Perfectly Mismatched Page 6

  “Here, let me,” Sophia offered as she made her way toward the sailor. He was a rough looking character, with dark stubble, grey skin and a large belly.

  She reached the sailor and immediately threw her shoulder into the side of the crate. Between the two of them, they were able to rebalance the crate and get it back on the trolley.

  “Thank... Oh!” The sailor, previously occupied with the crate, hadn’t taken time to notice who it was that had helped him. Seeing Sophia, he took a hurried step back, as if she might bite him. “Sorry, miss.”

  “Sorry?” Sophia asked, a little confused. “What could you possibly be sorry about?”

  The sailor hung his head and kicked at the ground. He then looked in the direction of the office building, as if expecting someone to come out and reprimanded him. “I didn’ mean fa ya ta halp. I coulda’ done it on me own.”

  “Nonsense. It was about to fall. It was really no trouble.”

  “Thank ye, miss.” Still he refused to look up, seeming content to stare at the ground. Or at the dock. Or anywhere that wasn’t Sophia.

  “Is something the matter?” she asked. She took a step closer, only for him to take one back.

  “Nothin’ tha matter miss. Just —”

  “Laughlin! What are ya doin?!” A gruff voice called out from the direction of the office.

  Both Sophia and the sailor snapped their heads up in the direction of the voice. Hurrying from the office building toward Laughlin and Sophia was who Sophia could only assume to be a manager or foreman.

  She would soon find out his name was Liam. He was dressed slightly better than Laughlin was, or any of the other sailors for that matter. Although still covered in grime, and still with an unshaven face and grey saggy skin, his clothes were of a slightly finer make. As he got closer, Sophia noticed he didn’t leer at her the way the other men on the pier did.

  Liam was the Ship Master, literally the second in charge after Robert. Where Robert owned the company, Liam essentially ran it. It was because of Liam that Robert was able to come in to work as little as possible, knowing that the company was in safe hands. He was tall, had flaming red hair, a square jaw and piercing green eyes.

  “Nothing, boss,” Laughlin said. “Jus gettin’ this aboard The Tamway.”

  “Then get to it.”

  Laughlin didn’t respond. He nodded his head once, offered Sophia a short bow of his head and then proceeded to push the now balanced crate toward the dock in the direction of the two great ships. There were already several dozen men pushing what looked to be similar packages, and he simply joined the queue.

  Sophia watched him go, totally unaware that she was being closely examined by Liam. “And you are?” He asked.

  “Oh!” Sophia swung back around, caught off guard by the way he stared. “I’m... I’m...”

  “You’re a woman, first off. You’re educated, second. And ya belong here about as much as I belong in a harem. How’s that?”

  “I’m here to see Robert – ah, Viscount Tamway” Sophia responded. Feeling her self-confidence return, she drew herself up taller, trying her best to look down on the man. It didn’t seem to work.

  “He ain’t here, so ya deal with me. What do you want?” He raised an eyebrow at her, as if daring her to talk back.

  “He’s not?” Sophia suddenly remembered the reason she had come to the dock in the first place, a reason that had nothing to do with Robert. She felt herself deflate in the knowledge that her husband had indeed been lying to her all week. Maybe he hadn’t changed.

  “Look. I’m a busy man, alright? I’ve got two ships that need loading today. I’ve got stocks to check, books to balance and about one hundred other duties that need lookin’ into. So, with all due respect, if ya could tell me what you’re after so I could send ya on your way, that would be helpful.”

  Sophia couldn’t say what came over her in that moment. Perhaps it was the sea air? The way the salt swirled through the breeze gave her a sense of freedom she hadn’t felt before in her life. Perhaps it was her adrenaline, still up from helping Laughlin move that crate? Or most likely it was anger, a sudden spur of it brought on in the realization that her husband had been lying to her all week?

  Either way, as she looked around the docks, at the two great ships and back at Liam, who was becoming more impatient as the seconds passed, she was struck by a sudden idea.

  “The books need to be balanced? What kind of books?”

  Chapter 13

  Roses were the primary decor of the night. Robert had instructed Alistair to select three dozen roses, twelve red, twelve white and twelve pink, and adorn them appropriately across the dining room table and throughout the dining room in general. He had also asked that the kitchen staff prepare a three-course meal worthy of an anniversary or birthday celebration. Tonight needed to be perfect.

  The sun was setting as Robert arrived home. As he entered the dining room, he was delighted to see that everything was in place. Roses were hung from the walls and strewn across the table. The best candleware had been used, as had the finest cutlery and crockery. The smell coming from the kitchen was mouth-watering. The only thing missing from the setting was his wife.

  He had organized the dinner as a surprise, and for very good reason. After meeting with Hugh, and taking another day to think, he decided it was time he and his wife had a talk. He was going to admit to her what had been going on, how he felt about the marriage and what the two could do to remedy it. He knew he had been a very subpar husband and wanted a chance to change that. If what Hugh said were true, soon he would grow into married life and would even learn to love it.

  Unfortunately, his wife was nowhere to be found. Alistair informed him that she had taken a carriage earlier in the day, but to where was a mystery. She hadn’t yet returned.

