Sophie Mallory Series 3-Book Bundle by Beverley Boissery

Author:Beverley Boissery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Published: 2016-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Sophie was fast asleep in her bedroom at Orr’s by the time Luc arrived back in Montreal. Only his pounding on the door woke her and Maggie, the maid the hotel had assigned to sleep in her room.

“Sssh,” Sophie whispered when she opened the door. “You’ll wake everyone.”

“Let me in. Do you have any food?”

Maggie tied her dressing gown securely around her waist, knotting the cord several times. After she had lit the lamps and blinked herself awake, she frowned at Luc. “You’re not supposed to be in here. Not at this hour.”

“I’m her brother,” Luc said, grinning disarmingly. “I have to talk to her. It’s a family emergency. Can you get me something to eat and some hot chocolate? Please?”

Sophie wasn’t sure if it was his smile or the golden guinea that put a sunny expression on the girl’s face. Maggie bobbed a curtsy and left, promising to return with a platter, lickety-split.

“Take your time,” Luc told her. “I have to tell Miss Sophie about our papa. He’s ill, you know.”

Sophie barely waited until Maggie was out of earshot before she bombarded Luc with questions. “Did you see Papa? When’s Lady Theo coming back?”

Luc took off his mud-splattered overcoat and boots and looked around for some place to put them. Finally, he flung them into a corner, then slowly walked across to the banked fire to warm himself. “It’s freezing out there,” he muttered, rubbing his hands over the coals.

Sophie pushed a chair close to him. “Sit down. You look exhausted. My questions can wait a few minutes.”

“Thanks.” Luc sank gratefully into the armchair. After a minute or so, he seemed to get his second wind. “Actually, though, your questions can’t wait. Sophie, I didn’t find Lady Theo.”

Sophie jumped out of her chair. “What do you mean you didn’t find her? She wrote the address of the nuns’ house on the letter she sent.”

“She was there when she wrote it, but since then, they moved your papa back to jail in Napierville. Apparently she went with him. That’s all I could find out.” When Sophie made a sound of protest, he put his hand up. “There’s worse news. About your father. It’s bad. The nuns told me quite proudly that a lieutenant-colonel had personally supervised the soldiers who took him. I asked myself, why would somebody as important as a colonel do such an ordinary job. The British must want your papa very much.”

“Well, Papa is important. As important as any old lieutenant-colonel, anyway.” Sophie blustered as tears flooded her eyes. “Oh, Luc, I was so sure that Lady Theo would sort everything out and bring him back with her. That’s why I wasn’t too upset when I got her letter. Even when the summons came, I still thought she’d walk into court with Papa and he’d tell Bert off. I never thought they’d put him in jail again.” She sat down on the floor beside the fire, pulled her knees to her chin and sobbed quietly.

Luc left the chair and sat beside her.

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