Sophie sighed and then stepped down from the carriage.
“I will not be long, Robbie,” she said to the driver when she stood beside Jenny, both looking up at him.
“You stick close, Jenny. We don’t want any trouble,” he said.
“Robbie, I?—”
“You can count on me, Mr. Robbie,” Jenny declared, moving closer to Sophie as if to prove that she was more than equal to the task.
Older and even more protective than Jenny, Robbie was constantly on the lookout for danger that was supposedly lurking nearby.
“I will be fine, Robbie. Please don’t fuss.”
“Now, Soph—I mean Countess, Lady Carstairs had a word with me before we left, and I assured her I’d keep an eye out for danger,” Robbie said, his head tilting slightly to the side in an expression similar to an adult addressing a child. “That Jack Spode made those nasty threats before leaving Monmouth, so we need to be on the lookout in case he tries to harm you.”
Sophie shivered at the name. He was part of the past she wanted to forget, yet the memories of his threats were still clear in her mind.
“I am safe here from him, Robbie,” she said to reassure them both. “Now, I will walk the length of these shops.” Sophie waved one gloved hand to show the buildings before her. “Please meetme there,” she added, pointing to the last one some distance away.
“If you’re sure, although?—”
“Not another word, Robbie. Jenny is with me,” she said, walking away.
Ignoring the tsking sounds from her driver, Sophie entered the first shop. “Welcome, my lady,” the man behind the counter said. “My name is Mr. Draven. Please look around, and I am here if you need my assistance.”
“Thank you.”
Sophie headed for the first glass cabinet. It housed tiny glass birds and animals, plus exquisite and fragile dolls. Being raised with nothing but what her mother or she could make, she’d not had a lot of pretty things, so from the first time Letty had taken her shopping, she’d fallen in love with these tiny, delicate figurines.
“Allow me to get her out for you,” Mr. Draven said, appearing at Sophie’s side.
“I am just looking, thank you,” Sophie said, sniffing the air. Mr. Draven had a musty scent about him, like old undusted books.
He opened the cabinet anyway and handed her a tiny doll with long black hair and blue eyes. It was the size of Sophie’s hand and exquisite in a rose-pink velvet dress.
“I can’t imagine how long it took to make,” she said, looking at the sweet face.
“She’s lovely, and you must buy her.”
Sophie turned to see who had spoken.
“Sorry, I did not mean to disturb you. I am Miss Logan, Amelia. We have not been introduced, but I have often seen you at social gatherings.”
“Good day to you.” Sophie sank into a curtsy.
She was pretty, but her dress was an ill-fitting and drab gray, which did nothing for her auburn hair and pale complexion— not that Sophie knew a great deal about such things. Even so, the dress seemed to wear her instead of the other way round.
“I have a cabinet where I house my collection. My mother says I spend far too much time with it for a grown woman. But I collect these things because I admire the craft behind making these delicate little dolls and animals,” Miss Logan said. “Like someone who collects fine art or books, I just like to look at them, not play with them.”
“I can see why. They are lovely,” Sophie said, looking at the doll in her hand.
“I must go, as my mother is waiting for me, but you really should purchase that doll, Lady Monmouth. I think she looks just like you.”
Sophie laughed at that, feeling comfortable around the woman, which was odd, considering she’d never felt that way with anyone in society but Letty.
“Perhaps I will,” Sophie said. She then bid Miss Logan goodbye and browsed a few minutes more. After purchasing the doll and a small box with a pearl inlay on the top for Letty, she then left the shop.
“I will take those, my lady,” Jenny said, holding out her hands for Sophie’s purchases. Knowing argument was futile, she handed them over.
