Sophia
The next morning, Sophia awoke to Anne pushing back the curtains. “Good morning, Miss Sophia,” Anne said brightly, and Sophia sat up, rubbing the last bits of sleep from her eyes.
“Good morning.” She felt a little better than yesterday. She and Anne had spent the whole afternoon in town and resolved to wait a couple of days until they told her father of her change of heart.
At dinner, her father seemed cheery, which made her feel guilty for what she’d done, but when she’d crawled into bed, she was happy that all was now settled between her and Charles.
The night before, she’d let her mind wander to pleasant dreams about Jasper, and she woke up smiling. Anne placed a cup of steaming tea in her hands.
“Anne,” Sophia said, still grinning. “I think it is time we send a message to Jasper. Will you take it to him? I will write it in a moment and ask him to meet me this afternoon on the edge of Hyde Park. We can ride amongst the trees there, not so isolated but discreet enough.”
“Certainly, miss. I will choose your best riding habit.”
Sophia smiled. “Thank you, Anne.” She sipped her tea. “I think that there is finally hope again. Father seemed in a pleasant mood last evening. That bodes well. But first, I need to speak to Jasper to let him know about Charles.”
“Yes, miss.” Anne left the room, and Sophia scrawled out a quick note for Jasper. She couldn’t contain her excitement as she signed her name.
Lifting the paper to her lips, she touched it with a soft kiss, remembering their kiss from two nights before. More, she wanted more, but it would have to wait. All would have to wait until everything was settled.
Three hours later, Sophia was riding side-saddle in Hyde Park, clutching to her reins with her gloved hands and nodding to passersby. Outwardly, she looked composed, but inside, her heart was running a merry race, as she anticipated Jasper’s arrival.
She rode her mare along the grove of trees lining the park, looking as if she was simply admiring the lovely woods, with Anne trailing behind her on her own horse, when Jasper arrived on his black stallion, riding tentatively toward her, lifting his top hat in merry greeting.
“Miss Weatherby, how good to see you.” Jasper was smiling, and he fell into pace next to her. Turning back slightly, he said, “Miss Timbers. Good to see you as well.”
“Lord Addington,” Anne said politely. She kept her distance but did not go too far. If anyone was watching, then they would merely see two people enjoying a conversation in Hyde Park, which was the sole purpose of choosing this as the location of their meeting.
Sophia was accompanied as well, so it was not indelicate, although she did wish to stay as far from the main thoroughfare as they could without drawing suspicion. She didn’t want anyone to report back to her father before she had a chance to speak with him herself.
“Jasper,” she said merrily. “I am so glad you came to meet us today.”
“And I am glad for your message, Sophia. I would kiss your hand, but I suppose that might be too much in public.”
Sophia blushed warmly. “You are quite right, sir. You must keep a delicate distance.”
He chuckled, and out of the corner of her eye, Sophia noted the strong muscles in his legs as he held tightly to his thoroughbred. Jasper had always been an excellent rider.
A couple rode by them on their own horses, and Sophia began an innocent conversation. “Did you miss riding while you were in the Americas? Or were you able to ride as much as you could here in the city?”
Jasper kept his gaze forward, and his grip was relaxed yet controlled on his reins. “I could ride a good deal, and the hills and forests were absolutely stunning where I was located, but it was not the same. My heart longed for the English countryside, and all the delights that Hyde Park had to offer.”
The couple had passed them, and Jasper turned to her with a wicked grin. Sophia stifled a giggle, placing a delicate gloved hand to her lips.
“So tell me,” Jasper said confidently, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Have you brought me here to tell me any sort of good news?”
A smile spread across his face, and Sophia beamed, trying to keep her gaze forward as best she could but kept finding her eyes drawn again and again back to him.
“I have come with good news. Of a sort.”
Jasper cocked his head to the side. “Oh?”
“Well,” Sophia began. “I have spoken with Charles, and to my surprise, he had known that I was not fully invested in the courtship. He agreed with my terms like a true gentleman. I am amazed.”
“That men can be gentlemen?” Jasper teased.
“No,” she said rolling her eyes, “but that he should be so agreeable. I do not think that I would take to being told such a thing very well. Whether by words or actions.”
