The Temporary Betrothal (25 page)

They entered the Park gates and crossed the driveway toward the
large fountain. “Girls!” a familiar voice cried. Sophie looked up as Rose
scurried toward them, her half boots sending the gravel flying. “Such a to-do!
Upon my word!” Her bonnet strings streamed out behind her.

“Rose? Whatever is the matter?” Harriet broke into a run,
tugging Sophie along with her. “Is the captain all right?”

“Slow down, Harriet. You’ll harm yourself or the baby,” Sophie
warned. She pulled at Harriet’s arm until she was obliged to slow her steps to a
trot. “Rose,” she called. “Is everything all right?”

Rose ran up to the sisters and clutched their shoulders, her
breath coming in short pants. “Mr. Stoames told me about it first,” she gasped.
“Lieutenant Cantrill has returned. The pair of them are locked up in the
captain’s study, and what a rumpus has ensued. They have been shouting at each
other for well nigh on a quarter of an hour at least.”

“Dear me,” Harriet gasped. She sat on the side of the fountain,
her eyes darkened so blue they were almost black.

Sophie stood, shaking, staring up at the window of Brookes’s
study. The man she adored was there, arguing with her brother-in-law. Yelling at
him, in point of fact. What did it signify? Why was he here? The blood pounded
in her ears, and she had trouble focusing her vision. It was blurred with unshed
tears.

“Harriet, Rose,” she murmured, her voice trembling. “I think I
must go to see the lieutenant now.”

Every footstep was like moving through molasses. Every sound
was muted to a strange hush, a buzz sounding in her ears. She was going to see
her beloved. For, no matter what he had to say or why he had come, Lieutenant
Charles Cantrill would always be the only man she had ever loved, and he must
know that. She must tell him that.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“N
ame one good reason why I shouldn’t drive
you out of this house right now,” Brookes thundered, pounding his fist on his
desk. “Your family has behaved in an infamous manner toward my sister-in-law.
She fled Bath in tears after your rejection and Bradbury’s untoward offer. How
dare you even show your face at Brookes Park?”

“You have a right to be angry, Brookes. But please, hear what I
have to say.” Charlie was poised for a fight, his defenses rising. Brookes would
likely throw a punch in a matter of moments unless he spoke quickly and cleverly
to quash his anger.

“Your brother sent some hired minion to check up on the Handley
family,” Brookes countered, his eyes blazing the same steely gray as the sword
he carried into battle. “How dare you, sir? What makes the Cantrill clan—a
passel of shopkeepers, no less—think themselves so far above the Handleys, who
are nobility? How dare you question the lineage of my wife and her sister?”

“I don’t.” That cut about the Cantrills being shopkeepers
aroused his ire, and he struggled to keep his own temper in check. “Robert was
checking up on the Handleys and their refusal to support Miss Sophie and Miss
Harriet after their father passed. He was looking after my best interests, but
he did so without my knowledge or consent.”

“Are you under your brother’s thumb? Or are you a man?” Brookes
challenged, poking his forefinger at Charlie’s face. “From what I understand, my
sister-in-law offered to help you, so that you could cut yourself free of your
mama’s apron strings.” His face contorted in a mocking grin. “And after she did
all of that for you, you have the gall to allow your family to run roughshod
over her—”

“Enough,” Charlie barked. He took a deep breath. Matters were
getting well out of hand. Brookes was well on his way to inciting fisticuffs
unless they both calmed down. “Sophie offered to help me, and I deeply
appreciated her offer. She is the dearest, sweetest girl I know, and it was a
dream come true for a wretch like me to even pretend to court her.”

Brookes said nothing, his jaw clenched and his hands doubled up
into fists at his side. The situation was still precarious. He must proceed with
caution.

“I am not proud of what my family has done, and I told them so
in no uncertain terms. They know now that what they did was wrong—unforgiveable,
even.”

The door to the study opened, and Sophie stood on the
threshold. Her skin was so pale it shone with translucence, her eyes like wide
reflecting pools of uncertainty and astonishment. He took two steps forward,
ready to crush her in an embrace.

“Stand right where you are,” Brookes admonished him. Then he
turned to Sophie. “Sister, I must ask you to leave. We are having a
discussion—”

“It sounds rather like a fight,” Sophie replied calmly. “And I
have no intention of leaving. Brookes, I appreciate all you are doing. You are a
dear for defending me so. But you must know that I sent Charlie away. I behaved
awfully to him. I broke our engagement.”

“Is that true?” Brookes asked, staring daggers at Charlie.

“It is. But I knew she never meant it.” He crossed over to
Sophie and caught her around the waist. “Sweetest Sophie, I knew what you
did—you drove me away because you thought it was the right thing to do. But it
wasn’t. It was cruel and foolish. We are meant to be together, you and I. And I
will never leave your side again.” He pressed her close, relishing the sight of
her golden curls and dimpled cheeks. He kissed the top of her head reverently,
drinking in the scent of her—a scent of violets and fresh moor air.

