Page 5 of A Wicked Viscount's Stormy Affair
Chapter 3
Sebastian had spent most of the meals seated beside her father, talking and laughing with them and charming Sophie a lot.
He seemed to be a kind and funny person, with an open heart and a sweet side.
Sophie wondered if that was the sort of man she would end up marrying someday. Someone who could make her smile, make her laugh, a man who got along with her parents as well.
Of course, she had no idea why Sebastian was headed to London, he had not said anything over dinner, but it was an interesting thought…
Just because she had not felt a spark around that man did not mean a thing. She was not even sure what a ‘spark’ was supposed to feel like, it was just something that she had read about in books.
Maybe it was something writers made up, who knew?
“Did you hear the captain at dinner time?” her mother asked, dragging her attention back to the present moment. “There might be a storm tonight. We should be careful.”
“A storm?” Sophie had to admit that she had not heard the captain speaking. She had been too distracted, too lost in her own thoughts. The closer they got to London, the more the nerves started to take over. She was still excited, of course, that would not subside, but the reality of everything was creeping up on her, and she was afraid. “How bad? Did the captain say?”
“He did not mention,” her father responded. “But I am hoping it will not sway the ship around too much because I do not wish to get seasick.”
At least he was worrying about that and not the boat crashing. Because that was the first terrifying though that crossed Sophie’s mind. The idea of the ship overturning, with everyone on it, hit her hard.
“As long as we stay in our cabins, we will be fine,” her mother tutted. “You do not need to worry about that. We can simply rest until morning when it will have passed over us.”
As her parents started to talk about getting dressed for bed, Sophie made her excuses and headed to her own bed, closing the door behind her.
She took a glance out the window, but that did not give her any clue about what was to come. The sky looked peaceful, like nothing was on the horizon, but if the captain had talked about a storm, then it was probably on the way.
“Come on, Douglas,” she said quietly to her dog. “Get on the bed with me.”
She sighed heavily as she pulled out her night dress to prepare for the night ahead, but she felt a little wired. Like she might not be able to switch off and sleep for even a moment, which was unlikely, and not just because of the storm overhead, but because her mind felt absolutely jumbled with thoughts. Thoughts that were simply piling up because she did not have anywhere for them to go.
***
Sophie was enjoying herself, dancing in a fancy ballroom in a gorgeously lavender gown with a dark-haired gentleman who kept smiling at her as if she was the best thing to have ever happened to him. She did not even know his name, but he seemed to be in love with her.
He had the look of adoration in his eyes as if he wanted her to be his wife already, and she had to admit that she wanted this to. Because he was a prince, about to be king of England one day.
But all of a sudden, before she could quite wrap her head around what was happening, the prince had staggered back from her, and he had a look of horror in his face.
A cracking sound knocked him backwards.
He fell to the floor.
The rumbling as a thousand dogs came speeding towards the prince knocked her backwards too. She could not get to the prince however hard she tried. The dogs barking did not want her to either. They were growing louder and louder with every moment.
Sophie gasped.
She bolted up right in bed, covered in sweat as she tried to work out what was real, and what had just happened in her brain.
Because that was a dream, right? It had to be.
Yet the next cracking sound really made her jump, and as the lightning flashed into the room, Douglas began barking once more, making all the sounds from her dream all too real.
But there was no ballroom and certainly no prince.
“Douglas, come here,” she whispered to her pet. “I need you…”
But the next flash of lightning showed Sophie that she really should be terrified. That there was a reason for this ice-cold fear currently cascading through her body. Because the swaying of the ship had flung her door open, out into the hallway, and now Douglas in his fearful state was running through said door.
