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Sophia knew the sensible thing to do would be to agree and let him escort her home. But she knew she would just make things more complicated. Sophia liked things to be simple, and her emotions were behaving in any way but simple right now. She didn’t like how she felt at all; it was just a mess.
But she had a feeling Mister Ford wouldn’t be taking no for an answer. She sighed.
“Alright. But don’t come too close to the house. I don’t want to have to explain it to my family.”
“I’ll keep out of sight, Miss Sophia.”
Sophia hoped that he did. She wasn’t about to explain to her sister what she was up to with her future husband.
#
Thomas hadn’t planned on going for a walk tonight but sitting across from Pierce in the dining room and listening to him talk about Sophia had made him feel close to losing his temper. He didn’t want to hear about her, and he certainly didn’t want to hear her name coming out of his friend’s mouth.
He also hadn’t planned on walking as far as he did, especially right near Sophia’s home, but now he was here, and Sophia was present. It felt like fate for the two of them to meet like this.
Thomas knew he should leave. Nothing good was going to come out of this, given their situation. And yet he couldn’t move to walk away. Instead, he was going to escort her home.
He had to be mad. And from the look on Sophia’s face, she thought the same thing about herself.
She bit her lip as they walked, keeping her head down as they returned to the house, coming out from the trees and skirting the edge of her estate. Thomas could see she was somewhat nervous about his presence. She wouldn’t hold onto his arm, choosing to clamber over fallen tree trunks without any help.
There was a moment when she tripped on a stray root and almost ended up flat on her face, but Thomas caught her before that happened. The second she was upright and solid on her feet, Sophia was pulling away. Even in the dimming light, he could see her blushing.
Was she just as affected by him as he was by her? For a selfish moment, Thomas really hoped so.
“How was your visit earlier?” he asked as they reached the slope.
Sophia gasped and wobbled, almost toppling over again. Thomas grabbed her and pulled her away from the edge.
“Steady there! You don’t want to get hurt again, do you?”
“I … why would you say that just then?” Sophia was breathing heavily. It felt like she was leaning against him now. “Don’t spring that on me!”
“Forgive me. I just wanted to know how your visit with Mister Shore went earlier today. I thought I said he wasn’t the best person to associate with.”
Sophia snorted. She turned and faced him but didn’t step away, tilting her head back to look him in the eye. There was a calm demeanour about her, not blinking as she faced him defiantly. Thomas had to admire the strength in her to face him down, even with the tension simmering between them. He was surprised that he could look at her without pulling her even closer.
“I think I can decide who I can associate with, Mister Ford,” Sophia said coolly. “I’m not a complete fool.”
“Did I say you were?”
“You wouldn’t be the first one.” She shook her head. “Anyway, it was like I was ambushed. I didn’t know he was visiting until an hour before he arrived. I couldn’t have got out of it even if I tried.”
“I see.”
Thomas didn’t. He was not happy with Pierce doing that, knowing that Thomas would be over to visit Aimee. It was like he was trying to flaunt the fact he was with Sophia after knowing that Thomas found her fascinating.
He really wanted to wring Pierce’s neck.
“Besides, he’s not too bad,” Sophia said. “I think he was being flirtatious with me, but it was harmless. I can manage being in his company, which was somewhat enjoyable.”
Thomas snorted.
“Pierce has never been considered harmless.”
“You don’t have to worry about me, Mister Ford. I can take care of myself.”
“That’s not how things should be, Miss Sophia. Someone should be worried about you.”
