Sophy sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the bed and studied Harriett with sudden understanding. "She is the one person on the face of the earth with whom you can be free."
Harriett smiled brilliantly for a moment. "Yes. Quite right. The one person with whom I can be free." She touched Fanny's limp hand as it lay on the embroidered counterpane.
Sophy's gaze followed the small gesture and she sensed the love implicit in it. A familiar sense of longing flared within her and she thought of her relationship with Julian. "You are very fortunate, Harry," she said softly. "I do not think there are many married people who share the bonds that you enjoy with Fanny."
"I know. It is sad but perhaps understandable. How could a man and a woman possibly understand each other the way Fanny and I do?" Harriett asked simply.
Sophy laced her fingers together in her lap. "Perhaps," she said slowly, "perhaps complete understanding is not necessary if there is genuine love and mutual respect and a willingness to be tolerant."
Harriett looked at her sharply and then asked gently. "Is that what you hope to find with Ravenwood, my dear?"
"Yes."
"I have said before, he is a good man as men go, but I do not know if he can give you what you want. Fanny and I watched helplessly at Elizabeth burned out most of the warm qualities in him that you seek to tap. Personally, I am not sure if any man is capable of giving a woman the things she truly needs."
Sophy's fingers clenched more tightly together. "He is my husband and I love him. I do not deny that he is arrogant and stubborn and exceedingly difficult at times, but he is, as you say, a good man, an honorable man. He takes his responsibilities seriously. I would never have married him if I had not been certain of that much. Indeed, at one time I thought never to marry at all."
Harriett nodded in companionable understanding. "Marriage is a very risky venture for a woman."
"Well, I have taken the risk. Somehow or other, I hope to find a way to make it work." Sophy smiled slightly as she recalled the scene between herself and Julian in the garden earlier that evening. "Just when I am convinced all is hopeless, Julian shows me a ray of light and I regain my enthusiasm for the venture."
Fanny stirred and opened her eyes sometime shortly after dawn. She glanced first at Harriett who was snoring softly in the nearest chair and smiled a weary smile of deep affection. Then she turned her head and saw Sophy, who was yawning hugely.
"I see I have been well attended by my guardian angels," Fanny remarked, sounding weak but otherwise much like her old self. "I'm afraid it has been a long night for both of you. My apologies."
Sophy chuckled, stood up and stretched. "I collect you are feeling much better now?"
"Infinitely better, although I vow I shall never eat cold turbot dressing again." Fanny levered herself up against the pillows and extended her hand to take one of Sophy's. "I cannot thank you enough for your kindness, my dear. Such an unpleasant sort of illness to have to deal with. I don't know why I could not have suffered from something more refined such as the vapors or an agitation of the nerves."
The soft snoring from the other chair halted abruptly. "You, my dear Fanny," Harriett announced as she came rapidly awake, "are not likely to ever suffer from the vapors or anything the least bit similar." She leaned forward to take her friend's hand. "How are you feeling my dear? You gave me quite a scare. Please do not do that again."
"I shall endeavor not to repeat the incident," Fanny promised.
Sophy saw the undisguised emotion in the expressions of the two women and felt a sense of wonder. The affection between Fanny and Harriett was beyond that of friendship, she realized with sudden insight. She decided it was time to take her leave. She was not certain she fully understood the close association between Julian's aunt and her companion, but she was definitely certain it was time to give them both some privacy.
She rose to her feet and began repacking her medicine chest.
"Would you mind very much if I asked your butler to have your carriage brought around?" she asked Fanny.
"My dear Sophy, you must have breakfast," Harriett said immediately. "You haven't had any sleep and you simply cannot leave this house without nourishment."
Sophy looked at the tall clock in the corner and shook her head. "If I hurry, I will be able to join Julian for breakfast."
Half an hour later Sophy walked into her own bedchamber, yawned again and decided that bed was infinitely more appealing than breakfast. She had never been so exhausted in her life. She sent Mary out of the room with assurances that she did not need any assistance and sat down at the dressing table. A night spent in a chair had not done much to improve her tendency toward dishevelment, she thought critically. Her hair was a disaster.
She reached for her silver backed brush and the glint of diamonds caught her eye. She frowned, startled to discover she had left the lid of her jewelry case open. She had been in a dreadful hurry last night. She must have accidentally forgotten to close the case after removing the diamond bracelet and placing it inside.
Sophy started to shut the lid and then realized with horror that the black ring and the slip of paper containing the three names were gone.
"Looking for these, Sophy?"
At the sound of Julian's cold question, Sophy leaped to her feet and whirled around to see Ravenwood standing in the open doorway between the bedchambers. He was dressed in breeches and his favorite pair of polished Hessians and he was holding the black metal ring in one hand. In the other he held a familiar-looking slip of paper.
Sophy stared first at the ring and then into Julian's gemlike eyes. Dread assailed her. "I do not understand, my lord. Why did you take the ring from my jewelry case?" Her words sounded brave and calm but their tone did not reflect the way she was feeling. Her knees went weak as she realized the significance of Julian's having found the list of names.
"Why I took the ring is a long story. Before we go into it, perhaps you will be good enough to tell me how Fanny is doing?"
Sophy swallowed. "Much recovered, my lord."
He nodded and walked into the room to seat himself in the chair near the window. He put the ring and the piece of paper down on the table beside him. Morning light reflected dully on the black metal.
"Excellent. You are a most accomplished nurse, madam. Now that particular matter is out of the way, there is nothing to distract you from telling me precisely what you are doing with this list of names."
Sophy sank back down onto the dressing table chair and folded her hands in her lap while she tried to think how to handle this unexpected turn of events. Her mind was fogged from the long, sleepless night. "I collect you are angry with me again, my lord?"
"Again?" His brows rose in their characteristic intimidating fashion. "You are implying, I suppose, that I spend a good portion of my time with you in that mood?"
"It seems that way, my lord," Sophy said unhappily. "Whenever I think we are making progress in our association, something arises to ruin everything."
"And whose fault is that, Sophy?"
"You cannot blame it all on me," she declared, knowing she was getting near the end of her tether. It was all too much. "I doubt if you will take this into consideration, but I would like to remind you that I have had a long, trying night. I have had virtually no sleep and really am not up to an inquisition. Do you think we might postpone this until after I have had a nap?"
"No, Sophy. We are not going to postpone this discussion another minute. But if it is any consolation to you, rest assured we face each other on equal terms. I, too, did not get much sleep last night. I spent most of the time trying to envision where and how you had got hold of this list and why you connected it to the ring. What the devil do you think you're doing? How much do you know about these men and what in bloody hell did you plan to do with the information you have on them?"