“I shall see you bright and early tomorrow morning at rehearsal, my lady,” Zach said, kissing her hand again.
Sophie nodded. “I will be there. I’m actually quite looking forward to it.”
And she was.
No sooner had she come in than Graves grabbed her arm.
“Lady Alexandra has awoken, my lady. She’s asking for you.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Zach, still holding Sophie’s hand, looked down at her with grave eyes. “Would you like me to stay?”
How kind of him to ask, but he no doubt had much work to do, with rehearsals beginning on the morrow. She shook her head. “There’s no need,” she said, her voice shaking a bit. “If Ally is awake, this can only be a good thing.” Sophie hoped to God she spoke the truth.
“I shall bid you good day, then,” Zach said, giving her hand chaste kiss. “And I will see you on the morrow for a rehearsal.”
Sophie nodded and gave him a smile as he left. She then turned to Graves. “How is Lady Ally, Graves?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have any information on her condition, my lady,” Graves said. “She is in her suite. Lord Evan is with her. All I know is that she wants to see you.”
Sophie didn’t take the time to thank Graves. Instead, she ran up the two flights of stairs to the third level to Ally’s suite of rooms. She knocked loudly on the door.
The door opened, and in front of her stood Evan, his lips a thin line.
“Evan, I came as soon as I heard. How is she?”
“She is weak, but she’s awake. We don’t know for how long. The poor dear is exhausted. I’ve summoned Dr. Blake, though she may fall back to sleep before he gets here. But she wants to see you.”
Sophie raced through the sitting room and into Ally’s private bedchamber. Her sister lay on the bed, her normally peachy skin pasty, her normally ruby-red lips a light pink. Her golden eyes were sunken. Yet her lips curved up in a small smile. “Sophie,” she croaked out.
Sophie glided to her and took her hand. “Oh, Ally, I’ve been so worried.”
“Now goodness, dear, you know there’s no need to worry about me. I’m as strong as an ox. And we both know I’ve been through much worse than this.”
Sophie’s lips trembled. She knew all too well what Ally had been through, usually by trying to save her, Sophie, from going through it. Of course, that wasn’t the case nearly a year ago, when Ally had been beaten badly by Frank Osborne, a clerk at one of Evan’s businesses. Ally had recovered then, and with strength and determination, of which Ally had plenty, she would recover now.
Sophie hesitated to say too much. Had Evan told Ally what had happened? That she would never have any more children? Sophie didn’t know, and she couldn’t very well excuse herself right now to ask Evan.
“Have
you been able to see your daughters?” she asked her sister.
“Yes, Mother and Millicent brought them to me a few minutes ago. Two baby girls. Can you even imagine it?”
Sophie smiled. “Yes, I can imagine it. I witnessed the birth. The doctor says that’s why you were so big and why you delivered so early.”
“They’re so tiny.”
“Tiny, yes, but with the strength and determination of their mother, they will thrive.” Sophie squeezed Ally’s hand.
“Sophie, I’m so glad you were with me during the birth. I asked you to witness it for me so you could tell me what you saw, and I will ask you about it soon, but right now I’m just too tired.”
“I certainly understand. But I will tell you now that it was the most miraculous thing I’ve ever witnessed. Thank you for giving me that gift.”
“Thank you for being there,” Ally said. “If you hadn’t been, I’m not quite sure I would’ve gotten through it. But knowing you were there…” She let out a small cough.
“Don’t tire yourself out, Ally. Just relax and go back to sleep if you need to. The babies are in good hands, and so are you.”