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They glared at each other. Then Aimee sniffed and spun smartly on her heel, stalking from the room and slamming the door hard behind her. Sophia rolled her eyes and turned to the canvas. She didn’t have time for Aimee and her histrionics. If Thomas Ford found those attractive and saw her as a potential partner, that was on him. She had nothing to do with it.
There were a lot of things about matching with a good husband or wife that Sophia didn’t really understand, and she didn’t particularly want to. She knew it was ideal for the match to be more about what the other half could do for the family.
Which was silly; surely, people would want to marry a person they could live with contentedly for the next thirty or so years. Sophia couldn’t see things going well if she and her future husband hated each other.
It would certainly make it easier to perform her duties and give her husband heirs.
The thought of that made Sophia shudder. If she were going to be used as a pawn and do that, she would rather not get married at all. She could accept that.
Picking up her paintbrush, Sophia softened it in the water and inspected her canvas. She could probably get another small part done before Clarissa and Olivia came looking for her.
If that were the case, she had better get a move on. Her oldest nieces were adorable, but they weren’t very patient. And Sophia had quite a bit to do before she felt calm enough to face her entire family.
#
Breakfast was hectic, to say the least. Her nieces and nephews seemed to be very energetic, and their parents looked strained. Almost like they were embarrassed that the children were practically bouncing off the walls. Sophia wasn’t really surprised; she knew how bored they were. It wasn’t easy sitting still and being perfect all the time. A grown-up could manage it for quite a while, but a child certainly couldn’t. It was unfair.
At least her suggestion to the children’s nannies about taking them out for the day and having a picnic had met with enthusiasm. The parents hadn’t been too impressed, although Sophia could see a couple of her brother-in-laws looking slightly relieved at the thought of their children being out from under their feet. Lady Westbury had tried to argue against it, but Sophia pointed out how well it worked when they were children to let them run around in the fresh air, and it wore them out enough to sit down and be quiet without any complaints. And, surely, they wanted the children to be on their best behaviour when Mister Ford came to tea, didn’t they?
That was enough for all the other parents to agree. Sophia felt a pang of sadness for her nieces and nephews. They loved their parents but were to be seen and not heard. Whoever said that her family was picture perfect had to be mad; what Sophia saw wasn’t picture perfect.
She just saw people trapped in a cage and being made to behave in a way that didn’t look right or comfortable. She didn’t want to end up in the same cage.
Once breakfast was over, Sophia changed into her walking shoes and left the house before anyone noticed she was gone. If she had been around and someone caught sight of her, she would have been made to stay and look after the children. While she adored them, Sophia didn’t want to be left as another nanny.
She wanted to get out of there. Perhaps she could spend the rest of the day with Christiana until she had to come back. Her parents had actually acknowledged her existence and told her that her presence was expected when Mister Ford arrived with his father. Sophia had asked if they were alright with his potential bride’s family sitting in the room watching them, but she was dismissed for not understanding things.
If she were in Mister Ford’s shoes, she wouldn’t have liked it at all, having so many people staring at him. Something like that was manageable in a bigger setting when everyone was being watched. When you were the sole focus …
She was really not looking forward to being in Aimee’s position.
Sophia headed up the slope and into the woods. Christiana’s father’s estate was on the other side, close enough that it was just a short walk. The two of them were always escaping to each other’s houses, although it was mostly Sophia going to her friend; she had more reason to escape. Christiana knew about this latest escapade, and she found it amusing. She didn’t think Aimee could keep back her snide part of herself for very long.
Then again, Christiana and Aimee hadn’t got along since Aimee came out. Given how Aimee had suddenly turned on Sophia, it wasn’t much of a surprise; Christiana was very protective of her friend.
Moving through the trees, Sophia was walking too fast and didn’t get her feet up in time to miss the upended tree root. It caught hard around her ankle, and the sudden stopping motion jerked Sophia in two different directions. She found herself falling forwards, the ground coming up to meet her.
Only for it to stop suddenly just before she landed face-first in the dirt. Strong arms were wrapped around her, holding her against a firm chest that felt both solid and warm. What was happening?
“Take it easy, miss. You’ll get hurt if you carry on like that.”
She recognised his voice. It was the mysterious gentleman from the day before. Sophia looked up and found herself looking into those smiling eyes. They weren’t brown as she thought before. They were a hazel colour, very similar to her own. Although his were more brown than green like hers.
He was also very close to her, far too close for comfort. And definitely not something they should be doing. Clearing her throat, Sophia glanced away and found her footing.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as she pulled away. She smoothed her trembling hands down her skirt. Why was she shaking? “You saved me from turning into an embarrassment.”
“I don’t think anyone would have cared if you’re out here alone.” His eyes twinkled as he looked her up and down. “Although you could have hurt yourself. I know a sprained ankle is painful, from personal experience.”
“You sprain your ankles regularly, then?”
“You could say that.”
Sophia noticed how he was taking his time looking at her. Normally, gentlemen didn’t do this with her. They just took one look at her and turned away. Sophia knew she was attractive, and she wasn’t unconfident about that, but it did hurt whenever gentlemen saw how much time she spent in the sun and decided not to give her the time of day. It was shocking how vain people were if they thought it was a bad thing.
If they didn’t like how she looked, she had nothing to say to them. But with this man, he didn’t seem disgusted. If anything, he appeared to like what he saw.
That had never happened before, and Sophia felt a fluttering in her belly. Swallowing, she put her hands behind her back. She didn’t want the gentleman to see her fidgeting. Where was the calm demeanour she normally held onto? It seemed to have left her momentarily, just because of him.
