Page 10 of Seducing Sophia (Scholars of Seduction)

“Again, Mama! Again!”

“I’m afraid you’ve quite worn me out, my love,” she said.

“Allow me.” Colonel FitzRoy stood, and bowed.

“First, permit me to introduce myself,” he said. “Colonel Adrian FitzRoy at your service.”

Adrian…

The name suited him. Sophia curled her tongue around the syllables and smiled. She looked up and blushed when she saw he was looking directly at her.

Henry gave a formal bow. “I’m Henry,” he said. “Henry Arthur Black. Are you a soldier, Colonel FitzRoy? I’ve always wanted to be a soldier. They’re all so brave!”

“Call me Adrian,” FitzRoy said, smiling. “I was a soldier for many years, but I sold my commission, and am lately returned to England.” He took Henry’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said. “Now, with your mama’s permission…”

He grasped Henry under the shoulders, swung him high up into the air, then spun around. Henry squealed with joy.

“Wheee!” he cried. “Adrian! Again—again!”

“Very well—once more.”

FitzRoy repeated the process, swinging Henry higher. When he set him down, Henry’s face was flushed with joy.

For a moment, Sophia felt a twinge of regret. Most little boys had fathers to lift them on their shoulders—to teach them how to be a man. Henry was loved—everyone doted on him at Summerton Hall. But he’d never have a man—a father figure—in his life to look up to. And Sophia had only the memory of a profligate who had abandoned her the moment Henry had been conceived, and died in a drunken accident before Henry had been born.

She took her son’s hand. “Come on, Henry, it’s time we returned home. Say goodbye to the colonel.”

“Goodbye, Adrian,” Henry said.

“Goodbye, young man,” FitzRoy replied. “I look forward to our meeting again. Perhaps when I next visit your mama, you might show me how to make a paper boat.”

Sophia clutched Henry’s hand tighter, then lowered her voice. “Don’t think you can use my son to manipulate me,” she hissed.

“I would never stoop so low,” he said. “But I am in earnest when I say that I’m eager to have you teach me the pianoforte. I’ve wanted to master the instrument ever since I was a child, but I was denied at every turn.”

“And you’ll not take a denial from me, now?”

The grin returned, curling at the corner of his mouth. “Not if I can help it,” he said. “What say you agree to giving me a single lesson, and if either my behavior, or my lack of talent, give you any cause for concern, I will prostrate myself at your feet in shame, then leave, never to darken your door again.”

His eyes twinkled with mirth, but also something else—a genuine plea that stirred her heart.

At length, she sighed.

“Very well,” she said. “Against my better judgement, I’ll permit you a single lesson, tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock. But I must impose a further condition. Mrs. Huntington must act as my chaperone, and if you do anything that either she, or I, find the slightest bit improper, we shall eject you forthwith.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he said. “May we conclude our business with a handshake?”

“Very well.” She held out her hand and he took it, and a small charge of desire crackled at his touch. He lifted her hand and her skin tightened as he brushed his lips over it. She let out a small gasp as he flicked his tongue out, then he lifted his gaze to meet hers, eyebrows raised, as if in challenge.

Then, he released her hand and bowed once more, before setting off along the path.

“Is Adrian coming to see us tomorrow, Mama?” Henry asked.

Sophia lifted her hand to her lips and breathed in the faint scent of woody spices that still lingered on her skin.

“Yes,” she whispered. “He is.”

What had she let herself in for?

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