Never Courted, Suddenly Wed (Scandalous Seasons #2)(10)

As it was, Christopher had courted her dearest friend, Lady Emmaline, now the Marchioness of Drake. He’d not even paid Sophie any notice, for which Sophie had been immensely grateful. What would make Geoffrey or Mother believe she could bring someone of his exalted position in Society up to scratch?

Her mother stroked her skirts and spoke gently. “Sophie, dear, you could do far worse than to find yourself wed to Waxham.”

“I could also do a deal better,” she muttered under her breath.

“Oh,” Geoffrey drawled. “Who?”

“The Duke of Mallen.” The room went silent at the name she’d blurted. Mother and Geoffrey exchanged a look. It was the one name that could silence the viscountess.

Geoffrey laughed and cut into the shocking piece Sophie had dropped. Oh, the insufferable lout.

“Do you expect me to believe you can secure the duke’s affections?”

Sophie bristled and looked to her mother, who wore an equally bemused expression. No help, there. That was saying a good deal when the very woman who’d brought you into the world had so little faith in your ability to secure a husband. Not just any husband…but one of the most esteemed peers of the realm.

“You must be mad,” Geoffrey said.

Sophie frowned. She held the duke in very high esteem, but the fact that she’d proffered his name had nothing to do with any tendre she carried and more to do with her mysterious Odysseus. She’d managed to remain unwed for two Seasons. If she could manage one more and meet the man who’d so captivated her in the library…

“Sophie, are you listening to your brother?”

No. “Yes,” she lied.

“The Duke of Mallen has given little indication of any interest in you.”

“That isn’t true,” she insisted. “He asked me for several sets last Season; two of which were waltzes.”

“Only because you are friends with Lady Emmaline,” Geoffrey pointed out.

Well, he had her there. She’d not say as much. To do so would kill her argument. “That isn’t at all what Em told me.” Underneath the cover of the table Sophie crossed her fingers.

Geoffrey and Mother exchanged skeptical looks.

However, the stretch of quiet indicated they were both appearing to consider the merit of Sophie’s words. They might want her wed, but both Geoffrey and Mother were quite enamored with their status in Society.

“Waxham is a certainty,” Geoffrey said at last, cutting across her hope.

“Oh, of course he is,” Sophie mumbled.

“He is very sought after,” Mother said, coming to the earl’s defense in a way she hadn’t moments earlier when Geoffrey had called into question Sophie’s status in Society.

Sophie’s frown deepened. That stung more than she cared to admit. “I don’t need Geoffrey to provide his unending list of Christopher’s greatness. He’s already mentioned the earl’s stables.”

Neither Mother nor Geoffrey appeared to pick up on her attempt at sarcasm. Or, mayhap they chose to ignore it.

Geoffrey continued with his argument. “I merely say Waxham is a certainty because of our familial connections.”

Sophie sat back in her chair and rested her arms along the sides of the seat. She drummed her fingertips and then winced as the ache in her head grew. “The connection is not as great as you give credit for—”

Mother’s gasp interrupted Sophie’s words. “Your father and the Marquess of Milford’s friendship goes back to their youth. How dare you say something so insensitive?”

Sophie dropped her gaze onto her lap, shamed by her rash words. Father had died several years before she’d made her come out. He’d always had such grand hopes for the match she would make. She wondered what he would say now if he were to see the current, sad state of her marital prospects. “Forgive me,” she said.

Her mother must have detected the sincerity in that apology, for she nodded.

“I merely meant that Christopher has no like sense of obligation to our family.” Ugh, there was something horribly depressing in thinking of oneself as an obligation.

Geoffrey wagged his finger in a small circle. “That is where you are wrong, sister.”

Sophie narrowed her eyes at the odd note in her brother’s tone. He spoke as though he possessed an interesting bit of gossip about Christopher’s family that he had no intention of sharing—something that would compel him to marry her. “There is a greater motivation for him to wed me, then? Something that goes far beyond our familial connections.”

Geoffrey gave his head a shake and seemed to remember himself. “Don’t be silly, Sophie. I merely meant the marquess has a good deal of influence over Waxham.”

Great, so he’d marry her off to a gentleman with no spine or mind of his own. Just lovely.

The wheels in Sophie’s mind turned rapidly as she began to feel this situation was moving beyond her control. “Emmaline indicated that the duke holds me in high esteem.” Surely Em had said something like that over the years?

The lure of a dukedom apparently was too great for Geoffrey. “I’ll allow you to try and bring Mallen up to scratch, but in the meantime, you are not to do anything to discourage Waxham’s suit.”

She lunged forward in her chair to protest the terms laid out by Geoffrey, only to wince as the sudden movement sent the room spinning around her.