“What should…” He swallowed. “What should I call you?”
“Oh. Sophie, of course. It is always Sophie.” No matter the years of not seeing each other, nothing could erase the friendship they’d had. She had two older sisters, but Andrew… Andrew was the brother she would have wished for. Her very best friend. When she’d left for Bristol, he might have been the only person she truly missed.
An expression very near topainedflitted so quickly across his face that she must have imagined it.
“Very well. I should be off, or I might be late.”
“Where do you work?” she could not help asking, as she straightened a pile of his papers and handed them to him.
“Sternam’s Bank.”
She smiled. “You would certainly be well suited to that work.” He had always been intelligent. Had taught her many things before she’d gone to live with Grandfather and gained her own education
He nodded, backing away. “Good day, Soph—” He swallowed again, eyes averted. “Ah, good day.”
Chapter Four
Andrew breathed a sigh of relief upon entering Sternam’s Bank. Here, there was a comfortable amount of monotony, which he desperately needed. Almost as much as he needed a nap. He’d not slept a wink the night before.
Several of the public room clerks greeted him as he entered, and Andrew nodded their way before closing himself in his office and blocking out all else. Mrs. Honora Gillingham had another of her peculiar requests for him, Mr. Burr was frustrated at the poor return on the investment his solicitor had pressured him to make, and Andrew needed to prepare for the meeting with Mr. Sternam about potential locations around Croydon. The month before, Andrew had gotten his employer to agree to partner with him on the opening of a country bank, provided it was close enough to town for proper communication between the banks.
It was lunch when he finally surfaced for air, almost surprised to find that his stomach ached with hunger. He’d been so quick to leave the house that morning, he’d not had Cook prepare him anything for the noon meal. Which left him to stroll briskly down the Strand in search of sustenance. He trained his eyes on the shop windows, navigating the crowd with his peripheral vision. Maybe he would just grab a pastry and suffer through till dinner. But dinner would have Sophie, and he was doubtful he would manage to eat much.
“Mr. Langford!”
Andrew spun round, looking for the voice. His eyes landed on the round, little woman waving three shops behind him. She scurried up to his side, chest heaving but smile large.
Andrew bowed. “Mrs. Haverwick, good day to you. What brings you to London?”
The woman was from Weybridge, not far from his family’s estate. “My sister is sponsoring dear Eleanor—you recall Eleanor, yes? My youngest. Well, Susanna is sponsoring her for the Season, and we came just a bit early to have new gowns made. You, I am certain, know well the importance of a good dress for one’s come out.”
“Dresses, yes. Vital.” Andrew spotted a small shop just ahead that would have what he needed. That settled, he gave Mrs. Haverwick his full attention, though he did not have a great deal of time left before he would be set behind in his afternoon’s work.
The woman was jostled by a passerby but did not appear to care. “You really must come for dinner at my sister’s. They live in Grosvenor Square, you know. Your family is not yet in town, are they?”
“No, they will not arrive for another fortnight.”
“Then, even more reason for you to dine with us—a bachelor all alone? It sounds rather lonely.”
Andrew rather liked his lonely life. It gave him freedom and space to move forward on his goals without distraction. Distractions like a suddenly recalled wager or a beautiful woman in his home. Though perhaps that was all the more reason to dine with the Haverwicks—one night away from Sophie and the resurgence of his painstakingly-buried feelings.
“That sounds delightful. I am afraid I must be back to work now, though, if you will excuse me.”
“Yes, yes of course. I will send a note round for dinner. Next Wednesday? Oh, no, we have an engagement. With the Abaroughs, you know,” she said with a raised brow and widened eyes.
Andrew hadn’t a clue who they were, but he nodded all the same.
“I shall find a free day and send over an invitation forthwith!” the woman declared.
“I will anxiously await its arrival,” Andrew said solemnly.
Mrs. Haverwick tittered, patting him on the arm. “You are a dear. Now, I must be off. Good day, Mr. Langford!”
They parted, and Andrew felt a twinge of guilt that any invitation would exclude Sophie. But the only way this arrangement could work was if no one knew it was occurring.
The sun had all but disappeared by the time Andrew locked the door to the bank behind him. Despite a robust staff, he was the last to leave. A mixture of poor time management and the desire to ensure each of his clients was well taken care of when he set off for the country was usually at fault for a late end. Though today, there was one other issue in play. Sophie.
He blew out a breath, which coalesced into mist in the darkness in front of him. For the first time in years, a woman waited for him at his family home. Not since his mother had passed four years before had he had any womanly presence awaiting his arrival—unless one counted the family’s housekeeper.
