cause him to suggest that she also take dinner elsewhere, the two footmen reappeared. The lovely scent of onions and warm bread accompanied them, and she took a deep breath. In addition to having a generous daughter with a fine taste in dresses, Mrs. Beasel also clearly knew how to cook.
“That smells delicious,” she said, hoping the duke couldn’t hear her stomach rumbling in anticipation. Sophia dipped her spoon into the beef and onion soup before her, brushed the bottom against the rim of the bowl, and slipped it into her mouth. “And it tastes delicious.”
“Udgell will see that your compliments are passed on to Mrs. Beasel.” Adam tore off a piece of bread and spread rich yellow butter across it.
“Please do so, Udgell.”
“Very good, Miss Sophia.”
“I gave an order,” the duke said shortly. “There’s no need to supplement it with your own.”
Oh, splendid. “So now you’re going to be sullen and cross?” she said aloud.
Gray eyes held hers. “I am neither of those things. Stop trying to pick a fight with me simply because my sister bested you.”
Sophia blinked. “Your sister did not best me,” she retorted.
The shadow of a smile touched his mouth before he lifted another spoonful of soup. “I stand corrected.”
“Oh, stop it. You were hoping we would fight.”
Adam gestured for Udgell to bring in the main course. The scarlet-headed chit seated three feet in front of him continued to be a surprise. Very few people of his acquaintance contradicted him, and much less intentionally began arguments with him. And yet there she sat with a pretty grin on her pretty face, baiting him.
“I’ll admit to a certain curiosity to witness your first meeting,” he admitted, finishing off the soup and sitting back as one of his footmen removed the bowl, “but that is all.”
“So you weren’t secretly wishing for fisticuffs?”
“Not at all.”
“Mm-hm. And I suppose you think I didn’t let you win at billiards.”
“If you were allowing me to win, you would have said so.”
She shrugged. “I just did.”
Just when this holiday had gone from necessary rout to disaster, he knew to the second. But when disaster had become … interesting, he had more difficulty pinpointing. All the same, the annoyance and stark disappointment with which he’d been viewing this holiday since well before the collapse of the bridge had, in the last few hours, fled.
“In the future, then, I shall see to it that I earn any victories,” he said aloud.
Her cheeks dimpled in a rather fetching manner. “I do hope so. I’m generally rather competitive, you see.” She sat forward, her green eyes dancing. “But I was curious about the wager.”
And so was he. “Were you, then? And its collection?”
Her gaze lowered to his mouth. “Yes. That was quite generous of me, I thought.”
Sweet Lucifer, she was charming. He would have said so aloud, but Sophia White seemed utterly unaware of precisely how irrepressible and appealing she truly was. If he pointed it out, he could very well ruin it. And that would be a shame. “We’ll see if you say that after I collect what’s due me,” he said instead, then set down his utensils. “No doubt you’re wondering what my sister’s parting words meant,” he went on, torn between being mindful of how many times Sophia must have been left out of conversations and wanting to continue the long-held custom of keeping his own counsel.
“You mean the part about the bridge and something not continuing? It did seem rather … cryptic.”
“Yes. Likely everyone else will know within minutes of their arrival here, if they haven’t already realized, so you might as well hear it. I invited a great many eligible females to Christmas, as my father’s will stipulates that I be married by my thirtieth year. And that I father an heir by my thirty-first.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “You’re looking for a bride? A parade doesn’t seem very subtle. And I’ve seen
“That smells delicious,” she said, hoping the duke couldn’t hear her stomach rumbling in anticipation. Sophia dipped her spoon into the beef and onion soup before her, brushed the bottom against the rim of the bowl, and slipped it into her mouth. “And it tastes delicious.”
“Udgell will see that your compliments are passed on to Mrs. Beasel.” Adam tore off a piece of bread and spread rich yellow butter across it.
“Please do so, Udgell.”
“Very good, Miss Sophia.”
“I gave an order,” the duke said shortly. “There’s no need to supplement it with your own.”
Oh, splendid. “So now you’re going to be sullen and cross?” she said aloud.
Gray eyes held hers. “I am neither of those things. Stop trying to pick a fight with me simply because my sister bested you.”
Sophia blinked. “Your sister did not best me,” she retorted.
The shadow of a smile touched his mouth before he lifted another spoonful of soup. “I stand corrected.”
“Oh, stop it. You were hoping we would fight.”
Adam gestured for Udgell to bring in the main course. The scarlet-headed chit seated three feet in front of him continued to be a surprise. Very few people of his acquaintance contradicted him, and much less intentionally began arguments with him. And yet there she sat with a pretty grin on her pretty face, baiting him.
“I’ll admit to a certain curiosity to witness your first meeting,” he admitted, finishing off the soup and sitting back as one of his footmen removed the bowl, “but that is all.”
“So you weren’t secretly wishing for fisticuffs?”
“Not at all.”
“Mm-hm. And I suppose you think I didn’t let you win at billiards.”
“If you were allowing me to win, you would have said so.”
She shrugged. “I just did.”
Just when this holiday had gone from necessary rout to disaster, he knew to the second. But when disaster had become … interesting, he had more difficulty pinpointing. All the same, the annoyance and stark disappointment with which he’d been viewing this holiday since well before the collapse of the bridge had, in the last few hours, fled.
“In the future, then, I shall see to it that I earn any victories,” he said aloud.
Her cheeks dimpled in a rather fetching manner. “I do hope so. I’m generally rather competitive, you see.” She sat forward, her green eyes dancing. “But I was curious about the wager.”
And so was he. “Were you, then? And its collection?”
Her gaze lowered to his mouth. “Yes. That was quite generous of me, I thought.”
Sweet Lucifer, she was charming. He would have said so aloud, but Sophia White seemed utterly unaware of precisely how irrepressible and appealing she truly was. If he pointed it out, he could very well ruin it. And that would be a shame. “We’ll see if you say that after I collect what’s due me,” he said instead, then set down his utensils. “No doubt you’re wondering what my sister’s parting words meant,” he went on, torn between being mindful of how many times Sophia must have been left out of conversations and wanting to continue the long-held custom of keeping his own counsel.
“You mean the part about the bridge and something not continuing? It did seem rather … cryptic.”
“Yes. Likely everyone else will know within minutes of their arrival here, if they haven’t already realized, so you might as well hear it. I invited a great many eligible females to Christmas, as my father’s will stipulates that I be married by my thirtieth year. And that I father an heir by my thirty-first.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “You’re looking for a bride? A parade doesn’t seem very subtle. And I’ve seen
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