Chapter 5
Sophia was mad at herself. As a result, she had remained in her room with the baby the rest of the day. She had told Maggie she felt a little under the weather. Maggie had brought her food and drinks to her room. But now it was dinner time and it would be rude not to accept Lord Whitsnow’s hospitality and go down for dinner.
She arrived in the drawing room to find Jason on his own, looking immaculate in silk evening knee breeches, and an evening coat. A snow-white cravat was intricately knotted, though not ostentatiously and tucked under a blue waistcoat with silver thread, which brought out the colour of his eyes. He was drinking brandy and gazing into the fire. He stood when Sophia walked in. She felt dowdy in her dark green day dress. She had not brought any evening gowns since she had only brought necessities. His gaze, however roamed possessively up her body and she wanted to squirm away from his attentions.
“Is Lord Whitsnow still in his bedchamber?”
“I fear he is and shall not be joining us. He cast up his accounts during afternoon tea and has been sent to bed by Mrs Gardner, the housekeeper. He is complaining, of course, but she is not a lady with whom to be trifled.”
“Oh dear. I hope he recovers soon.”
“Yes. Poor chap. He did look really rather green. Would you like a brandy before dinner?”
“No, thank you. I do not drink strong liquor. Octavius said ladies should not drink the strong stuff.”
“Did he now? He really does seem to have dampened your fun.”
“Being foxed is hardly fun, my lord.”
“Have you tried it?”
“Of course not.”
“Then how would you know?”
“I… I… You really are a vexing man, Lord Rose-Reid.”
“Oh come now, Sophia. We have discussed this. I would prefer you call me Jason.” He walked over to her and bent his head so his lips were at her ear. Excitement and horror warred within her. “You cannot call the man who gave you your first orgasm by his title. It is rather lowering.”
“My Lord!”
“That is also rather lowering.”
“Please.”
He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. A frisson of awareness ran up her arm. She tried to ignore it. Then he placed his brandy glass in her hand.
“Sip it slowly. You really need to loosen up.”
He meandered over to the sideboard and poured himself another.
“But you have drunk from this glass.”
“My dear, if you were going to catch anything from me, you would have caught it in the stables this morning. Now be a good girl and drink up.”
He turned and gave her a satisfied smile over the rim of his glass. She wanted to refuse it, but part of her wanted to try it. He was actually daring her. Did he not think she would?
She took a large mouthful and swallowed. It burned as it scraped its way down her throat, taking the lining of her gullet with it, she was sure. She started to cough and splutter, grabbing her throat as Jason ran to her and started patting her on the back.
“Damn, woman. I said sip it.”
“I…” cough “you…” cough “but…” cough.
“Stop trying to speak. Sit down. Good god, horses are so much easier to break in than women.”
Sophia sat and coughed and coughed some more. Jason offered her a handkerchief and eventually the coughing eased. He offered her the glass again. She looked at him in horror.
“No,” she rasped.
“If you sip it this time, it should actually remove the burn from your throat.”
She glared at him, not fully trusting his judgement. But she did try it. And this time, the sip did go down much easier and did soothe a little. He raised his eyebrows and she nodded.
“Why did you say horses are easier to break in than women?”
Jason frowned.
“Nothing. It was just something ridiculous that Whitsnow said.”
“I am intrigued, my lord.”
“Is your throat better.”
“An evasive manoeuvre. Well played.”
“My lord, dinner is ready.”
The look of relief on Jason’s face as the butler came in to announce dinner, told Sophia that the ‘breaking in’ remark was something she did not want to know about. But that just intrigued her more.
He offered her his arm and she took it. The small dining room was set so that he was at the head of the table and she was seated next to him rather than at the end of the table. She appreciated that. She’d hated always being so far away from Octavius and the formality of their dinners even though it had just been the two of them. It was odd that she had never considered the things she disliked in her marriage until this past day.
What happened in the stable with Jason had been a revelation. When her body had exploded with pleasure like that, she had felt nothing but euphoria. She was sure her muscles inside had been pulsing and wondered what it would feel like to have a male member inside her when that happened.
