Betraying the Duke (3 page)

Chapter Six

There was yelling and arguing and more yelling, accusations being thrown back and forth, everybody hot-headed; the storm had come.

“How dare you?! How dare you shame us like this? You purposely said things that made him want to go away! Sophia did you not think of your parents?! Of our respect? I cannot face my friend anymore! What am I going to say to him?” Sophia’s father was yelling, loud enough for the whole house to ring with his voice.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. We were talking, sharing our views and opinions and they didn’t match. That was all. You should believe me, but you will not!” Sophia defended herself.

“No Sophia! That is it! I will not have any of it! Go to your room until I know how to fix the situation. Why couldn’t you be like other girls?” her father sent her to her room, consumed by rage.

Sophia didn’t respond to him; he’d only get angrier.

How things have changed in just a matter of days? What hell has come upon me? How can something so noble for men be such a disaster for women? Will it always be like this or will I eventually give up? One of us has to. I thought Mother was the issue, but alas, it is much more shameful to know that my father, despite his profession and education is no different than my mother; that is where the shame lies.

Life was not going to be easy for her from here on now, this she was aware of knowing that now she didn’t have her father’s support either.
Before it used to be just her mother she had to deal with, now her father would need handling, too.

She spent the next few days in her room, idly looking at the walls and thinking long and hard about what life had come to. Mary visited her often trying to cheer her up and doing her best to support her sister as best as she could. She spent her time reading romance novels and painting, trying to divert her mind and adding some color to her dull and gloomy life.

One day, she wanted to visit the local market to get a set of new paints in hopes that the change of environment would help brighten her mood. Ever since the incident, the house seemed more of a cage than a home; her parents didn’t talk to her, her sister was always way too worried, she stayed in her room waiting for things to get better even though knowing they may never be the same again.

The market wasn’t too far from where she lived, and she would go often with her mother to get food and essentials, sometimes sneaking off from her mother to get lost in the crowd for a while. The walk was always refreshing for Sophia, although she longed to go alone without her mother at her side, especially now that they were barely speaking.
“Mother, will you come to the market with me today? I must get some new paints,” Sophia asked her mother as she walked into the kitchen.

“I should be happy to,” her mother replied, getting up to straighten and pin up her hair, happy that Sophia was taking an interest in something outside of her bedroom walls.
Crisp air filled her lungs as she took what felt like her first breaths in days. Walking there, it was nice to see new faces, and not just the miserable ones of her parents and the walls.

Everybody has a story; maybe some worse than mine. Who knows what that woman living without her husband, who lives across the streets is going through? Or that old man at the end of the road who does not like visitors? Or the couple that have had no children for many years now? My problems are definitely smaller than theirs, maybe I should consider Elliot, for how long can I actually live like this? How long can I be this alone?

Lost and tangled in these thoughts, she went through the busy streets with her mother that were crowding just before the market area, the many women, men and children hurrying to buy things.
What a bad time to come! We should have come here earlier!
She became separated from her mother, quite happy about it as she wanted to explore a little on her own.

Trying to get through the crowd of people, she bumped into somebody, dropping the things they were carrying all over the ground.

“Oh! I am so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going! Are you alright?” Sophia asked instantaneously, without seeing who it really was and proceeding to pick the books that had scattered and fallen on the floor.

“No that is alright, I am fine…” said a familiar voice, pausing to have recognized Sophia.

Sophia looked up to see who the man was and she too, recognized him immediately.

“You?” Sophia said to the man she had encountered once before in the ground near her house.

“Yes, fancy meeting you here, woman whose name I still do not know,” he said smiling at the sight of her.

“I do not know your name either, man whose name I still do not know either,” she replied back, smartly.

“True. This must be fate, running into you again like this,” he suggested, still smiling.

“Or maybe it is a very little town and everyone comes to this market to purchase their goods?” she rationalized his statement.

“I like you!” he said, laughing and highly amused by her humor.

Sophia blushed a little, trying very hard to hide it from him.

He noticed and admired her even more.

“My name is Duke Seth Colborne, and it is a pleasure to meet you, once again by chance,” he said extending his hand out for her’s.

“Duke?! You must be joking!” Sophia said laughing, thinking he was not serious.

“What is so funny? Oh you do not think I could be a Duke do you?” he asked smiling, liking the sound of her laughter.

“You? No! Not at all!” she continued laughing.

“Does my handsome face not say Duke all over it?” he asked playfully.

“Surely you have mistaken yourself for one!” she said, trying to control her laughter.

“But I jest you not, fair maiden for I am a Duke, whether you believe it or not!” he said in an assuring tone, kindly.

Sophia stopped laughing and saw that he was clearly not jesting.
He really is a Duke!

“You are not jesting, are you?” Sophia asked him, suspiciously.

“No I am afraid, I am not,” he said smiling.

“I am not going to apologize, even if you are a Duke,” she said, even though she was impressed by him.

“I would never ask you to, what I will ask from you is your name. What name could justify the beautiful woman before me, please do tell?” he asked charmingly.

“Sophia, Sophia Hatcher,” she said with a face trying her utmost best not to be timid.

“A name as beautiful to the face that it belongs to,” he said, taking her hand in his and giving it a soft kiss.

Sophia was fully taken by his good looks and charm. His eyes were piercing strong but kindness covered him and his face. His tall stature and lean look were very appealing, but the thing that swooned her the most, was his gentleman-like behavior and wit.

