Page 12 of A Sham Betrothal
He paused as he considered again the idea that had come over him that very morning. It was impulsive, but he would do it. “I wished to send my old nurse to aid in the caring of your grandmother if you would permit it. Jeannot—it is her family name, you see—declares she is growing idle. My sister Thérèse is in the expectant way, but until there are children to dote upon, Jeannot is looking for something to fill her days. Do you suppose her presence would be welcome?”
“Oh.” Sophie breathed out the word. “I cannot refuse your generous offer. I have been sharing the care for my grandmother with Mary, but to have someone else, if indeed your nurse should wish it…” She turned a questioning glance to him.
He liked the way her face grew animated when she was taken up with an idea. How could he have thought her expression veiled the first time they met?
“She should indeed,” he assured her. “And when your grandmother grows better, I hope you will allow Jeannot to care for her more fully so you might attend some of the soirées in Paris?”
“If shedoesget better,” Sophie said, worry evident in her tone.
“She will.” Basile held her stare, as though it werepossible to chase away the doubts and fears by doing so. Zoé had been right. It was hard enough when a loved one was ill, but how much more difficult when one was on foreign soil!
They faced one another—she, seemingly lost in her thoughts, and he, content to look at her. The nearness of their pose, the awareness of it, finally shook him from his strange reluctance to leave.
“I will be off then,” he said, lifting his hat and sweeping her a bow, his smile back in place.
She curtsied. “It was so good of you to call.”
“I do not wish to interrupt your time outdoors. I shall see myself out.” His eyes lingered as she brought the lavender stem up to her nose.
“Very well,” she said.
As he moved toward the door, he resisted the urge to turn around and wondered if she followed him with her eyes when he departed. He could smell lavender long after he left the house.
Chapter 6
Sophie sat back down on the cold stone bench and watched Basile pull open the back door of the house and disappear into the dark corridor. She had to admit there was more to the gentleman than just play, for he had certainly shown himself a faithful friend. He sent a doctor—and no ordinary doctor! One who had waited upon the king himself. Not only that, but Basile had paid the man’s bill so she would not be required to beg her ill grandmother for the sum. And then he had come to visit her…
Although she was not precisely sure why he had. He’d hardly stayed at all, and he had leapt at once to his feet as though he did not wish to be by her side a minute longer. He was a most puzzling gentleman. But, after all, akind, puzzling gentleman.
She inhaled the clean lavender scent of the stalk that had been thin enough to tug free. Perhaps she should bring a few in to her grandmother’s room to lighten the air. They were in full bloom and smelled heavenly.
Rather than go in search of a knife, she yanked atanother, thicker stalk, attempting to use her fingernail to snap it in two, but it was a fruitless endeavor. A knife it would have to be.
She turned as the door to the house opened again, and this time Sheldon appeared in the yard. She set her lips in a firm line, not pleased at his appearance but having little power to do anything about it. His presence would be harder to bear after the marquis’s agreeable visit.
She lifted a hand as she walked toward him. “Good day, Sheldon. I am going inside to get a knife so I might cut some lavender for my grandmother.”
He pivoted to walk with her. “I will accompany you, then.”
To her surprise, he did so in silence as she requested a knife from Mary, then returned with her outdoors. It was unlike him to be so discreet. Perhaps he was chastened because today was the first day she had permitted Mary to allow him entrance since his bumbling proposal. However, she would not be the one to begin the conversation.
It was only when he’d sat on the bench and she began to cut the lavender that he spoke. “Sophie, I’ve been thinking. And I suppose I must offer you an apology for hinting that I would not see to my obligation of bringing you and your grandmother safely home.”
Sophie looked up at him in surprise and saw an earnest expression on his face. Never before had she been so in charity with him. She went over to the bench and held out her hand. “’Tis very kind of you to offer the apology.”
He pressed her hand, his cheeks growing flushed. “Well, I own it was not a gentlemanly thing to say. I have also arranged for a mantua-maker recommended by Mrs. Pertrand, who is attached to the embassy, although you will not have met her yet. Madame Meriaux will cometomorrow to take your measurements so you might walk out more soberly attired as befits the public mourning of Louis XV.”
Sophie was not sure she liked being handled in such a way. It was as though he thought they were, in truth, betrothed. She hoped her grandmother would be able to meet the expenses of the gowns. Dropping her eyes, she managed a “thank you.”
“How is your grandmother?” he asked, turning the subject before the moment could become uncomfortable.
She went back to cutting lavender, dropping the stalks in the shallow woven basket she had brought for the purpose. “Much the same, I am afraid. She spends most of her time resting, and any time she attempts to speak, it provokes a fit of coughing that leaves her quite exhausted.”
Sheldon narrowed his eyes. “You are looking a little worn yourself. You must give the care of your grandmother entirely over to Mary. It would not do for you to grow ill.”
She cocked her head with a look of exasperation. “I cannot leave my grandmother alone for such a trifling fear as that. And Mary certainly cannot manage all the care for her while still seeing that we have food to eat and clean rooms besides.”
Turning her eyes back to her basket, she added, “But you may set your fears to rest on that head. The Marquis de Verdelle has promised to send over his old nurse, who is looking for something to do. He assured me of her willingness to assist us with the task of caring for my grandmother. It was most kind of him.”
