Sophia smiled a most cheeky grin at his daughter. One that made Ashley want to smile along with her. “So, I’ve heard,” the lady remarked as she spread jam on a piece of toast. Then she glanced back over her shoulder at his brother, who still gawked from the doorway. “Do you think he’ll stand sentinel over you all day? Or only until I leave?”
Probably the entire day. “Do you need something, Finn?” Ashley asked him.
“I need to speak with you,” his brother said, his tone crisp enough to make the air in the room crackle.
“Can it wait until after breakfast?”
“That depends on how long you linger over breakfast,” Finn said, glancing at his watch fob as though he had somewhere to be.
Ashley pointed toward a vacant chair with the tines of his fork. “Either take a seat or vacate the room. You make me nervous standing there.”
“It wasn’t you I’d hoped to make nervous,” Finn said sarcastically. Sarcasm wasn’t nearly as pretty on a man as it was on a sprightly young lady.
“Well, it appears as though you’ve failed with her, too,” Ashley lamented.
“Quite,” Sophia said between bites. She relished her food almost as much as she relished the verbal sparring with his brother, apparently. He could sit and watch her eat all day. He wondered if she did everything with such passion. Such thoughts would only get him in trouble.
“Come and see me later, Finn?” Ashley suggested.
“Will she be with you later?” Finn grumbled.
“Only if I’m lucky,” Ashley muttered to himself. And she apparently heard him, because she smiled. It was a smile that could knock a grown man to his knees. Blast and damn. She knew how much she affected him.
Finn bowed quickly and backed out of the room.
“Care to tell me what that was about?”
“Lurking,” she said around a mouthful of baked eggs.
“He was lurking?” Ashley asked.
“No. I was.”
She was lurking? Why did Ashley feel as though he was missing something? “And was there a reason for your lurking?”
She shrugged her little shoulders. “I wanted to see you,” she said with no apparent premeditation.
Ashley’s heart lurched.
“I’m sorry I interrupted your quiet breakfast,” she said, wincing a little, as though she expected him to chastise her.
“I’m not,” he said with no thought at all. The grin he got in response was worth the discomfort his pride suffered. Damn, but he was a novice at flirting. It had been much too long.
Her gloved hand landed on top of his, the warmth seeping into him like the rays of the sun in his garden. “Thank you for playing for me last night,” she said quietly.
Ashley glanced at his daughter. But she was staring out the window at a butterfly that had landed on the bush just outside. She paid them no attention at all. “You’re welcome.” He wanted to slap his own forehead. You’re welcome was about the most inane comment he could have come up with. He wanted to beg her to visit him again in the darkest hours of the night. To plead with her to show him her favor.
He turned his hand over so that his cupped hers. She didn’t draw back. She didn’t shrink from him. She didn’t recoil. She smiled and gave him a gentle squeeze. Damn, he loved that smile. He would do just about anything to provoke it. Yet he had to do nothing, which made it even sweeter.
Anne turned away from the window and looked at them both. Sophia very gently tugged her hand from his grasp and laid it on the table beside his. “Did it fly away?” she asked absently of Anne.
His heart? It certainly felt like it.
“No, it’s still there,” Anne said with a heavy sigh.
Sophia’s forehead scrunched up as she appraised his daughter. “Is something wrong, Lady Anne?”
“Not really,” Anne said with another sigh. “I’m supposed to attend Grandmother today while she embroiders.”
“Well, that sounds like it will be entertaining,” Ashley began. At least his mother was making an attempt to interact with his daughter.
“Sounds like drudgery to me,” Sophia interjected.
His daughter smiled. And it was a genuine smile, one that looked like it suppressed laughter. She covered her mouth. “You’re amusing, Miss Thorne,” Anne said as she wiggled her feet so quickly she bounced in her chair. His mother would be mortified. Ashley was delighted. His daughter was giddy, and that was a good thing. And all because the little slip of a lady called Miss Sophia Thorne made her laugh.
“You don’t like embroidery, Miss Thorne?” Ashley asked of her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it quickly. So, she did have some filters. “I’m certain your grandmother has a good reason for teaching you to embroider.” She cast Ashley a smile that made his heart do that little fluttery thing again. Damn her. “And I do like to look at beautiful embroidery. I’ve seen artistry in some pieces my grandmother’s friends have made.” She shrugged.
“I’ve just never had enough patience to sit and do it myself. Pushing and pulling a piece of string through a piece of cloth and forming designs? It’s not for me. But I have a great deal of respect for people who can do it. Perhaps you’ll be someone who excels at it, Lady Anne.” She laughed. “Or perhaps you’ll find it as tedious as I do. We shall see.” She raised her eyebrows playfully at Anne. Her gaze roamed over his daughter’s face. “That’s a lovely pink ribbon you have in your hair. Did the tooth faerie leave it?”
Anne preened under her appraisal. “Yes.”
“How did you know about the tooth faerie?” Ashley couldn’t help but ask. It wasn’t a legend in England, and very few people he knew had heard of such a myth.
