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“I’m sure it will happen when it happens, Katherine,” Sophia responded coolly. “Until then, I’m content with things as they are. I’m not going to force it.”
“Maybe it’s for the best. It will be difficult to find anyone for you, especially not with your … interests.”
Sophia fixed a bland smile on her face.
“You know, you’re more like Mother than you realise, Katherine. If you’ll excuse me? I need to change.”
She headed indoors, hoping Katherine wouldn’t realise she had just been insulted before Sophia got to the stairs. Then again, Katherine and their other sisters adored their mother. They didn’t see her sharp comments and putdowns as anything insulting. They all prided themselves on honesty.
Sophia just saw it as a way to cover up the fact they were simply bullies. She still struggled to believe she had been raised in the same family, yet she was completely different.
There was more to life than money and finding someone who could further their family in Society. Surely, they all knew that. Until Aimee went off to London for her first Season, Sophia had thought they were the two who had managed to be lucky and not be snobby and rude. Then Aimee came back, and it was like she was a copy of their sisters and mother. They broke apart, and Sophia had lost her closest ally.
She still had Diane, but Sophia still missed Aimee. Even when she was being rude and obnoxious, almost like she was trying to be hurtful, Sophia still missed her.
Whoever ended up marrying her would need help after a while. Then again, all of their sisters had been married for quite a while, and they all had children. How they had stayed married and what could be considered happy, Sophia had no idea. She had half-expected any of her siblings to live separately from their husbands after a while.
Maybe they did, and she just didn’t know it. If they were still firmly in their lives, they deserved medals.
Sophia knew she was being cruel to think of her sisters in such a manner, but she couldn’t help it. They hadn’t been kind to her for some time. Even when Sophia was just a child when Katherine married, just a little girl, they had sneered at her. It was almost like they relished being mean to the youngest daughter.
She loved her sisters. That would never go away. But Sophia could confidently say she didn’t like any of them.
Especially Aimee. Once she was married, she would be leaving and moving away. And Sophia would relish the quiet for once. She felt bad for thinking that way, but it would be nice not to go into a room and be insulted all the time.
As long as she was left alone.
#
Thomas managed to get back to Eaton Socon without too much trouble, although his feet hurt from all the walking. He was used to walking in the countryside back in Kent, but it was flatter there. Cambridgeshire was, apparently, meant to be pretty flat as well.
Someone had lied to him.
As he reached civilisation and went through the streets, which were now starting to get busy with the various stalls and people going about their business, Thomas couldn’t help thinking about the beautiful woman he had come across on his walk.
The woman with the notebook and the talented drawings. She could seriously put men to shame with just the small sketches she had. He would be interested to see her create a bigger drawing or even a painting.
It was a shame he hadn’t got her name, but Thomas had been so struck by her beauty he had forgotten his manners. She must have thought he was a bit of a fool for forgetting something like that. Even those who didn’t have a title knew this was rather bad.
There was a good chance they wouldn’t meet each other again, so maybe it was a good thing he didn’t get her name. Thomas didn’t want to have that awkward moment where he was sitting with his supposed future bride and attempting to have any sort of conversation while thinking about someone else.
The problem was, though, he didn’t need to know her name to put her to one side. She could easily fill his head, and Thomas wouldn’t be able to get rid of her.
Interacting with Miss Aimee Burke was going to be rather difficult now.
Dodging a flower seller, who almost shoved a big bouquet in his face that would make anyone sneeze violently, Thomas wished his parents hadn’t chosen her as his future bride.
Between Viscount Hawksworth and Viscount Westbury, they had come up with a solution that helped everyone: Westbury needed a husband for his daughter, and Hawksworth wanted his son’s future, and their future, secured. It seemed perfect for them, having their respective children marry and have both wealth and the ability to carry on the family line.
Thomas didn’t see it like that. Especially after hearing the stories of Aimee Burke and her sisters. While her three older sisters had married wealthy gentlemen and had solidified their positions, their attitudes and personalities were well-known.
And it wasn’t well-received. Aimee Burke had been cut from the same cloth. Thomas didn’t get along with people who put others down and had scathing remarks about those trying to get on with life. Their tastes were very particular, as were their choice of friends.
Viscount Westbury’s family was well-known, but not for the reasons he would have liked.
Why did his father have to choose their family? Why Aimee Burke, of all people? Thomas could have done without that.
Hopefully, she would also see this as a transactional marriage, one where it was beneficial but not necessarily a love match. Thomas knew he would have to perform his marital duties, which didn’t sit well with him. He had had meaningless affairs, short flings in the bedchamber that left both parties satisfied, but it was with people he found attractive.
