She would do well to remember that.
But as she led Oliver through the Egyptian gallery, surrounded by ancient treasures and the ghosts of civilizations long past, shecould not shake the feeling that something between them had shifted.
Something that could not be so easily defined or dismissed.
Something that terrified her far more than any sphinx.
CHAPTER 10
“Auntie Sophia, watch me!” Nancy launched herself from the garden bench with the reckless abandon of a five-year-old who had never met a surface she could not climb.
Her twin sister Rosie followed half a heartbeat later, both girls tumbling onto the grass in a tangle of white muslin and ribbons.
Sophia clapped her hands. “A fine effort, but not quite perfect.”
“Why not?” Nancy rolled onto her back, grass staining her dress.
“You forgot to bow at the end. A proper acrobat always bows.”
Both girls scrambled to their feet and executed elaborate curtsies that devolved into giggles. Sophia laughed with them, the sound light and unguarded in the warm afternoon air.
“You are going to spoil them beyond repair.” Alice settled onto the blanket beside Sophia, her eyes soft with affection as she watched her daughters race toward the rose bushes. “Thomas already complains that they expect theatrical accolades for every activity.”
“They should expect theatrical accolades.” Sophia plucked a blade of grass and twirled it between her fingers. “Life is far too serious without a little spectacle.”
Thomas appeared from the house, a tray of lemonade balanced in his hands. He set it down and folded himself onto the blanket with the contented sigh of a man who had long ago accepted chaos as his natural state.
“The girls have informed me we are having a circus after tea.” He poured three glasses. “I have been assigned the role of elephant.”
“A noble calling.” Sophia accepted her glass. “You have the ears for it.”
Thomas touched his ears with mock offense. Alice swatted his arm, and the three of them dissolved into the easy laughter of old friends.
Sophia watched the twins chase each other around the garden, their shrieks of delight echoing off the brick walls. Something ached in her chest. A longing she rarely allowed herself to feel.
“You are thinking about him.” Alice’s voice was quiet and meant for Sophia’s ears alone.
Sophia’s finger drifted to her lower lip, a habit she had never managed to break. She pressed lightly, thinking.
“About whom?”
“The Duke.” Alice raised an eyebrow. “You have that look. The one you get when you are trying very hard not to think about something.”
Sophia took a long drink of lemonade. “I was thinking about Oliver.”
“And his uncle?”
“His uncle is irrelevant.”
Alice snorted. “His uncle is many things, but irrelevant is not among them. I saw the way you looked at him at the Pembury musicale. And the way he looked at you.”
Heat crept up Sophia’s neck. She busied herself with straightening her skirts. “He looks at everyone that way. As if he were calculating their net worth and finding them wanting.”
“Not everyone.” Alice leaned closer. “Not you.”
Sophia opened her mouth to argue, but Nancy chose that moment to barrel into her lap, demanding to know if lions were bigger than elephants. The conversation shifted, the moment passed, and Sophia told herself she was grateful for the interruption.
She told herself many things these days.
