Page 42 of A Wicked Viscount's Stormy Affair
She scanned her eyes around the garden once more, desperately trying to find him, and this time she got lucky.
Sophie blinked a couple of times to ensure she was not imagining things, but this time she was not. It washim, George was here, and he was looking her way also.
Everyone else in the garden seemed to melt into nothingness.
No one else mattered, only him and the way that he had kick started her heart all over again.
Chapter 19
Knock, knock.
George’s stomach flip flopped as he banged on the door.
This was not going to go down well.
But as he lifted his fist to knock again, he felt no guilt.
It was time forhimto make an unprecedented move.
Still, he stiffened his spine as the door swung open, and he found himself face to face with his brother, for the very first time since the false letter which made him miss the ball.
Gregory had answered the door himself, which was unusual, but maybe he did not want the footman greeting everyone when he was trying his best to show off.
It was a little strange for George to be face to face with his brother like this, knowing what he had now become acutely aware of.
But George was not about to let Gregory know that he could sense his brother’s hate.
“Good afternoon,” George said, with a much-too-bright smile. “Good to see you, Gregory.”
Gregory’s cheeks shone red with anger as soon as he spotted who was on the other side of the door. George knew there was a reason that he had not received an invitation to the events of the day, but as soon as he heard about them, he also knew that he was coming.
“What are you doing here?” Gregory demanded in a pinched tone of voice. “I was not expecting a visit from you today.”
George smiled. “I should not have to alert you when I am coming to my own home. This house is technically still mine too, do not forget? I thought that it was such a shame that we missed one another at theWarren’s Arms,so I would make up for it now.”
George did not wait for his brother to invite him inside. That was never going to happen when he had a lot of guests in there already, whom he wanted to make a positive impression on. He simply side-stepped Gregory and walked down the hallway to greet the other people there. It was a little strange though, to be back in this house after so many years. For a long time, he had no believed this would ever happen. He thought when he left for Sweden, he would never return.
He did not think he would ever need to come back.
“Good afternoon, how nice it is to see you,” George made a point of calling out to everyone he came across, knowing that it would upset Gregory. The more people that saw George, the less likely Gregory would be to kick him out. Anything to save face in public. “Welcome to our home, thank you so much for coming today.”
After he had been left sitting in that nasty bar for hours, waiting for a reconciliation that was never going to happen, George felt like the gloves were off. If Gregory wanted to turn this into an unnecessary war, then that was exactly what would happen.
There was already a crowd of guests in the yard, some of them partaking in lawn games. Shuttlecock, Croquet, Ludo… but that was not what George had come for. He did not need to impress the ton or make an effort to mingle. He was searching for one person in particular, and he would not stop until he sought her out.
After all, there was no way that Gregory would host such an event without Lady Sophie Dashwood there. Not when she was the woman he wished to woo.
If only he saw her for who she really was, and not what she could offer him. If only Gregory could see how wonderful a person she was, but he did not care for that, just as he did not care for George. It was actually unlikely that Gregory cared for anyone at all.
Other than himself, of course.
He only wanted Sophie’s family money and that was not fair. It was not going to happen.
There she is!
Relief flooded Gregory the moment he rested his eyes upon Sophie. She was with some friends who seemed to be teaching her the rules of Grandmother’s Trunk. He loved the way that she was laughing with them and looking like she was having a wonderful time. That immediately calmed down the racing anger in George’s heart.
Gregory did not yet have her in tears, which was just wonderful.
