So, that was the reason for his reserve, Sophie reflected. It had nothing to do with the people they were now, but rather with the impression he had made all those years ago. ‘You did nothing wrong, Nicholas,’ she said. ‘Even in the depths of pain, you could not have been more vaillant. And if some of your memories of that time are dim, it is probably not a bad thing. It allows you more room for the good memories. For the ones that are worth remembering.’
‘I’d like to think so.’ He looked at her and a smile trembled over his lips. ‘What about you, Sophie? Have you happy memories of the last three years?’
Sophie knew that he wanted her to say yes. She could see in his eyes, the hope that her life had not been an ongoing series of struggles and hardships, and perhaps one day she would tell him the truth. But not today. ‘I have many happy memories, but I’m quite sure this is going to be one of the happiest.’
Chapter Three
‘Are you sure I cannot offer you more tea, Sophie?’ Lavinia asked. ‘Or another scone? Cook was most insistent that you try both the orange marmalade and the raspberry jam.’
‘Merci, non, I have already eaten too much,’ Sophie demurred, sitting back on the loveseat. Nearly an hour had passed since she and her brother had sat down with their hosts in the elegant rose drawing room, and in keeping with the spirit of the day, the formalities had long been dispensed with. ‘If I continue like this, I will not fit into my clothes.’
‘Nonsense, you could do with a little extra weight,’ Lavinia said. ‘Don’t you think so, Nicholas?’
‘I cannot imagine Sophie looking any better than she does.’
Lavinia’s lips twitched. ‘Spoken like a true diplomat. No wonder you do so well in the House.’
‘It does but pass the time.’ Nicholas set his cup and saucer on the table. ‘But now that we’ve all had a chance to become better acquainted, I think our guests would like to know why they are here. It isn’t every day a stranger from one’s past invites you to come to London.’
‘Especially when that stranger happens to be a member of the English aristocracy and an intelligence agent for the British government,’ Antoine added.
‘Former intelligence agent,’ Nicholas said. ‘I am happy to say those days are behind me. But it does bring me to the reason for my invitation, the first and foremost being to thank you properly for having saved my life. Without your discretion and most excellent care, I would certainly have died. A man doesn’t forget something like that and because I am in a position to repay you, it is my sincere hope that you will allow me to do so.’
‘But there is nothing to repay,’ Sophie said. ‘We did what anyone would have done under the circumstances.’
‘On the contrary, given the political instability of the time, finding an Englishman shot and left for dead should have raised any number of questions. You asked none.’
Antoine shrugged. ‘By your own admission, you had no answers to give.’
‘But you must have wondered.’
‘Bien sûr. But at the time I was more concerned with keeping you alive than with trying to find out why you had been shot.’
‘And therein lies the difference, Antoine.’ Nicholas got to his feet. ‘Where others would have waited until they knew why I had been shot, you went ahead and removed the bullet regardless. That is the mark of an honourable man.’
Sophie had no need to look at her brother to know that he would be uncomfortable with the praises being heaped upon him. Whatever services he had rendered had stemmed from a genuine desire to save a man’s life: the natural inclination of a man who one day hoped to become a doctor. For that, he expected neither praise nor reward. But equally aware that he was a guest in the gentleman’s home, Antoine said simply, ‘What is it you wish to do?’
‘For you,’ Nicholas said, ‘a letter of recommendation that will open the doors to whatever university you wish to attend, as well as a financial endowment to help offset the costs of your studies towards becoming a doctor.’
Antoine went very still. ‘You are offering me … money?’
‘I prefer to think of it as a means to an end.’
‘C’est la même chose. But we are not in need of your charity, my lord. Sophie and I have managed well enough on our own.’
‘Have you?’ Nicholas linked his hands behind his back. ‘I may not be familiar with all the ins and outs of becoming a doctor in France, but in England, there are considerable fees involved in the study of medicine. Not to mention the costs of establishing your own practice.’
‘None of which, if you’ll forgive me, are your responsibility.’
‘But all of which became my responsibility the day you saved my life and so drastically altered the course of your own. Let us not mince words, Antoine. Because of me, you and Sophie had to hide out in the French countryside with the fear of discovery hanging over your heads like the sword of Damocles; upon reaching Paris, you took whatever manner of work you could find. First as a labourer, then as a clerk, then briefly as a—’
‘Thank you, my lord. I am well aware of the means by which I earned enough money to cover our expenses,’ Antoine said. ‘It is enough you had us investigated. Pray do not compound the injury by prying into matters that are clearly none of your concern.’
‘But it is our concern,’ Lavinia said gently. ‘We care what happens to you and Sophie.’
‘Of course we do,’ Nicholas said. ‘Why else would we have gone to all this trouble?’
‘I really don’t know,’ Antoine said coldly. ‘But we did not ask for your help and our situation is not so desperate that we are forced to come to you with our hands out. It was Sophie’s wish to see you again and I agreed to make the trip with her. A decision I am now beginning to regret! ’ He abruptly got to his feet. ‘Now, if that is all you wish to say—’
‘It is not all I wish to say—! ’
‘Nicholas, please!’ Lavinia said. ‘Antoine. N’ira pas faire vous s’asseoir et nous écouter jusqu’au bout.’
Her low, quiet voice seemed to inject a note of calm into the escalating tension and Sophie was relieved to see her brother sit back down. She knew this was difficult for him. Antoine was proud. Too proud to accept what he would only see as a handout, even from a man whose life he had saved. ‘Listen to what Nicholas has to say, Antoine,’ Sophie urged softly. ‘Then let common sense, rather than pride, dictate your answer.’
‘And please understand it was never our intention to offend you,’ Lavinia said.
‘Indeed it was not,’ Nicholas said gruffly. ‘My only desire was to try to make things better for you. I apologise if you see that as an intrusion into your lives, but the fact is I was worried about the two of you. Those were dangerous times and hardly a day went by I didn’t wonder what had become of you. I owe you my life, Antoine. Perhaps to a doctor that doesn’t mean very much, but to me—to us,’ Nicholas said, glancing at his wife, ‘it meant … everything.’
There was a poignant silence as Nicholas sat down and took Lavinia’s hand in his. Watching them together, Sophie knew he had spoken from the heart. Whether or not his plans for their future came to pass, his reasons for bringing them to England could not be faulted. They stemmed from a genuine desire to thank them for the most noble gesture one man could make towards another.
Sophie glanced at her brother and was relieved to see that he, too, was regretting his hastily