They began to walk north and soon they made it to the edge of the woods, where the stable master had asked her to let the goats browse. She could see why. It was overgrown with all sorts of brush that the goats would absolutely love.
Seeing it, too, the goats began pulling at their leads, eager to enjoy their favorite food.
“Let me get the pack off,” Sophia said, letting go of Valley and Meadow and grabbing Ivy so she could take the pack from her. After a moment of wrestling with the clasp, she had it off, and she let go of the goat.
“You can let her go now,” Sophia told Caspian, who dropped the lead rope as quickly as if it was on fire. Sensing her freedom, Ivy raced forward to join the other goats in the brush. “Couldn’t wait to let go, hm?” she asked with a grin.
“Well, she seems perfectly well behaved this time, I didn’t see a reason to keep holding once you told me I could let go,” Caspian said as he spread out the blanket in the shade.
Eyeing the blanket, Sophia felt a surge of guilt for not asking Liliana if she wanted to come with them…but it was nice to spend time with Caspian without them having to watch her the whole time.
“She’s only well behaved because you’re here,” Sophia said with a grin. “She likes you.”
“Oh, joy,” Caspian said, his nose wrinkling as he glanced over at Ivy.
Sophia laughed as she sat down on the blanket, leaving the pack off to the side so Caspian wouldn’t have to worry about touching something that had touched the goats. She tucked her skirts in around her ankles to avoid an indecent situation and reached over to open the pack. “They won’t go too far until they run out of food.”
She pulled out two apples from the bundle that Caspian had brought and tossed one to him. “I love apples,” she said happily as she took a bite of hers. The crisp, fall flavor burst on her tongue and she sighed in happiness. “They’re one of my favorite fruits. Thank you for grabbing these.”
“Do you like red or green apples better?” he asked before taking a bite of his own apple.
“Oh, red, definitely. I’m not a fan of green apples. They’re a little too tart for me.”
“Of course you like red apples—they’re sweet, like you. I prefer the green apples,” he said with a wink. “Fortunately for you, the kitchen had red apples in easy reach today.”
“Did you eat green apples growing up?” she asked.
Caspian nodded as he finished the bite in his mouth. “Yes, growing up there was this tree that produced green apples, and it had low branches that my brothers and I used to climb. We would climb that tree for hours, and in the fall, we would gorge ourselves on apples. Mother always got mad because we would come back from playing outside and say we were too full to eat our dinner. She said she hated it, but I think she secretly loved it because we were having fun together. Even if it meant we didn’t eat any of the food on our plate at dinner.”
Sophia smiled. “That sounds like a lovely way to grow up. I wish I had siblings.”
“Do you not have any?” he asked.
Sophia shook her head. “No. There were two maids that were my same age in the household where I worked, but they didn’t want to talk to me much, because Lady Manning didn’t like me. I had Rosaleen, the cook, who was almost like a mother to me, but I was alone as far as I know.”
“You didn’t know your parents,” he said.
Sophia looked away. She didn’t want to see the sympathy on his face.
“No,” Sophia said softly. “I don’t know anything about my family. All I remember is the way she seemed to hate me.”
“Is that why you had to leave?” he asked quietly.
Sophia sighed and picked a blade of grass to fidget with. “Yes. She never liked me, but as I got older, it changed for the worse. Rosaleen grew worried that it wouldn’t take much for her to snap and hurt me—or worse. She wanted me to leave, to be safe.”
She looked up, but Caspian wouldn’t make eye contact with her.
This was why she didn’t tell anyone about her past.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up,” she began, but he reached over and took her hand in his.
“That sounds terrible,” he said. “I’m so sorry that was your life until now. I hope you’ve found things to be better here.”
Sophia stared down at their joined hands, a warm glow spreading through her. “I have all my friends at the café, and everyone at the manor is perfectly nice to me. They don’t talk to me much, but I’d rather be quiet in the corner than dead.”
Caspian let out a snort. “I suppose that’s the better option. I do wish you had friends here at the manor, though.”
“I have you,” she said softly, looking up at him.
