She held his hand, and they walked through the kitchen doorway into the hallway, where the butler was waiting, a shocked expression on his face. “Welcome home, Lady Manning.”
Her heart beating fast, Sophia nodded at him before passing by as she led Caspian through her home.
She was now Lady Manning, and she wouldn’t let the previous holder of the title take it from her.
It was hers.
Chapter twenty
Caspian
CaspianwatchedSophiastraightenas they walked through the Manning estate. She held herself like a lady as she led them through several hallways until they reached the art gallery, where dozens of portraits of her ancestors hung.
“They’re at the end,” she said softly, leading him to the end of the narrow room, where she stopped to stare up at two of the newest portraits. “Is it strange that I always thought they would like me if they’d known me?”
His heart broke for young Sophia.
Caspian stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, leaning down to rest his chin on her hair. “It’s not strange at all,” he said. “If anything, it shows that you remembered them in some way and knew how much they loved you.”
“I suppose so.” She sighed. “I wish I could have known them.”
“I do, too,” he said, “and I’m sorry for everything you went through, but I can’t be sorry that your path led you to me.”
Sophia turned in his arms and looked up at him. “I’m not sorry, either,” she said, closing her eyes and tilting her face in expectation.
She was too short to kiss him on her own, and it was adorable.
Caspian smiled as he leaned down to meet her, giving her a short and sweet kiss before pulling back. “Now,” he said, “shall we leave this place and go to my house? I want to introduce you to everyone there.”
“Everyone?” Sophia asked as she took his hand and led him down the hallway again.
“We don’t keep a full staff here in the city like we do at home,” he said. “But there are a few folks who live here and run the estate, and we bring anyone else we need if we come.”
“We didn’t bring anyone this time,” Sophia said. “Does that mean you’ll need me to go to work?” Her brown eyes danced with amusement as she smirked up at him.
“Your serving days are behind you,” he said, grinning back at her. “Now you get to be absolutely spoiled for the rest of your life.”
“And who’s going to spoil me?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“I am,” he said, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders, tucking her into his side. “I plan on spoiling you for the rest of our lives.”
“That sounds wonderful,” she said softly as they made their way through the foyer.
The butler was waiting for them. “Will you be returning, Lady Manning?” he asked Sophia.
She took a deep breath, then looked at Caspian. “I think not today,” she said, but there was a question in her words.
Caspian didn’t know what to tell her, either. “We shall see what my brother says when he returns from the palace,” he told the butler. “We may send for Rosaleen, if we need her.”
“Of course, my lord,” the butler said as he opened the door for them. “Good day.”
Caspian led Sophia to his horse and helped her mount before untying the reins and mounting behind her. They could have walked, but he wasn’t going to turn down the chance to be this close to her for a little while longer. “All this time, you were so close to me, and I had no idea,” he said to her as he urged his horse forward.
“Oh?”
He nodded, though she couldn’t see it. “We’re merely two houses down.”
She twisted her head, trying to look back at him. “Really?”
