She looked puzzled. So much had happened. How could he make it seem as if it was nothing? Of course, she realized. Because it was nothing to him. She was a conquest. A notch.
When he finally departed she almost sank to her knees. Sweet Jesus! What had just happened? She felt in a daze as she pressed her hand against her mouth and closed her eyes. It was all spinning out of control.
***
Sophie dressed quickly and joined her hostess, Germaine, the gentlemen and Sebastian in the dining room for breakfast. She had dressed in the simple gaulle gown with a lemon-colored sash, which made her seem young and fresh.
She heard Madame Necker fussing over Sebastian and cringed. “Did you sleep well? When did you arrive?” she asked him.
“Tolerably well, madame,” he replied.
Sophie had to stop her hand from shaking as she poured her tea into its cup and took it and the saucer to the table. She helped herself to bread and smeared butter onto it and sat down next to Germaine.
Sebastian had watched Sophie enter the room and thought she looked lovely in the gown, though he preferred her in nothing.
“Which room did you choose, Sebastian?” Madame Necker asked. “I am keeping a log so that everyone knows their place. We wouldn’t want any mishaps.” She smiled.
Too bloody late for that, Sebastian thought.
He looked around at the table and knew that everyone had a room, though he had no idea which one. If he chose the wrong room that person would know he had not slept there and so would everyone else.
“Indeed, I slept in the salon on the small couch. I didn’t know which room would be available so I thought it best.” He locked eyes with Sophie, who looked away.
Madame Necker nodded.
The messieurs were deep in conversation as always, and Germaine asked Sophie to accompany her for a stroll through the grounds after breakfast.
“Have you seen the maze shrubbery? It’s bordered by lavender bushes and smells divine at certain times of the year,” Madame Necker remarked to Sophie.
She then turned to Sebastian. “I’ll place you in the brown room.”
“Thank you, madame,” he said, sipping his tea.
He knew where the brown room was located and it was in the same wing as Sophie’s but two down from hers. Too close, he thought absently. No. Too far.
Chapter 11
Germaine was dressed in a gaulle gown as well with a light pink sash which was suitable for the country. Both women had their parasols as they strolled through the large green lawns.
Germaine said little and Sophie was completely engrossed in replaying what had occurred that morning with Sebastian. She couldn’t seem to focus on anything and her mind kept flashing to his body moving over hers, his mouth on hers.
“Do you think he’s handsome, Sophie?”
Sophie was pulled from her thoughts to focus on the young woman beside her. “I’m sorry. Who is handsome?”
“Do you not think Sebastian is handsome?” Germaine pulled a curl through her fingers and looked dreamy.
Sophie would have thought Germaine’s infatuation was quite cute if it weren’t for the fact that the particular man she was asking about had almost taken her virginity that morning.
“I suppose he’s handsome,” Sophie allowed.
“Suppose?” Germaine smiled. “He’s almost beautiful! Those cheeks and lovely brown eyes.” She sighed.
“I think you have a liking for him, Germaine.”
“I do like him,” Germaine admitted quietly.
Sophie was weary of the conversation. She knew that this infatuation of Germaine’s was not real and that Sebastian had not made any advances to her. But she was also surprised by the intense feeling of possessiveness that she felt towards Sebastian and how jealous she felt towards Germaine.
It was a feeling she had never felt before and she didn’t know what to make of it. She felt irritated and didn’t want to take it out on her friend. Germaine was young and besotted. Sebastian was another story indeed.
They walked along the river, much farther than Sophie had walked alone. Germaine knew her way and they passed several elderly men who nodded to them, tipping their caps. It was a beautiful day with a blue sky and no clouds.
“The Duke of Dorset and Comte de Buffon should arrive tonight,” Germaine said as they passed a field of wildflowers.
“Yes. I look forward to meeting the Comte. He’s such a learned man,” Sophie murmured.
“He is much respected.”
“We should bring a picnic basket next time we walk,” Sophie said.
“We should all have a picnic here!” Germaine remarked. “That would be a lovely idea! I’ll ask Mother.”
***
Later that evening as Sophie readied for dinner she dreaded it, even though she knew Sebastian would not sweep aside all the plates and table contents and force her onto the table. Ridiculous.