“I would rather not say,” Sophia avoided answering the question.
“You just admitted that we are friends, are we not?” Jacob countered. “I believe that calls for a more honest answer.”
“Must you make me think about things that I am trying my best not to?” Sophia protested, a small frown forming on her lips.
“It would not be me if I did not make those around me ponder deeply inside themselves,” Jacob chuckled. “I am not only a joker, you see.”
“Very well, then. If you really must know then…” Sophia sucked in a deep breath. “I myself am unaware of what the curseimplies. For my family, it was that they lost their lives in a carriage accident. You know this. I do not even want to imagine what it would mean for the Duke.”
“That is rather dramatic, is it not?” Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Besides, I am certain that the odds of something awful like that happening again are slim, bordering on none.”
“Why even take the risk?”
“Because what awaits you on the other side is well worth it?” Jacob replied. “If there is anything in this world that is worth risking everything for, it is love. The rewards are greater than what you can even imagine.”
Sophia considered his words carefully but ultimately decided to end the conversation there.
“We will see what the future holds,” Sophia replied.
Inside, she did not feel optimistic at all. Keeping herself away from the Duke was only going to be harder as the days went by.
CHAPTER 19
At first, Duncan thought that the reason he did not see Sophia very often was because of his own busy schedule. As the Duke, he had many duties that made him leave the house for long periods of time.
But then he had a small stretch of days when he was not occupied with work, and instead he had more time to spend at the estate. Meeting Sophia was a rare occurrence, even then.
Even his mother seemed to have taken a note.
“I trust that all is going well in your marriage,” Duchess Anna asked him over breakfast. She had been visiting them that morning as she did from time to time. “I hope you have not come to regret your decision marrying in such a rush.”
“Regret?” the Duke repeated. “I honor my decisions, mother. Not regret them.”
“Yes, I am aware, but I am worried that you are only honoring them in theory. How is it that I rarely see the two of you together? In fact, I am sure that the Duchess has spent more time with your brother than she has with you at this point.”
An odd emotion stirred inside of him at his mother’s words. He was sure that her intention was not to spark jealousy, but he could not help but feel a certain way over having learned this new fact.
“That does not matter, for she is married to me and not my brother.” Duncan’s words came out more sour than he had intended.
“Of course, I was not suggesting…” his mother begun to backtrack immediately.
“It is all right,” he said. “I just would tell that you should not keep such an eagle’s gaze on the trajectory of our relationship. We are fine, and there is nothing to worry about.”
Duncan cut his conversation with his mother short and exited the breakfast table. He was growing more and more frustrated now.
What was going on with Sophia? She was always polite to him whenever she saw him in person, but she did seem to go out of her way to avoid him.
Something had to be done.
The opportunity finally arose when Duncan ran into Sophia in the library. She sat there on the sofa, engrossed in her book.
“Madam, may I join you?” he asked softly as he approached her.
Sophia’s eyes darted between him and then the clock.
“Oh… Your Grace, I did not expect you to be home at this hour,” she replied, noticeably flushed.
She did not expect to run into me.
