A Bright Particular Star (9 page)

In reply, Sophie stamped on his foot, grinding the heel of her boot into his toes.
At the same time, she swung her reticule.
The coins it contained gave
it
added im
petus and it caught him
on the nose.
H
e gave a startled howl of pain
and relaxed his hold, allowing Sophie to twist out of his grasp.
In fo
ur quick steps, she was
by the door
with her hand on the handle, her breathing quick and shallow
.

“S
ir,
”
she began, in an admirably even voice,
“
I do not appreciat
e being mauled in this fashion—
”

She was interrupted by Theo, who opened the door from the other side in time to hear her words.

He
pulled up short, his swift glance taking in the scene.
A crease formed between his brows.
He did no
t speak, but walked over to
Melville who was ginger
ly
trying to put his weight on his injured foot, pul
l himself up to his full height
,
ru
b the swelling on
his nose
and stem the blood flowing from his nostrils
all at the same time.

There was a tension-filled pause until Theo said with cool civility,
“
It seems
I have returned at an opportune
moment.
Have you been bothering Miss
Devereux
?
”

“
I
didn
’t
mean…I didn
’t
realiz
e—
”
said
Melville.

“
Oh,
I’m
sure you did,
”
interjected Theo, in a
voice replete with menace.
“S
tep outside, if you please.
”

“
Why should I?
”

“
Because I prefer not to make a mess of the coffee room.
”

S
weat gathered on
Melville
’s
brow.
His truculent gaze met Theo
’s
, t
hen fell in the face of the wrath
he saw there.
Rapidly sobering, he
did not move but shrugged in response and indicated Sophie with a wave of his hand.
“
T
his
lady interfered in something that
was none of her business.
”

“
Mr
Melville
assaulted the post boy
,
”
explained
Sophie.
“
He
then behaved in a contemptible manner toward me.
”

Fury blazed
in Theo
’s
eyes
.
“
Are you hurt?
”

“
No
. Y
ou came back in time.
”

Some
of the
tension seemed to leave
Theo
’s
body.
Acknowled
ging Sophie
’s
reply with a
nod, he looked at the post
boy who had now st
ruggled to his feet
, swaying and
looking
groggy.
Then Theo
’s
kindling gaze swung back to
Melville.

“
Y
o
u snivelling coward
,
”
he said softly
through shut teeth
.
“
You accost boys
and defenceless women, but refuse to answ
er to someone who is your equal.
Miss
Devereux
, take the boy to the landlord while I deal with
Mr
Melville.
”

“
I
’
ll stay a moment—
”

“
Go
.
N
ow
.
”

There was a note in Theo
’s
voice
Sophie had not heard before.
Her glance flicked
uncertainly
between the
two
men.
She did not want to leave, but thought it
wiser to
do as Theo demanded.

Taking the post boy by the
arm
, she hurried away to find the landlord.
When sh
e had done so
,
she gave
the
lad
over to
the bemused—
looking innkeeper with a brief
,
disjointed explanation.
Then
she hurried
back through the hallway and down t
he oak panelled corridor leading
to the coffee room.
Sophie stood still, listening
. T
he sound
s of a fracas
and splintering wood w
ere
coming
from within.
Pushing open
the
door
a little
, she peeped
inside.

The room was in disarray.
The shattered remnants of the table were strewn around the floor, along with broken tea cups,
glasses, plates
and a smashed earthenwa
re jug.
A pewter tankard was rolling
noisily back
and forth across the
floor and several cha
irs had been overturned
.

Theo was standing
on one side of the room
with fists clenched, breathing heavily.
Sophie watched as Melville, his
face bloodied, his
expression
murderous,
rose from his
sprawled position
among the wreckage.
He bored in on his opponent, holding aloft the table leg he intended to use as a makeshift c
lub.

Helple
ss, she watched
in horror
.
T
here was no difference in height between the combatants, but a considerable one in we
ight and it seemed Theo must
be badly hurt.
Instinct urged
her to close her eyes, but she willed them to stay open and was glad she did when she had the pleasure of
seeing
Melville
’s
progress halted by a perfectly executed right hook.

He teet
ered on his heels for a moment before his eyes
rolled up
upwards and
he col
lapsed in a heap on
the flagstone hearth, rattling the fire irons and sending embers shooting up the chimney.

