Lover Be Mine A Legendary Lovers Novel - By Nicole Jordan Page 0,57
disbelief. “You must be jesting. Not even you would be so brazen.” When Jack didn’t refute her, Sophie searched his face. “You actually duped me into entering your carriage so you could abduct me?”
“I’m afraid so.”
She was visibly shocked by his audacity. “Surely my aunt does not condone your shameless actions, Jack.”
“She doesn’t know.” He hadn’t told Mrs. Pennant because he suspected she would balk. It was one thing for her to support his courtship; it was quite another to aid and abet an abduction.
Sophie’s astonishment turned to concern for her great-aunt. “I didn’t think she would consent, even if she did bring me to Paris under false pretenses. But she will be beside herself with worry when I don’t return home after the opera. At her age, she should not be exposed to such fright.”
“I left a message to be delivered to her later this evening, explaining that you are safe and that I am taking you to see my father. I promised to care for you.”
Sophie’s reply held exasperation. “She entrusted you with my protection and this is how you repay her?”
“You left me with no choice, Sophie. This is the only way to save you from marriage to Dunmore.”
“I told you I didn’t want to be saved.”
“It is for your own good, love.”
“You are not thinking of my own good at all.” Taking a steadying breath, Sophie made an effort to reason with him. “You know that reneging on my promise would deliver a devastating blow to my parents.”
“It would only be a blow if you couldn’t marry a prince instead of a duke.”
“Jack …” she protested, struggling to rein in her aggravation. “You can’t truly mean to take me all the way to Navartania against my will.”
“I tried persuasion to no avail. You refused to accompany me.”
“For good reason. As I said this morning, there is no point in us even discussing a future together. It is far too late to change my father’s mind about my union with Dunmore, and even if it wasn’t, I cannot be so selfish as to only consider my own desires. I have to see the marriage through.”
Jack could see her next argument forming, so he forestalled her with a request. “Come with me to Navartania first, Sophie, and then decide. If you still are of the same mind about marrying your duke, I will return you to Paris.”
Her gaze remained skeptical. “How long will it take us to get there?”
“The better part of three days.”
“And three days to return?” Her eyebrows shot up in dismay. “Jack, an unchaperoned journey of such length will ruin me.”
“No, it won’t.”
“It will. And that will mean the end of my betrothal. Dunmore won’t want to wed a tarnished bride.”
“You won’t be tarnished. He will never know you are with me. No one will. I doubt your aunt will advertise your absence from Paris.”
Sophie gave a dismissive snort. “That is easy for you to say. You Wildes live on the edge of scandal and can be as wanton as you please. We commoners cannot afford such recklessness.”
He didn’t rise to the bait, however, so she tried another tack. “Jack, please … it will hurt my parents terribly if my marital chances dissolve in scandal.”
Jack wanted keenly to reassure her. “I promise you, there will be no scandal.”
She evidently realized that pleading with him would do no good, for after another moment, she scowled at him. “I can see how you came by your scoundrel’s fame.”
At her accusation, his mouth curved faintly. His character was not that black. “I am not a scoundrel. A rogue perhaps.”
Seeing his hint of a smile, she snapped at him with real anger. “Your levity is entirely inappropriate.”
“I beg your pardon, sweetheart,” he said, sobering his expression.
“Pray stop calling me ‘sweetheart’ and ‘love.’ I am neither.”
“Very well.”
Clearly she wasn’t mollified, for her frustration had only increased. “I demand you turn this vehicle around at once, Jack.”
He shook his head regretfully. “I cannot do that.”
“Well, you cannot force me to accompany you. I won’t submit to your coercion.”
Suiting action to words, Sophie eyed the door handle, then lunged forward to grasp it. When the door started to swing open, taking her with it, Jack’s heart jumped to his throat.
Grabbing her arm, he hauled her back inside and held her firmly against him, much against her will. “Devil take it, Sophie—leaping from a fast-moving vehicle could get you killed.”
“It would be better than remaining here with you,” she muttered.