Page 8 of A Sham Betrothal
A knock sounded on the door, and Mary went past her to open it. It occurred to Sophie a moment too late that itwould likely be Sheldon, the very last person she wished to see.
“Ah, Mary. Here is my hat. Sophie.” Sheldon glided forward and held her hand firmly in his, patting it and offering her a fulsome look, which caused his chin to quiver. She slipped her hand from his, accepting the inevitable.
“Please, join me in the sitting room. Mary, you may bring us some tea, if you please.”
The maid dipped a curtsy for Sheldon’s sake and disappeared, leaving Sophie to entertain her unwelcome visitor.
When he had settled himself comfortably, he looked around the room with a critical air at the simple furnishings. Then he turned to meet her regard. “What didMoe-syurPichon say?”
“The most outlandish thing,” she retorted, her fire returning at the memory. “He said to prepare for the worst.” She clamped her lips shut to ward off the inexplicable urge to cry. “Grandmama is unwell, but it’s just a slight fever and cough, for heaven’s sake. I would much rather he bring her medicine than offer a lugubrious prognosis.”
“Ah, but Sophie, you can know nothing of the matter. Although he is French, he is a doctor—and a man—and as such must have more knowledge of her true situation than you could guess at. I am sure you might trust what he says.”
After a quick glance at the open door and the empty corridor beyond it, he turned his gaze back to her. “I know we have not yet discussed the matter openly, but I believe we should announce our betrothal early on in our stay in Paris to avoid confusion. I’ve seen the way that French marquess thinks to make you the object of his attention, and it would be well for him to know you are already spoken for.”
Betrothal?Sophie’s eyes grew large, and she could feel the color shoot up to her hairline. “I beg your pardon, but there is no betrothal to announce, for you have not asked but only hinted, and I have certainly given you neither a positive answer, nor even encouragement.”
“Ah.” He leaned forward on the chair, and in doing so managed to encroach upon her space without being within arm’s length.
“Then let me waste no time in making my intentions clear, Sophie. I have expressed them often enough to your grandmother and have found her receptive to the idea. Therefore,youcould surely have no objections.” He planted his elbows on his knees and opened his palms. “Naturally, I assumed you and she had spoken of it and that the matter was understood, but that your maidenly sensitivity hindered you from revealing your own wishes.”
Sophie stood, causing Sheldon to scramble to his feet. “I assure you my maidenly sensitivity would not lead me to offer you false hope. My grandmother has spoken of her wishes to see me avoid a life of reduced means by entering into an advantageous match. But she knows—for I have told her—that I cannot entertain the notion of an alliance where my affections are not engaged.”
Sheldon frowned and a sudden flush caused his pointed nose to turn red. “Choosing to marry for affection is not something I hold to, you must know. It is a modern notion and has nothing to recommend it. Marriage is best brought about when a man has thought through the advantages and draws up the contract with a sober and steady mind.”
At this, Sophie’s lip twitched. Despite the dreadful timing of the proposal and her worry for her grandmother, the complete lack of finesse by her would-be intended provoked an inappropriate desire to laugh. It was eitherthat or burst into a fit of melancholy, and she had no wish to appear weak. She took a brief moment to marshal her thoughts before the obvious struck her.
“But what do you hope to gain from the match, Sheldon? You say you enter into it with a cool head, but you know very well I bring no dowry. How can you claim that this is an advantageous match foryou? I can see none.”
She seemed to have hit home a point because he looked confused for a moment. It was brief, however, before his natural pomposity regained itself. He stretched his chin up as though to loosen a constricting cravat.
“Well…” He cleared his throat. “At times, a gentleman might propose for noble reasons—to save a woman from an uncomfortable fate. That, too, is a rational decision.”
“Thatismost noble, I assure you,” Sophie answered, eager to make herself very clear. “Since you have proposed in such an altruistic manner, allow me to repay your kindness in the most charitable way I can. That is to reject your generous proposal for the simple reason that I feel we should not suit. To avoid further discomfort, I wish you will say no more on the topic.”
“I believe your rejection is too hastily given, and you would do well to lend my proposal more consideration.” Sheldon stopped short and looked toward the corridor, where Sophie heard the sounds of the tea cups being set on the tray.
She went over to shut the door. Mary would know not to enter with the door closed, and Sophie had only one objective, which was to cut short Sheldon’s stay. She was soon grateful for having done so, for she would not like her grandmother to have overheard the rest.
“We are here in Paris because of my willingness to provide escort for the journey. We are both aware that youand your grandmother could not otherwise have come. I undertook this journey with the understanding that marriage was a settled thing between us, Sophie. But I must warn you, I should not be comfortable staying in this dreadful city if I learn we are not to be married after all. And you will not find it an easy thing to remain here without me, or even to return to London, without my help to ease your way.”
“I am glad we understand each other,” she replied, her temper rising. “You require that I marry you if I do not wish to be left completely to my own devices with Grandmama sick and few friends in the city?”
He drew himself up stiffly. “I did not quite say that. I have an esteem for your grandmother. I wish for her to be well. I will not abandon you here without offering some assistance, but I most certainly will not remain the length of our intended stay. You would do well to reflect on this before you reject my proposal in such definitive terms.”
Sheldon’s face was visibly red around his jowls, and he walked toward the door to the sitting room. Before he opened it, he turned back to face her with a stiff bow.
“I will bid you good day.”
“Good day,” Sophie mumbled, grasping at the most basic courtesy. Her fears for her grandmother, made worse by the doctor’s dire prognosis, had made it difficult to greet Sheldon’s unwanted and ill-timed marriage proposal with any degree of civility.
She sat suddenly as Mary brought the tray in.
“He didn’t stay long.”
“I encouraged his early departure,” Sophie replied. “Mary, come and sit. You may share some of my tea. We are too humble a household to stand upon ceremony, and thisis an unusual situation we are in, living as we do, far from England.”
Mary sat quietly on the edge of the chair, clearly ill at ease with the notion, and waited while Sophie poured the tea. They each drank without speaking. Sophie was worried, and Mary was wise enough not to fill the silence with empty talk.