With a squeak of delight, Sophie
open
ed
the door and
ran to Theo,
th
rowing her arms around his neck and exclaiming,
“
Y
ou were wonderful!
”
She drew back to look into his face, her
voice brimming
with admiration.
“
Where did you learn to do that?
”

“
Jackson
’s
saloon,
”
replied Theo absently, staring down at her.
Then, he cleared his throat and said in a startled tone,
“D
id you witness it, then?
”

“
I was watching from behind the door,
”
she admitted
.
“
I wish I could have done it!
I had my reticule ready.
”

His lips curved
into a reluctant smile.
“
You
’
re not a girl for swooning, are you?
”

“
No, indeed!
”
She cast a critical g
lance over the supine Melville.
“
Is he badly injured?
Not that I mind too much if he is, odious man!
”

“
He
’s
seeing stars for the moment, but we had best move him before his clothes catch fire.
”

“
Oh, but you are injured!
”
she cried
in
sudden
concern
, seeing Theo wipe a tric
kle of blood from
his mouth.

He shrugged.
“
I
’
ve had
worse.
”

“
It
’s
my
fault you are hurt,
”
she said, wringing
her hands
.
“
My stupid
impetuous
nature is always getting me into scrapes.
”

****

Theo
’s
blinding rage was abating
but
now
other emotions
seethed
inside him.

Earlier, as he had walked back from the stables, he had mused on the discovery that, far from resenting having his time taken up by Sophie, he was enjoying the experience.

His plans had been disrupted, he was now obliged to take her to London, and he would have to endure his groom
’s
sullen expression for a month after leaving him behind.
Normally, even one of these circums
tances would have irritated him
, but every vexation was forgotten in Sophie
’s
company.

She was undeniably attractive althou
gh for Theo her beauty lay
as much in the sparkle in her eye and in her ready laugh than her face and figure.
He had never been attracted to the beautiful but insipid misses who populated Almack
’s
.
They were as frothy, insubstantial and as well-behaved as one of the great Careme
’s
meringues
and he was bored rigid within ten minutes of making their acquaintance.
Sti
ll, he had always had the notion
he wo
uld marr
y one of them in the
future because a
demure wife had seemed more appealing than a lively miss who would give him no peace.
But
Sophie
Devereux
was as different from that conc
ept as sunshine was to moonbeams
.
She was
delight
ful
,
a
shining
girl who possessed
an
endearing blend of
candour, warmth, naive
ty and wisdom.
Her exuberance was infectious, yet he also perceived a vein of insecurity within her, no doubt born out of her time at Ludstone.
She had been told so often she was unattractive she simply accepted it was so.
She
was
free of conceit and
had
no idea
how appealing
she was, and how she would draw
men
’s
admiration li
ke bees to a honey pot.
I
t was unconsciously done on Sophie
’s
part,
but
Theo fel
t jealousy among the
other emotions fighting for release.

He was angry with himself for leaving her alone.
It was highly unusual
for her to be
subjected to a drunk
’s
attentions at a
hostelry
like
T
he Castle and, in the absence of his groom, Theo knew he
’d
had no choice but to check on his horses, but
still he
blamed himself.

And he
was staggered by his
reaction to her emb
race
.
He
had experience
d desire before, but never
had it been intertwined with
these
other feelings and this inconvenient, overwhelming urge to protect.
He wanted to drag Sophie
into his arms and never let
her
go.
Now, looking down into her upturned face, he wanted to tangle
his fingers in her hair and
kiss her.
Not a chaste peck, bu
t
a long, satisfying kiss that would begin to ease his
temptation and his
torment
,
a
kiss to
allay the ache in his chest, a
kiss that would
at least
beg
in to communicate how he felt.
Then he wanted t
o trail his lips down the soft
,
vulnerable skin of her throat
….

D
on
’t
think about it.
Don
’t
.

The frantic words swept through brain.

He must
not
think of
it
!

