A Bright Particular Star (30 page)

****

Across the room
Sophie, studying
Theo
from under her lashes, murmured her agreement
to this
, but
with
out
conviction
. S
he was sure he had no intention of comi
ng back.
Why
would
he
want to
see her again
?
On the contrary,
he
would be glad to be rid o
f
the
annoying
chit
who
h
ad
disrupted his life
.

S
he
was already feeling unsure
about he
r decision to come here.
Lady Verney had been welcoming but, n
otwithstanding his understandable surprise, James
’s
reaction
to her arrival
had been less than encouraging
.
Sophie
had refused to look beyond their meeting and
the impulsi
veness she had shown in leaving Ludstone
was suddenly being borne
in upon her
now
.
She could
not regret it entirely
—
every minute she
spent away from her erstwhile home and her relations
made her more determined never
to go back
—
but
there was
already
a creeping realisation
she
might have
exchanged
one difficult situation
for
another.
The
only
bright aspect
to emerge
from the
whole
wretched
business
was meeting Theo
.

Compelled to help
her
out of
a sense of honour and solicitude
for her safety
,
then
plunged int
o a scandal and events
not of his making,
Theo
had behaved with i
mpeccable propriety, patience and
fortitude.
She had liked him from the outset and so e
asy was his manner that she
felt i
t was he rather than James
she had known most of her life.
With a heavy heart, she acknowledged she had
placed him in the worst
situation imaginable
.
Little
wonder
he would be glad to forget
her.

When he took his leave
and
she watched him walk out of the room
,
and most likely
out of her life
,
she
felt more
miserable
than ever
.

Two weeks later,
Sophie
’s
situation had not improved
.

Lady Verney
was a woman of
good nature but little
common-sense.
She was also
in thrall to
her son,
always
deferring
to his opinion
.
Everything he said and everything he did was to be a
greed with
.
Sophie, unable to
concur
, had said nothing
.
S
he did not want to upset her hostess who had been
extremely kind
.

Lady Verney
had
declar
ed herself
delighted to have
Sophie
’s
company.
Learning of
her cloistered existence since her come-out, Lady Verney
had
describe
d
the
t
reats awaiting
her and promised to
accompany Soph
ie to as many of these
as her health
and energy
would allow.

S
he had taken Sophie
to her
own modiste
and instructed
that lady to dress Sophie
in a manner befitting
her
position as their guest
,
and direct the
bills to
Brook Street.
W
hen Sophie demurred
, Lady Verney
had
said
she would not be denied the
pleasure
of rigging
Sophie
out in the
most exclusive fashions wh
en she had no daughter of her own to indulge.

Lady Verney
’s
understanding might not be
great
, but
s
he knew the rules of s
ociety.
She
lost no time
in launching
Sophie into its midst
,
ensuring she
was included on the
steady stream of
invitation cards
that arrived in
Brook Stree
t
,
as well as taking her
on morning ca
lls and shopping expeditions
.
Upon
being asked if she was enjoying herself,
Sophie
was
able to reply that she was
.
It wasn
’t
a complete lie
—
London
was
diverting
to someone who had seen so little of the world
,
and she
evinced
such a candid, unsophisticate
d appreciation
of her surroundings
as to make her
welcomed
f
or her own sake
as well as Lady Verney
’s
.

Sophie
wore the Star at all times
,
much to Lady Verney
’s
initial
displeasure who, unaware of
its t
rue worth, had observed the
pin to be a
”
s
weet
but vulgar piece
,
quite
unsuitable for wearing in London
.
”

U
nwilling to divulge
to James
or Lady
Verney
that
it contained the Star,
Sophie
s
aid it had belonged to her
mother
and
she w
ore it for sentimental reason
s
,
which was true enough
in an obscure way.
This explana
tion was accepted
since Sophie
’s
attachment to the piece
was obvious
and
her Ladyship, being kind
-
hearted, had resolved not to tease
her about it
further
.