  As the sun disappeared over the horizon and Sophia had still not returned, Robert felt himself becoming angry. As he ate alone, he became incensed. When Sophia eventually returned home, well into the night, he was irate.

  “Sophia!” he called to her from the living room. He was sitting in his favorite chair, trying to read but unable to concentrate. “Can you come in here, please?”

  Sophia wasn’t dressed as she usually was. She wore what he could only describe as working clothes, a plain grey blouse and skirt with leather boots. Her hair was pulled back in a simple bun and although she had clearly tried to clean herself up, there were smudges of dirt and grime on her neck and face.

  “Robert? You’re home?” Sophia said with surprise as she entered the living space.

  “Shouldn’t I be?”

  “No, it’s just... I haven’t seen you home this early all week. Work is going well?”

  “Where have you been?” he tried his best to keep his temper, knowing it would do no good to yell. He still had no idea where she had been and for all he knew, she had a perfectly valid excuse for being late.

  “With Emma. We went riding today.” She was clearly lying.

  “With Emma?”

  “Yes. All day. She invited me to stay for dinner. I would have sent word ahead, but I didn’t think you would be home. I am sorry. Truly.”

  Robert had seen Emma earlier in the day. He had seen her because he’d gone to Hugh’s manor to speak with him and Emma was there. That Sophia was lying was undebatable, but why was she lying?

  What Robert wanted to do was grab her by the wrists and shake the truth from her. Demand that she tell him where she’d been. What was his name? Who was he? Surely that was the only possible explanation.

  Instead, Robert chose to say nothing. He nodded his head and dismissed her. He was going to confront her, but wanted to catch her in the act. If he was to divorce her for an affair, he would need proof.

  Robert woke early the following morning, sneaking from the house before Sophia stirred from her sleep. He didn’t leave the estate, rather he made his way to the stables and waited. From the stables he had a perfect view of the manor, and could easily sit, wat
ch and wait for Sophia to head out for another illicit rendezvous.

  Sure enough, no sooner had the sun risen just above the horizon than a carriage appeared. It made its way down the drive, halting in front of the manor. A moment later Sophia appeared in a similar outfit to the previous night, nodded to the driver in a manner that suggested she knew him, jumped in the back and the carriage took off.

  With the carriage trotting lazily through the estate, Robert saddled up his horse and set about following it. He made sure to keep his distance, not wanting to be seen by the driver, but had to make sure he didn’t lose sight of the carriage since he didn’t know where it was headed. As the carriage pressed forward, and he followed, he found himself becoming more and more curious.

  What was perhaps the most curious was the outfit that Sophia had on. Again, she wore boots and a simple skirt and blouse. If she was having an affair, she certainly wasn’t dressed the part. When the carriage made its way through the outskirts of London and toward the docks, Robert shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was, and then some.

  The docks were as busy as always. Not only were the actual workers scurrying to and fro, but clients and other men of station rode horses and directed carriages of their own down the piers and into the adjoining offices. This made it easy for Robert to blend into the crowd. He hung back, watching as the carriage pulled up in front of pier eight, and dropped Sophia off. She waived the driver off and headed into the office. Robert’s office.

  From there things only became stranger. Robert secured his own horse near his office building and continued his pursuit. The building had two stories, with the main entrance at the front. But there was a fire escape at the back – a simple ladder scaling up the wall toward a window. He climbed this ladder, reached the top and peeked through the window into the office.

  What he saw inside his office, made his jaw drop.

  The office was as it should be. His personal office was empty, the door closed, and the light turned off, but the other three rooms were buzzing with workers. There were the secretaries, sitting at their desks scribbling away. There were his staff, led by Liam, all working as they usually did, and then there was Sophia.

  Sophia darted across the room, talking to staff and secretary alike. In her hand she held a ledger which Robert recognized to be a stock book, and she seemed to not only be reading it, but actually adding to it. For a reason that he could not comprehend, Sophia was working for his company. By the looks of it, she had taken charge of the accounts.

  “Sophia!” Liam barked from across the office. He spoke to her as if she were normal staff, not the wife of his employer. “Why is The Tamway not loaded yet? It was meant to leave an hour ago!”

  Sophia hurried across the floor, her eyes skimming the ledger she held in her hand. “Yes, but I saw that it had a whole cargo hold empty. Totally unused!”

  “So?”

  “Well The Piercer was scheduled to head to Cape Town tomorrow with a single load of —”

  “And you thought that The Tamway could take it?” Liam said, catching on to what Sophia was suggesting.

  “I thought so,” she said, looking rather pleased with herself. “The Tamway will arrive a day later than it was scheduled, and you will incur a small fee for that, but you’ll more than make it up in costs of oil and labor from not sending The Piercer to the exact same dock.”

  Robert continued to watch, his eyes peeking just over the window as Liam took the ledger from Sophia and scanned it quickly. A smirk formed on his lips as he realized that what Sophia had arranged was indeed a better plan.

  “OK, sounds good. But from now on, run these kinds of decisions by me first. Savvy?”

  “Of course!”