He had promised to see her reach London safe
ly
and he would be a
blackguard
worse
than Melville
if he took advantage of the
ir
situation.
Suddenly,
ange
r and frus
trated desire melded
and, d
emanding
release,
found an outlet
in exasperation.
I
n reply
,
he therefore observed in a brusque voice
,
“
Oh,
the fellow deserved it
alright
, but I didn
’t
anticipate getting involved in a
brawl
in the middle of the afternoon!
”

Taken aback, Sophie flushed to the roots of her hair.
She stepped a
way.
“
I couldn
’t
help it.
Melville was horrid to that poor boy, and to me—
”
She broke off and added huskily,
“
I am sorry to have inconvenienced you again.
”

“
You, Miss Devereux,
have a propensity for tumbling into more scrapes than any girl I
’
ve yet encountered!
”
Theo
raked
a
n agitated
hand through his hair, leaving it in ruffled disorder.
“
My plans
—
indeed, my life
—
have been turned upsi
de down since I met you
,
and
upon my word
I haven
’t
enjoyed a moment
’s
peace since that unfortunate moment!
”

Sophie
cast him a fulminating look.

“
It is uncharitable to complain
when it was
you
who insisted on accompanying
me
!
”
she
threw at him
,
her eyes stormy
.
“
I didn
’t
ask for your help, beyond getting to Bath.
I didn
’t
ask you to stay with me at the White Hart, it was
you
who insisted!
I would have been happy to travel on the stage, yet it was
you
who dissuaded me!
I was a fool t
o agree and now you are
finding my compan
y a
trial.
Very well,
if you feel like that
, leave me her
e.
I didn
’t
need your help before
and I do
n
’t
need it now!
”

Her biting tone
jolted Theo
to his senses.
He strode towards her, saying
haltingly
,
“S
ophie!
No!
I
beg your pardon!
It
was a mistake…I spoke without thinking.
I didn
’t
mean it that way—
”

He
was forced to stop
when the landlord
came bustling
in,
accompanied by a footman and the tapster
.
The landlord
surveyed the wreckage of his coffee room,
his eyes
widening when they fell on the prone figure of
Mr
Melville who was still lying on the hearth, eyes closed, breathing noisily throu
gh his open mouth and
untroubled by
the faint aroma of singed cloth
.

T
he landlord
threw out his arms and
hurried into speech:
“
Mr
Cavanagh, I am mortified
.
That you and your guest should have had to endure such inconvenien
ce under my roof!
”
He
shuddered visibly.
“
Miss
Devereux
told me what had happened.
This idiot,
”
—
he waved a
hand in Melville
’s
direction
—
“
s
hall be ejected at once and will
not cross the threshold
again!
We run a respectable house
here.
”
He sniffed
, each syllable
dripping with disdain
as he observed,
“
I suspected from the outset he was not a member of the Quality.
”

He then ordered the footman and the taps
ter to remove
Mr
Melville.
They
undertook their task with vigour, picking
Melville
up and carrying him out of the room none too gently.

Afterward
, the landlord co
ntinued to express his
regret
, begging
these events would not result in Theo or hi
s family refusing to patronise
T
he Castle in future.

Theo, acutely
awa
re of Sophie
’s
silence and pale complexion
, reassured him
and said the
only
reparation required was that his curricle be ready to leave within five minutes.

Th
e landlord promised
this would be done and
bowed out
.

Theo
’s
gaze sought out Sophie once more.
She
had moved
to the window,
as far away
from him
as possible, and
wr
apped her arms around her
chest
in a protective gesture.
H
e hesitated for a moment before striding over to clasp her by the shoulders.

“
S
ophie,
”
he ventured
in a voice
edged with desperation,
“
what I said a few moments
ago was unforgivable—
”

Sophie
’s
cheeks were
drained of colour, but
she
regarded him directly
, her
tone
firm
but
icy
as she cut in
,
“
Are you still willing to take me to London?
”

A
stonished,
h
is hands fell
back
to his sides.
“
Why do you ask?
Of course I am!
I gave you my word.
”

She n
odded
and
wheeled away
.
“T
hen I must continue in your com
pany
even though it
is
against my bette
r judgement.
Y
ou are obviously regretting your decision
,
but are too
polite and honourable to admit it
.
I
f I wait here for the next
stage
coach, it will delay my
journey and
I can
’t
allow that
.
”
She swung
b
ack to face him, adding
,
“
But
I give
you my word
you will be rid of me the instant we reach London
,
and I will try to avoid embro
iling you in any more scrapes during
the time we have left together!
”