Read Online Patricia Veryan - [Sanguinet Saga 04] - Love's Duet by Patricia Veryan - Free Book Online Page A

his ribs.
    "Clumsy oaf!" she scolded. "Sophia's worried to death for the boy."
    "He is not a boy," Damon corrected sharply, "but a courageous
fighting man who was well aware of the risks when he undertook to serve
his country."
    Sophia was shocked by such blatant hypocrisy. Mistaking the reason
for her pallor, Ridgley patted her hand. "Sorry, m'dear. Ain't the soul
of tact, am I? But Cam's right, y'know. Whitthurst acquitted himself
very well."
    "He did, indeed!" Unable to restrain herself, she said ringingly,
"And I am excessively proud of him. And of those other gallant
gentlemen willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of—those of us
who stayed at home." Fully aware that Miss Hilby had frowned at these
words and that the Marquis was very still, she swept on. "Where would
England be, I wonder, without such selfless dedication?" And seeing
Clay's stunned expression, she could have cut out her tongue.
    The Marquis raised his glass in salute and with his cynical grin murmured, "Where, indeed?"

Chapter 5
    Despite the fact that she was bone weary, sleep was long in coming
to Sophia that night. As soon as she turned down the wick on the oil
lamp, she was wide awake and lay there, her feet cuddling the hot
brick, her brain whirling. It had been so odd to undress and prepare
for bed without Meg and Miss Jarrett to aid her. They were more like
family than maids, and she missed them as much for their companionship
as for their services. They had been with her since she left the
schoolroom, had both accompanied her to Italy, and been pillars of
support through the nightmarish fiasco of her homecoming.
    Her first intimation that anything was amiss had been a letter from
Mama saying that she had accepted an invitation to accompany friends to
India. She had long wished to visit her favourite brother who was
stationed in Darjeeling, and she hoped, she said, that her health might
benefit by the avoidance of an English winter. It had sounded logical,
yet the decision seemed to have been reached in such haste, and there
was little mention of Whitthurst. Trying not to worry, Sophia had at
once written to her brother, but receiving no answer had despatched an
urgent enquiry to her Uncle George in Hampshire. His reply had been
long in coming and couched in such vague terms that her anxiety had
increased and she had sailed for England on June 22, only four days
after the Battle of Waterloo.
    Her housekeeper, Hettie Adams, had run out to meet her on the
terrace of her loved Singlebirch. Sophia had been kissed, wept over,
drawn inside, and there told the shattering news that the Viscount had
joined a crack hussar regiment three months earlier. Her Mama had
refused to impart this information for fear she would feel duty bound
to terminate her happy stay in Italy and come home. Still struggling to
absorb these facts, she had been ill prepared for the shock of learning
that the Viscount had fought in the great battle and even now lay
severely wounded in his room. She would never know how she had
concealed her heartbreak when she first saw the dashing half-brother
she had grown up worshipping. The loss of his right arm at the elbow
had been a bitter blow to the athletic young man, but he'd borne it
bravely and, had greeted her with a loving, though weak, smile and a
show of spirit that had inspired her to fight tears away and attempt to
emulate his own courage.
    In the days that followed, he had seemed to improve. A week later,
however, an infection had set in, necessitating a more severe
amputation. It had been a ghastly experience, both physically and
mentally. Whitthurst, already weakened, had lost heart, and Sophia had
been faced with a full-scale battle for his life. She had waged it
well, and now he was much improved. He was certainly not hardy enough,
however, to go jauntering about all over the countryside in inclement
weather. That he had even essayed the journey was surprising. His long
and painful illness had taken much of his spirit.