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.”