Mina sighed, the breath taking with it her certainty and leaving a void of confusion in place. “Every time I feel as though I have a grasp on the situation, it shifts, and I’m left at odds with myself. I cannot stand the tension between my children and me.”
“You will find a way through, Mina, I’ve no doubt.”
“Speaking of which, I wonder where my children are,” she murmured, turning her gaze to the crowds. In such company, Mina did not fret about the pair of them, for they had good hearts and the intellect to keep them from trouble, but it had been quite a while since she’d spied Lily.
“I believe they went out the side door with Miss Banfield a few moments ago,” said Graham, nodding towards the entrance that led to the gardens.
Mina’s brow furrowed, and she took her leave of Graham, following after them. Weaving through the crowd, she made her way to the garden courtyard. The strains of the orchestra grew distant and the glow of candlelight dimmed, though the full moon hung high in the sky above her. The evening air felt wonderful against her flushed skin, and she drew in a deep breath steeped in hints of distant rain, freshly turned soil, changing leaves, and all the other scents of autumn.
Murmuring voices drew her deeper into the garden, and the sounds of a muffled sob had her footsteps coming quicker.
“The look in his eyes…” Lily’s words were broken and jagged, tearing at her mother’s heart, but the reply brought Mina to a halt.
“You are a treasure, Lily,” said Miss Banfield.
Creeping closer, Mina peered around a topiary to find Miss Banfield holding Lily as the poor girl’s heart broke. Whispering all the soothing, loving things one needs to hear in such a moment, Miss Banfield comforted her as Lily’s tears wetted the young lady’s shoulder. Oliver stood nearby, an angry energy thrumming through him as he watched the pair, offering a silent show of support.
A rustle of her skirts drew Miss Banfield’s gaze to Mina, and the young lady beckoned for her to join them, carefully shifting Lily from her shoulder to Mina’s with little disruption before taking hold of Lily’s free hand.
“What has happened?” asked Mina, holding her daughter close, but the question elicited more tears, and Lily burrowed deeper into her mother’s hold. Mina looked to her son, but it was Miss Banfield who replied.
“Phyllis Thompson and Hettie Nelson played a cruel trick on her.”
“It was all a lie,” sobbed Lily. “And I was so foolish! It was not as though I cared one jot for Mr. Peter Dosett, but I was so desperate for a suitor…”
“Hush,” said Miss Banfield, squeezing Lily’s hand.
“I just wished to feel attractive for once,” she said between broken breaths. “To believe a man might think me beautiful.”
Turning her gaze to Oliver, Mina beckoned him to fetch Simon and their carriage. In her state, Lily would not welcome returning to the ball, and all thoughts of merriment vanished as her daughter’s heart broke. Though the tale was too disjointed to understand the whole of it, Mina grasped the majority, and she wished she might have some words to offer her poor child. But Mina knew too well that words—no matter how kind—would not undo tonight’s effects so easily.
And so, Mina’s tears joined Lily’s and Miss Banfield’s as the three mourned together.
Chapter 37
Seated on the bench, Sophie shivered against the growing cold. She ought to return to the ballroom, but with all that had happened, she didn’t know if she could face the crowd of merrymakers. With the Kingsleys gone, she would have to do so alone, and Sophie didn’t have the strength for it. Perhaps she could slip away to her bedchamber.
With silent words, Sophie sent out a divine petition on Lily’s behalf, begging for her heart to be healed from this cruelty and that Sophie might know how to aid in it. But what was there to be done? What could one say? For good or ill, Lily had believed Miss Thompson and Miss Nelson to be her friends, and such a betrayal was not easily overcome.
Footsteps had Sophie straightening and rising to her feet. The phantom warnings of a headache told her she may not need to feign illness or fatigue to retire early.
But when the intruder came into view, Sophie saw her Mr. Kingsley striding towards her with purposeful steps. Moonlight glinted off his face, and his gaze connected with her in an unflinching hold. Sophie’s chest tightened at the thought of what might have happened to harden his expression in such a manner, but before she could question him, Mr. Kingsley drew her into his arms and kissed her.
Sophie’s eyes widened, but the fervor of his embrace cast aside any surprise as she lost herself in his touch. More than the passion emanating from him, Sophie reveled in the fervent need driving it. His heart shined, conveying far better than words the depth of his feelings. The power of her love swept through her, filling her with a strength and joy she’d never felt before.
This was where she belonged.
*
A lovesick haze flooded his brain, eradicating all thought but that of his Sophie. Oliver hadn’t expected to kiss her at this moment, but the sight of her swathed in moonlight was more than he could withstand. More than that, his heart could not go another moment without showing her just how precious she was to him.
The feel of her in his arms was far more enticing than he’d anticipated. His Sophie fit there so readily. So tenderly. Stepping into his embrace and life with such perfection that he could not imagine another lady who could match her.
The kiss slowed, but Oliver could not release his hold on her. Sophie gazed at him, her bright eyes shining in the moonlight, and Oliver held back a smile at the dazed expression on her face. With a feather-light touch, he pressed another kiss to her lips.
“I could not wait another moment to do that,” he whispered.
Sophie huffed with laughter, the sound somewhere between shock and silliness. “That was quite a greeting.”