“I ask your forgiveness, Sophie,” he murmured. “I fought my
love for you for too long. I was so hurt by being jilted, and so determined to
be right, that I pushed you away at every turn. And you, my darling, returned
each time, so full of forgiveness and love that it shamed me. When I found what
my family had done and what Bradbury asked you to do—” Sophie squirmed in his
embrace, hiding her face on his shoulder “—no need to be embarrassed, Sophie.
You chose the right path. And I was determined to also do the right thing, and I
have taken a journey of forgiveness. Forgiving others and asking them to do the
same.”

He bent down, peering into her face. “Can you forgive me,
Sophie?”

Unshed tears sparkled in her eyes. “Of course,” she whispered.
“Do you forgive me for the awful things I said?”

“I never believed them for a moment.” He nuzzled her forehead
with his lips. “I’ve already forgotten them.”

“Harrumph,”
Brookes coughed.
Charlie glanced up, still holding Sophie tightly. He had forgotten that Brookes
was even in the room.

“So if I understand matters, it would be most unsporting of me
to throw Charlie out on his ear?” Brookes queried Sophie, his eyebrows quirked
in a rueful manner.

“Quite,” she chuckled.

“I suppose, then, that I should leave you two in peace for a
few moments.” As he passed by them, he gave Charlie’s shoulder a brotherly slug.
“Too bad. I was enjoying the thought of knocking you on your bum.”

Charlie threw back his head, laughing. “Brookes, I must ask
your forgiveness, too, and Harriet’s. I must tender my apologies on behalf of my
family. I know that both Robert and Mother are truly sorry for criticizing the
Handley clan.”

“All is well,” Brookes replied evenly. “And now, I must go find
my wife. I am sure she is beside herself with wonderment, and will want to know
exactly what has transpired.” He left, closing the door to the study behind
him.

Charlie led Sophie over to the settee, settling her on his lap
as he wrapped his injured arm around her waist. “Sophie, before I can ask you
what I have come to ask, I must tell you one thing. I fought my love for you for
so long because I could not reconcile my desire for austerity with the need to
provide for a wife. I was afraid I couldn’t give you the life you deserved while
still following my life calling.”

“That doesn’t matter, Charlie,” she whispered, stroking his
chin with the tip of her forefinger. “I don’t care for fine clothes or a large
home. All the things that my mother taught me to value I realized long ago don’t
matter a bit. What matters is that you opened my eyes to an entirely new world.
I am a better person because of you.”

He struggled against the rising tide of emotion in his
chest—gratitude, humble awe and an overwhelming sense of finally being at peace
with the world. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer—beseeching God that
he would be worthy of this woman now and forever.

“I can finally ask you this question because the way has been
cleared for me to have the best of both possible worlds—my work with the
soldiers and my love for you. I am now an independent man, Sophie. My uncle
Arthur has given me a living so that I might continue working with the soldiers.
I can hold out no longer—Sophie, will you please do me the honor of becoming my
wife?”

* * *

He said the words. The words she longed to hear ever
since she first bumped into him on the rainy streets of Bath, and he had saved
her from being lost and unprotected. And he wasn’t saying them out of a sense of
obligation. He wasn’t saying them because they were pretending to be courting
and matters went too far. He had come all this way and faced Brookes’s anger to
say them to her, and her alone.

She trembled a little in his embrace. Love swept over her like
a wave. How marvelous to be by his side for the rest of their lives, working
together, hoping and planning together. Except—

“Your family must still object to me. Robert said—”

“Never mind what Robert said,” Charlie interrupted, squeezing
her tight. “I had a long talk with my mother and my brother. I explained what
you meant to me, how profoundly you changed my life. How working with you to
benefit the soldiers was the purpose of my life—indeed, my calling. And how you
had sacrificed everything—including that bracelet—to help make my dreams a
reality.” He chuckled softly, leaning his forehead against hers. “Naturally,
that overcame every objection they had.”

She leaned against his warmth, savoring the feeling of his
strong embrace. They sat so in silence, broken only by the ticking of the clock
on the mantelpiece and the beating of his heart against her ear. At length,
Charlie murmured, “Sophie?”

“Yes?”

“Are...are you going to marry me?” His voice betrayed a hint of
uncertainty. Oh, dear. She had been so wrapped up in the security of his arms
that she forgot to say the words.

“Charlie,” she replied, gazing deeply into his dark brown eyes.
“I can think of nothing I want more in this life than to become your wife.”

