“Sorry,” she muttered, leaning away before she pressed against him once more as she shifted. A huff of frustration left her.
Jack tried not to laugh, but couldn’t quite hold back a chuckle. Their situation was by far the most unexpected and ridiculous one he’d ever found himself in. “It’s fine.”
She gave him an odd look. A tentative smile teased her lips. “I’m not sure any rational person would think this situation of ours is fine.”
“Come now,” he told her in his most cheerful tone. “This hut is undoubtedly one of the most luxurious ones of its kind. Why, the quality of the curtains alone suggests the man who bought it opted for the high end model.”
The edge of her mouth twitched a few times and then her smile became a grin. “One with windows on both sides instead of only one.”
“Exactly.” He kept his gaze on her, his chest filling with warmth on account of the sparkle he saw in her eyes. He’d caused that, he reflected with pride, by turning a somewhat disastrous situation into a humorous one. He leaned his shoulder against the wall and turned a little in order to better face her, the movement pushing his knee into hers. To his satisfaction, she did not shy away as she’d done when her shoulder bumped his, and he relaxed into his new position. He liked that point of shared contact. It pulled him back through time to when he and Sophia had been like…
Finding the right word was a struggle. They’d never been like brother and sister, but they’d always been closer than friends, the connection they’d built through their shared sense of humor and interests, a bond unlike any other. That was before his father had opened his eyes to the woman Sophia was growing into and to all the restrictions he suddenly ought to consider. Because he was the heir to an earl, and she nothing more than a foundling two upstanding people had taken pity on.
He flinched at the harsh reality as it swept over his shoulders. And then again when he allowed himself to face the truth he’d been running from these past four years. If Sophia had been the daughter of a respectable couple, if her parents had been gentry, then he would have started courting her as soon as he’d become aware of her as a woman.
Because he knew without doubt they’d get along. With her, he would be happy, and he rather believed she would be happy with him as well. But there was something more – deeper emotions linking his heart with hers. He felt it at the core of his being. Had always done so. But since the emotion would likely make him miserable if it began to take root, he tamped it down as he always did before it had a chance to destroy him.
After all, he could not have her. She’d always been destined to marry another. Edward, as it turned out.
Jack’s gut twisted with displeasure. He forced that feeling aside as well and made himself think of something else. Like the fact that he had been given a chance to re-connect with Sophia. It was an opportunity he ought not to waste. And so he said, “Remember how we used to hunt for bird’s nests in the spring?”
“We’d get a point for each one we found and the winner would then receive a medal.” She gave him a look. “Do you still have it?”
“The medal?” It had been made from the lid of a discarded tin. Jack and Edward had helped each other flatten the edges by hammering it with a rock. A knife had been used to create a small slit so the ribbon Sophia donated could be slipped through it and tied. He nodded. “It should be at Eastgate in a box under my bed.”
“Your sisters would usually tire of the game, but I always loved it. Even now, I’m drawn to the chirping of chicks.”
“How many nests did you find last spring?”
“I’ve no idea,” she said, affording him a look that suggested the contrary.
He grinned and pushed her knee with his own. “Liar.”
She smiled at him broadly, until he wished he could freeze that moment in time forever and keep it in his pocket. “Very well. I found six.”
“Only six?” He feigned a look of shock. “Why Sophia, I fear your nest finding skills have failed you.”
A playful swat landed on his arm. “I don’t have time for that sort of thing anymore. I’m busier now.”
“With the church and its parishioners?”
“There’s so much to do and I’m happy to help. It fills me with a wonderful sense of purpose.”
“I’m pleased to hear it.” He hesitated a second before he asked, “Do you think you’ll continue this work once you’re Edward’s wife?”
“I don’t see why not. He’s already helping with some of his father’s sermons, cementing his position. Once he gets his own parish, my work will likely increase rather than diminish.”
Jack frowned as he met her gaze. He couldn’t help it any more than he could the next words he spoke. “I just don’t see you being a vicar’s wife, Sophia.”
She started as if he’d jabbed her. “Why on earth not?”
“It’s too grave a position for someone as flighty as you.”
“Flighty?”
“No… I mean… That’s not the right word.” He sighed in frustration. “Forgive me, it’s just that this serious role you’ve crafted for yourself doesn’t match your lively and spontaneous spirit. As a child—”
“I’ve not been a child for some years now, Jack. People grow up and as they do, they change.”