Sophie was
relieved that no
melodramatic
events had occurred
since
her arrival
.
No m
idnight intruders
had
invaded
her room
,
no
men swathed in
greatcoats and mufflers
had
watc
hed
her
from across
the street.
N
or
,
as far as she was aware
,
had she
been followed.
In
fact,
the social
whirlwind she had been swept
into
left little
opportunity to watch for anything unusual
because each day was crammed with engagements.
She felt overwhelmed
at times, but
did her best not
to feel
ungrateful, knowing
Lady Verney
’s
efforts sprang
not only
from
good intentions
but
from
a
pressin
g need to see Sophie
’s
future
settled.

Sophie had
anticipated
James
‘s
shock at her
arrival
.
S
he
had
not
expected to find him
so altered
.
His attitude toward her had continued to be cool, almost hostile and
,
n
ow she had had the opportuni
ty to observe him
at close quarters
, she saw
h
e
had acquired a
priggish air
in the intervening years
which she
found distasteful
.
The
engaging
youth
h
ad been replaced by a man she barely
recognise
d
and she was cons
cious of a
cloying
sense of disappointment
.

Several
days
after
her arrival
in Brook Street, he
had
sat across the
breakfast
table
recounting
a litany o
f her imperfections
.
They were alone as Lady Verney had not yet emerged from her bedchamber.

James
had
clearly
bided his
time before voicing his opinions,
although Sophie was unsure why
he had because it
had
increase
d
his irritation
.
His
observations on the lack of propriety surro
unding her flight
were followed by a long
invective
, delivered in
a
calm
but condemnatory
tone
,
on his
d
ispleasure at
her behaviour
generally
,
his
astonishment she
should have invol
ved
Mr
Cavanagh
and his belief that her father would be turning in his grave at her actions.

S
ophie, who had listened
in silence and
with as much patience as she could muster, found her
self growing
more
and more
angry
until she
blurted
out,
“
No, he would no
t!
He would think I did
the right thing and if
you had not become so
insufferably pompous,
James,
you would t
hink so too!
What do you know about my life in recent years?
Did you ever give a thought to how I was going on?
I don
’t
believe you did!
You
certainly
neve
r wrote to me.
You cannot imagine
I would h
ave come here in such a fashion
unless
I considered it necessary.
”
A self-cons
cious blush
rose to her cheeks.
“
Indeed,
I had hop
ed you would be glad to see me.
T
he promise we made to one another before you left for Eton
—
”

“T
hat piece of foolish, i
mmature nonsense!
”
He gave
a snort of disapproval.
“
I h
ope you did not set out with an
expectation of it being fulfilled because we
have both grown up—
”
When he ca
ught a glimpse of her face
, he stopped.
“
Good grief
,
so
you
did
consider we might
marry!
”
he said
, after a
pause.

M
ortified
, Sophie could not articulate that she had,
but there was no need to
—
her stricken look
t
old him
.
He had not
laugh
ed
out loud, but
his expression
was one of incredulity
tinged with pity.
She dip
ped her head, wishing the floor
would
open up and swallow her.
S
carlet with embarrassment, she
managed to stammer,
“
W-Well, it ma
y have been a piece of
nonsense
to you, but it was an oath
I would have honoured.
Or at least I thought I would.
You have changed
, James—
”

“S
o have you.
”

“
I suppose so
,
”
she acknowledged,
lifting her chin,
“
but at least
I have not become a dandified fribble
—
”

“
A fribble
!
”

“
—who thinks it
fashionable to look bored
and treat
s
an old friend as if she were
a reckless
half-wit
!
”

“
I have not treated you in that way
,
”
he said, affronted.

“
Indeed you have.
I know
I have bee
n impulsive and should
perhaps
h
ave tried harder
to send word ahead
,
but
it is unkind
to chastise me so severely
when you know nothing
of my circumstances
.
Your welcome was
tepid at best
, your manner toward me
since then has been churlish.
If it were
not for your m
ama
’s
kindness, I would have left this house within an hour of set
ting foot in it!
I
see now
I h
ave m
ade a
stupid
mistak
e and
must
ask you to
consider our
pledge at an end.
”

He executed a swift bow, saying
bluntly
,
“
I believe
that is the ri
ght decision.
We would not suit, you know.
Besides,
I am already
betrothed
.
”