  Robert didn’t bother watching anymore. He slowly descended the ladder, falling into a heap the moment his feet hit solid earth. He had no idea how long he sat there, absorbed in his thoughts, lost in the implications of what he’d just seen.

  Sophia had taken a job at his company. Sophia, his wife, had snuck from his house and began to work secretly for him. At the docks. Forgetting the fact that the docks weren’t a place for a lady, and that the entire thing was highly irregular, he was far more concerned with how it made him feel as a husband.

  Should he be mad at her for lying? Or impressed that she was so independent? He wasn’t sure. He also wasn’t sure what, if anything, he should do about it.

  Chapter 14

  Sophia was loving married life... or at least her life as a married woman. Honestly, she couldn’t remember a time in her life that she had been so happy... well, maybe that first glorious day of marriage? But that was apparently an oddity. This was permanent. This was real. This was a life she had not known existed and yet now she could not imagine how she had ever lived without it.

  Her day began the same as always. She would wake to find Robert already gone, as was standard by now. She would hurry downstairs, have a quick breakfast and be ready to leave by the time her carriage came to collect her. Then she would pay the driver, climb in the back and enjoy the pleasant ride to the docks where she readied herself for a long day of work.

  Sophia had never dreamed of taking a job. That kind of thing just wasn’t done. The only women that worked in this world were the ones that couldn’t afford not to. The jobs that they did were invariably not the kind of jobs that one spoke about out loud. Oddly, if Sophia didn’t know how much trouble she would be in if she were discovered, she would sing about her job from the rooftops.

  When Liam had told her how much work he had, she offered to take a look at it for him. He was resistant at first, but she assured him that her education was more than adequate, and in most cases superb, so he took her up on her offer. She’d impressed him as she knew she would and after that he offered her a job. Simple.

  The first day was a little difficult. A woman working at the docks wasn’t really heard of. Even the secretaries who worked in the office were married to workers at the dock, those in a higher position. This made them off limits to the passes associated with common sailors and crew. As far as anyone was concerned, Sophia was just a bored, albeit intelligent, housewife. If it wasn’t for how capable she was, she surely wouldn’t have lasted the first day.

  She’d made it through the first day with relative ease. She was able to rebuff the sailors’ attentions with witticisms and implied innocence. When one sailor commented on the movement of her hips as she walked, she responded that it was a function of her shoes and that he might try a boot with a slightly higher heel if he wished to mimic the effect. Another heckled for a kiss, but she informed him that he would have to put his name on an ever growing wait list.

  Soon word got around that Sophia wasn’t like other women. They appreciated her humor and seemed to enjoy her presence. Soon, Sophia felt herself becoming accepted. The sailors still approached her and made uncouth remarks, but it was more to try and get a reaction from her or bait her into a witty response. If they ever went too far, Liam made sure to pull them back into line.

  There were so many things that she loved about working at the docks, she didn’t even know where to start. She loved the responsibility, and that all her lessons and education were being put to use. She loved that she was taken seriously, that she wasn’t treated like some silly woman. She loved that the people she worked with weren’t snobs and didn’t care about her past or where she had come from. She loved the freedom, the ease at which she filled in her time. Really, she loved all of it.

  She didn’t even feel guilty. She’d lied to Robert on her first day, when he confronted her, and he’d believed it. Since then he hadn’t bothered her, not once. Four days she had gone to work, sure that each day he would storm in and reprimand her, but he never did. She really was free.

  A part of her still hurt in the knowledge that he had lied to her too, that he was spending his days drinking, or possibly partaking in other activities she couldn’t bring herself to think about. She refused to let that bother her. She was a new woman n
ow.

  “Oi!” Liam barked at her at the end of the fourth day of work. “Over here.”

  Sophia was sitting behind her desk, adding up the numbers to a new shipment that was due to leave the next day. She stopped what she was doing and hurried across to him. “Yes?”

  “You still at that?” he leaned back in his chair and spat on the ground by his feet; a common act.

  “Only another hour and I’ll have the first lot of figures ready for your approval,” she said with a smile on her face. She loved the way the people here talked to her, like she was one of them. It was probably the first time in her life she felt accepted.

  “Listen,” he pulled himself up, looking her in the eyes. “A few of the fellas are headin’ to the Old Harbor Inn after we clock off. Get a few brews in us. You’re welcome to come if you like.”

  “Oh...” Sophia hesitated, completely caught off guard by the request. She had never thought for a moment she would be invited to drink with the men.

  “You don’t have ta. Just a thought.”

  “No, no I would like to but...” She couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t. She was a married woman and despite this little ruse she had managed to pull, she knew that was going too far. It felt good to be asked, though.

  “All good. Ya welcome anytime.” Sophia nodded her head and turned back to her desk. “Oh! I was meant to say, the missus is havin’ a do next week. I’ve been tellin’ her ‘bout ya and she asked me to invite ya along. And this time I won’t take no for an answer.”

  “You’re married?” Was the first thing Sophia asked, not expecting it of the gruff Ship Master.

  “Hard to believe ain’t it? But yeah, twelve years. Don’t know where I’d be without her.” He smiled as he spoke, and Sophia truly believed that he meant every word he said.