Lover Be Mine A Legendary Lovers Novel - By Nicole Jordan Page 0,36
her in retaliation for Lord Harbage’s death.”
Sophie shut the journal, her mind racing ahead to what should be done with this new information. “I ought to show this to my father,” she murmured.
“He will wonder how you came by it,” Jack responded. “I should be the one to show it to him, for your own protection. You don’t want him knowing we are in league together.”
“I doubt he will even speak to you.”
“Then I will have to make him listen.”
She was wary of that idea, however. The thought of Lord Jack forcing her father to do anything made her shiver. “If you confront him, you could come to blows.”
“I promise we won’t.”
Sophie sent him an arch glance. “Your promise is hardly reassuring. I am not worried about you as much as him.” She bit her lower lip. “Perhaps I could talk to my mother first to sound her out. She could ask my father to read the journal.”
“Is she likely to convince him?”
“Well … no.”
“Then I will show it to him. I just need to get him alone. I suggest you help me create the opportunity when you arrange tomorrow’s outings for your house guests.”
Sophie was still dubious, however. She could usually persuade her father to her way of thinking, but in this instance she suspected she would fail on a grand scale, and so would anyone else, especially Lord Jack. Yet at least the journal’s revelations gave her a fresh glimmer of hope.
“I’ll see what I can arrange for tomorrow,” she finally said. “But I wouldn’t put too much faith in these new facts changing my father’s mind about your courtship of me.”
“I intend to try all the same. He needs to realize that a decades-old quarrel is no reason to refuse my suit.”
“The feud is not his only objection.”
“But it will be one less obstacle to overcome, and unless we end it, our love affair cannot progress.”
She smiled up at him. “There is no love affair, since we are not in love. It is nothing more than mere lust.”
“Then you admit you lust after me?”
Oh, yes indeed. Just being this close to him set her nerve-endings on fire. To her chagrin, it was more than a little thrilling, lying here in bed with him, garbed in her nightclothes, even though she was completely covered up. What did that say about the dullness of her life if she was so eager to welcome a forbidden visit by her secret lover—or that she was even thinking of him as her secret lover?
“Even if the feud ends, he will still want me to wed the duke,” Sophie added.
“Then you will have to stand up to him.”
Her own expression grew sober. “I have told you before.… I cannot shirk my obligations, as much as I might want to. It is up to me to restore our family fortunes.”
“There are other ways to restore your family fortunes.”
Sophie handed Lord Jack the journal as she retorted. “I don’t understand why you are so opposed to my marrying Dunmore. You aren’t even convinced you wish to court me yourself.”
“I told you, I don’t like you being forced to wed against your wishes. And I object to your father selling you to the highest bidder. He has practically fawned over Dunmore these past few days.”
Sophie shot Lord Jack a frown. “You have no right to criticize him. You are wealthy in your own right. You don’t know what it is like to be dependent on your wife’s cantankerous relations, or to live on the edge of society. My parents have been shut out of the ton for years—unjustly, my father believes. And while not poor, they have struggled to get by on a limited income. You have eaten from a silver spoon all your life.”
“Not always.”
“Oh? When have you ever been deprived?”
He hesitated a short moment. “There was a time when I was a child, just after my mother died. I wasn’t certain I would survive.”
She surveyed his face, noting his sudden gravity. “What happened?”
“Never mind. It was a long time ago.”
At the grimness in his tone, Sophie’s brow furrowed. Judging by his guarded expression, it was evidently a painful memory for him. Had he suffered as a child? The possibility brought out her protective instincts and made her voice soften. “Why is it that you never talk about your past, Jack?”
He shrugged off her sympathy by summoning a slow smile. “Because it is decidedly uninteresting. You are far more fascinating to me.”