“Please do not make the mistake of thinking too well of my cousin Nash,” Mrs. Crawford warned suddenly.
Sophie gazed at Mrs. Crawford without understanding.
“He’s not for someone like you.” The woman winced. “I should not like you to mistake his kindness for something greater.”
Any sense of companionship with Mrs. Crawford vanished, only to be replaced with horror at the idea of an improper relationship with her employer. “I certainly will never forget my place, madam.”
“Not that I don’t think well of you, you understand. Quite the opposite,” Mrs. Crawford promised. “I just wanted to be certain you understand the situation.”
Sophie clasped her hands tightly together in her lap, horrified by the discussion. “He’s married. Indeed, he is. He has never given me any sign of… I have never encouraged him to think…”
“I’m glad. I should hate for him to betray his vows, even if his attraction to another became urgent.”
Sophie stood, unsettled by any discussion of attraction. Those feelings were not to be trusted in her experience. “I would too, especially for the children’s sake.”
Mrs. Crawford rose as well. “I did not mean to upset you, my dear. It’s just…I see how you are together and wonder if something is brewing under the surface.”
“Not within me. As I told Lord Jasper earlier in the evening, I’m just a governess.”
Mrs. Crawford shook her head at that. “That is not all you are, but we will speak no more on the subject since it has upset you. Perhaps when I return from my trip, you and I might discuss the topic of your future.”
“My future?”
“You cannot remain a governess here forever.”
“I know I cannot.” Sophie lifted her chin. Her time here was defined by Lord Nash’s requirements and the children’s ages. “The children will not need me soon. They are so attentive to their lessons,” she said, to turn their conversation to a topic close to her heart.
Mrs. Crawford nodded, and the subject of Lord Nash was dropped between them. “How do you get them to attend to their studies so well? I am ashamed to say I was an indifferent student.”
She smiled. “They are agreeable children, and I praise their efforts daily.”
“That is something I’m sure their grandfather, the late duke, would never have approved of. He believed in obedience or the rod. Praise was nonexistent,” Mrs. Crawford said, and then shuddered as if to rid herself of an unpleasant memory. “We should return to the drawing room now.”
“I should remain with the children,” Sophie decided. The last thing she wanted was to be around Lord Nash after her conversation with Mrs. Crawford. She had much to think about. Her plan to bring Lord Nash and the children together more often had taken an unexpected and unwanted turn.
“The duke expects us both,” Mrs. Crawford informed her in a way that suggested there could be no argument.
Resigned to a few more hours in the company of her betters, Sophie dutifully followed the woman back downstairs to the drawing room. But once Mrs. Crawford reached the room, she broke away to run to the open terrace doors and looked outside.
Mrs. Crawford laughed, beckoned Sophie to join her, and then disappeared into the darkness beyond. Sophie followed more sedately, glancing left. Lord Jasper had retaken possession of his favorite chair while she was gone. He had papers in his hand, but did not look up to acknowledge her return to the room.
Sophie headed for the open door and looked out.
“There you are,” Lord Nash said to her right, making her jump almost out of her skin. “I feared I’d have to send a servant to fetch you back. There’s no problem with the children, I trust?”
“None at all.” Sophie stepped outside, smiling, but added a little more distance between herself and her employer than usual. “What is going on?”
“Lawn bowls. My brother insists on a game.”
The duke and his brothers had been playing the game every day this week. The boys and herself had watched from the nursery windows between lessons but had not been invited to join them even once. “But it’s nighttime.”
“Therein lies the challenge of making a decent shot,” Lord Jasper drawled, as he suddenly appeared on her other side. He gestured out to the lawn. “We were waiting for you.”
“Yes, we were,” Lord Nash announced, offering his arm.
Sophie could not take Lord Nash’s arm. “I would enjoy watching.”
“No, no. You will play,” Lord Nash decided.
Lord Jasper agreed with him, too, which surprised her. “I’ll partner Mrs. Radcliffe. You partner Ravenswood, as usual.”
“Your partner is Stratford,” Nash said, arm still extended to her.
“No. Not anymore. Stratford has chosen a new partner,” Lord Jasper replied curtly, stepping closer to her side. “Only his wife will do for him now, you know.”
Sophie winced. Had that hurt Lord Jasper’s feelings?
She glanced across the lawn, straining her eyes to see the shapes moving about in the poor light from a few lanterns. Lord Stratford and his wife appeared to be wrestling over ownership of the little round balls they were to play with. They were a competitive couple. She knew enough about high society to realize Lady Win Sweet was more than a little rough around the edges.
Sophie liked Lady Win. She was interesting. The maids whispered of her habit of secretly wearing a pair of men’s breeches under her finery. She also made Lord Stratford vastly happy, even when she triumphed in their many inconsequential competitions. She kept him in line and even on time for dinner. Everyone thought it a miracle.
Nash caught her eye. “Perhaps the lady should be the one to choose her partner?”
With Mrs. Crawford’s warning about Lord Nash’s interest still ringing in her ears, it was a straightforward decision to choose Lord Jasper as her partner in the game. She would not encourage a married man, and Lord Jasper, a rake, had already proved to have no interest in her. For a change, Lord Jasper was a safer choice. “I could not deny the duke his preferred partner,” she told Lord Nash.
“As you wish,” he replied, but his tone suggested he was not disappointed with her decision. However, he had to accept it. He was too much of a gentleman not to.
Sophie squared her shoulders. “Might someone explain the rules?”
Lord Nash tried to explain, but he did so in a way that utterly confused her by the end. Eventually, he stopped talking and Sophie could only nod. But she still did not know what she was meant to do.
Eventually Lord Nash was called for, and he bowed and departed, hurrying over to the duke, who was directing servants to set out more torches around the pitch.
She glanced up at Lord Jasper apologetically. “I must warn you I’ve never played before.”
“Something tells me you’ll do admirably despite my brother’s baffling instructions,” Lord Jasper drawled. “All you have to think about is the little ball at the end. Imagine it as someone you know. In your case, I suggest it is someone you truly despise.”
One person immediately sprang to mind. “Very well. But why someone I despise?”
“Women are emotional creatures,” Lord Jasper explained, leaning a little closer. “Emotions guide your actions in everything.”