"That is utter nonsense, my lord," Sophy said coldly. "Elizabeth's death was an accident. You must not make such accusations. Not to me or anyone else. You know as well as I do that such statements can cause great trouble."
Waycott shook his head as if to clear it of some thick fog. His eyes seemed to become a shade less brilliant. He ran his fingers through his pale hair. "Listen to me. I am a fool to ramble on like this in front of you."
Sophy's heart went out to him as she realized what lay behind the wild accusations. "You must have loved her very much my lord."
"Too much. More than life, itself." Waycott sounded very weary now.
"I am sorry, my lord. More sorry than I can say."
The Viscount's smile was bleak. "You are kind, Sophy. Too kind, perhaps. I begin to believe you truly do understand. I do not deserve your gentleness."
"No, Waycott, you most assuredly do not." Julian's voice sliced like a blade through the darkness as he emerged from the shadows. He reached out and removed Sophy's hand from the other man's sleeve. The diamond bracelet gleamed on her wrist as he tucked it possessively under his arm.
"Julian, please," Sophy said, alarmed by his mood.
He ignored her, his attention on the Viscount. "My wife has a weakness for those she believes to be in pain. I will not have anyone taking advantage of that weakness. Most especially not you, Waycott. Do you comprehend my meaning?"
"Completely. Good night, madam. And thank you." Waycott bowed gracefully to Sophy and strode off into the darkness of the gardens.
Sophy sighed. "Really, Julian. There was no need to cause a scene."
Julian swore under his breath as he led her swiftly back along the path toward the house. "No need to cause a scene? Sophy, you do not appear to comprehend how close you are to making me lose my temper tonight. I have made it very clear to you I do not want you seeing Waycott under any circumstances."
"He followed me out into the garden. What was I supposed to do?"
"Why the devil did you go out into the garden alone in the first place?" Julian shot back.
That brought her up short. She could not tell him about her attempt to get information from Lord Utteridge. "It was very warm inside the ballroom," she said carefully, trying to stick to the truth so that she would not humiliate herself by getting caught in an outright lie.
"You should know better than to leave the ballroom alone. Where is your common sense, Sophy?"
"I am not quite certain, my lord, but I begin to suspect that marriage might have a very wearing effect on that particular faculty."
"This is not Hampshire where you can safely go traipsing off on your own."
"Yes, Julian."
He groaned. "Whenever you use that tone I know you are finding me tiresome. Sophy, I realize that I spend a great deal of my time lecturing you, but I swear you invite every word. Why do you insist on getting yourself into these situations? Do you do it just to prove to both of us that I cannot control my own wife?"
"It is not necessary to control me, my lord," Sophy said distantly. "But I am beginning to believe you will never understand that. No doubt you feel the need to do so because of what happened with your first wife. But I can assure you, no amount of control exercised by you would have been sufficient to save her from destroying herself. She was beyond your control or anyone else's. She was, I believe, beyond human help altogether. You must not blame yourself for being unable to save her."
Julian's strong hand closed heavily over her fingers on his arm. "Damn. I have told you I do not discuss Elizabeth. I will say this much: God knows I failed to protect her from whatever it was that drove her to such wildness and perhaps you are right. Perhaps no man could have contained her kind of madness. But you may be certain I will not fail to protect you, Sophy."
"But I am not Elizabeth," Sophy snapped out, "and I promise you, I am not a candidate for Bedlam."
"I am well aware of that," Julian said soothingly. "And I thank God for it. But you do need protection, Sophy. You are too vulnerable in some ways."
"That is not true. I can take care of myself, my lord."
"If you are so damned skilled at taking care of yourself, why were you succumbing to Waycott's tragic little scene?" Julian snapped impatiently.
"He was not lying, you know. I am convinced he cared very deeply for Elizabeth. He certainly should not have fallen in love with another man's wife, but that does not alter the fact that his feelings for her were genuine."
"I will not argue the fact that he was fascinated by her. Believe me, the man was not alone in his affliction. There is no doubt, however, that his actions tonight were merely a ploy to gain your sympathy."
"What is wrong with that, pray? We all need sympathy on occasion."
"With Waycott, it would have been the first step into a treacherous sea. Given the smallest opportunity, Sophy, he will suck you under. His goal is to seduce you and throw the fact of your seduction in my face. Need I be more blatant about it than that?"
Sophy was incensed. "No, my lord, you are quite clear on the subject. But I think you may also be quite wrong about the Viscount's feelings. In any event, I give you my solemn vow I will not be seduced by him or anyone else. I have already promised you my loyalty. Why do you not trust me?"
Julian bit off a frustrated exclamation. "Sophy, I did not mean to imply you would willingly fall for his ruse."
"I believe, my lord," Sophy went on, ignoring his efforts to placate her, "that the least you can do is to give me your solemn assurance that you accept my word on the subject."
"Damn it, Sophy, I told you, I did not mean—"
"Enough." Sophy came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the path, forcing him to stop also. She looked up at him with fierce determination. "Your vow of honor that you will trust me not to get myself seduced by Waycott or anyone else. I will have your word, my lord, before I go another step with you."
"Will you, indeed?" Julian studied her moonlit face for a long moment, his own expression as remote and as unreadable as ever.
"You owe me that much, Julian. Is it really so hard to say the words? When you gave me the bracelet and Culpeper's herbal you claimed you held me in esteem. I want some proof of that esteem and I am not talking about diamonds or emeralds."
Something flickered in Julian's gaze as he lifted his hands to cup her upturned face. "You are a ferocious little thing when your sense of honor is touched on the quick."
"No more ferocious than you would be, my lord, if it was your honor that was being called into question."
His brows rose with casual menace. "Are you going to call it into question if I foil to give you the answer you want?"
"Of course not. I have no doubt but that your honor is quite untarnishable. I want assurance from you that you have the same degree of respect for mine. If esteem is all you feel for me, my lord, then, by heaven, you can give me some meaningful evidence of your regard."
He stood silent another long moment, gazing down into her eyes. "You ask a great deal, Sophy."
"No more than you ask of me."
He nodded slowly, reluctantly, conceding a major point. "Yes, you are right," he said quietly. "I do not know any other woman who would argue the issue of honor in such a fashion. In fact, I do not know any women who even concern themselves with the notion."
"Perhaps it is only that a man pays no heed to a woman's feelings on the subject except on those occasions when her loss of honor threatens to jeopardize his own."
"No more, I beg you. I surrender." Julian raised a hand to ward off further argument. "Very well, madam, you have my most solemn vow that I will put my full faith and trust in your womanly honor."