Sophia pointed at his daughter’s mouth. “The missing tooth gave it away,” she said with a grin. His daughter sorted through her hair until she could run the silky ribbon through her fingertips. “You’re a fortunate girl,” Sophia went on to say.
There was nothing fortunate about his daughter’s life thus far. But Ashley would love to change that.
“I wish I had a ribbon like that,” Sophia said with a tiny sigh.
He’d buy her a boatload of ribbons if it would make her smile. “How unfortunate that you’ve lost all your baby teeth,” Ashley said to her. “Or perhaps the tooth faerie would leave one for you.”
“Oh, I sincerely doubt that. They hate my kind.” Then she bit her lip as though she’d just said something she’d intended to keep to herself.
“Your kind?” he asked.
Sophia smiled at his daughter. “What do you plan to do today, Lady Anne? Aside from learning to embroider?”
Anne looked toward him with a questioning glance.
“The reason I ask is that I considered walking to the village today,” Sophia rushed on to say. “I was going to ask if you’d like to join me.” She glanced quickly at Ashley. “If it’s all right with your father, of course.”
“If you need something from the village, we can send a servant,” Ashley interjected. There was no reason for her to walk all that way.
“I like to walk,” Sophia said with a smile.
“People are not always kind,” Ashley said quietly. In fact, they could be downright mean. To both him and to his daughter. Ashley did all he could to spare her from that. When they took walks to the park, people were respectful, if reserved. But even then children said cruel things behind their hands.
“Then we shall have to teach them a thing or two about kindness,” Sophia said with a grin. Then she waggled her eyebrows playfully. “Or else we can invade your father’s garden and race around in the sunshine.”
“The sun is bad for the skin,” Anne said as she patted her porcelain face.
“Oh, posh,” Sophia said with a breezy wave of her hand. “Nothing feels better t
han the sun on your skin.” She laid her head back and gazed up at the ceiling, as though the sun’s rays already danced across her face.
“I’ll get freckles,” Anne complained.
“One can certainly hope so,” Sophia said, lifting her head to look at Anne. “But if you’d rather embroider,” she said slowly, watching Anne’s face.
“I’d rather take in the sun,” Anne declared.
“You’ll need to ask for your grandmother’s leave,” Sophia said. She looked at Ashley with a questioning glance. “Do you think she’ll mind?”
Something told him she wouldn’t. She would probably be glad to be rid of Anne for the day. “We can certainly ask.” He laid his napkin beside his plate and said, “A morning frolicking in the garden. I can’t think of anything I’d enjoy more.” Aside from undressing Sophia piece by piece. But he doubted that would come to pass.
“Did we invite your father?” Sophia whispered loudly to Anne.
Anne giggled. “I don’t recall inviting him.”
“Regrettably, Your Grace, you will be unable to attend unless you can secure a formal invitation to our party.”
“A formal invitation, you say?” Why did that sound like a challenge?
“I heard the hostess accepts bribes,” she said with a grin.
Which hostess? His daughter or Sophia? For some reason, he relished the idea of finding a bribe that would favor Sophia. She may as well have waved a red flag before a bull as to offer such a challenge to him. He never backed down from a challenge. And he certainly wouldn’t start now.
Nine
Sophia brushed her hand across the small tabletop and then instructed the servant to leave the tray in the sunshine. Perfect. It was perfect. She glanced around the garden. His Grace’s sanctuary truly was beautiful, and she could understand why he valued it the way he did. It overflowed with peace and harmony. It reminded her of home, only there was no magic at play. Or at least none that she could see.
“You should not be here,” a voice called out from the nearby shrubbery. Sophia groaned to herself. Ronald. Of course, Ronald would show up, right when Lady Anne was supposed to arrive. Sophia only wanted a few moments alone with her. Why was it so blasted difficult to get some time with the child? She’d never unlock her secrets if she couldn’t talk with the girl, would she?
Ronald shoved some shrubbery to the side and stuck his bald little head through the opening. Well, not completely bald. He had a tiny tuft of red hair on the top of his head that stood at an odd angle. It always made Sophia want to brush it flat with the palm of her hand. But heaven forbid she should touch him. He would never allow that. He liked to judge from afar and not be judged back.
“Gorgeous day, isn’t it?” she chimed at him as she settled onto a bench. The servant had already exited the garden, and Anne wasn’t due to arrive for a few more minutes.
Ronald climbed through the hole in the shrubbery until he was fully on her side, out in the open. Then he began to pace and wring his hands. “Given a lot of thought to your situation,” he began. Then he repeated himself. “Given a lot of thought to it. Yes, I did.” He paced back and forth, shaking his head as he did so. “Lots and lots of thought.”
Sophia crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. But he just continued to pace. Then he turned and shook his forefinger at her. “Wings. Wings. You need pure-colored wings, I tell you,” he said.
Sophia sighed heavily. “My wings are still the color of my skin, Ronald. I promise.” She made an X over her heart. “Cross my heart.”
“They won’t be for long. Mark my words. He lusts for you.”
“Why are you here, Ronald?” Sophia leaned forward so she could look into his face.
