Page 21 of A Wicked Viscount's Stormy Affair
Her heart fluttered, her tummy twisted and churned, and he made her want to do things that she most certainly should not. Especially with a man that she was not married to.
No one had ever made her feel like that before, and she felt like she was completely addicted to that sensation.
But Katherine’s warnings kept replaying in her mind:“He is a rake who gambled away the family fortune and vanished.”That was what she said about Gregory’s brother, and the last thing that Sophie wanted to do was get herself mixed up with a man who would not treat her, and her family name and wealth, well. If this was all true, then she had been fooled by George, made to believe that he was a good man, and she did not like the idea of being fooled.
What on earth was she going to do about the mess she had found herself in?
“Miss Sophie, oh my goodness…” Lily came bursting in to Sophie’s bed chambers with excitement dripping off her tongue. “You will not believe it. We must dress you in your finest day dress immediately. I am going to have to style your hair to accentuate all your finest features.”
Sophie rose to her feet with her heart hammering in her throat. “What do you mean?”
“There are a line of suitors waiting at the door to visit with you. They are all here with trinkets and flowers, gifts for you. This is terribly exciting, you must have made quite the impression on the guests at the Thompson ball last night.”
Sophie could hardly believe it.
Her pulse pounded with a nervous anxiety.
But this was also very exciting. She had never been blessed with a line of potential suitors before. The attention was thoroughly thrilling.
“Oh my, Lily, what am I going to wear? How will I deal with all of this?”
Lily giggled excitedly. “You will be wonderful, Miss Sophie. These gentlemen are lucky to get to spend some time with you.”
Sophie beamed at her hand maid, grateful to have her help. “Thank you, Lily. Let us find what gown I can wear while these men try to charm me.”
***
Sophie could feel her excitement waning just a little bit.
Yes, it was wonderful to have so many gifts and compliments, to have so many men suggesting that they wanted to court her, but the attention did notallfeel positive.
Such as the moment Lord Daniel Humphreys entered her drawing room with roses clutched between his fingers. Sophie knew from Katherine and Victoria, that this gentleman was already embroiled in a sordid love triangle with Lady Emily Black and Lady Sarah Smith.
The last thing that Sophie wanted was to get in the middle of that.
Plus, she could not help herself. There was really only one person that she wanted to see walking through that door. It was only George in her mind as she entertained others. His smile, his inquisitive eyes, his friendship… not that she was entirely sure what that would look like at the moment…
“No, no, it is my turn next!” a loud voice boomed through the room. “I have been waiting for far too long, and Iknowthat Lady Dashwood will want to talk to me…”
Sophie was absolutely stunned to the core as she stared at Gregory, who was in the middle of fighting his way to the front of the queue to talk to her. She was a little shocked by this behavior. It was brash, unlike the way that he came across the night before.
“Ah, Lady Dashwood, you look absolutely beautiful,” he declared as he handed her a very expensive bouquet of flowers. “It is an absolute pleasure to be in your presence once again.”
He bowed, and Sophie found herself curtsying and smiling despite herself.
It was nice to see a familiar face.
“Thank you for coming to see me, Lord Harrington.”
They took their seats and talked a little. Not about anything in particular, just small talk, but it was enough for Sophie to be reminded of how sweet and entertaining he was. He even made her laugh a little, which was nice.
“I cannot believe that I met your brother before you,” she suddenly declared, bringing up the one topic of conversation that had so far been avoided. “On the boat. How strange…”
Gregory’s face fell a little. “Well, he is already making his plans to return to Sweden.”
“Oh, he is?” Sophie struggled to keep the disappointment from her voice.
“He has a business to run. He is not lucky enough to be able to spend time courting beautiful women and attending fancy balls. He must keep working hard…”
