“Lady Catherine also mentioned a fondness for reading aloud.” Sophia found the relevant application. “She could read to him. He could listen. It might suit them both rather well.”
“And his teeth?”
“Lady Catherine did not list teeth among her requirements.” Sophia made a note. “I’ll write to her this week. And to Baron Whitfield, suggesting he attend the Thursday lecture series at the Royal Institution. If Lady Catherine happens to be there as well, seated in the front row where he might perceive her existence, then so much the better.”
Alice shook her head, but her eyes sparkled with amusement. “You have a gift, Sophia. A strange, slightly alarming gift.”
“I prefer to think of it as a talent for seeing possibilities where others see only obstacles.” Sophia tucked the applications into her reticule. “Every person deserves companionship. Even barons with fourteen teeth.”
“Fourteen teeth and counting down.” Alice refilled their teacups. “Speaking of possibilities, have you heard about the spring fair?”
Sophia accepted her cup. “The one in Hyde Park?”
“The same. Thomas is taking the girls and me this Saturday. There will be puppet shows and sweet stalls and a man with trained dogs who can jump through hoops.” Alice’s face lit up with anticipation. “Nancy has talked of nothing else for days. Rosie has already decided she wants a dog of her own, preferably one that can perform tricks on command.”
“That sounds chaotic.”
“It sounds wonderful.” Alice reached across and squeezed Sophia’s hand. “You should come. Bring your mother. It would do you both good to have an afternoon of simple pleasures.”
Sophia thought of her mother, who had been looking pale and tired of late. Thought of how her face had brightened when they walked in Hyde Park, when they spoke of Papa and the ducks and happier times.
Then she thought of Oliver.
Oliver, who spent his days in that quiet townhouse with only his nursemaid and his uncle’s looming absence for company. Oliver, who had never been to a spring fair, had never watched trained dogs or eaten sweets from a stall or laughed at puppet shows.
Oliver, whose uncle needed to learn how to be a parent before the boy forgot what family felt like.
“I think I will.” Sophia set down her cup. “And I think I know someone else who should attend.”
Alice raised an eyebrow. “The Duke?”
“Oliver needs to see his uncle as something other than a distant figure who barks orders and disappears into his study.” Sophia heard the edge in her own voice and softened it. “A spring fair might help. Neutral ground. Activities to share. A chance for them to simply be together without the weight of the house and their shared grief pressing down on them.”
“And you?” Alice’s gaze turned knowing. “What will you be doing while uncle and nephew bond over puppet shows?”
“Supervising.” Sophia met her friend’s eyes. “As per our arrangement.”
“Your arrangement.” Alice’s lips curved. “The one that involves moonlit balconies and kisses you cannot stop thinking about?”
Heat crept up Sophia’s neck. “That was a mistake. We have discussed this.”
“You have discussed it. I remain unconvinced.” Alice tilted her head. “You light up when you speak of Oliver. Your voice changes when you mention the duke. And you have been distracted for weeks, which is entirely unlike you.”
“I have been busy.”
“You have been pining.”
“I do not pine.” Sophia gathered the applications with more force than necessary. “Pining is for heroines in Gothic novels. I am far too practical for such nonsense.”
“Practical women can still have feelings.” Alice’s voice softened. “Practical women can still fall in love, even when it is inconvenient. Even when the object of their affection is a stubborn, emotionally constipated duke who would not recognize happiness if it danced before him in a ballroom.”
Sophia laughed despite herself. “Emotionally constipated?”
“Thomas’s phrase, not mine. But accurate, I think.” Alice leaned back in her chair. “I shall say no more. Go to your spring fair. Supervise your duke and his nephew. And try, if you can manage it, to remember that you are allowed to want things for yourself.”
Sophia gathered her things and rose. “I want Oliver to be happy. I want the duke to become the guardian that the boy deserves. Those are the things I want.”
“And nothing else?”
