Northbridge’s.
No! This was no time to be thinking of the annoying earl. She must find a way to prevent any further discussions like the one in her father’s book-room. Sleeping last night had been impossible. She regretted letting him goad her into speaking coldly to a guest. But she did not regret the moments when his gaze held hers too long, even though she should not be thinking of that.
“Avoiding the very edge of the cliffs is always wise,” Sophia said, knowing she must say something so her cousin did not suspect her thoughts were on his friend. “It is the first lesson my sister and I learned when we got old enough to explore on our own.”
“Now you are passing it along to me as the new Lord Meriweather.”
She forced a smile. “Consider it simply one of the Meriweather estate traditions.”
“One I will take to heart. After all, I can’t depend on Northbridge to save me this time.” Color flashed up his face, and he looked quickly away.
He had said something he had not intended. Sophia should change the subject and put him at ease once more. But her curiosity had been whetted. The earl had saved her cousin’s life. During the war? It must have been. What had happened? Was that when the earl had received the wound that had left a scar on his face? She wanted to ask, but she would be wiser simply to say nothing.
“Please, I implore you,” Cousin Edmund said, “forget that I said that, Sophia.”
“It is forgotten,” she said, though she wondered if she could ever do as she stated.
He gave a relieved sigh. “Thank you. Northbridge prefers to let what took place during the war remain unspoken. On that, I agree with him.” He cleared his throat and looked past her toward the village. “Do tell me, Sophia, about the rumors I hear that pirates once held sway in Sanctuary Bay.”
Sophia grasped on to the new topic with eagerness. To discuss Lord Northbridge, even obliquely, made her uncomfortable. She wanted to keep the discussion with her cousin light, and he seemed to be making every effort to do the same.
When she retold the story she had related to the earl last night, Edmund asked insightful questions about the pirates’ vessels and how they disposed of their ill-gotten goods.
“You look astonished,” he said.
“I am. Most people focus on the adventures upon the seas rather than what the pirates had to do once they were ashore in order to profit from their crimes.”
Edmund smiled, and her heart caught when she saw a shadow of her father’s features on his face. It was the first time she had noticed a family resemblance. “I must admit to what is scandalous for a peer, even a new one. Before I bought my commission, I was involved in importing fine woods and other materials for the houses my company built or rebuilt in London and in the countryside. Anyone in the import business loses sleep over a ship being sunk or pirated.”
“You may not want to mention your past business worries in such terms when you visit the village.”
“Because the piracy continues?”
“Not the piracy. Papa and I were never able to find actual proof that it ever occurred.” She smiled as she held her bonnet to her head as the wind tried to pull it off again. “I am sorry to tell you that we cannot say the same about smuggling.”
Her cousin snorted so loudly that the footman turned to stare at them in curiosity. “If there are men in any port along the British shore who have not taken advantage of a customs officer’s lack of attention, I have not heard of them.” He glanced at the sea. “I think I shall enjoy my visits here.”
Sophia paused, astonished, as they rounded the end of the headland and turned up the hill toward the house. Its chimneys could be seen over the trees that protected it from the worst of the sea storms. So many times she had taken in this view, but for the first time, she felt like a stranger who had washed up on the shore.
“You are not planning on making
No! This was no time to be thinking of the annoying earl. She must find a way to prevent any further discussions like the one in her father’s book-room. Sleeping last night had been impossible. She regretted letting him goad her into speaking coldly to a guest. But she did not regret the moments when his gaze held hers too long, even though she should not be thinking of that.
“Avoiding the very edge of the cliffs is always wise,” Sophia said, knowing she must say something so her cousin did not suspect her thoughts were on his friend. “It is the first lesson my sister and I learned when we got old enough to explore on our own.”
“Now you are passing it along to me as the new Lord Meriweather.”
She forced a smile. “Consider it simply one of the Meriweather estate traditions.”
“One I will take to heart. After all, I can’t depend on Northbridge to save me this time.” Color flashed up his face, and he looked quickly away.
He had said something he had not intended. Sophia should change the subject and put him at ease once more. But her curiosity had been whetted. The earl had saved her cousin’s life. During the war? It must have been. What had happened? Was that when the earl had received the wound that had left a scar on his face? She wanted to ask, but she would be wiser simply to say nothing.
“Please, I implore you,” Cousin Edmund said, “forget that I said that, Sophia.”
“It is forgotten,” she said, though she wondered if she could ever do as she stated.
He gave a relieved sigh. “Thank you. Northbridge prefers to let what took place during the war remain unspoken. On that, I agree with him.” He cleared his throat and looked past her toward the village. “Do tell me, Sophia, about the rumors I hear that pirates once held sway in Sanctuary Bay.”
Sophia grasped on to the new topic with eagerness. To discuss Lord Northbridge, even obliquely, made her uncomfortable. She wanted to keep the discussion with her cousin light, and he seemed to be making every effort to do the same.
When she retold the story she had related to the earl last night, Edmund asked insightful questions about the pirates’ vessels and how they disposed of their ill-gotten goods.
“You look astonished,” he said.
“I am. Most people focus on the adventures upon the seas rather than what the pirates had to do once they were ashore in order to profit from their crimes.”
Edmund smiled, and her heart caught when she saw a shadow of her father’s features on his face. It was the first time she had noticed a family resemblance. “I must admit to what is scandalous for a peer, even a new one. Before I bought my commission, I was involved in importing fine woods and other materials for the houses my company built or rebuilt in London and in the countryside. Anyone in the import business loses sleep over a ship being sunk or pirated.”
“You may not want to mention your past business worries in such terms when you visit the village.”
“Because the piracy continues?”
“Not the piracy. Papa and I were never able to find actual proof that it ever occurred.” She smiled as she held her bonnet to her head as the wind tried to pull it off again. “I am sorry to tell you that we cannot say the same about smuggling.”
Her cousin snorted so loudly that the footman turned to stare at them in curiosity. “If there are men in any port along the British shore who have not taken advantage of a customs officer’s lack of attention, I have not heard of them.” He glanced at the sea. “I think I shall enjoy my visits here.”
Sophia paused, astonished, as they rounded the end of the headland and turned up the hill toward the house. Its chimneys could be seen over the trees that protected it from the worst of the sea storms. So many times she had taken in this view, but for the first time, she felt like a stranger who had washed up on the shore.
“You are not planning on making
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