Unable to resist their hearts' desire
On such a beautiful night,
Or the light of the celestial fire,
It was true love at first sight.
Their kiss, warm and tender,
Fate had allowed them to see
What neither could fail to remember,
Or know without doubt, couldn't be.
Yet when Cupid's arrows are shot
The wheel of fate begins to turn,
Who can then resist such a tender plot,
Or true love, dare to spurn?"
Unfortunately halfway through the last verse, she made the mistake of looking at the audience, and quickly discovered Edward staring directly at her. Sophia felt the heat rising in her face from the intensity of his gaze, and wished for the umpteenth time that she wasn't quite so prone to blushing. As a result she stumbled over the last lines of the poem, and was highly relieved when she had finished reading it. However, she had mostly managed to do what she thought would be best, and not look at the audience as she read. Instead keeping her eyes fixed on the portrait of Ned's grandma at the back of the room, Lady Emma Carlisle.
But it was as she had feared. As soon as she had finished there was a collective intake of breath from some of the older ladies in the audience. Exacerbated by what appeared to be a synchronised clicking of fans, denoting their obvious disapproval of her words. Hearing one of them whisper far too loudly that she supposed it could only be expected from a servant, to which the lady seated next to her agreed and flapped her fan even quicker. Whilst the two youngest ladies dared to titter, before they were firmly reprimanded by their mamas.
Leaving Sophia feeling as if she had bared her heart and soul to them, only to have it torn to shreds, and she was about to run from the room when Edward stood up. Clapping his hands inobvious enjoyment of the reading and her skill as a poet. Calling out to the audience, and her, "bravo, Miss Barlow! Bravo!"
He was closely followed by the Duchess whose dulcet tone of voice called on the audience to congratulate her on having found such an accomplished poet, and charming companion. The steely gaze in her eyes dared anyone present to disagree with her. Being quickly pushed into it by Amelia, Lucy was by this time also on her feet. Clapping heartily, but all the while glaring at Sophia.
When the octogenarian Lady Markham began to speak again, to express her opinion that the reading had been quite simply unacceptable, Lady Cynthia interrupted her before she had time to continue. Sympathising with her that she must have been unable to hear the words of the poem very well. Much to the amusement of the other guests. Especially when Lady Markham asked the Duchess to repeat what she had said. Cynthia knew that she had again only taken issue with the poem because of Sophia's position, and not on its merits. She had heard a poem last year read by Lady Markham's granddaughter which had not been nearly as well written, yet still received a lot more applause.
Not to be outdone by the Duchess, the Duke of Carlfield had by this time walked up to the makeshift stage which had been erected for the evening by two of the footmen, and said in a voice which was loud enough for the entire audience to hear, "if I may have the honour, Miss Barlow." Then he held out his hand, with the intention of escorting her back to her seat next to Cynthia.
His smile, and the touch of his hand, were more than enough to overcome any doubts Sophia had about reading the poem. Also exactly what he didn't want to happen, she thought now that he did have an interest in her. When the Duke's sole intention had been to protect her from the unfortunate situation which his mother had put her in, and make sure she wasn't hurt by any of the mean spirited members of the ton. Although he wouldn't have been entirely honest with himself if he hadn't secretly admitted how right it felt, having her hand inside his own. Whilst once again neither of them wished to let go of the other.
Sophia hadn't of course been the only person to notice the Duke's interest in her. Lucy was by this time being consoled by her mother, and the pair were desperately plotting how to regain Edward's attention. The rest of the room was in quiet uproar, behind a mass of fans moving very quickly contrary to Cynthia who looked on in satisfaction, before she announced the others individually who were also reading in the first part of her literary evening. When they had finished she caught Jenkins' eye for him to let the guests know that refreshments were being served, if they would be so kind as to adjourn to the other room.
In the Duchess' less than humble opinion, there had been far too many older ladies in the audience who thought of themselves as much too old for love, and were undoubtedly jealous to hear it spoken of by an unmarried girl. When it really was the most natural thing in the world at any age, which Sophia had expressed in her timeless verse.
Apart from that, again in her opinion, everything was working out perfectly and as she had very much hoped it would. She was fully aware of her son's protective nature, that he was a gentleman in the true sense of the word, and had felt certain that he would behave in the way he did to look after a member of his household. Also, of course from loyalty to his mother. Listening to Sophia read her poem would also of course have been an excellent reminder of her intelligence, and that she most definitely had a mind of her own which she wasn't afraid to use. It was about time all of this bluestocking nonsense was put to rest! Why shouldn't young girls be as well read as their brothers or male cousins, and if she dared to even think this, write poetry too? She was extremely glad that Miss Jane Austen was now becoming more well read, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein had been published earlier this year, and there were others too.
For the next half an hour the guests mingled with each other, while they had their refreshments, and they could be heard discussing Sophia's poem. Also to a lesser extent the readings which came afterwards, and as none of these had been the work of a servant they were mostly better received.Sophia was relieved that no one paid her any further attention, as she resumed herusual place behind Lady Cynthia, and didn't utter another word unless she was drawn into conversation by her. However much to her dismay, Ned didn't leave Lady Lucy's side for the rest of the evening. Dutifully taking her arm from time to time, and bending his head to listen closely to what she was saying, as if he didn't wish to miss a word of it. Although she didn't dare say anything to him which was critical of Sophia's poem after seeing the stern look he gave other members of the audience who had done so.
Unaware of Ned's real reason for apparently resuming his interest in Lady Lucy, after a while all Sophia could do was stop herself from gathering the skirt of her gown in her hand, and rushing from the room in tears. Why did everything always have to be spoiled? Just when she felt close to him, and happy at Carlfield house. Whilst Ned wished with all of his heart that he could go to her, and leave the incredibly tedious Miss Exley to her own devices in which he had no interest whatsoever. Other than making it appear as if his heart lay with hers. So that there really was no reason for any gossip about a supposed interest in his mother's new companion, and the ladies of the ton would not attempt to tarnish either of their reputations. Believing that this was the most he could do, in the circumstances.
To make matters worse, in Sophia's opinion, he decided after the other readings had finished that he would read Lord Byron's poem,She Walks In Beauty.As a surprise at the end of the evening:
"She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes..."
Deliberately looking at Lucy during the entire reading, much to Sophia and Cynthia's dismay, and without looking at Sophia as he left the stage. The Duke was fully aware that what he had just done may well be also deemed scandalous by those who were constantly looking for any topic of conversation which could be transformed into a perceived indiscretion. He hoped again that it would deflect some of the unwelcome attention from Sophiawhich was still apparent, despite the support she had received earlier from the Duchess and himself.
