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Sophia looked up. Her mother was frowning at her down the table.
“Mother?”
“Are you well? You’re looking a little flushed, and you’re not eating.”
“Oh.” Sophia hadn’t even noticed she was slowly stirring her soup but hadn’t tasted any of it. She managed a small smile. “I’m perfectly fine, Mother. It’s nothing.”
Lady Westbury sniffed and gave her a silent look that said Sophia had better remember where she was and not embarrass them. Lowering her gaze, Sophia did her best to eat her soup. Normally, it was delicious, but it just went through and settled in her stomach like she had been consuming the goop used to make the tips at the end of matches. She hoped that her expression didn’t give anything away now.
Christiana looked at her in concern as the soup bowls were taken away and the main course came out. Sophia was aware of Mister Ford looking at her, and Mister Edwin on Christiana’s other side was also watching her. She didn’t like everyone openly staring at her; it made her feel like she was the dinner entertainment.
Why couldn’t they just get on with their meals? Sophia was losing her appetite rapidly.
This was ridiculous. Sitting next to Mister Ford was really not working out for her. Sophia had thought she could manage it when she realised they would be next to each other at the dinner table, but it wasn’t working out. Sophia could feel everything in her gut tighten, and she was beginning to feel light-headed.
Her hand shook as she reached out to pick up her water glass, taking a sip as the glass trembled and rattled against her teeth. As she put it back down, she lost her grip on it and dropped it onto the table. There were gasps as water spilled across the table, and Mister Ford jumped up and out of the way as the water came in his direction.
“Oh, Sophia! Honestly!” Lady Westbury huffed.
Sophia knew she would get in trouble, so she gave in to what she had been trying to fight back for the last half an hour. Closing her eyes, she slumped sideways. There were more gasps, and arms went around her, keeping her upright. Sophia didn’t need to open her eyes to know Mister Ford was holding onto her. She tried not to shiver, having him touch her like this.
It felt really nice. And that made her feel even worse.
“Sophia? Sophia!”
Sophia could hear Christiana’s voice and wanted to respond, but she wasn’t about to open her eyes. Then she heard her father’s voice.
“Is she alright?”
“She’s fainted, Lord Westbury.” Mister Ford sounded brisk. “She’s been looking pale for most of the evening. I’m surprised she hadn’t taken a turn already.”
“Oh, she’s probably pretending to faint right now,” Aimee said, her manner offhand. “She can’t bear to have the attention on someone else.”
“Don’t talk like that, Aimee,” Christiana scolded. “Sophia is not like that, and you know it.”
“That’s enough, ladies.” Sophia heard Christiana’s father’s voice over the two squabbling. “Mister Ford, would you help? Could you take Lady Sophia to another room so she can recover without us hovering over her?”
“Of course, My Lord.”
Sophia almost forgot how to breathe. She was going to have Mister Ford carry her? She couldn’t see him walking her elsewhere when she was supposed to be unconscious. Her heart started racing so fast it was like her head was pounding. Sophia was sure that everyone in the room could hear her heartbeat.
“I’ll show him to a private room, Father,” Christiana said quickly. “We’ll return shortly.”
“Thank you, Christiana. Everyone, don’t worry about this. We’ll carry on with dinner shortly.”
Sophia kept her eyes closed and tried not to react as she was lifted off her feet and cradled in very warm, very solid arms. She was pressed against a firm chest, her head resting on a solid shoulder. Oh, my. It was a good thing she had her eyes closed right now; she had a feeling that she would have swooned for real.
She tried not to tense too much as she was carried out of the room, footsteps echoing in her head as Mister Ford made many turns back and forth until Sophia felt dizzy. She had been in this house so many times over the years, and she was getting lost. Where on earth was she?
“Let’s take her in here, Mister Ford,” Christiana said, and there was the sound of a door opening. “She can rest here until she’s ready to leave. I can’t see Sophia wanting to go back to the other guests after that.”
“Will she be alright on her own?”
“I know Sophia. She’s going to be really embarrassed, so it’s best to leave her be so she can regain consciousness on her own.”
“I see.”
Mister Ford didn’t sound happy about that. Sophia felt herself being lowered and cushions pressed into her back. Already, she wanted to have his arms around her again.
