A Bright Particular Star (35 page)

Theo shrugged.
“
He
’s
respectable
.
Handsome, I suppose.
Rich, too, blast his eyes, but
—
”

“
But?
”
prompted Hal.

“
H
e
’s
a veritable
coxcomb
!
”
expostulated Theo.
“
It was a
s plain as a pikestaff
he didn
’t
believe Sophie
’s
stor
y about the intruder
.
His
manner
toward her
was deplorable.

“
And you l
eft Miss Devereux
at the mercy of this
coxcomb?
”

“
What else could I do
?
”

“
What else could
she
do if you haven
’t
told her how you feel
?
”
replied Hal
, rolling
his eyes heavenward
.
“
For a
n experienced man
,
you
have been
a great fool
, Theo.
I
will be amazed if
Miss
Devereux
a
nd
Verney
decide to marry
.
Whatever their past history,
Verney
hardly
sounds
the type to appeal to
a
girl like
Sophie
now.
S
he
may
already be regretting her decision to go to him
.
”

Theo
started forward
in his chair
.
“D
o you think that is
possible
?
”

“
I think it
probable, but the only way to
know for
certain is to go back
and find out
.
Sophie is not straight out of th
e schoolroom, but her knowledge
of
the world is
limited and she could hardly be expected to know w
hat you were about.
No doubt she
assumed
your forbearance was
indifference.
I should
add your
conduct in helping her to escape
was reprehensible
—
”

“D
ash it, Hal—
!
”

“
And
I would have done exactly
the
same,
”
concluded Hal
with a grin.
“
I
do not blame you
and
agree y
our
situation
was
difficult
.
You were in a position of trust and your scruples do you credit.
Even so, you should have
declared
your feelings
at a suitable moment.
A kiss is usually a good pla
ce to start.
”

His companion
uttered
an unwilling laugh
.
“
Are you mad?
It would not have been right, situated as we were.
”

“T
heo, if
Sophie
cared
for you
, she would not
have
give
n
a fig
for
your
honourable
intentions.
As it is,
she thinks you
indifferent
at best
.
Why,
in a moment of madness
, you
even t
old her
you wished you had never met
!
Now the
poor girl is trapped under Verney
’s
roof
with few options.
Would
Verney
mar
ry her simpl
y to gain
this
sapphire
?
”

Theo shook his h
ead.
“
He
’s
wealthy enough
and
,
to give him some credit,
I don
’t
bel
ieve greed is one of his faults
.
Sophie
planned to set up her own
establishment if they did not
suit
.
”

Hal pondered on this
for a moment
,
and then
remarked
,
“
Verney won
’t
allow it
.
It would be
highly
unusual
, scandalous even,
and he sounds a sticker for the proprieties.
No,
m
arriage is the
only outcome that will suffice.
S
he will be
fired off
into the
ton
and most likely bullie
d into a quick match
.
”

T
heo regarded his brother
with
a
look
of horror
on his face
.
“
No
,
by Jupiter
, she won
’t
!
”
He jumped
to hi
s
feet and gave
a low-pitched growl as he paced about the room
.
“
I
can
’t
bear to thin
k of Sophie
marrying anyone but me
.
I can
’t
live without her.
”

O
bserving his brother
’s
agitation
,
Hal
gave a deep chuckle
.
“T
heo, t
here is
no doubt
y
ou h
ave joined me, Freddy and Sir Seymou
r in losing your heart
.
I wondered if it would ever happen, but Isabella
was convinced
that when you
fell in love
it would be a lifetime
’s
passion.
After all, l
oving
without limits
is the Cavanagh curse
—
it
should be incorporated into our
family motto
.
”

Theo paused
and pushed
his fingers through his hair
again
.
“
But
what
if
Sophie doesn
’t
care for me
?
”

“
Confess
and
give
her
the chance to speak
.
Only then will you know how she
feels.
You have
nothing to lose and
everything to gain.
”

Theo,
s
truck by Hal
’s
reasoning
,
wondered
why he had
been unable to view
matters in the same way
.
A spark of hope flared
in his eyes.
“
Yes!
Y
es
!
I need to speak to her.
”

“
M
ake ha
ste
though.
If Verney is not to
marry Sophie himself,
he
will
want her future settled
as soon as possible
.
”

“
I
’
ll travel back tomorrow.
It
’s
been
over two weeks
since I left her in Brook Street
.
”

“
E
nough time
for her
to
realize
the promise of the youth has fallen short in the man
,
”
said Hal
.
“D
id you talk to Dinny before you left?
”

“
Briefly.
I told him what had happened, but
I
doubt he
’
ll dig up
much
.
He knows Grey already, of course, but
said
he couldn
’t
reveal
any more
until he had permission to do so.
He promised to talk to some people at the Home Office,
of all places
.
Sounded
dashed
mysterious
to me.
”

“D
inny w
ouldn
’t
be secretive
with you
unless he was
obliged
to
be
.
”
Hal frowned.
“
How
odd.
There must be a
great deal more to
Lucius Grey
than meets the eye
.
”

Theo agreed, adding,
“
Grey
was mightily int
erested in Sophie too, blast him
!
Can
’t
help thinking
t
he Star
is at the bottom of
all
this.
It
’s
well
hidden, but I wish
it was still in the lawyer
’s
office.
”

“
It
’s
too late to worry about that now.
Get you
rself back to London
as soon as possible
.
”

Just then a
blon
de
-
haired
young
boy
came rushing in
,
his face
glowing with excitement
.
He held
a cricket bat in one hand and
a black and white dog
scampered
at his heels.
Seeing Theo, the boy let
the cric
ket bat
clatter to the floor,
uttered a squeal of delight
and ran to embrace him
.
Then,
blushing at this
unmanly display of affection,
he pulled back
, saying,
“
Uncle Theo!
I was
out playing
when I heard Robbins
telling Mama you were here.
I thought it must be fudge until I saw your curricle and pair be
ing taken down to the stables.
How fast do they go?
As fast as Papa
’s
greys?
Surely not!
Papa
’s
greys are the most amaz
ing creatures, everyone says so.
Did you know Lord
Ske
ffington offered Papa
two hundred
guineas for them
only last month
?
He will not sell though, will you, Papa?
”

Hal laughed
at this breathless speech
.
“
I give you my word I will not sell to Lord Skeffington, Dominic.
”