She had been making her way outside, needing time spent alone and in the sunlight to properly clear her head and come to terms with everything that was happening in her life. Since the Duke appeared on her doorstep three days ago, she’d hardly had a minute to herself and was in desperate need of such a thing.
Her father’s call had her stopping in her tracks. There was a hard edge to his voice that sent a shiver up her spine, because she recognized it well enough: something was wrong. Worse, it was her fault.
Nonetheless, she planted a smile on her face and drifted into the drawing room where both her mother and father were waiting for her. They stood side-by-side, presenting a united front that suggested this was going to be an interrogation.
Have they not hounded me enough already? Treating this all as my fault, when they both know that even if I did not wish for it, there is nothing I can do.
That was the thing wrong with that thought, however… Sophia did wish it. Very much, in fact.
“A letter has arrived just now.” Her father held up the letter in his hand; opened and thoroughly read. “From your betrothed.”
“Oh?” Sophia blinked innocently, no idea what the letter might say.
How could she? Despite she and the Duke being engaged, they had not spoken directly since he first asked her to marry him. It did not feel personal, as she knew he was busy arranging the wedding, but she might have liked it if he asked after her at least once. Just enough so that she would know that this wasn’t the biggest mistake of her life.
No… this is good. This is right. The Duke promised me freedom, not love and romance, so why would I expect anything from him but the bare minimum?
“It is an invitation,” her father continued with a stiff upper lip. “To the Mayfield Ball tonight. He wishes for you to accompany him so that he might announce your engagement officially to the ton.”
“He does?”
“Did you know of this?” her father pressed.
“No, Father,” she said politely. “I had no idea.”
He narrowed his eyes on her. “You would not lie to me, would you?”
“I would never dream of it.”
Her father shared a look with her mother, and she knew the moment she saw their exchanged glances that they did not believe her. This was common now, their questioning everything that she did. Having been blindsided by the Duke’s request, they assumed that she had gone behind their back purposefully, and that she was making fools of them.
It amused Sophia more than it should have. They did not like His Grace one little bit, and they hated that they could do nothing to stop this marriage.
Sophia felt a thrill at finding herself on the other side of her parents’ rancor, while knowing that they could not punish her any which way they liked. It was the exact type of freedom that the Duke had promised, and this was only the beginning.
“Very well,” her father said, still stiff and wary. “He will collect you this evening, and I suspect you to be on your best behavior. While we do not like the idea of you being alone with him, as you are engaged, it is proper and expected.”
“But we will be paying attention,” her mother was sure to add. “Just because we are not there does not mean we are not watching, Sophia.” They both looked at her warningly.
Sophia smiled in a way that she hoped struck of innocence. “Of course, I would never do anything to embarrass you. You have my word.”
It was not until she turned and left the room that Sophia allowed a wicked grin to take her face. A ball without her parents. A night without being under their constant supervision. The thought excited her, and she could not wait for the evening to begin.
Some of that excitement might have been attributed to the Duke himself, but Sophia tried not to focus on this, because this marriage was not about him. It was a marriage of convenience... her own convenience, as she liked to see it. Really, it had nothing to do with the Duke at all.
It is not as if the Duke cares that way for me at all, anyhow. He has his reasons for doing this, I have my own, and that is why this will work. It’s why it has to work.
Sophia presented herself at the top of the grand staircase at precisely the time that the Duke walked through the front door. She had been waiting around the corner for him, wanting him to be standing and waiting for her when she appeared.
Dressed in a silver gown that glittered like diamonds in the sun, her curled hair worn up with a crystal tiara, long white gloves that went to her elbows, and sapphire jewels in her ears and across her neck, she looked beautiful. What was more, she wanted it known that she did.
The Duke was with her parents when she appeared. He saw her, a coy smile touched his lips, his head titled slightly as he took her in, and Sophia was certain that he was nothing but impressed.
Not that I care what he thinks… but that does not mean it isn’t nice to be appreciated.
“Miss Sophia,” he crooned as she started down the staircase. “Don’t you look ravishing.”
“As do you, Your Grace.”
