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hedge backwards.’

      Sophie was grateful for Richard’s hand in the middle of her back. He was there, supporting her. They had discussed in the carriage about the best way to tell her stepmother. While Sophie had wanted to tell her on her own, Richard refused to hear of it. They were doing it together or not at all.

      ‘We are marrying as soon as practicable, Mrs Ravel,’ Richard said in a tone which allowed for no opposition. ‘I will see the Bishop after I leave here. There will be no problem with obtaining a licence.’

      ‘But the settlement, the party after Robert and Henri arrive, the society wedding. The wedding breakfast.’ Her stepmother started to fan herself. ‘I want it to be special … for Sophie. Everyone is sure to want to be there.’

      Sophie’s insides twisted. All of her white lies to placate her stepmother were coming back to haunt her. But would it have been any better if she’d known the truth? a little voice inside her nagged.

      ‘Sophie! Are you going to answer me?’

      ‘Sophie and I—’ Richard began, but her stepmother turned towards him, fury contorting her face.

      ‘Pardon me, Lord Bingfield, but I want to hear my stepdaughter’s answer. It seems from the look of her that she has been up to mischief and I want to know how deep this mischief runs! Sophie, what have you done? Did you go to the cricket match? Or did you go to an inn? Are you breeding?’

      ‘Mrs Ravel!’ Richard thundered.

      Sophie gave Richard’s hand a squeeze. She’d have to play this out. To confess to her stepmother what she had just done and why a marriage was now imperative, particularly as the engagement had been a false one, was impossible. Her stepmother’s hysterics was the last thing she wanted to face.

      ‘The settlement is more than adequate and stop using Robert’s approval as an excuse.’ Sophie fixed her stepmother with her eye. ‘Richard’s solicitor agreed to all my demands and you know they were designed to protect mine and Father’s fortune. I showed you the letter from the solicitors. Robert and Henri will understand. We don’t truly know the date they intended to return. Everything else like the wedding breakfast and a large wedding is mere frippery.’

      Her stepmother opened her mouth several times, but no sound came out.

      ‘Even if they did intend to come back in early June, they might be delayed for all sorts of reasons,’ Sophie argued. ‘I don’t see any reason to wait any longer. Sometimes you just know when the time is right. And Richard agrees with me.’

      ‘But the party? I wanted everything to be special for you. You are to be a society bride. This sudden headlong dash towards marriage sounds like a very hole-in-the-corner affair. People will talk. They will look at your waist and count.’

      ‘Let them.’ Sophie tilted her chin in the air. ‘I’ve nothing to hide. Let them whisper and titter if they must, but I haven’t done anything to be ashamed of.’

      Richard’s hand tightened over hers. She was grateful for the touch. She’d been foolish to worry that they weren’t well acquainted. They would be spending the rest of their lives together and Richard appeared to understand her so well.

      ‘We shall have to have a ball to celebrate the wedding when we return from the wedding trip. Problem solved. Right, Richard?’

      ‘I feel certain my father would approve of such a measure, Mrs Ravel,’ Richard said in a smooth voice. ‘We should have two. One in Newcastle and one at Hallington to introduce Sophie to the neighbourhood. After all, she will be the Marchioness of Hallington one day.’

      Her stepmother beamed with pleasure and Sophie knew Richard had promised precisely the right thing.

      ‘And London, let there be a ball in London.’ Her stepmother clapped her hands. ‘It will be the talk of the autumn season.’

      Richard squeezed Sophie’s hand tighter. It amazed her that he seemed to instinctively know the prospect of a ball unnerved her. ‘That will be for Sophie to decide. But before any of that happens, Sophie and I will marry. We see no point in waiting. I expect you to attend the wedding.’

      Her stepmother’s ribbons trembled. ‘You are eloping?’

      ‘We will be married by special licence as soon as possible. I intend to see the Bishop of Durham this evening. If he is unwilling, I will travel down to Canterbury tomorrow and get permission from the Archbishop himself. At the very worst we will be married in two days’ time.’

      ‘What I don’t understand is the sudden need for haste!’ Her stepmother’s eyes narrowed and she examined Sophie’s waist.

      Now it was Sophie’s turn to be outraged by what her stepmother was thinking. She crossed her arms and glared. ‘Stepmother.’

      ‘I want Sophie for my bride; I am hardly likely to take her for my mistress. I value her too highly.’

      Value. The word thudded a warning through Sophie. She dismissed it. Value was close enough to love.

      ‘Your stepdaughter has not been dishonoured, Mrs Ravel. You have my word on it.’

      Sophie could hear the unspoken ‘yet’ in Richard’s voice. She swallowed hard, knowing how close they had come in the carriage and whose fault it had been. It could so easily have been a forced marriage. As it was she had had a choice and she had chosen Richard. She loved how she had felt alive in his arms. Her entire body thrummed with the memory.

      Sophie held out her arms and willed her stepmother to give in. ‘Please say you will be there. Help me make my wedding a joyous occasion. Give me your blessing.’

      Her stepmother threw up her hands in capitulation. The tension flowed out of Sophie. She had won. ‘But the wedding breakfast. Sophie’s wedding dress?’

      ‘You had best start preparing it.’ Richard’s eyes twinkled. ‘There is not a moment to lose. Once I have the licence, I will marry Sophie in whatever dress she happens to be wearing.’

      ‘And I am more than happy to wear my white ball gown. We can easily fashion a veil. There is a mountain of tulle lace left from my latest ball gown. I will look like a fashionable bride, Stepmother.’ Sophie gave her stepmother a hard stare. ‘I will not disgrace you or my late father, but I will be married as soon as Richard can arrange it. The alternative is unthinkable.’

      Her stepmother turned bright red and hurried from the hall.

      Richard’s laugh boomed out. He caught her in his arms and hugged her to him. ‘That went well. Better than you feared. Your stepmother will be at the wedding.’

      ‘Thank you,’ Sophie said, letting out a breath. He seemed to understand her so well. ‘You made it easy. I didn’t know what I was going to say to her and how to confess about what nearly happened in the carriage.’

      ‘There is nothing to confess. We were engaged and now we are getting married. It is the natural order of things.’ He placed a soft kiss on her lips. Her entire being tingled with anticipation. She looped her arms about his neck, inviting him to deepen the kiss, but he gave a slight shake of his head. ‘The next time I see you I will have the licence and we can be together, properly.’

      A quiet thrill filled Sophie. She had left this morning thinking that she should end their acquaintance and she’d come back a nearly bride. The quickness of it made her head spin.

      They were right not to wait. The alternative was far too dangerous. This way they could say that there was no dishonour and that they chose to marry, rather than being forced into it.

      She leant back against his arms, memorising the planes of his face and the way a lock of hair flopped over his forehead. Later she intended to draw him from memory so she could have a memento of today.

      ‘Is everything all right, Sophie?’

      Her smile widened. She could tease him now. ‘Then you had best get the licence and I will see about this

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