This afternoon, her sister, Elise, was keeping her company. Maybe she could get some of her questions answered.
“Elise, I need you to be very frank with me on an issue that I am most concerned about.”
“Fanny told me you would be inquiring about rogues,” Elise said with one of her smiles that lit up the room.
“The duke used to be a terrible rogue, did he not?”
“The worst in England, I am told. But when I knew him, he had begun to reform. The war was very difficult for him. He sent so many men to their deaths. Including Joshua, my fiancé. Do you remember him?”
“Of course I do.”
“When Peter returned from the Peninsula, he was wounded in body and soul. He became somewhat reclusive. He had one friend, the Marquis of Somerset, and they went about together, but he was too world weary to make the effort to seduce anyone. He only became involved with my troubles because he felt he owed it to Joshua.”
“Yes, I remember the whole story, but what I have never understood is how you knew you could trust a man like that.”
Elise considered this, her head set to one side. “It was not an easy thing to know. But a big part of it was probably because he was always a gentleman with me. He never tried to seduce me or do anything improper.”
“Yes, but how did you know that he would not keep a stable of mistresses when you were married?”
“Really, Sophie! A stable?” Elise laughed.
“Well, he was notorious. How did you know he would not return to type?”
Elise bent her head over her needlework.
“It is difficult to put into words. For one thing, he let me see his vulnerabilities. It drew us closer. I could not imagine the man I knew keeping another woman, or even keeping any secret from me. Plus, he developed new interests. He became very concerned about the wounded soldiers in the East End and developed charities for them. He was no longer a carousing, hard drinking womanizer.”
Sophie considered all this. Frank’s letter had been full of his weaknesses and his intentions. Maybe she should show it to Elise.
“Would you look at something for me? It is a letter that Frank wrote.”
“Do you think he would mind?”
“I think he probably expects that I will seek advice from you. He thinks very highly of you and the duke. And Fanny and Buck, for that matter.”
“All right. I will get it for you. Tell me where it is.”
Sophie was already half out of bed. “It will be good for me to get out of bed, even if it is only for a moment.” She took her key from the egg and opened her jewelry box. Handing the letter to Elise, she climbed back on top of the bed and commenced to unbraid her hair. It alarmed her how weak she was.
When Elise looked up from the letter, her eyes were wet. “This is a beautiful letter, Sophie. Quite extraordinary, actually. How do you feel about it?”
“It has made me almost forgive him for having a mistress, but Frank is so easy in his manners and so flirtatious that I am anxious to see him now, to see if I can observe a change in him.”
“I think, as with most things, time will tell, but that letter gives me a very favorable opinion of the man.”
“As long as he continues to be in love with me,” Sophie said with a sigh. “What if he grows tired of me?”
Elise shook her head. “I have come to believe that one of the secrets to a good marriage is to keep striving for a deeper understanding of your spouse. Your interest in music is going to keep your mind growing and alive. It obviously entrances Frank. And when children come, they form another, added bond between you.”
“I suppose one must proceed with a certain amount of faith,” Sophie said thoughtfully.
“And willingness to forgive.”
{ 22 }
FRANK WAITED BEHIND A STATUE of Eros in the Fitzwilliams’ garden. The hour was eleven o’clock precisely, and he was more than anxious for Lady Melissa to appear. At last, he saw her slight figure, garbed in silver, stepping cautiously down the steps of the terrace as she surveyed the garden. He stepped from behind the statue and signaled her with his hand. Raising her hem to her ankles, she hastened to meet him.
“All is well,” she said. “But we must be quick. I told Mama that I had the headache and needed to rest for a while in the Ladies Retiring Room.”
“You unlocked the window?”
“Yes. And Sophie’s fever had broken when I saw her. Pray it has not increased this evening. Fevers often do that at night.”
“You relieve my mind,” Frank said as he handed her into the carriage which stood waiting in the back alley near the mews. That was an understatement. He had been picturing Sophie in high delirium all afternoon and evening.
When they arrived at the Deals’ townhouse, he drove past it and stopped his team before the mews of the house next door. Helping Lady Melissa to alight, he asked, “Can you tell from here whether there is a light in her room?”
The young woman looked up and could be heard counting the windows. “Yes. It is dim, however. Possibly just one or two candles.”