Page 76 of A Dreamy Match Made in Heaven
“I think there has been very little wise that you have done in any of this,” Officer Kingsley laughed.
Thomas began to chuckle in reply. It was true. He had been a fool the entire time and he was not stopping being one now. But when all he could think of was the past, how was he meant to have a hope for the future?
“Well, I like to learn things the most difficult way possible, I suppose,” he said.
“I have noticed. And I like to learn things by denying what others want and then finding it for myself and recognising that they were right all along,” Officer Kingsley said.
“Indeed. You have been rather fortunate. I am glad to see you so blessed with a woman who brings you happiness, but I must admit that it is rather unfair,” he continued in his laughter.
“I didn’t ask for it. She just came to me. Beautiful and worth every moment, every dream. She is enough to make me happy to say farewell to the man that I was and to press on to being someone greater,” he said.
Thomas thought that it was the perfect way to express it. He wanted to be someone greater than he was, and Sophia had always caused him to be that. She pushed him forward, leading and guiding him into the sort of life that he ought to live.
But it had been a long time since he had been pushed forward by her. There was a deep sense of longing to have that again. He wanted to see her back to the bold and caring woman she was, before she had become softened by sadness and emotion of all the loss she had experienced.
The day would come, of that he was certain. The day would come that she was happy again and he would be as well. Even if they were not together.
Thomas decided that he would not pursue another woman, maybe not even Sophia for now. But if he ever found a woman who he simply could not resist, someone like her, whom he loved without effort, he would never wait around again.
He would not allow himself to be frightened by his love if he should have another opportunity one day. And if he never fell in love again, he would accept that fate as well.
Chapter 28
Sophia was frantic, trying to get to the party in time. She felt entirely foolish for having waited so long to leave the house, but she could not possibly have predicted that her coach would have such a dire issue as the wheel hitting a rock and soaring away from the carriage and down a hill.
It had taken the better part of an hour for the coachman and a few others who stopped along the way to come and piece the vehicle back together.
By the time they were ready to be back on the road, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was any sense in going at all.
Surely by now, Adrianna would think that she wasn’t coming. Everyone had probably eaten their dinner and was off and away, enjoying themselves in conversation.
But she chose to continue and try to get there. After all, most likely Officer Kingsley was going to propose that evening. It only made sense. Everyone knew that this was where the two were headed in their relationship and it would be the ideal time for the two of them to make a vow to one another that they would be wed.
When Sophia’s carriage finally arrived at the estate, she was relieved and made her way up the stairs and to the door where the housekeeper was waiting for her.
She blushed and apologised to the woman for having had to wait for her, but she smiled in reply. Sophia thought again about how she wished that she could see a greater joy on the woman’s face, but in that moment, she seemed light and happy.
Had Sophia missed the proposal? Had it already happened and everyone else was overjoyed?
No, surely the housekeeper would have told her that.
“Did I miss anything?” Sophia asked.
“No, my dear. I think they are waiting for you before anything at all is done,” she grinned.
It was a strange reply, but Sophia didn’t mind it. She was happy to be able to go about and meet her friend in the parlour, where she was told everyone was waiting.
Still, Sophia felt bad for having been so late. She wished that she hadn’t inconvenienced everyone by her delayed arrival.
When she opened the door to the parlour to join them, Sophia’s heart began to pound rapidly when she saw, seated there, Thomas Gregory himself.
For a moment, Sophia thought that tears might spring to her eyes, preventing her from being able to move forward and humiliating her entirely. How could she be in the same room as him? And why had Adrianna allowed it?
Oh, it was selfish of her to not want him there, especially if Officer Kingsley was going to propose. Why should his friends not be allowed but Adrianna’s should? And yet, she wished that she had been given some sort of warning rather than entering the room and finding him there before her.
The look in his eyes echoed her own, and Sophia realised that he was as shocked as she was in that moment. Thomas never expected to see her there that evening; that much was evident.
It made her feel a little bit better that she had not been the only one overlooked in this issue. He had not been notified any more than she had, and their friends had simply not thought about the difficulty it would cause for each of them.
