Courting Miss Vallois by Gail Whitiker Read Free Book Online Page B

ability.’
    â€˜Do you not share it?’
    â€˜I would like to, but I fear Tykhe has chosen to bestow her favours elsewhere.’
    â€˜Then we shall seek our own good fortune,’ Robert said boldly. ‘Thumb our noses at the Fates.’
    â€˜Oh, no, we must never do that,’ Jane said, laughing. ‘Unless we wish to bring their wrath down upon our heads.’
    â€˜Nothing of the sort,’ Robert said. ‘But we haveendured more than our fair share of bad luck, Jane. It is time the gods smiled favourably upon us for a change.’
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    Sophie recognised him the moment he walked into the room. Though he was far more elegantly attired than on the occasion of their first meeting, there was no mistaking the confidence in his stride or his ruggedly handsome features. He stood tall and proud, his dark hair gleaming in the candlelight, and though several women turned to look at him as he passed, his warmest smile was reserved for the young woman at his side. A slender lady wearing green and who walked with a cane in her hand. ‘I know that gentleman,’ Sophie said.
    Lavinia’s dark brows rose in surprise. ‘Which one?’
    â€˜The tall one who just came in. Silverton, I believe his name is.’
    â€˜Yes. Robert Silverton. And that is his sister, Jane. Where do you know him from?’
    â€˜The Black Swan Inn. He and another gentleman were there the evening we landed.’
    Sophie had purposely made no mention of the events that had taken place at the inn. Nicholas would have been furious that his arrangements had fallen through, and Lavinia would have been horrified at the thought of a lovers’ quarrel erupting into gunfire in the courtyard. But with Mr Silverton in the room and the prospect of an encounter likely, Sophie thought it best to mention that the two of them had spoken. ‘I would not have thought them brother and sister. The resemblance is not strong.’
    â€˜No. Robert tends to follow his father’s side while Jane gets her fair hair and delicate colouring from her mother’s. But they come from a very good family. Theirfather was knighted for services to the Crown, and their mother was the youngest daughter of a baronet,’ Lavinia said. ‘Sadly, their deaths kept Robert and Jane out of society for many years.’
    â€˜Neither of them is married?’
    â€˜No. Jane was injured in a carriage accident as a child and does not go about much. You see how she limps. As for Mr Silverton, I regret to say he is out of favour with society at the moment.’
    Sophie frowned. ‘Out of favour?’
    Lavinia glanced around, and then lowered her voice. ‘About six weeks ago, Mr Silverton asked a young lady to marry him. She accepted and wedding plans got underway. Then, a few weeks later, he broke it off without a word of explanation to anyone. Naturally the lady was terribly upset and said some very harsh things about him in public. After all, it’s one thing for a lady to change her mind, but quite another for a gentleman. As a result, no self-respecting mother will allow her daughter anywhere near Mr Silverton, and many doors have been closed in his face. I’m surprised he’s here tonight.’
    Sophie watched the good-looking brother and sister move through the crowd and noticed that while some of the guests offered them a reserved smile, others ignored them completely. ‘It seems a very harsh treatment,’ she said. ‘He must have had a good reason for breaking the engagement off.’
    â€˜I’m sure he did,’ Lavinia agreed. ‘But a gentleman simply doesn’t do things like that. And the fact he won’t say why he did it has hurt him irreparably. Lady Mary is telling her own version of the story and it is not kind. Even Jane has suffered for it.’
    Sophie switched her attention to the sister. A truly lovely young woman, Jane Silverton stood a good head shorter than her