Page 20 of A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven
And the house was filled to the brim, cluttered with charming tokens and ancient clocks and all manner of assorted trinkets.
“The two of you are so lovely I can hardly stand it. Now, I think you must be Miss Adrianna, am I right?” she asked.
“Indeed, how did you know?” Adrianna questioned.
“The eyes. You have the same eyes as your brother. And I never forget the faces of my clients,” she announced.
Adrianna seemed impressed. Sophia had never met her brother and had no idea whether or not they resembled one another, but still knew that it was quite a skill to be able to distinguish people so well.
“That means that you, my dear, are Miss Sophia,” she greeted.
Sophia curtseyed in reply, but Miss Wainwright did not seem to think that such niceties were necessary in that moment. She was more caught up with the excitement of having the two young women in her home.
“I forgot to warn you that she does not properly use titles,” Adrianna whispered, leaning over to Sophia when Miss Wainwright had gone to the kitchen to prepare their tea.
“I did wonder,” Sophia giggled. “And is she doing the tea herself?”
“Oh, yes. She has no maids or cooks or anything of the sort. She believes that it is best if she simply does everything herself. She told my brother once that she had tried to hire others, but never liked how they did the work so chose to take it over on her own,” she explained.
Sophia found all of this fascinating. But something from the corner of her eye startled her and she leapt to her feet and nearly bolted away.
“Good heavens!” Adrianna exclaimed in her best attempt at a whisper. “What has got into you?”
Sophia pointed to where something was moving behind a stack of books. But it was only a brief second before a beautiful, tiger-striped cat revealed itself.
Adrianna immediately lost herself to laughing at Sophia’s expense and she joined in the laughter as well, returning to her place seated by her friend.
“I hear that something has amused the two of you,” Miss Wainwright said, coming through the door that led her back into what Sophia assumed was meant to be the parlour.
“Oh, please do forgive us. I was startled by your cat,” Sophia confessed.
Miss Wainwright chuckled.
“Yes, Little Daisy is her name. She can come out of nowhere sometimes,” she said.
Handing the girls their tea, it was evident that Miss Wainwright was an affectionate, compassionate woman. She loved company and enjoyed entertaining her guests.
Sophia had no doubt that she would be greatly entertained by the day if all continued as it was currently going. It had been strange to read such a brusque, to the point card about the appointment, only to show up and find this woman was as charming as anyone she had ever met.
“Well, we shan’t waste any more time. Miss Sophia, I have a number of questions to ask you,” she began.
“Please,” Sophia replied, setting down her tea.
“First of all, I should like to know about your family,” she said.
Sophia nodded. “Yes, Miss Wainwright. Well, my parents are Lord and Lady Silsby. I am their only child, but I do have a number of cousins,” she answered.
“And both your parents are still living?” she asked.
“Yes, Miss Wainwright,” she replied.
“Very good, then. And what about your education?” she inquired.
“I was formally educated by a governess, one of the best my mother and father could find. She even taught a cousin of the royal family before she came to work for us,” Sophia said, hoping that this was impressive enough to make her sound important and fetching.
“Oh, that is lovely. The royal family are such wonderful people, are they not? Now, I cannot say who, but I did once upon a time set up a niece of the King’s with her husband, a man of high ranking nobility,” she grinned.
Sophia was delighted by the happiness with which Miss Wainwright spoke of these things. It was all so exciting and she enjoyed listening to everything the woman had to say.
