My Once and Future Duke (The Wagers of Sin #1)(78)

“A fresh start,” he repeated. “From what, if I may ask?”

Her face grew warm. “I was companion to an older lady in Bath. She left me three hundred pounds in her will, and I took my chances and came to London with it.”

“Ah.” A thin frown creased his brow.

“I wanted to be independent,” she explained. “My family . . . You know my father was disowned when he married my mother. His father was a—-a viscount. Papa was not the oldest son, but he would have had a generous inheritance. But he fell in love with my mother, and my grandfather vehemently disapproved because she was an opera singer. My father gave up everything to marry her.” A smile crossed her face, thinking about her parents again. “My mother sang in every court in Europe. It was just the three of us, traveling from city to city, as she got engagements. It became harder as the war spread, and then Mama got sick.

“We had to come home to England,” she said, her words growing softer. “Mama lost her voice and Papa had to support us. He . . .” She hesitated. “He did so at the gaming tables. I helped him practice.”

“And that’s where you learned to play,” he murmured.

Sophie nodded. “I have a knack for cards—-of all the silly talents to have. That’s why Vega’s was a crucial part of my plan. I never would have been accepted as a member there if I’d been a spinster, which was another good reason to become a widow.”

He said nothing for a moment. “You’ve won a good sum at Vega’s, haven’t you?”

Sophie nodded. “Approaching four thousand pounds, after expenses, in three years. I want to be independent.”

Jack’s eyebrows went up. So far her story aligned reasonably well with what he’d already assumed. Nothing she said had changed his mind about her—-if anything, he had to admire her pluck. This was a real plan, and she’d executed it well. The contrast between his brother’s careless carousing and Sophie’s methodical pursuit was impossible to ignore.

She blushed under his regard. “I play to win because I have no other means of support. You accused me of being a hardened gamester. I suppose I am, although I truly don’t try to ruin anyone. It’s true I won from Philip, but never very much. I don’t want to beggar my friends, and I did think very highly of Philip until—-”

Until Philip became possessive and troublesome. Jack resolved to revisit that point with his brother until Philip understood how loathsome his behavior had been. Incredibly, he found it all a massive relief. When she’d begun so somberly, he had feared there was something far worse. But this . . . It was nothing like what Portia had hidden from him. Sophie was as he had thought: independent, determined, and fundamentally true. His heart lifted at the realization that he’d been right about her, which meant he was free of any doubt about what to do next . . .

“How very sensible,” he said to change the subject.

She started. “Sensible! You think it’s sensible?”

He shrugged. “How many gentlemen with empty pockets have the same plan? Excepting the fictitious spouse, of course. And, no doubt, any actual employment.”

“Yes, well, gentlemen seem to have different rules,” she said wryly. “I wouldn’t dare do some of the things men at Vega’s have done.”

He acknowledged the point. “Have you any other support? Surely your grandfather would step in if he knew.” He found himself hoping she named the old tartar. Jack wanted to give the man a stern word about abandoning orphaned grandchildren.

Her eyes sparked with disdain. “No, my grandfather won’t lift a finger to help me. He disowned me as thoroughly as he disowned my father. I’d sooner starve than ask his help—-not that he would give it even if I were starving.”

“Perhaps a cousin, or an aunt—-your mother’s family—-”

She gave a tight shake of her head. “No. My father had a brother, but said he was just as surly as my grandfather. I don’t want to know him, either. And I haven’t had contact with my mother’s family since we came home to England. I wouldn’t even know where to look for them. I have preferred to be on my own.”

Jack let it go. “It doesn’t matter. You’re of age, after all.”

“There is more.” She took a deep breath. “I confess I—-I had hoped to find a husband,” she said, avoiding his gaze. “Someone respectable, who could offer me a good home and a chance to have a family.” Her voice grew wistful, and his stomach tightened. He burned to banish that lonely tone from her voice forever. “I haven’t had anyone since I was twelve. My grandfather—-the Ogre—-is worse than having no one. A penniless woman with no connections is hardly likely to attract a respectable man, but I thought, if I had some small fortune saved up . . .”

It took all his restraint not to growl at that. Sophie had no idea how appealing she was. Once more he thought of Giles Carter, who’d been with her at Vega’s, the man who made her laugh and took her arm. That man, he knew, was attracted to her, and Jack doubted her four thousand pounds had anything to do with it.

“I wanted you to know, so that you may walk away,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.

“Do you think I wish to walk away?”

Color rose in her face. “I hope not,” she whispered.