Page 75 of Love Abandoned

Sophia smiled slightly. “Ah, a man may explain himself to you, but I will not. Women are far better at keeping secrets.” She grew serious again. “Besides, it is irrelevant. You need a plan, and I have one. I am hosting a masquerade at Château Nouveau. Mr. Miller will arrange for the exchange to happen there.”

“Why not somewhere in London?”

“Too easy for the culprit to slip away. It is much harder in the country. Mr. Miller assures me the Home Office will have men stationed, and the costumes will hide them. It is a good plan, no?”

Richard pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to process everything. Sophia’s knowledge, her participation as intermediary, Patricia’s jeopardy, his role in all of it. Lord, but he wanted to be free of the mess. But he knew he could not walk away.

“What do they want me to do?” he asked.

Sophia set her glass on the table and sat back. “They want you to bring the money. To be the person who does the exchange.”

“Why me?”

“Because the woman may be double-crossing you and will trust you to follow through. She might run if it were someone else. Because whether you are aware of it or not, the spy she has been working with has come to know you too. It might be him and not the woman. Even if it is not, they assume he has been watching you to see if you know where the woman is. And he will follow you to the masquerade. It is not the woman they care about. They are trying to smoke out the real spy.”

“Bloody hell,” he said and immediately apologized. “So you want me to bring money. How much?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “That is whattheysaid.Iwant you to come to the masquerade. No money. It will only cause trouble.”

“But what about Patricia?”

“They will have their men there. The girl will be safe.” She waved her hand dismissively. “There is no need to bring money. We keep it simple.Non complicato. We will, how you say, make a show as though you do.”

“I will not risk a woman’s life over money,” Richard said. He was weary of conspiring, but he’d not be the cause of harm to Patricia or anyone.

Sophia smiled. “Mio amico, you truly are the man I knew you were. And I remain the woman you know. I would not risk her either. She would not be in danger at my masquerade, but I will admit that I, too, am wary. Something is…eh…non proprio giusto.”

Richard’s skin tingled. If Sophia sensed something was not quite right, then his instincts might be correct. But what was he to do? He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

“It is why I offered Château Nouveau. I, too, will have men there. And so will you. I have asked Nicholas to be your second in this. He will be by your side.”

They discussed the details, and Richard tried again to probe Sophia for answers. She stubbornly refused to explain how she’d come to be involved in this affair in the first place. Could it be her situation was no different from his and she’d been solicited? Regardless, her planning was thorough, and he had no choice but to go along with it.

“I will see you in two weeks,” Sophia said, getting to her feet.

Richard stood too.

“Maybe we will be lucky and end this quickly. Then you could have a little fun, no?”

Richard’s heart rate accelerated, pounding relentlessly in his head. He’d momentarily forgotten about Elizabeth. “Sophia, tell me you did not invite Elizabeth to the masquerade.”

“If I did, I would be lying,” she said. “Don’t look so distressed. She declined.” Her eyes narrowed, and she pursed her lips before speaking again. “I would see her there, happy and dancing, but it seems she prefers to pine for you.”

She shrugged as though she could not comprehend why Elizabeth would long for him. Of course, he could not fault Sophia for it. He couldn’t understand why Elizabeth did either, if indeed that was the truth.

“It is in your power to make things right. But that is an argument for another day.” Sophia picked up her reticule and slipped it on her arm.

Richard walked around the table and took her hand. “Please don’t tell her I will be there. I’ll not have her in danger, and I’ll not see her hurt, knowing I have come so close to Thornwood Manor and not come home.”

Sophia leaned forward and kissed each of his cheeks. “I will keep all your secrets,mio amico.” She stepped back. “For now.”

He saw her out and returned to the study, pouring another brandy and dropping into the more comfortable chair by the fire. He could not fathom how Sophia had become embroiled in this mess, but he was oddly grateful. There was comfort in knowing if something happened, someone knew the truth of it all. And that someone was a trusted confidante of Elizabeth’s. Sophia would make sure Elizabeth knew he had not abandoned her in his heart. That he’d never been unfaithful. That he’d never meant to hurt her. That he had never stopped loving her.

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