He smiled slowly as an idea took hold. He could host one of his little parties here.
The duke had not expressly forbidden Jasper companionship over the summer, had he? Jasper had responsibilities that would not be too taxing on his time. He glanced at his brothers. Nash had always disapproved of his friends and his wilder amusements, but the duke was not a saint. He was well aware that Jasper supplemented his income with gambling. Jasper could host a party, with gambling and make some money for himself and the estate. It could be a surprise windfall for them all.
However, if Jasper told his brother’s what he intended to do, his older brothers would want to discuss the matter until dawn. Thankfully, he had never confessed his every waking thought to his elder siblings, or Stratford, who couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. Jasper stuffed his hands under his arms to hide his excitement at hosting a party here. It was a brilliant idea. The best of his entire life, perhaps.
Chapter Two
“So, this is where you rushed off to,” Mrs. Amity Crawford whispered as she slipped into the Ravenswood nursery and shut the door behind her. “I could not help but overhear your exchange with my cousin. Please, pay Lord Jasper no mind. His bark is far worse than his bite.”
“I did not rush away because of him. It was time to check on the children,” Sophie promised as she gently raised the blankets about Thomas Sweet’s shoulders and ran a soothing hand down his back when he stirred from sleep. Lord Nash’s eldest son had become dear to her during her tenure as his governess, as had the younger, more exuberant brother, Liam.
“Poor motherless, nearly forgotten lambs,” Mrs. Crawford whispered, following Sophie through the room. “You’ve done wonders with them. Do you think they even remember their mother?”
“I try my best to keep her memory alive,” Sophie promised. “But it is difficult when Lord Nash will hardly speak of her.”
“You should talk to Jasper. He and Laura were childhood friends.”
That surprised her. “Lord Jasper had a friend?”
Mrs. Crawford laughed softly and then shook her head. “Perhaps it might have been more than friendship if nature had taken its course. But then a marriage was arranged to Nash between their fathers and they—Jasper and Laura—became brother-in-law and sister-in-law. And now we are left with the consequences of a badly made match.”
“An unhappy marriage takes two, I’m told,” Sophie said.
“No. It is Nash’s fault because he agreed to marry for money alone, and he told Laura so. I’m sure you’ll agree that is not what a lady wants to live with for all her days.”
“I’m sure it is not,” Sophie said, turning toward young Liam and wishing the other woman would return to the drawing room and her family. Sophie was an orphan, and a servant here. A woman with no past and only the future she created. She’d no true understanding of the challenges the women of the ton faced in marriage, so it was difficult to feign sympathy for those women forced to such matches. Privately, she thought them lucky to have any chance at all to make a marriage and have somewhere to call home forever. To have a family that cared enough to consider their security.
Sophie would never be married. Had resigned herself to spinsterhood long ago. She’d had the chance of any better future taken out of her hands by a scoundrel of a man who had pretended to care for her and broken her heart. She’d learned the hard way that gentlemen routinely lied about their intentions to get their way with unprotected women like herself.
Mrs. Crawford drew close. “Ask Jasper your questions about Laura.”
She winced, feeling uncomfortable. “I cannot.”
“Why ever not?”
She forced a smile and shrugged. “Lord Jasper has a low opinion of servants who believe themselves deserving of his conversation.”
Mrs. Crawford shook her head. “I’m sure he doesn’t mean to be that off-putting.”
“Oh, he means to be,” Sophie replied with a soft laugh. “Of that, I’m quite certain. It’s easier to talk with Lord Nash than with him.”
“That does indeed sound dire.” Mrs. Crawford sighed and sat down, forcing Sophie to do the same. “Perhaps it’s the curse of being the third son that colors his tongue still.”
Sophie settled on a wooden stool, arranging her old blue muslin skirts into unnecessarily neat folds about her legs. “What does being a third son have to do with him being rude to me at every turn?”
“The spare’s spare. A forever afterthought. He had it worse than even Stratford growing up.” Mrs. Crawford raised a brow as if it was all the explanation needed. When Sophie shook her head, Mrs. Crawford continued. “Jasper has spent all his life knowing he’s been set to one side. Not wanted until he becomes necessary, like at dinners such as tonight. A man to make up the numbers, just as you often are, too. I cannot count the number of times he’s made a new friend, only to have them set their sights on joining Ravenswood and Nash’s circle of acquaintances instead.”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” Sophie protested. “What horrible people they must be to use anyone so callously.”
“Yes. It’s even worse when women do it. Each eager to catch an elder brother’s eye. Hoping to become the next duchess or mistress. Next season, the duke will return to Town and that will be a trying time for everyone, especially Jasper. People will climb all over him to get to the duke’s or Nash’s side.”
She had to admit she was glad to learn the way Lord Jasper spoke to her might have nothing to do with her at all. “Why Nash?”
“The entire world knows Nash and the duke are extremely close, and you are important to Nash as well, as governess of his children. The duke and Nash always like the same people, and you hold a special place in the family hierarchy in your own right. Perhaps greater than Jasper.”
Sophie drew back, shocked by that suggestion. “I’m not like those women. I only want to speak about, and for, the children to Lord Nash. To convince their father to become more involved in their upbringing. They are so alone here.”
Mrs. Crawford smiled sadly. “I felt that way before I married.”
“Even without family, we can touch the lives of others and become content,” she said, looking down at her faded skirts. “Even if it is only for a little while, we can choose to be happy with our lot in life.”
Mrs. Crawford leaned forward. “My dear Mrs. Radcliffe. I cannot fathom the loneliness an orphan must face every day. I had a horrible brother and a large family that wanted complete control of my life. Even if they did not treat me with the kindness and understanding I hoped for, they were always there.”
Sophie nodded. “One cannot miss what one never had.”
Mrs. Crawford impulsively clasped Sophie’s hand and squeezed it. “Well, you’re with us now, and a delightful companion indeed. Do not let Jasper convince you otherwise. Besides, my cousin Nash seems determined to include you and that is all that matters.”
“He’s been so kind,” she said, blushing in remembrance of the uncomfortable nights she’d spent at the duke’s table of late. She was utterly out of her depth around the duke, and her employer, too, unless she was talking about his children. She found Lord Stratford easier to deal with, but Lord Jasper was impossible. He was determined not to like her and make her appear difficult in front of everyone. Sophie would prefer to be ignored entirely.