“You seem deep in thought.” Jason’s voice interrupted her pleasant, slightly erotic wool-gathering. It had been his male member and not her late husband’s she had been considering. She had not got a good look at it, but Jason’s had been bigger than that of Octavius. She was sure. Maybe it shrunk with age. She could hardly ask that. “Sophia!”
“Hmm?” She glanced at Jason. “I was thinking about cocks.” Oh dear. “I mean, is there a cockerel that awakens you in the morning at Aelton?”
Jason grinned. She obviously had not fooled him. “No, not at the dower house at least.”
“Oh, well, Oscar usually wakens me early anyway. I hope he does not disturb you tonight.”
“I shall not mind if he does.”
“Do you want me to ask Robert, I mean Whitsnow if we can get a cock…erel?”
“Oh no. Tis fine.”
“Good.” He took a drink of his wine, but when he replaced his glass he was still smirking.
“Do you have brothers and sisters, my lord?”
“It is Jason, and yes, I do. My sister Joanna and my brother Jerome. My mother had a penchant for unusual names taken from the Bible. If the person was only mentioned once, she named one of her children after them.”
“I see. And all beginning with the letter J?”
“Yes. She never said if she planned that or if it was a coincidence. Though I suspect nothing my mother does is coincidental.”
“Jason is a nice name.”
“I know of no one else named Jason. It is ridiculous.”
“Sophia means wisdom.”
“And yet here you are, lost in the snow and at my mercy.”
“Indeed. Perhaps I should have been named Imbecile.”
“That is not so pretty a name. It would not suit a beautiful woman such as you.”
Sophia did not quite know how to respond. Her body certainly did and she wanted to leap over the table, perch on his lap and find out if she could make his cock grow again. But she would not and could not do that again. It had been foolish the first time.
Jason asked about growing up in Herefordshire. She was able to talk about the Beattie estate and living on the border of Wales. They talked about friends and acquaintances in London and about the scandals of last Season. Sophia filled him in about the scandal over Lord Cindermaine, who had recently succeeded to the title of Duke of Hartsmere after marrying the fiancé of his illegitimate half-brother, having pretended to be him for most of the Christmas Season.
Dinner finished and they had tea in the drawing room. Still they chatted amicably about all manner of things and Sophia realised just how comfortable she was with this man. She was actually more comfortable with him than she had been with her husband. Lord Rutherford would drone on about some place he had been, something she had usually found very interesting, but then he would quiz her to find out if she had been listening. If she had not, he would be cross and scold her. She had always assumed it meant she was not a good wife if she did not listen carefully to what he said. And he had been a very fascinating man who’d had fascinating adventures. She was beginning to worry now that her own new adventures were putting rather a blight on what she had thought was a happy marriage.
“I think I should go to bed now. I need to check on Oscar anyway. It is not fair to leave him with Maggie all this time,” she said, giving Jason an apologetic smile.
“She seems more than happy to care for the babe.”
“Aye but he needs the milk of his mama. Not cow’s milk and bread.”
“Mayhap. I shall walk you to your room.” He rose and offered her his sleeve.
“There is no need.”
“I shall read in my room for a while then go to bed early.”
“Are you reading anything interesting?”
He chuckled. “No. Whitsnow is my dearest friend but he can be rather stuffy. His library is full of the dullest books I have ever set eyes on. So I settled on a book of sermons in the hope of making me a better man.”
“And is it working?”
“Given what happened between us this morning, I would say not.”
Heat rose in her cheeks and she nudged him slightly with her elbow. He chuckled again as he led her upstairs. When they arrived at her room, she hesitated.
Jason glanced both ways up and down the hall, then ducked his head and kissed her far to briefly on the lips.
In the candlelight, it was impossible to see the colour of his eyes, but his lids were hooded and his voice hoarse.
“Thank you for a lovely evening, Sophia.”
“Thank you, my lord. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
She turned the handle of the door and slipped inside where the maid was rocking Oscar in her arms.