LITMIR.BIZ

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and a very good one, but Wellington had soon realised his potential as a spy and he had found himself out of the army and wandering about Europe under a false name, pretending to have a grudge against his own people in order to gather intelligence. It had been dangerous and secret work. It was still a secret except from those who had worked with him at the time and that included Richard, who had been his contact with their commander. When his father died and he had been recalled to become the next Duke of Belfont, he had thought to see an end of it, except that the Regent, on being told of his exploits, insisted on having him in his entourage.

      ‘And if you think that is the end of the man, you are mistaken, Dick, my friend,’ he said grimly. ‘He will not take his defeat as final. I have already heard rumours…’

      ‘Oh, that old chant, “I will be back.” Wishful thinking.’

      ‘We shall see and before another year is out.’

      ‘Twenty guineas says he stays comfortably on Elba writing his memoirs.’

      ‘Done.’ James beckoned to one of the waiters to fetch the book of wagers, and, when it was brought, carefully wrote in it, ‘The Duke of Belfont bets Captain Richard Summers the sum of twenty guineas that Napoleon Bonaparte will leave Elba and attempt to regain his throne before a year is out.’ They both signed and dated it.

      ‘That will put the cat among the pigeons,’ James said. ‘It might even bring the worms out of the woodwork.’

      ‘Oh, I see, you engineered the wager. I might have known. You are not one to make foolish wagers. But watch your back, my friend.’

      ‘Oh, I leave that to you, I shall be far too busy.’

      Richard grinned. ‘Taking a young lady out and about, I collect.’

      ‘It is my duty as head of the family,’ he said, so pompously that Richard, who knew him well, laughed.

      ‘You never know, you might end up leg shackled yourself and it won’t be before time. You should have set up your nursery ten years ago.’

      ‘How could I? I was in no position to offer for anyone, and, since returning to England, I have met no one with whom I would want to spend the rest of my life.’

      ‘You will.’ Richard paused, then, deciding he had teased his friend enough, added, ‘Are you dining here tonight?’

      ‘No, I am expected at Carlton House, some banquet or other. I will be glad when the season is over and I can retire to Dersingham Park and look after my estate. In the meantime, duty calls. Keep your eyes and ears open, Richard. Contrary to the Regent’s belief, I cannot be everywhere at once.’

      The two men parted and James strolled back to Belfont House, but strangely it was not his problems at court that occupied his mind, but a pair of lustrous brown eyes. How could anyone be described as plain who had eyes like that?

      Chapter Three

      Sophie’s arrival at Belfont House with all her belongings the following day did not go as she expected and planned. She had hoped only for a garret room, where she could sit and write, not the sumptuous bedchamber she was given. It was furnished in mahogany and walnut; its thick carpet, in shades of blue, reflected the pattern in the curtains at the windows and those about the large four-poster bed. Adjoining it was a small sitting room. ‘I have had a desk and some shelves brought in,’ Harriet told her when she conducted her there after Lady Myers had been entertained with tea, been bidden goodbye and left, promising to call in a day or two to see how Sophie did. ‘Then you can write if you feel the inspiration. But I do not want you to think that you must do it. Look on it as a pastime when you have nothing better to do.’

      ‘I do not see it as a pastime, my lady.’

      ‘No, of course not. How foolish of me. What I meant was that I want you to make this your home. Write if you wish, but I should like it very much if you would accompany me on outings. There is so much going on in London this Season, it is beyond anything the capital has seen before, and it is not much fun if you have no one to share it with. The Duke is too busy.’

      ‘Is your husband not able to accompany you?’

      For a moment her bright smile vanished. ‘He was killed at Oporto in ’09.’

      ‘Oh, I am so sorry. I did not know…’

      ‘No reason why you should. It was a comfort to know that James was with him when he died. He stayed abroad until last year when our father died and he became the next Duke. It was a relief to have him safe home again.’

      ‘I am sure it was,’ Sophie murmured.

      ‘I have two darling daughters, Beth and Olivia, but I left them at home in Suffolk. I cannot imagine they would find London in summer to their liking. They are more interested in ponies and country walks. When the Season is at an end, you must visit us and meet them.’

      ‘I should like that very much.’

      ‘Now, here I am prattling on about myself when what I really want to know is all about you. What was it like to be in Europe when Napoleon was Emperor? Did you ever meet him? Some people here say he was an ogre and others that he was a hero. I cannot find that very patriotic, can you?’

      ‘No, and I never met him. I saw him in the distance when we were in Paris, and we were in Austria when his son was born and there were tremendous celebrations. But I did meet some other interesting characters. Papa seemed to attract them. He was such an affable man and was always bringing people home for dinner.’ She did not add that it had stretched their housekeeping money to breaking point to entertain them.

      ‘And is that what is going into your book?’

      She had not consciously thought of doing that, but she did know a simple travel book would not interest a publisher; there were dozens of those already. She must make it different, and interesting characters might do that. People lived abroad for many reasons; some, like her father, to escape their creditors; others to get over an unhappy love affair or to run away with someone else’s spouse. Some eloped when parents refused to countenance their marriage and some moved to a warmer climate for the sake of their health. Whatever the reason, there was always a nucleus of expatriates in the major cities of the continent, even during the war. ‘Yes, but I shall have to be very careful not to name names, I do not want to antagonise people. And they will only be part of the descriptions of how we travelled and the interesting places we saw.’

      ‘It must have been very exciting for a young girl to see so much of the world, almost like a Grand Tour.’

      Sophie laughed. ‘It was never like that. And when Mama died—’ She stopped, unable to go on.

      ‘I feel for you, Sophie. Lady Myers told me a little of it, when we had a few minutes alone together, but you must put all those difficulties behind you now. I am going to enjoy dressing you up and taking you out.’

      ‘Really, my lady, there is no need…’

      ‘I want to, and please call me Harriet. Your mama was our cousin and that makes you a cousin too and families should not be formal with one another.’

      Sophie laughed suddenly. ‘But when one of them is a duke…’

      ‘Oh, James is nothing like as top lofty as he pretends. He stands on his dignity to keep the doting mamas and their simpering daughters at bay. Being a bachelor and a duke, he is the target of every ambitious mother of an unmarried daughter.’ She chuckled suddenly. ‘I have told him he will have to marry soon and he ought to be looking for a wife, but he remains stubbornly unwed.’

      ‘No doubt he is particular. His wife will be a duchess and he must be sure she is up to it.’

      ‘True.’ She rose and shook out her blue taffeta skirt. ‘Now, I shall leave you to settle in. Dinner is at five and afterwards I have an evening engagement that I cannot cancel, but tomorrow we will go shopping. Shall I send a maid to help you unpack?’

      ‘No,

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