CHAPTER 30
“Is something wrong?” Sophia’s mother asked.
“Huh?”
“Don’t say ‘huh,’ dear,” her mother corrected. “It is not a word.”
“Sorry…”
“As I said, is something wrong?” Her mother looked at her. “You have been fidgeting since we arrived.”
“Oh, have I been?” Sophia was not aware that she was doing so, but now that her mother mentioned it, she realized that she was playing with her hands. She dropped them by her side.
“Perhaps this was a bad idea,” her father said. “Clearly, she is nervous.”
“I am not,” Sophia said quickly.
“Embarrassed then,” her father corrected. “Sophia, there is nothing to be embarrassed by. You did nothing wrong, and it is imperative that everyone knows it. You are a victim in this, not the arbiter, and if anyone ought to be embarrassed, it is the Duke.”
“I know, Father. But I am fine.” She offered him and her mother an assured smile. “Truly, I am.” She held that smile, praying they would believe her.
They both looked at her with extreme skepticism.
“As you say,” her father finally agreed. “Let us do one lap around the park and then return home. A good start for the day, I think.”
Sophia opened her mouth to plead that they not return home so quickly, only to shut it before the words escaped. She could not afford to let her parents know that something was indeed wrong… or so very right, depending on how things turned out.
He must be here. He just has to be. But if he is running late…
Sophia pushed those thoughts down. She knew now that Gabriel wanted to apologize to her. And she knew that he was finally accepting how he felt. What she did not know was if he was prepared to prove this as fact, or if her letter might have scared him off.
If it did… she supposed that was her answer. But she would not go down that most sorrowful path until she knew for fact.
So, she dropped her hands, she forced calm on her face and in her poise, and she walked calmly beside her parents as they enjoyed what was a rather gorgeous day in the park.
Beside her, her sister walked also. She watched Sophia with narrowed eyes, clearly aware that something was going on. But Sophia did her best it ignore her, focusing her attention on the park.
The park was typically busy today, and as they walked along the stone pathway that wound through the park, her parents nodded and smiled at those who they knew. Above, the sun shone brightly, the flowers bloomed colorfully, the hedges swayed in the breeze, birds sang, laughter drifted across the open space, and Sophia’s eyes searched with growing desperation.
Where is he… he must be here… surely, he will come… he has to.
It was a thirty-minute walk around the edge of the park and with each passing minute, Sophia was forced to reckon with her plan and if it was not a most foolish one.
When Gabriel had turned up at her home yesterday, Sophia felt a moment of hope burst through her like a sunbeam. Finally, he was going to apologize to her, and likely he was going to ask her to return to him. This sense of hope soon evaporated because Sophia decided quickly that his words would not be enough.
Had they not been here before? Had his words not already enticed her, tricked her, led her down a path that ended right where she was. Gabriel was an expert with words, his charm was unquestioned, and she feared that he would say what he knew she wanted to hear without meaning them.
No… if he wanted her back, he needed to prove that he had changed. More than that, he needed to prove that he loved her.
As to how he might do this? She had no idea.
“Who was that?” her sister asked of a lord that they passed and their parents nodded at.
“No one you know,” her father said.
“What a lovely day,” her mother noted as the four of them walked. She walked to the left of her husband, but they did not link arms. Rarely did her parents show affection in public… or private, for that matter.
“It is a little hot for my liking,” her father said dryly. He dabbed at his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. “We really should be returning.”
