Page 14 of A Beauty for a Duke

Drat.

Sofie was not smiling right now. Not about the Christmas tree with the angel topper. Not about the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg in the air. It was so cozy with the large fire on the back wall, but none of that could bring a smile to her face.

George and Fia were nowhere to be found.

Knowing that Egan did not want to stay more than one second longer, especially after the near two hours of looking for George and Fia, made Sofie cringe. His entire demeanor and extra scowly face made it unmistakably clear that he wanted to leave.

Yet somehow they had gotten separated from George and Fia. Fia was meant to go to the privy. But come to think of it, she had said something quite bizarre just beforehand. She had said, “I’ll meet you at the tavern. I just need to use the privy.” Obviously that wasn’t the strange part. The oddity was the addition of, “Don’t be mad at me. For anything.”

It was the most peculiar thing to say. At the time, Sofie hadn’t given it much thought because, to be honest, she was mulling over everything she had just heard during the lecture. As she didn’t want to forget one detail, she kept running over the points in her head. She even wanted to run them by Egan to settle them in her mind. She knew he would hate it, but it would make the journey home short.

“Where are those two simons?”

“Speak foryourfriend. My friend is no fool.” At the moment, Sofie wasn’t too confident in her assertion, because honestly, where would she have run off to? It didn’t make sense. But she had to defend Fia. They were like sisters.

“I’ll go see the driver. Maybe they’re already in the carriage. You wait here. It’s getting dark already, so it’s cold out now.”

As Sofie waited, a kind looking gentleman approached her.

“Is your husband involved in the railway?”

“Oh, he’s not– I mean…he’s not involved. That I know of.” She paused to think if Egan had ever claimed any stake in the railway. He hadn’t said much over the short period of knowing her. Well, in words. His actions spoke loud enough. He was a grump. A veritable bear. But she had her suspicions that underneath that kilt he was a cuddly bear.

Alright, truth be told, she had no clue what to expect underneath the kilt, precisely, though admittedly she wished to know. But she knew from his actions that he was protective, loyal, and fierce.

Those seemed like trustworthy traits in a man…

“Don’t you think?” The gentleman asked as if repeating himself.

Sofie realized she hadn’t heard anything he had said since his first question. “I’m sorry. Could you repeat the question, please?”

“I was saying that I think dinner will be served shortly. Shall I take you in?” He offered his arm.

Immediately Sofie smiled to herself, knowing that Egan would not like this gesture if he walked in on it.

And then he did walk in on it. And just as she predicted, he did not like it.

He was as easy to read as her books. His face had a veritable snowstorm pelting down on it.

“And you are?”

Enough said.

The man stuttered with as much confidence as he could muster, “I was just saying that the meal is ready.”

“She’s with me.”

Sofie threaded her arm through Egan’s. “We’ll be in shortly,” she smiled at the man.

Egan’s thick fingers landed on hers as if he were about to remove them from his arm, but then stopped and stayed.

“‘I’ve got bad news.”

“Surely it can’t be that bad.”

“In this particular instance, I doubt I’m exaggerating the negative value of the information I have.”

Sofie waited.

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