Sophie's Halloo Read Free Page A

not discomfit you too much,” Sir John said with gruff courtesy.
    “Not at all,” replied Tony. He went in search of the landlord and gave him his instructions. Then he returned and bade the Corby family good-night. As they ascended the stairs, Tony was encouraged by the fact that Sophie looked back at him shyly over her shoulder. Something prompted him to wink at her wickedly and he was rewarded by seeing her lips form a silent “o,” and then a quick dimple before she turned and hastened up the stairs.
    He looked after her for a moment, grinning speculatively, before returning to the parlour and polishing off his pint of ale. Then, thrusting his hands once again deeply into his pockets, he kicked his same oak chair neatly over to the fire and lowered himself into it. As he sank lower and lower against the hard back, he lifted his booted legs, crossed them at the ankle and plunked them down once again on the footstool.
    A tempting thought struck him as he lay there again watching the crumbling coals. What a remarkably fine reward it would be for some lucky fellow to waken such a lovely sleeping beauty as Sophia Corby. He wondered what it would take to make her eyes widen with delight when a man entered the room, and how he could entice those charming dimples more often from their creamy hiding place.
    Sophia, he mused sleepily, the wise one. He would find out just how aptly named she had been. Surely there was something out of the ordinary behind that air of vague detachment. Her direct, unschooled manner was intriguing.
    Tony smiled as pleasant thoughts and the fire’s warmth conspired to make him sleepy, and soon, despite his posture, he dropped easily off to sleep.
     

CHAPTER TWO
     
    Sophie woke the next morning feeling much happier than she had expected. She pondered and then remembered the strange gentleman from the night before. At first she had not really noticed him or had dismissed him as being like any other gentleman of her limited acquaintance.  But then he had suddenly seemed quite otherwise.
    He does not hunt, she thought. The novelty of it was still new and intriguing. She wondered what he could possibly do with his time, and this mystery alone was making her impending trip to London seem less of a misery already.
    It was not that Sophie had a disinclination to visit the city of London or even that she was not curious to see it. It was simply that she did not relish the idea of going there to be married off, like a foxhound bitch being sent to be bred. 
    From the little that Sophie had seen of marriage, she had formed a poor impression of it, and she doubted it would please her. But suddenly, it seemed there was a new consideration. Sir Tony had assured her that she would meet many gentlemen who were not addicted to the chase, and curiosity about them put a new light on her adventure. Papa had ridiculed the idea, she remembered, but logic told her that if her father seldom went to Town, had even an aversion to it, then perhaps those gentlemen who spent most of their time there were quite different. Sophie sat up in bed alert.
    Sir Tony had winked at her. The strange thing was that she had not disliked it. He was not handsome, at least not in the florid, masculine way that her father had been as a young man, or the Prince Regent. But she did like the way he smiled at one, so openly, without reserve, and she had noticed, rather vaguely at first and more consciously later, that she liked the way he moved. He was tall and slender—but not lanky; at ease—but perfectly alert; relaxed—yet efficient. He had rather ordinary light brown hair and blue eyes, but he was pleasant to look at. It must be his constant expression of goodwill, which she found so attractive. Surely no one with that smile could intend to do her ill with an improper wink.
    Sophie went downstairs for breakfast hoping to see him again, but learned along with her parents that Sir Tony Farnham had left quite early that morning.
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