The Indebted Earl

or two she would begin wearing grays and lavenders.
Though her heart would still be grieving, Sophie had no intention of going about in full mourning garb for months as her mother had done when Sophie’s father and brother had been killed in a carriage accident the year before. Rich would not want that, and it would distress Mamie. Sophie’s mother still wore unrelieved black, wanting the world to know of the loss of her husband and her elder son.
A tap sounded, and the door opened a crack. “May I come in?” Sophie’s sister-in-law, Cilla, eased into the dressing room, her daughter on her hip. The baby gnawed on a string of large wooden beads, drool making her fingers and the beads shine. “Honora Mary wanted to say good night. Her nurse is taking her back to the dower house to put her to bed.”
Sophie reached for her niece. “Child, you are growing like a well-watered weed.” She turned Honora Mary around to sit on her lap, and the baby girl leaned back.
Cilla took a seat. “Charlotte told me what happened at Primrose. I’m so very sorry.”
Sophie nodded. “It’s all been a shock. It hardly seems real. I keep thinking I’ll wake up soon. It’s the same way I feel about Rich being gone. He’s been away so long, it’s hard to remember sometimes that he won’t be coming home. Though being evicted from Primrose is driving the point home fairly well.”
“Life can change in a moment, and it can be hard to catch up.” A shadow passed over Cilla’s face. She had pure alabaster skin, delicate, patrician features, and golden hair that captured any light and threw it back with interest. She had suffered great loss and come through as sweet and gentle as ever. Though she never let her distress show, Sophie wondered if her fragile-looking sister-in-law ever cried when she was alone.
“What are you going to do? I know Charlotte will be thrilled to have you and Mamie living at Haverly.” Cilla leaned forward and tugged on Honora Mary’s foot, making the baby gurgle and kick.
“I don’t know.” Somehow the thought of living at Haverly, though they would be welcome, and she loved her family, made Sophie feel as if she were suffocating. Her childhood here had been lonely and isolated once Marcus went off to school, and boarding school had been a relief. But where else could she go? She had Mamie to consider as well. “Everything has happened so quickly, we haven’t discussed it.”
“I met Captain Wyvern downstairs. He’s quite dashing, isn’t he?” Cilla asked.
Sophie blinked. Dashing? She hadn’t considered it. He was quite a bit older than she and so stiff and reserved.
Though, if Cilla thought him dashing …
“You think so, do you?” She sent a knowing, teasing look to her sister-in-law. “If you even breathe that notion in the direction of Mother, she won’t be able to resist matchmaking. She’s been eager to marry you off for quite some time. Though I don’t know if she would deem a ship captain a suitable husband.” In fact, before Marcus had wed Charlotte this past spring, Mother had insisted he should marry his brother’s widow. A daft notion, and they would have had to go outside the country to have the ceremony performed. Marcus and Charlotte were perfect together, and Cilla, though sweet and kind, would never have suited Marcus.
Cilla colored, but she shook her head. “I’m not at all interested in the captain. I just thought he looked fine in his uniform. I wondered if you had noticed.” She stood and reached for her daughter. “Come, love. Time you were abed.”
Sophie waited until Cilla had handed over the baby to her nurse for the brief journey back to the dower house, and together they went downstairs.
“Sophia, dear,” Mother said the moment Sophie entered the room. “I know you’re disappointed, but it all worked out for the best. You’re home now.” She tilted her cheek, and Sophie dutifully went over and kissed it. “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
Which was a phrase Mother only used when she felt the Lord’s ways lined up with hers. Sophie also dropped a kiss on Mamie’s cheek. “You’re looking well. Did you get a chance to rest?”
While they waited for everyone to assemble to go in to dinner, Sophie studied Captain Wyvern covertly, sizing him according to Cilla’s description. He was resplendent in naval dress, gold braid gleaming, white breeches, waistcoat, and cravat pristine. Dashing? It was hard to consider a man of his years dashing. He must be all of thirty-five, at least. And he had gray hairs at his temples. Of course, Cilla was a few years older than Sophie, so it stood to reason she might find the captain attractive.
Marcus entered the drawing room with Charlotte on his arm. He was bending his head close to hear something she whispered, and Sophie felt a lance of pain. They were so much in love, so much a picture of all that was possible in marriage.
Exactly what she had hoped for with Rich.
Would everything forever remind her of him and what they had lost?
Her brother hugged her tight. “I’m sorry you had to leave when it wasn’t your wish. And I wish there was something that I could do about it. I might be the overlord, but I cannot forestall the laws of primogeniture. However, I am glad you came home where I can keep an eye on you.” He tweaked her nose and winked, and she made a face at him.
“I’m not a child, Marcus. Will you forever treat me as one?” she chided.
He squeezed her hands. “I do miss your childlike exuberance. Circumstances have caused you to lay it aside for a while, but I hope it isn’t gone forever. The way you see the world and share your joy with others is a true gift. I know it will take time, but I hope the light will shine in your eyes and your heart again.”
Uncomfortable with