Sophia did not answer. She kissed Alice’s cheek, bid her farewell, and stepped out into the afternoon sun.
She found her mother in the parlor, embroidering by the window. The light caught the silver threads in Lady Brimsey’s hair, and Sophia felt a pang at how tired her mother looked, how the shadows beneath her eyes had deepened over recent months.
Lady Brimsey looked up with a smile that Sophia returned, grateful as always for her mother’s resilience.
“There is a spring fair in Hyde Park this Saturday,” Sophia said, settling into the chair beside her. “Alice and Thomas are taking the girls. I thought we might attend as well.”
Her mother’s face brightened, years falling away in an instant. “A fair? I have not been to a fair in years. Your father used to take us when you were small. Do you remember?”
“I remember.” Sophia reached over and stilled her mother’s busy hands. “He bought me a ribbon for my hair and let me eat far too many candied nuts.”
“And you were sick the entire carriage ride home.” Lady Brimsey laughed, the sound bright and unexpected. “He felt so guilty. Swore he would never let you near a sweet stall again.”
“He broke that promise approximately one week later.”
“He could never say no to you.” Her mother’s smile softened with memory. “Nor to Lily. Nor to me, truth be told. He was hopeless that way. Do you remember how he used to carry Lily on his shoulders so she could see above the crowds? She would shriek with delight and grab fistfuls of his hair.”
“And he never complained.” Sophia’s throat tightened. “Not once.”
“He adored you both.” Lady Brimsey set aside her embroidery. “He still does, even if he cannot always show it. The illness has taken so much from him, but not that. Never that.”
Sophia took her mother’s hand. “We shall go to the fair. We shall eat candied nuts and watch puppet shows and pretend, for one afternoon, that everything is as it should be.”
Lady Brimsey squeezed her fingers. “That sounds lovely, darling.”
Sophia kissed her mother’s cheek and retreated to her room. She sat at her writing desk, pulled out a sheet of paper, and dipped her quill in the inkwell.
The note took three drafts before she was satisfied. Too formal, then too familiar, then finally something in between.
Your Grace,
A spring fair will be held in Hyde Park this Saturday. I intend to attend with my mother and believe Oliver would enjoy the festivities. Perhaps this might serve as my supervised visit for the week. I trust you will consider accompanying him.
Lady Sophia Readthorpe
She read it over once more. Brief. Practical. Revealing nothing of the flutter in her chest, the heat in her cheeks, at the thought of seeing him again.
She folded the paper, sealed it with plain wax, and summoned a footman to deliver it to Heatherwell House.
Then she sat at her window and watched the afternoon fade to evening, wondering what she had just set in motion.
CHAPTER 18
“You look as though someone has handed you a live snake,” Hugo peered over the edge of his newspaper, one eyebrow raised.
Across from him, Edward stared at the note in his hands, the plain seal already broken, the contents both simple and inexplicably unsettling.
“It is from Lady Sophia.”
“Ah.” Hugo set down the paper. “That explains the expression. What does she want?”
Edward read the note again, though he had already committed it to memory.
“She wants me to bring Oliver to a spring fair.” Edward folded the note and tucked it into his coat. “As a supervised visit.”
“That sounds delightful.” Hugo reached for his brandy. “Fresh air. Entertainment. A chance for the boy to behave like an actual child instead of a miniature prisoner.”
“He is not a prisoner.”
