well
aware that it will be a long while before I can redeem myself in your eyes."
"Oh, Julian, if you say another word of apology I think I shall scream." She
stepped away from him, not daring to glance back.
"Sophy? What the devil is wrong now? I am sorry if you do not care for my
apologies but I have no honorable recourse other than to try to convince you
they are genuine."
It was all she could do not to burst into tears. "You don't understand," she
said miserably. "The reason I do not want to hear any more apologies is because
they are… they are entirely unnecessary."
There was a short pause behind her before Julian said quietly, "You are not
obliged to make matters easier on me."
She gripped her riding crop in both hands. "I am not trying to make matters
easier. I am trying to set you straight on a few points about which I… I
deliberately misled you."
There was another short pause. "I don't understand. What are you trying to say,
Sophy? That my lovemaking was not as bad as I know it must have been? Please
don't bother. We both know the truth."
"No, Julian, you do not know the truth. Only I know the truth. I have a
confession to make, my lord, and I fear you are going to be excessively angry."
"Not with you, Sophy. Never with you."
"I pray you will remember that, my lord, but common sense tells me you will
not." She gathered her courage, still not daring to turn around and face him.
"The reason you need not apologize for what you think you did the other night is
because you did nothing."
"What?"
Sophy wiped the back of her gloved hand across her eyes. In doing so she jarred
her hat and the plume bobbed forward again. "That is to say, you did not do what
you think you did."
The silence behind her grew deafening before Julian spoke again. "Sophy, the
blood. There was so much blood."
She hurried on quickly before her courage deserted her entirely. "On my own
behalf, I should like to point out that you did try to break the spirit of our
agreement as far as I am concerned. I was quite nervous and very, very angry. I
hope you will take that into consideration, my lord. You, of all people, know
what it is to be in the grip of a fierce temper."
"Damn it, Sophy, what the devil are you talking about?" Julian's voice was far
too quiet.
"I am trying to explain, my lord, that you did not assault me the other night.
You just, well, that is to say, you merely went to sleep." Sophy finally turned
slowly to confront him. He stood a short distance away, his booted feet braced
slightly apart, his riding crop held alongside his thigh. His emerald gaze was
colder than the outer reaches of Hades.
"I went to sleep?"
Sophy nodded and stared fixedly past his shoulder. "I put some herbs in your
tea. You remember I told you I had something more effective than port for
inducing sleep?"
"I remember," he said with terrible softness. "But you drank the tea also."
She shook her head. "I merely pretended to drink it. You were so busy
complaining about Miss Wollstonecraft's book that you did not notice what I was
doing."
He stalked one step closer. The riding crop flicked restlessly against his leg.
"The blood. It was all over the sheet."
"More herbs, my lord. After you fell asleep I added them to the tea to produce a
reddish stain on the sheets. Only I did not know how much liquid to use, you see
and I was nervous and I spilled some and thus the spot grew somewhat larger than
I had intended."
"You spilled some of the tea," he repeated slowly.
"Yes, my lord."
"Enough to make me think I had torn you most savagely."
"Yes, my lord."
"You are telling me that nothing happened that night? Nothing at all?"
Some of Sophy's natural spirit revived. "Well, you did say you were going to
seduce me even though I had distinctly told you I did not wish you to do so and
you did come to my room over my objections and I truly did feel menaced, my
lord. So it is not as if nothing would have happened, if you
aware that it will be a long while before I can redeem myself in your eyes."
"Oh, Julian, if you say another word of apology I think I shall scream." She
stepped away from him, not daring to glance back.
"Sophy? What the devil is wrong now? I am sorry if you do not care for my
apologies but I have no honorable recourse other than to try to convince you
they are genuine."
It was all she could do not to burst into tears. "You don't understand," she
said miserably. "The reason I do not want to hear any more apologies is because
they are… they are entirely unnecessary."
There was a short pause behind her before Julian said quietly, "You are not
obliged to make matters easier on me."
She gripped her riding crop in both hands. "I am not trying to make matters
easier. I am trying to set you straight on a few points about which I… I
deliberately misled you."
There was another short pause. "I don't understand. What are you trying to say,
Sophy? That my lovemaking was not as bad as I know it must have been? Please
don't bother. We both know the truth."
"No, Julian, you do not know the truth. Only I know the truth. I have a
confession to make, my lord, and I fear you are going to be excessively angry."
"Not with you, Sophy. Never with you."
"I pray you will remember that, my lord, but common sense tells me you will
not." She gathered her courage, still not daring to turn around and face him.
"The reason you need not apologize for what you think you did the other night is
because you did nothing."
"What?"
Sophy wiped the back of her gloved hand across her eyes. In doing so she jarred
her hat and the plume bobbed forward again. "That is to say, you did not do what
you think you did."
The silence behind her grew deafening before Julian spoke again. "Sophy, the
blood. There was so much blood."
She hurried on quickly before her courage deserted her entirely. "On my own
behalf, I should like to point out that you did try to break the spirit of our
agreement as far as I am concerned. I was quite nervous and very, very angry. I
hope you will take that into consideration, my lord. You, of all people, know
what it is to be in the grip of a fierce temper."
"Damn it, Sophy, what the devil are you talking about?" Julian's voice was far
too quiet.
"I am trying to explain, my lord, that you did not assault me the other night.
You just, well, that is to say, you merely went to sleep." Sophy finally turned
slowly to confront him. He stood a short distance away, his booted feet braced
slightly apart, his riding crop held alongside his thigh. His emerald gaze was
colder than the outer reaches of Hades.
"I went to sleep?"
Sophy nodded and stared fixedly past his shoulder. "I put some herbs in your
tea. You remember I told you I had something more effective than port for
inducing sleep?"
"I remember," he said with terrible softness. "But you drank the tea also."
She shook her head. "I merely pretended to drink it. You were so busy
complaining about Miss Wollstonecraft's book that you did not notice what I was
doing."
He stalked one step closer. The riding crop flicked restlessly against his leg.
"The blood. It was all over the sheet."
"More herbs, my lord. After you fell asleep I added them to the tea to produce a
reddish stain on the sheets. Only I did not know how much liquid to use, you see
and I was nervous and I spilled some and thus the spot grew somewhat larger than
I had intended."
"You spilled some of the tea," he repeated slowly.
"Yes, my lord."
"Enough to make me think I had torn you most savagely."
"Yes, my lord."
"You are telling me that nothing happened that night? Nothing at all?"
Some of Sophy's natural spirit revived. "Well, you did say you were going to
seduce me even though I had distinctly told you I did not wish you to do so and
you did come to my room over my objections and I truly did feel menaced, my
lord. So it is not as if nothing would have happened, if you
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