To Woo and to Wed by Martha Waters

Author:Martha Waters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2024-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Sophie was at Hookham’s circulating library, half-listening to Violet and Jane as they debated at length the merits of two volumes of poetry Violet was attempting to decide between, when she heard her name uttered by perhaps her least-favorite voice in all of London.

All of England, even. The world? Given that Sophie had never left the country, for her this was one and the same.

“Lady Fitzwilliam.”

She wheeled around and discovered that her ears had not deceived her: the Duke of Dovington was, indeed, standing a few feet away, regarding her with a mixture of hostility and curiosity. Sophie was all at once acutely conscious of every single thing about her personal appearance, and was glad that she happened to be wearing a newish gown of sky-blue silk embroidered with small white flowers—not terribly formal, as it had not seemed necessary for a simple afternoon outing to the library, but she was wearing a new pair of gloves and the ribbons on her hat matched her gown and, all in all, she thought she looked perfectly presentable. Even to a duke.

Even to this duke.

She gritted her teeth, and dropped into a curtsey. Violet, sensing some disturbance, turned, and her face went slightly pale at the sight of her father-in-law. She and Jane curtsied as well, though Sophie noted with some amusement that Violet’s was perhaps a trifle shallower than it should have been.

The duke acknowledged his daughter-in-law with a short nod. “Lady James.”

“Have you met Lady Penvale yet, Your Grace?” Sophie asked. “She is fairly newly arrived in town.”

“I have not,” the duke said, offering a slight inclination of the head in Jane’s direction. “Best wishes for your marriage.” It was not uttered with much warmth, but it was slightly less dismissive than Sophie might have expected from him, considering that Jane’s family was of considerably more humble origins than her husband’s—or even Sophie’s, for that matter. Of course, Jane had not had the audacity to attempt to marry one of the duke’s sons. He could afford to be polite to her.

“Thank you,” Jane said faintly, looking entirely out of her depth to be conversing with a duke; Sophie knew that she felt a bit like a fish out of water amid Penvale’s more elevated circle. This was likely doing nothing to make her feel more comfortable—but then, one did not expect to bump into a duke at a lending library! Didn’t he have servants to fetch books for him? Couldn’t he buy any books he wanted? This thought crept into Sophie’s mind along with a sudden rush of dark suspicion—it was odd that he was here. Had he somehow sought her out? It seemed too peculiar and unexpected a coincidence that he should suddenly happen to be here—a place she could not imagine that he frequented—at the exact same hour that she was.

“Lady Fitzwilliam, would you be so kind as to spare me a moment of your time—perhaps outside?” the duke inquired.

Sophie and Violet exchanged startled glances; Sophie had

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