Ronald held his hands out to his sides as though the answer was all around them. “Who else would take care of you? You left without a word to anyone. Without even waiting for the full moon.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “What did it take for you to bribe the fish?”
That was neither here nor there. She’d gotten through the portal. That was what mattered. “That’s not your concern.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Not my concern? Not my concern?” His voice got louder and louder.
She hushed him by placing a finger over her lips. “Someone will hear you.”
“Not my concern?” he mouthed at her.
“I didn’t ask you to follow me.” In fact, she’d left with her grandmother in the dead of night just to prevent him from following.
“I can’t believe your grandmother allowed this.” He continued to shake his head.
Encouraged it, was more like it.
“She has always been tied to this world in a way she shouldn’t be,” he said.
“What does that mean?” Sophia gasped. But then she heard the door to the garden open behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Lady Anne headed her way. And she towed her father by the hand. So much for speaking to the girl alone. “Go,” Sophia whispered to Ronald.
He slipped back into the foliage as though he’d never been there. But not before shooting her a look that said how displeased he was with her. And how much more he’d love to say. She’d ask him to explain his comments about her grandmother the next time he came to berate her for the duke’s lustiness, which she’d seen not a hint of. Not yet.
“Good morning, Miss Thorne,” Lady Anne said with a quick curtsy.
“I see you brought your father.” The duke took Sophia’s hand and raised it to his lips, which made her heart flip over in her chest. His eyes twinkled at her, as though he knew how he made her feel. Did he?
His lips were soft and firm against her skin. His breath brushed across her knuckles like a warm wind that made her want to shiver. Then he lifted his head and said, “Brilliant deduction, Miss Thorne.”
She inclined her head at him. “I suppose you were able to secure an invitation.” She glanced quickly at Anne, who danced in place.
“I invited him,” the girl chirped.
“What did he do to deserve the invitation?” Sophia asked.
“He asked me very nicely,” the girl said. Then she turned and dashed down the garden path out of sight.
***
Miss Thorne turned to him with her eyebrows raised, and Ashley couldn’t help but think about how much he wanted to kiss her. “Where is she going?” she asked.
“I sent her on a treasure hunt,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders. I wanted to be alone with you more than I wanted my next breath.
“A treasure hunt?” She looked up at him with the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. “Do I get to play?”
“Do you want to play?” He hadn’t hidden anything for her. Should he have? “I came out earlier and hid some things for her to find.”
Sophia’s face fell. “Oh,” she said.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea you’d be interested in hunting for treasure.” He’d never make that mistake again.
“Doesn’t everyone love looking for treasure?” She looked perplexed.
He motioned toward a nearby bench. “Sit with me for a moment?” he asked.
Sophia reached for the strings of her bonnet and gave them a tug. The silk made a slow whisper as she tugged, soft as the wind. She stopped. “Do you mind if I get comfortable?” she asked.
She could disrobe if she wanted. “Allow me to help?” he asked as he brushed her hands to the side and ran his fingertip beneath her chin, then tugged the strings free. He lifted the bonnet from atop her head and laid it on the table nearby.
“Much better,” she sighed as she shook her curls slightly and turned her face up toward the sun.
“Lovely,” he murmured.
“It is a beautiful day, isn’t it?” she asked as she sat down on the bench. He settled beside her. He wasn’t referring to the pretty
day. Not at all.
“You’re not concerned about the sun?”
She suddenly looked startled. “Should I be?” She pointed to her nose. “You don’t like my freckles?” Then she grinned. A grin that nearly split his heart in two.
Impulsively, he learned forward and placed a quick kiss to the tip of her nose. “I think your freckles are lovely.”
“They’re not normal in your society, are they?” she said with a grimace.
“Neither are you, Miss Thorne,” he replied gently. Thank God she wasn’t the stereotypical society lady.
“I regret that I can’t be more socially acceptable.”
He thought she was perfect just the way she was. “I’m a bit of a pariah, myself. So, I certainly can’t judge your acceptability.” He took a deep breath for fortification. Then rushed on. “In fact, your reputation could be torn to shreds just by being in my company.”
Her face softened and she reached for his hand. She couldn’t have surprised him more if she’d grown two heads. He turned his hand over and gripped hers. Probably too tightly. But she didn’t draw back. “I’ll take my chances,” she said. She looked up toward the sun and inhaled deeply. Then she faced him. “Tell me your story, Ashley,” she said.
He tried to draw his hand back, but she squeezed it tightly. He looked deeply into her eyes. Was she real? Was she a figment of his imagination? His dreams? His wants? Was she an apparition? Would she disappear just as soon as he got used to having her around? Probably.
“I don’t want to know the rumors. I want to know about you,” she said. “You’re known for being a recluse.”
“I appreciate my privacy.”
“Your daughter is delightful.”
“You’re the only one who thinks so,” he said with a laugh. “Aside from me, that is.”
“You were never formally accused of killing your wife.” She looked up at him from beneath her heavy lashes.
“No, I wasn’t.” This time he did draw his hand back. He used it to smooth his trousers.
“But you may as well have been.”
A Lady and Her Magic Page 8