She stole a sideways glance at Jasper, who was looking at her, guilt in his face.
“You do know that I am sorry, do you not, Sophia?”
“Of course.” She grinned widely. “We must think of it as in the past. And now we can move forward.”
“But you mentioned that it was only good news of a sort. What did you mean by that?”
“Well,” she said, her mouth pursing with slight distaste, “there is the issue of dealing with my father. He does not know that I have broken off the courtship.”
“Ah, I see.” Sophia held her breath, watching Jasper’s face for any sign of worry. He continued calmly, “And you think that he will do something rash?”
“That is what I fear, yes. I know that he was very much set on this courtship. He was looking forward to the union of our families. While I know that all that he has done has been in my best interest, I cannot help but fear that he will still wish to bend me to his will when I tell him the news.”
“And he thinks that I am a devilish rogue, that much is certain.”
Sophia nodded, chuckling morbidly. “Yes, there is that. He, of course, does not know about our clandestine meetings of the past, so perhaps there is some solution? Some way to prove that you are not the man you once were?”
Jasper nodded, looking forward, his face set. “Yes, there must be a way. I will think of something, Sophia. But you must write to me and inform me when I may call upon your father. I will be able to explain everything, but perhaps first you would like to tell him about Charles?”
“I agree; that would be best. Let him have some time with the thought of it, and then I will write to you to let you know that you should come.”
Jasper nodded. “I am confident, Sophia,” he said, even though his voice gave him away. It didn’t matter. Sophia took comfort anyway. Comfort in his courage and determination.
He turned to her, his eyes heated. “I will not lose you again. You are far too important to me. Life is nothing if we cannot be together.”
Sophia swallowed, feeling emotion thicken her throat. “I feel the exact same way, Jasper.”
In that moment, they were nearing the busiest part of the park, and Sophia said, “But I think now we must part ways. My father will not be happy if he hears of our meeting before I get the chance to speak to him.”
Jasper nodded. In a louder voice, he said, “Good day to you, Miss Sophia. Miss Timbers,” and touched his hat, as if nothing untoward had occurred. Smiling, Sophia turned her mare back toward where they had come from, and caught up with Anne.
“What do you think, Anne? Do you think it a good plan?”
“Yes, miss. I do. Your father will certainly be more reasonable when he’s had a few days to digest the news.”
“Good. I am of the same mind. Well, let us return home and set to planning.” She clicked the reins to speed up her horse, and the two of them rode out of the park, unaware that in the line of trees that had bordered their journey, a woolen-capped boy was standing, watching, and listening.
Sophia returned home, feeling blissfully tired after a hard ride. Her horse had been longing to go faster than a trot for many days now, but she had neither the time nor the inclination. Today, the weather had been perfect for riding; a light, fresh breeze, and the gentle warmth of the spring sunlight.
It was also perfect for a romantic rendezvous, she thought to herself, stifling a contented giggle at the memory of just how dashing Jasper looked atop his horse, and how in a few short weeks, they could be engaged and on their way to being married. Everything was turning out well.
Fears of her father’s wrath were present in her mind, but she tried her best to put them aside. The dream of Jasper and their life together was strong enough to combat the fears. For a time. She found herself nearly dancing as she made her way to her private parlor.
“I think I shall wish to languish all day in my dreams,” she said to herself.
Anne took her wrap, and said, “I will see you in the drawing room soon, miss,” a pointed look in her eye.
Nodding, Sophia turned her way down the corridor, still in a trance-like state. But as she entered the drawing room, she spotted her father sitting down on the chaise lounge. While it was not necessarily solely her own drawing room, it had been left to her use for the most part, and so it was strange to see her father so placed.
“Father,” she said brightly, even though pricks of fear lingered in her mind.
He looked up at her, his eyes narrowed. “Sophia,” he said in a deep voice. “I have come here to wait for you. Some news has reached me of a most distressing nature, and I believe it is time we talk about it.”
Sophia’s skin suddenly felt clammy all over. She knew that tone of her father’s quite well, and her mind was whirring. Did he know about her rejecting Charles? Or was this about how she had defied his forced promise and had been speaking to Jasper every chance she got?
