“I must admit that I envy the way you speak of your mother—and your father,” she said.
Matthew’s forehead creased until he remembered that he’d mentioned hearing of the dressmaker from his mother. “They’re good people.”
“I can see that in their son.” Her words settled on him like a warm quilt. “It makes me miss my own parents.”
“You’ll have to write them once we arrive,” he said.
But Miss Zane shook her head. “I wish I could, although if that were possible, I wouldn’t be here. They’ve both passed on, not long before I left home.” Her eyes shone with unshed tears and she caught her lip between her teeth.
Her distress pierced Matthew’s heart. Without thinking, he laid a hand on her arm. She stiffened, but just for a second, and despite his mind telling him it was too much, too dangerous, and too . . .everything, he left his hand where it was.
It felt right, to offer her some degree of comfort like this.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine how hard that was for you,” he said.
“It was. They were both ill for some time, but that didn’t make their passing any easier. They were wonderful parents. I couldn’t have asked for any better. I was their only child, and so they doted on me.” The sadness that had consumed those beautiful brown eyes seemed to diminish, and she turned just slightly toward him. “Tell me about your parents. Do you have many siblings? Somehow I picture you with a multitude of little sisters.”
Matthew laughed. “You would be incorrect, Miss Zane.”
“Sophia, please. After all, I feel we’ve gotten to know each other rather well over the past few days.” Her smile was utterly disarming, and any pretense of formality Matthew tried to keep in place shattered immediately.
It wouldn’t hurt to call her by her given name. After all, she’d already indicated a desire to help him find a wife. And he knew better than to pursue anything with a woman who . . . Matthew’s thoughts careened to a halt. He kept thinking of her as a deceiver, as a woman who would say anything to get what she needed. But there was so much more to Miss Zane—Sophia—than he’d first thought.
And even more that he’d like to learn about her.
“All right, Sophia it is. And no, I have no little sisters. Or brothers, for that matter. I’m also my parents’ only child,” he said.
“How interesting.” She studied him intently, as if she were searching for something, and Matthew became acutely aware that his hand still rested on her arm. He slowly pulled it away, and Sophia tilted her head.
“What is interesting?”
“You know, I’ve heard people say that children with no siblings grow up to be selfish and demanding. But you appear to be neither.”
“I could say the same for you,” he replied.
“I was selfish when I joined the wagon train using Miss Timperman’s name.” Sophia ducked her head. “I am truly sorry for pretending to be her.”
While he’d wished he’d known who she was from the start . . . Had it hurt anything, really? Aside from his heart, which would have been bruised when the wagons arrived without Miss Timperman anyway.
“It’s in the past,” he said. “I hold no grudge against you.”
Her smile seemed to fill the entire car with sunshine. “Thank you. You don’t know how much your forgiveness means to me. I would like to repay you for the fee you must have provided Miss Timperman for the wagon journey.”
Matthew waved a hand. “Please don’t, especially after all you’ve done. I’m only glad it went to help you arrive, instead of in her pocket.”
Sophia chewed her lip a moment. “She must have changed her mind at the last minute, if she’d already paid for the journey.”
He nodded. “I suppose that’s a mystery I’ll never solve.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m happy to be here. Oh, look! The mountains have grown larger!” She pointed out the window, her eyes wide with delight.
And Matthew couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Sophia’s contagious joy pushed the depressing thought of Miss Timperman’s rejection right out of his head.
This, he decided, would be the most enjoyable train journey he’d ever undertaken.
