Hibbert took a turn at the telescope. “It’ll do,” he said with characteristic brevity. He headed toward the wheel, trusting no one but himself with the tense job of bringing the Lark into a strange harbor.

A half-hour or so later, Patrick headed downstairs, whistling. He almost knocked but then stopped himself. With luck, he could surprise Sophie during her afternoon bath.

But as he swung open the door he saw his wife sitting in her favorite chair, reading. She didn’t hear the door, so he paused for a moment, watching her.

She was reading so intently that her lips moved as she read. Poor sweetheart, Patrick thought. The education given to females was so trumpery that she was still mouthing words while reading. For some strange reason, the thought of Sophie as a schoolgirl made his heart twist tenderly.

As he stepped forward, Sophie caught the whisper of his boots on the floor and looked up, startled. In fact, to Patrick’s dismay, she was so startled that she gave a little shriek and jumped up, only to sink back into her seat, frowning at him mightily.

“You gave me a proper fright!”

Patrick walked over and looked down at his petite wife, a smile lurking around his mouth. “I was hoping to catch you in déshabillé.”

Sophie reluctantly smiled back.

“What have you been doing?”

“Waiting for you.” Sophie’s eyes were wide and innocent.

Patrick frowned. “You were reading, Sophie. Don’t lie to me. At this moment, you are sitting on your book.”

Sophie looked at him calmly. “So I am,” she replied. The memory of something said by Patrick’s school friend David raced through her mind. Patrick hated fibs, hated any kind of falsehood. Lord but he would be cross if he found out just what she was reading!

Patrick raised an eyebrow. Sophie must be indulging in a lurid French romance that she doesn’t want me to know about, he thought. Politely he moved away and busied himself with pulling off his shirt. But he watched out of the corner of his eye as she tucked her book in a drawer with practiced ease.

Likely Eloise had never let Sophie read anything interesting, Patrick thought to himself with a grin. Stiff-rumped, the marchioness, that was for certain. She would have had an apoplexy if she caught her daughter with a popular novel. Hell, Eloise was probably the reason Sophie couldn’t read very well. She likely had never let her daughter read anything but sermons! I’ll have to speak to Sophie about it, Patrick thought, a bit complacently. I can’t have a wife who’s ashamed of reading, or thinks that novels are immoral.