unwilling to trust his words.

“I am very cold, and my knee is exceptionally painful. I will accept your escort the rest of the way home. But only because you possess an umbrella.”

“I fear you may have caught your death in such weather, darling. Here. Hold the umbrella. I will carry you.” Frank hoisted her into his arms. In spite of herself, she welcomed his warmth and the evidence of his concern.

“Did you get my letter?” he asked.

“Yes. But I did not read it.”

“Did you destroy it?”

Sophie wanted to tell him she had, but instead, she admitted she had not. As she began to tremble violently, she remembered poor Sally.

“My maid!” She looked behind her at the miserable girl huddled in her shawl.

“Yes. She is very wet,” he said. “But we are nearly there.” Frank held her tightly, but he could not still her trembling.

When they arrived at the Deal Townhouse, Frank walked straight in, addressing Perkins. “Go to your mistress straightaway. I found Miss Edwards walking in the rain. I am dreadfully afraid she has caught a chill.”

Sophie’s trembling only increased. Frank continued to hold her close. Her attraction toward him had not diminished. His arms were welcome. Could what he said be true? She was too cold and too tired to move out of his embrace.

“Fanny will take care of me now. I would appreciate it if you would leave.”

“I do not blame you for feeling as you do, but I will wait with you.” He sat her down carefully on a bench by the door.

To her distress, he began pacing the entryway. Lord Shrewsbury came down the stairs. He must have been awaiting Sophie in the morning room. She closed her eyes and willed both of them away.

No greetings were exchanged. Instead, she heard the loud crack of a blow. When she opened her eyes, it was to find Lord Shrewsbury stretched flat on the floor. Into this scene walked Fanny.

“Frank! What have you done?” Before he could answer, her eyes landed on Sophie. “Oh, my love, you are drenched. Never mind these stupid fellows. Come with me. We must get you warm.”

Fanny asked Frank to carry Sophie and follow her up the stairs. Once in Sophie’s room, she dismissed him curtly. She stripped Sophie of her clothing and asked, “Your knee must pain you terribly in this damp.”

“It does hurt, Fan, but it will be better presently.”

“A hot bath will help.”

“Sally may have caught a chill. Please see that she gets one, as well. I was exceptionally foolish not to see that it might rain.”

“Where were you?” Fanny asked, wrapping a heavy quilt around her sister.

Sophie told her about her visit to Lady Manwaring. “Frank denies everything. I do not know whom to believe.”

“I know you are heartsick, but I am very worried you are going to become ill. You were on that cold floor in the attic all those hours yesterday, and now I cannot stop your trembling. Sophie, you must have a care for your health. You know you are not strong!”

A string of servants carrying jugs of hot, steaming water began entering and pouring her bath. Sophie climbed into the tub with Fanny’s help. Her sister began pouring the hot water over her cold, wet hair, and told the chambermaid to see to building up the fire.

Sophie’s chill did not leave her, even in the hot water. She tried to think of the things Frank had said, but all she could remember was Lady Manwaring’s scorn. Frank had admitted that she had been his mistress. What could cause him to have feelings for a girl like Sophie Edwards when he had had such a woman in his bed for who knows how long?

As her teeth chattered, a fierce headache began.

“Enough,” Fanny said. “We must get you dry and into your bed.”

Sophie was glad of Fanny’s comforting presence in the midst of her confusion.

{ 18 }

FRANK’S ANGER AT SHREWSBURY
was contained as soon as he realized that his friend had seen him in his dressing gown, putting Lila into the hackney. That he cared genuinely for Sophie, Frank had no doubt. When Shrewsbury took his leave from the Deals’ house, there was an uneasy peace between them.

Instead of leaving with him, Frank asked the butler to show him to Buck’s library. The marquis frowned upon his entrance.

“You are not welcome here, Frank.”

“I can imagine how you must feel and I am sorry for it, but it has all been a misunderstanding and now Sophie has been drenched in this rain and I am worried for her health.”

“First, tell me how she could possibly have misunderstood your mistress’s coming and going the very day you had the temerity to kiss her! I knew you were a fribble, but I didn’t take you for a cad.”

Frank explained, “I love Sophie, Buck. There is nothing in this world that I would not do for her. And I respect her. You must believe, I would never treat her ill.” Leaning on the desk with his arms, he said, “There was never anything between Lila and me other than a convenience. We were often together socially at political doings. Her husband is in the country most of the time. But it was over between us the day after I met Sophie.”

Frank observed Buck’s raised eyebrow and stern countenance. His friend did not believe a word he was saying. He continued his attempt to persuade him. “Lila came the night after I realized I was in love with Sophie. She was bored, I think. Also, very drunk. She tried to reignite things, but I put her in a cab to go home. Nothing happened between us.”

“And you expect a sheltered miss like Sophie who has lived in the country all her life to understand and forgive your relationship?”

Frank put his face in his hands. “It is no worse than Shrewsbury’s and many others.’ You know that, Buck.”

“It looks very different from this perspective, Frank.”

He began pacing the library. “I wrote her a letter. She never read it, but she still has it. Falling in love with Sophie has changed me. It has made me want to live an intentional life. I told her what she could expect from me.”

Buck steepled his hands in front of him and leaned back in his chair. “It is going to be very hard for Sophie to learn to trust you again.”

“Did loving Fanny not change your life?”

“Radically, as a matter of fact. I never saw myself as the marrying type.”

“Then you must agree that it is possible for a man to change.”

“I see your point. But I tell you that you are going to have an uphill battle to convince Sophie of that fact.”

“I’m willing to face it.”

“Well, she won’t see any more of you today. She’s completely done up.”

“I would like to make myself useful. Perhaps there is some preparation I could obtain from the apothecary for Sophie. Or go for the doctor if that becomes necessary.”