“I have such a fondness for you, Sophia. I do not know how to explain my feelings. I want to feel your lips on mine. I want to know what my lips will feel like on your skin. I shall fall asleep this evening dreaming of more than my fingers inside you.”
I gasped and quickly turned my head. My heart rate had increased as the image of Danny making love to me filled my mind. “I … this feeling … I—”
“Daniel, Sophia?” Snapping my head up, I saw Mrs. Stowe standing at the back door. Danny stood and I slowly followed. My mind was a whirlwind. Images of Danny doing things to me had me weak in the knees. “Sophia? Darling, are you okay?”
Placing my hands on the sides of my face, I slowly nodded. “I am. Thank you. I must have risen too fast.”
Mrs. Stowe looked at me, then to Danny. She attempted a smile, but it did not touch her eyes. “Mrs. Montgomery is ill. She needs to leave, immediately.”
I could feel the anger building inside of me. Damn you, Mother. You did this on purpose. Inhaling a deep breath, I put on a fake smile. “Very well, I shall go to her at once.”
Walking back into the house, I could feel the heat from his stare on my back. Closing my eyes, I counted to ten in an attempt at calming down my betraying body.
Mother and father had made their way outside and were stepping up into our carriage. Danny walked me to the carriage, positioning himself in such a way as to block everyone’s view of me. Before helping me up, he placed his hand on my lower back and leaned in closer to me.
“I shall make you mine, Sophia. Soon.”
Stepping into the carriage, I turned to look back at him. His smile made my stomach drop and my heart beat rapidly in my chest.
Smiling, I replied, “Soon, Mr. Stowe. Very soon, indeed.”
I SAT BACK in the desk chair as it made a creaking nose. My breathing was erratic as I read the thoughts of my great-great-great grandmother. She had felt that desire I longed for. The feelings she had described were what I envisioned I would feel about the man that I was meant to be with.
Have I ever felt that way about Harris?
No, I hadn’t. Not the same way Sophia had. My heart rate slowed as I got my wits about me. Grabbing a metal bookmark, I put it where I’d finished reading prior to shutting the journal.
My thoughts were all over the place. The amount of society-set rules Sophia had broken on that first day alone would have been alarming to anyone who would have seen. Especially if they had been caught in the garden.
My heart had hammered at the mere naughtiness, but passion and need had overtaken Daniel and Sophia. Nothing could get in the way of that raw feeling. Those feelings took away a person’s reasoning, obliterating any coherent thought.
I felt a kindred spirit to Sophia with her being controlled. Harris had tried to control me like her mother obviously tried to control her. Feeling trapped all too often, I wanted to scream and cry for help. I was still waiting for my knight in shining armor—my Daniel Stowe.
Daniel Stowe.
My mind raced through all that I knew about my ancestors. I didn’t remember a Daniel Stowe. I booted up Aunt Leelyn’s computer as I mentally listed the names of my grandfathers. There was a Michael, Beau, David, and a Devlin.
There wasn’t a Daniel.
My veins raced cold. I was certain that the name paired with Sophia’s had been Devlin Covington in our genealogy program. The same name Sophia’s mother had mentioned. My fingers nervously tapped the desk as the Windows logo booted up across the computer. Quickly, I typed in the password, then clicked on the program that held the answers.
“Shit,” I murmured to myself.
I took a staggering breath. Sophia Marie Montgomery had married Devlin Edward Covington. My heart physically ached at seeing a name other than Daniel’s on the screen. They had to end up together. I could feel the connection in the words written over one hundred years ago.
A small red cross indicating that there was an additional note under Sophia’s name caught my eye. I hovered over the note to see a small box pop up on the screen
.
Daniel Stowe and Sophia Montgomery
There was hope. I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I was holding. If Daniel made the genealogy, he and Sophia must have ended up together somehow. My heart felt lighter knowing that this type of love existed.
My hand ached to reopen the journal again, but my inner soul told me I needed to wait and take this journey a day at a time. It was the last thing my Aunt Leelyn had discovered about our family history that I knew about, and I wanted to savor it.
I needed some air.
My emotions were all over the place. Grabbing my jacket, purse, and keys, I headed out the front door and walked down to the river walk in front of Bay Street, trying to work off some of the nervous energy. The crisp autumn air felt good against my face. I pleasantly greeted everyone I met on the street while I worked on calming my thoughts.