Sophia shook her head. “Sorry, Mother. It won’t happen again.”
Sophia performed a second time that day and this time when she did, she was aware of the Duke watching. With that in mind, she was determined to prove him wrong, and she concentrated like she never had before. She was precise. She was controlled. She was perfect in every way that counted.
And when she was done, the room erupted with applause for her.
Sophia turned around and smiled softly, careful not to show too much cheer. She then searched for the Duke, expecting him to nod and accept that he was wrong.
Of course, he did no such thing.
He found her eyes, and while wearing that same coy smile as if he was laughing at a joke she did not understand, he shook his head as if to say ‘Not quite there yet…’
Sophia fumed silently.
It was as she and her mother prepared to leave that the Duke found her a second again. Sophia was waiting by the doorway for her mother to say goodbye to her friends, and when she saw the Duke coming for her, she turned away, praying that he would walk right by.
Please, let him walk by…
“Better,” he said, his voice a soft purr. “Although I fear that I am damning with faint praise.”
Sophia straightened and turned to face him. “I am sorry you feel that way, Your Grace. But as you will have noticed, I played perfectly.”
“At least you are confident,” he chuckled.
“I am merely repeating what I have been told.”
Again, he studied her with curiosity. His eyes like torches, burning into her as he let the tension build. She was sure not to look away, but not in a way that was antagonistic. She simply held his gaze as if she expected him to say something nice for a change.
“I do find myself wondering,” he finally began. “How you might sound if you were to stop performing as you think that you mustand startedfeelingas you ought to do. That, Miss Sophia…” He exhaled deeply. “That would be quite the sight, I am sure.”
She had no idea what to say. She didn’t even know what he meant! She had played well. Better than well! And as for all this nonsense about heart and feeling… it was not how she had been taught, and thus it was not something she could possibly do.
“I will keep that in mind,” she said evenly.
He just laughed. “I am sure you will not, but I can always hope.” With that, he turned and walked away, vanishing back in the crowd.
Sophia watched him go, caught between frustration and curiosity. On the surface, she knew that she ought to not have liked the Duke. He was the exact opposite of everything she knew, and everything she had been taught to respect. Yet there was something about him that lingered, a taste in the back of her mouth that would not leave her.
Was he correct? Should she give in to her emotions and play with passion? Or was that a danger to her very way of being that would only lead to trouble? After all, trouble was one thing that Sophia had spent her entire life avoiding.
As I should surely avoid the Duke…
CHAPTER 3
“Sophia!” Lady Helena Hawthorne smiled warmly as Sophia walked through the front doors. “You made it.”
Sophia smiled warmly for her best friend. “Of course I did…” She hurried forward and the two embraced. “Although, I do apologize for my lateness.”
“Let me guess,” Helena mused. “Your parents are the cause.”
Sophia looked pointedly at her friend. “They merely wished to ensure that I was dressed appropriately, and to confirm their expectations of me this evening.”
“Such as?”
“The usual,” Sophia said simply. “They were not thrilled that I was attending on my own, and they just needed further confirmation that –”
“Your best friend would not ruin your reputation,” Helena cut her off. “Or is it my husband who they fear will cause havoc?”
Sophia waited for her friend to finish with her jokes. Only once she was sure that she had, did she speak. “They are cautious, is all. I cannot blame them for it. That they let me come at all is more than I could hope.”
