She jumped then smiled right back. “That is very fortunate.”
“Excuse me, my lord, my lady.” Mrs. Boyd set down a large platter filled with heated roast lamb, stuffed partridge, white soup, and a goblet of wine.
It was far more than he’d expected. “Mrs. Boyd, I am in your debt. Thank you.”
She waved off his comment as she turned away, only to return with a small bowl of barberry ice cream and a cup of tea. “Here you are, Lady Sophie. I didn’t want the lord to have to eat alone. I added extra cream and no sugar.”
Sophie put her hand to her chest. “Mrs. Boyd, you’re so thoughtful.”
Mrs. Boyd glanced at him then looked at Sophie. “Anything for you, dear.” With that, she returned to the fire.
He couldn’t help remarking on the cook’s statement. “You seem to have made a good friend.”
Sophie colored a bit, but didn’t shy away from his gaze. “Mrs. Boyd has been averygood friend to me. We’ve exchanged confidences and experiences. She looks at life differently than my classmates. I always learn something new from her.”
He took a bite of the stuffed partridge to delay responding. That Sophie considered a servant a friend provided a new insight into her as a person. Just when he thought of her as timid, she revealed herself to be more like her self-named persona Rosalind, and when he was sure he spoke to Rosalind, she would suddenly appear timid. “You often come down here to visit, then?”
“On occasion, but always after I return from school break, as Mrs. Boyd enjoys hearing about the parties and concerts, and, of course, the shopping. With her work here at Silver Meadows, she rarely leaves the area. I’m happy to tell her all that I’ve observed.”
“And what about the activities you’veparticipatedin?”
Her green eyes lit with excitement. “Oh yes. I told her about what a success St. Stephen’s Day was at Ellie’s, I mean Lady Ferncroft’s. There are so many widows of the wars who live near Hawthorne Park. They were very grateful for all that we could give them.”
He didn’t respond at first, surprised by the event that came foremost to her mind, giving to the unfortunate. Lady Sophie was becoming more interesting the more he learned. “Do you tell her about any recent betrothals or scandals or mishaps?”
“You mean such as the instance when you knocked me over while I was skating on the lake at Hawthorne Park?” She gave him a knowing look.
“I did apologize for that, though it was entirely Lord Durham’sfault. The man felt so guilty about it, he challenged me to a race he knew he couldn’t win. You do forgive me, do you not?”
“I do. As you said, it was Lord Durham who acted so ungentlemanly.”
He opened his mouth but quickly closed it, about to comment on his concerns about his friend’s escalating activities. Instead, he took another mouthful of partridge. Lady Sophie was far easier to talk to than anyone he’d ever met. It was one thing to divulge his own secret to her, but to bring in a friend’s was quite another. “Do not judge him too harshly.”
She set down her teacup before lifting a spoonful of the pink ice cream. “Oh, I know young men enjoy their time before taking a wife. And now you have a new estate with many responsibilities. Did you find it as you expected?”
He watched as the ice cream went into her mouth, causing her lips to look darker, before bringing to mind the state of his new home. He sighed. “It was worse.”
“Worse?” Her eyes widened in alarm. “How so?”
“The place was basically abandoned, so there is much work to be done. I’m hoping that after a couple of years, it will be able to sustain itself. Until then, I will need to support it.” He wasn’t looking forward to continuing to find sound investments.
“That will work well, then, because you don’t wish to marry until you’re thirty, correct?”
“How do you know that?”
She grinned. “Lady Rose, of course. But don’t worry, she has not revealed that to anyone else. All my classmates assume you are already betrothed. I believe the latest rumor is that you are marrying into the royal family.”
As he was just taking a sip of wine, he almost spat it out, clasping his hand over his mouth just in time. Quickly, he swallowed. “The royal family?”
“Quite so. You should feel honored. Until now, the best rumor we’ve had at the school was that a seamstress was to marry a duke, so you now have the honor of being the subject of the highest rumor to spread through this school.”
That she was enjoying his predicament was obvious. “Then I must be truthful and take only you into my confidence. Yes, in two years I will be at the age I wish to marry, but I’m not averse to waiting until later. I simply have a plan, and in order to achieve it, I need time. I had hoped to be able to focus only on my estate, but since it will need additional funding, I find myself in an interesting position.”
Lady Sophie nodded with far more maturity than her age. “I understand your problem. You still need a funding source in order to make improvements to your estate, which is hardly a gentlemanly endeavor. Doing it secretly makes it more difficult. Maybe you should speak to Mrs. Kingman’s husband. He has been very successful in trade. If he wasn’t, I doubt Lady Juliet would have consented to becoming Mrs. Kingman.”
Sophie’s insight stunned him while her advice gave him hope. But it was her assumption that a lady would not marry unless her prospect was financially successful that gave him pause. “Are you saying that Mrs. Kingman would not have married her husband, no matter how much she loved him, if he could not care for her as she was used to being cared for?”
“Oh my, no. I’m quite sure Mrs. Kingman would have married her husband anyway. From what I understand, it was a love match made by her ghostly great-aunt.” Though Sophie nodded seriously, humor lit her eyes. “I believe she was very lucky her ancestor had such complete knowledge of the Kingmans’ trade business.”
