Page 60 of A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven
Oh, it was all such a mess. It was dreadful that she had destroyed not only her own happiness, but the record of such an accomplished woman. And in the midst of it all, she had chased the man she loved straight into the arms of another.
Yes, Sophia was distraught that she had ruined so much. She could hardly believe that this was all down to her own actions. She had ruined everything. And she deserved to pay for it.
As Sophia and Adrianna rode in the coach back to her home, she wondered what she was meant to do now. Would her mother and father succeed in finding anyone for her? Would they even bother?
Or would everyone finally give up hoping that she could be united to a man when all she had done was chase away every prospect she had ever known? Would this be her lasting legacy?
Sophia knew that she had little choice in the matter now. If that was the reputation she had built for herself, it was her own fault.
“I am going to miss London terribly,” Adrianna mourned, breaking Sophia out of her own thoughts.
“Is it London you shall miss or a certain gentleman currently in London?” Sophia asked.
“I do believe you well know the answer to that,” she laughed.
“I thought as much. But it sounds as though Officer Kingsley shall be coming to your estate soon anyway. Your aunt and uncle have seen to it that your mother and father are ready to approve,” Sophia pointed out.
“Yes, it would appear that way. But it is still very sad to have to leave him behind,” she said.
“I know, and I have no doubts that you shall miss him a great deal. But do not lose heart. You shall see him again soon. All will be well,” Sophia said in an attempt to encourage her friend.
“Yes, it shall. It seems as though everything is set and ready for us to be formally courting. Sophia, I cannot tell you how dearly I feel about this man,” Adrianna said.
Sophia grinned, happily relieved that things were going so well for Adrianna. She had not seen her friend so happy as this in all the time they had known one another. It was as though something new had occurred in her and it was not going to depart at any time soon.
Yes, the Matchmaker had failed with Sophia, but she had inadvertently brought Officer Kingsley and Adrianna together. And no matter how unexpected it had been, it was something good to see.
When Sophia arrived back at her home, her mother and father greeted her with excitement. It was as though the whole household had been waiting to hear about a romantic love affair that had begun, and how things might come together for Lady Sophia to soon be married.
But when the questions came, Sophia simply smiled sweetly and said that she should like to speak with her mother first as there was not much to tell.
“What is it?” Lady Silsby asked as they sat alone in the parlour, sipping tea.
“I fear that I have no good news, Mother. In fact, things did not go very well at all for me in London,” she confessed.
“Whatever do you mean? Miss Wainwright is known for her perfect rate of matching. What could have happened?” she asked.
“She was unable to find me a match. It appears that there is not a single man amongst the population of London who is right for me,” Sophia said.
“Not one?” her mother asked.
“For a brief moment she seemed to think she had found me a match, but it would seem that there was another young lady who was deemed a better fit for him. They are now courting. And Adrianna, who did not wish for a match to begin with, is now being courted,” she said.
Lady Silsby appeared to be reeling with all of this news.
“I had never imagined that this might be the end result, my dear. Are you terribly upset? I thought for certain that you would be paired with the perfect gentleman right away,” she remarked.
“I know, Mother. And I am very sorry that it did not come to that. But as it is, I was not right for any of the available men,” she repeated.
“Do not lose heart, my dear. You have had a great misfortune thus far, but it doesn’t mean that you shall never find the one with whom you belong. He is out there. You know, your father and I were not paired up right away. I was a full twenty-two years of age. A spinster,” Lady Silsby noted.
Sophia had never known that. She had always imagined that her mother, like most, had been married by the age of nineteen, twenty at the very latest.
“Truly?” she asked.
“I know. I was long past the point of hope. My mother and father even doubted that I should ever find anyone at that age. But I did. Your father was thirty-five and he did not mind that I was a few years older than most of my peers who were still available to be courted,” she continued.
“And when we began to spend time in one another’s company, it was quickly evident that we belonged with one another. But if I may be honest with you, Sophia, I am delighted that I was able to wed at an older age. I shouldn’t have liked to be married off at your age at all,” Lady Silsby finished.