He patted the seat next to him with an angry look in his eye. Silent, paling, Sophia sat down and folded her hands in her lap. Her father took a sharp breath, and then said, “There are two things which distress me greatly.”
Anne suddenly appeared at the door, and seeing the two of them, paled as well. “Miss Timbers!” Sophia’s father called out and waved to her, no smile on his face. “Do come and join us here, for I wish to speak to you as well.”
Anne nodded and slid inside the room, not keeping eye contact. Sophia braced herself for what came next.
“Sophia Victoria Weatherby, you have done something most shameful.” She could tell that her father was restraining himself and that keeping calm was a struggle for him. She hoped and prayed that he would continue to do so, for she wasn’t sure if her heart could take being yelled at.
“First, you have rejected the courtship of a most suitable man, sending him away rudely and without consultation with your father and guardian, and then, you proceeded to meet in public with the very man who I have explicitly forbidden you to see and to speak to.”
His voice was growing ever louder and sharper. “What have you to say to that?” His thick eyebrows were furrowing tightly, and his face was reddening.
Sophia could feel a mixture of despair and rage grow within her, but she was cowed greatly by her father’s anger.
She took another breath and straightened her shoulders, hopeful she herself could remain calm and explain her motives. “I do not love Charles, Father. There is nothing that anyone could have done for me to love him. Not you and not Charles. It was better for me to set him free, so that he can find a match where there is love. It would not be fair to keep him from that for the rest of his life.”
“Pish posh!” her father said loudly, waving a hand in the air as if her argument was inconsequential. “What is love? Marriage is to keep people decent, and he was a good and decent man. He would have treated you very well. If it is that you love this Lord Addington, well then, young lady, I must tell you that you are very much mistaken in aligning yourself with this man.”
Sophia frowned, feeling her anger win out. Why was her father constantly telling her what to do? It no longer felt like parental love. It felt like control and imprisonment.
Jonathan continued and had now lifted a finger he was pointing in her face. “The man was a philanderer of the worst kind. Women, drink, gambling. Why should you love such a man, when it cannot be assured that he will treat you well, or that he will not lose and fritter away the last of your dowry in one full year of marriage?”
Sophia seethed. “Jasper is different now. He has changed his ways. Have you heard of any scandal since his return? Any scraps of gossip containing him?”
Jonathan’s look grew darker. “Do not speak so to your father, young woman. I am here as your protector, and it is my duty to defend you from hellions such as this. I forbid you to see him ever again, and in order to be assured that you will follow my orders this time, you will keep to the house.”
Sophia’s mouth dropped open. “Pardon me? Keep to the house?”
“That is right.” He nodded, looking satisfied with his own solution. “You will remain in the house until your senses have returned to you. I do not think that Charles will have you now, now that you so unceremoniously removed him from our lives, but there may be another young man worthy enough to be a part of this family. For him, we shall wait for.”
“Father,” she pleaded. “How long could that be? How long do you expect me to stay imprisoned?”
“Ha! Is it imprisonment when I do it for the betterment of my own daughter who has momentarily lost her sanity?”
Sophia was silent, her lower lip quivering. She didn’t want to cry in front of her father, to let him know that he was tearing her heart out, but the tears began to flow without her consent.
He turned to Anne. “As for you, Miss Timbers, you have done your duty so poorly. You were present during the meeting this afternoon. Did we not discuss the fact that Sophia was not to see this man?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You shall leave our service, for I have no further need of you if you do not have my Sophia’s best interests at heart.”
Sophia could not bear that. She reached forward to touch his arm. “Oh Father! Please, I beg of you. Do not blame Anne for my folly. It was I who forced her. She could not say no to me. It is I who has brought this shame, not Anne. Please let her stay.”
Jonathan grumbled, looking at the tear-stained face of his daughter and then back at Anne. “Very well. But things will be different around here. You shall not defy me again, Sophia Weatherby.”
He stood. “The conversation is at an end. I suggest you brace yourself and prepare for the inevitable. You are confined to the house.”
With his last words, her father stormed out of the room, shutting the door loudly behind him, and Sophia succumbed to her tears, her heart broken once again.