Page 34 of A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven
“No, I must get out of here,” Sophia replied, her breathing shallow and rapid.
“Come with me,” Adrianna insisted, grabbing her friend by the wrist and dodging the people in the ballroom as subtly as she could to reach the door.
Sophia hoped they were not being noticed or doing anything which might cause drama or create further tension. More than that, she hoped that she would not run into Thomas while attempting to exit the ballroom. If he was returning to it, they might bump into one another all over again.
But within a few moments they had made it outside and Sophia tried to breathe through all the emotion and explain to Adrianna what had occurred.
“You must remain calm. Now, tell me what happened,” Adrianna said.
Sophia opened her mouth to speak, but not a word came out as she was cut off by the vocal shouts of Lord and Lady Faversham.
“Girls! You cannot simply run out like that. Why, Adrianna, if your uncle had not seen you, we might not have known that you had come out. And that does not look very well for young women of good social standing,” Lady Faversham noted.
“Forgive me, it was my fault,” Sophia confessed.
Lord and Lady Faversham glanced at one another, as if concerned about what might have happened to have caused her to throw such a fit and go running from the room.
“I am unwell, it came on rather suddenly,” Sophia told them, as if it was an explanation for anything.
The guardians nodded and hailed a coach that they might all be able to ride in on the way back to their townhouse. Everything seemed rather strained, but at least Sophia’s explanation about feeling ill had prevented further questions that she had no desire to answer.
When they reached the townhouse, Adrianna escorted Sophia to her room and the maid brought tea for the both of them.
“I am terribly sorry that you are unwell. You know, it was truly a magnificent night,” Adrianna expressed.
“I am glad you enjoyed it,” Sophia said, trying to mean it.
“I really did. I mean, you would be shocked to hear all about this Officer I danced with. He is on a short leave to be with his family. He cares deeply for them. And did you see how handsome he is? And his personality was rather magnetic, as though he is abounding in adventure and a desire to live and enjoy life,” Adrianna went on.
“That is rather nice,” Sophia mumbled.
“Yes, he was a companion to a client, he told me,” she continued.
But Sophia was no longer listening. Her thoughts were far gone, in a place that she had no desire to go to. All she could think about was Thomas and the fact that they had seen one another once more.
And the very thought of it was enough to send her heart racing.
Chapter 14
Sophia stared out of the window at the drab day. Rain was pouring from the sky and it matched her mood unequivocally. The previous night seemed like a distant nightmare, one in which she had been trapped and unable to escape.
But here she was, spending a day inside and wondering what that night had meant. How, of all the men in the world, had she ended up standing before Thomas again? Was it her own fault? Had she answered all of Miss Wainwright’s questions with him in mind?
He had always been the man in the back of her thoughts, the ones she tried to push away. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she really had described him when the Matchmaker had been asking all of those things to find out what sort of man she ought to be paired up with.
So it was certainly her own doing that had brought all of this about. Her answers had led her straight back to him, despite the fact that she knew without a doubt that they did not belong together. Soon Miss Wainwright would see that as well.
And surely, Thomas’s answers reflected something different. It was not as though he had shown any desire for a woman like her. So whatever had become of the system that Miss Wainwright had so carefully crafted, it was clearly in error.
Sophia took another sip of the hot tea and let it wash through her, burning as it went down. A shock of heat against the cold pressing against her window, she liked the way it felt in that moment; a bitter relief that she could still feel something.
“Lady Hastings?” came a muffled voice on the other side of the door. The soft knock of the maid tapped against it and Sophia pulled herself away from the dour mood she was indulging in.
“Yes, come in,” she called.
The maid entered and curtseyed, her hands landing in a clasp at the end.
“Forgive the intrusion, but there is a Miss Wainwright here to see you. She sent no card ahead of time. Will you see her?” the maid asked.