“Thank you. I am so blessed to have you, my darling.” With
that, he lowered his head to hers and captured her lips sweetly. She returned
the kiss with all the pent-up longing and warmth she had held for him in her
heart all these long months. When they broke apart, he clasped her closer, and
she laid her head back against his chest, relishing the closeness of her
beloved.

“Charlie, where will we live?” His work took him to Bath, and
yet she wasn’t sure she wanted to live there. Too many memories. Most of them
bad, and most of them fairly recent.

“I don’t know. I was going to let you decide. My flat in Bath
is, I fear, not comfortable enough for a wife and—” his face reddened adorably
“—children. We can live anywhere you wish. Now that I am independent, we can
settle where we choose.”

“I know your work is in Bath, but I feel I must stay close to
Harriet,” she responded. “Now that she is increasing—”

“Harriet is increasing? That is wonderful news.” He grinned at
her, a sweet, boyish grin that caused her heart to leap in her chest. “Of course
you want to stay close to her during this time.”

“But how can we reconcile my need to stay in Tansley with your
work in Bath?” Sophie wondered aloud, plucking at his shirtsleeve. “I don’t want
to halt your progress with the fund, and I do want to work with the widows to
start a sewing bee of sorts. What say you, Charlie? How shall we do everything
we want?”

He sat for a moment, running his fingers over the top of her
hand. She shivered a little at his touch.

“We could settle in Tansley for part of the year, and then go
to Bath during the other portion to work on the fund,” he replied. “I could ask
the reverend to help with managing things whilst I am gone, and perhaps you
could have someone help with running your sewing bee. We could even give the
reverend and your helper a stipend so they are able to help us while still
earning a bit of an income.”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Charlie. I could appoint Lucy.” Lucy
would be attending all the veterans’ meetings, anyway, if for no other reason
than to pay a call on the ensign. “I was thinking today about how wonderful
Tansley is, and how much it has become my home. Now I shall have the best of
everything—my beloved husband, my family and our work that brings us such peace
and joy.”

She reached up and kissed the rough stubble of his chin, and he
responded by gathering her close and kissing her dimples. A discreet knock at
the door, and they sprang apart.

“Sophie? May I come in?” Harriet called.

“Of course,” Sophie responded, tumbling off Charlie’s lap. They
both stood and faced the door expectantly, Charlie standing protectively by her
side.

Harriet pushed open the door, Brookes hovering in the
background. “Charlie,” she said with a hesitant smile. “How lovely to see you
again.”

He bowed. “Mrs. Brookes. You look radiant.”

“Such formality!” Sophie chuckled. “After all, he will be your
brother soon.”

Harriet’s grin widened, her dark blue eyes sparkling.
“Lieutenant, is this true?”

“Quite,” he responded. “Your sister has turned me into a
changed man. Thanks to her, I released all the rankling bitterness in my heart,
and opened myself to love. And all I can do to thank her is offer her myself—a
very poor consolation prize, indeed.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Brookes grumbled from behind Harriet.
She turned and smacked his shoulder playfully.

“What? Why strike me?” Brookes responded. “As far as I can
tell, he has not even given your sister a ring.”

“That’s quite enough,” Harriet admonished, and enveloped both
Charlie and Sophie in a warm embrace despite her round belly. She turned to
Sophie, placing both hands on her shoulders.

“Are you still glad you posted your letter today?”

Her letter! Likely it would reach Charlie’s flat in just a
matter of days. What an astonishing day it had been. She had woken this morning
full of heartache and longing, and now—now she had everything she wanted. “Yes.
It will be my wedding gift to my husband.”

Charlie was looking at them both, his brow furrowed, a smile
tugging at the corners of his mouth. “What letter? Did you decide to jilt me
once and for all?”

“On the contrary. I threw myself at your head. Fortunately, I
have a famous novelist for a sister, one who can help me craft the most romantic
letters of our age.” Sophie winked at Harriet. “I am sure my missive will soothe
your masculine pride to no end once you read it.”

“Then I cannot wait to receive it.” Charlie fumbled in his
jacket pocket and produced a small box. “As my astute brother in arms just
reminded me, I have a gift for you, as well.” He opened the box, extracting his
grandmother’s ring—the ring she had worn so proudly for those few glorious days
in Brightgate.

Sophie extended her left hand, and he slipped the ring on her
finger. Unlike the glittering fetter the diamond bracelet from Lord Bradbury had
become, this ring was a glowing promise of a bright future. She clasped her
hands together, staring at the prisms of light reflected in the jewels.

“That’s better, Cantrill. Now, we should all sit down over
luncheon and discuss what the wedding plans will be,” Brookes reminded them in
his gruff voice. “After all, it’s quite likely that Aunt Katherine is already on
her way to take over all the plans. If she finds that Harriet and Sophie haven’t
even considered her dress, or that you and I haven’t seen to reading the banns,
then she will be all a-swither.”