Lost in the moment, Sophia realized it was becoming dark. She needed to find her mother so they could be home before dark. Her father would be expecting his meal and would be worried if they were not home soon.
Mother will start suspecting I have left for good! And the market people here will think I have married this man in front of me! I have to find Mother!

“My pleasure in meeting you, Your Grace, but I am afraid it is getting dark and I need to find my mother so we can get home,” Sophia said, not wanting to leave.

“Yes you must, it is not safe for you both to be out here after dark. I was wondering why I did not see you with a chaperone. Where is it that you live? Somewhere close-by? I could walk you both to your house, if you would not mind?” said Duke Colborne, wishing to spend some more time with her.

“I am sorry but we will be fine going alone, it is still not dark yet, but thank you for the offer, it was very kind. I live just near the ground we first met, the house that meets it. So it is not far at all,” Sophia said, secretly loving the idea of him walking her home and how thoughtfully and caringly he had offered to do so.

“As you wish, that is very close! Good bye, Sophia. Until we meet again,” he said, smiling with a spark in his eyes Sophia could swore she saw.

“Good bye, Duke Seth Colborne, if we ever do,” she said as she left the marketplace in search of her mother.

Until we meet again? That is what he said didn’t he? Will we ever meet again? This thing only happens by chance and it was chance enough that we met the second time! Oh! I did not even buy my paints! But I now have an excuse to go to the market again tomorrow, maybe he will be there,
Sophia thought to herself as she found her mother, who was not happy that Sophia had separated from her. But Sophia was not going back home entirely empty handed; now she had his name.

Chapter Seven

The same time around the day before, Sophia was dressed to visit the market again, desperately wishing he would be there. Scandalous or not, she planned to go alone without her mother or her sister noticing. She knew the perfect time to sneak out of the house, when both would be taking their afternoon rests.

She wore a proper dress that she had picked out from her wardrobe and pinned her hair up nicely, making sure she looked nice. She had taken one of her mother’s leghorn bonnets, knowing she could pull the bonnet down low on her face, so no one would recognize the physician’s daughter off without a chaperone.

Mary suddenly came into the room and was confused to find Sophia dressed up.

“Sophia? Are you going somewhere?” Mary asked, curiously.

“Just to the market, why do you ask? Do you need something?” asked Sophia casually, looking in the mirror, tucking loose strands of hair back into her neatly pinned hair.

“No, I do not, thank you. But Mother is resting so she cannot go with you. Will you wait for her to awaken? You are so well dressed, and I was wondering what you were doing,” Mary said, sitting herself on Sophia’s bed, wanting to still know why she was dressed better than her mopey self.

Sophia turned her head to see a confused and curious Mary waiting on her bed. She decided to tell her secret to her.

“Okay Mary, I am going to tell you something, but please keep it to yourself,” Sophia said seating herself beside her sister. Mary’s eyes lit up with eagerness to know what the secret was.

“Can you do that for me?” Sophia asked her, trying to be cautious.

“Yes, of course! Now tell me what is it?” Mary asked her impatiently, unable to contain herself.

“There is this man I have bumped into by chance twice now. I met him the second time yesterday when mother and I were at the market. He is so handsome and intelligent, Mary! Oh you would love him! I think he likes me and I wanted to go to the market to see him again! Also I forgot to buy the paints I needed yesterday, so if anyone asks, I am just outside in the woods or more so, ill and in bed and do not want to be disturbed, do you understand?” Sophia told her the details, her eyes demanding that Mary not say anything else to their parents.

“But you can’t go alone, Sophia! You will shame our family!” Mary said, shocked at what her sister was planning.
“No one will recognize me,” Sophia said, donning the bonnet and pulling it down low to conceal a portion of her face. “Mary, promise me you will not say anything”.
“I shall not say anything. A man?! What is his name?! YOU finally approved of a man! This must be a new day in history! What a miracle!” Mary said, jesting and laughing.

“Mary, I am serious! His name is Duke Seth Colborne, now please be quiet about it. With Mother and Father being so against me, I do not want to bring anything like this out in front of them just yet, I mean I do not even know if he actually wants to court me or not!” Sophia said, suddenly feeling the pressure and the unknowingness of the situation.

“He is a Duke! Oh, Mother and Father will surely approve the instant that they know!” Mary said excitedly.

“Yes, but I cannot tell them yet. Let me just get to know him a little better, maybe he has some secret past or something sinister,” Sophia said, contemplating the many things that could go wrong should she meet him at the market.

“Maybe he is perfect and just the one you were waiting for,” Mary suggested dreamily.

Sophia smiled at her little sister’s selflessness. There was no doubt that during the past few days, Mary had been her strongest support and she had done so unconditionally; it was something that made Mary truly special.

“Oh! I am going to be late! I am going now Mary, wish me luck!” Sophia said, getting quickly on her feet and leaving to go to the market.

“Good luck, Sophia!” Mary called back after her.

The walk to the market was much different than the one Sophia had had before, there was something brighter in the world today; maybe it was true love.

I cannot fall for him just yet, I do not even know the man properly, let alone imagine my entire life with him. What if Mary cannot keep a secret and tells Mother and Father? This has to turn out good! I do hope he is the one! It would really make my life so much easier! But wait… I have not even told him yet about wanting to be a physician. What if he disapproves as well? Many Dukes like the old traditional ways, I do not think he would be in the favor of it. Sophia, calm down. Take a deep breath in and breathe out. You only just found out what his name was, let’s take this slow, shall we?
She brought some sense back into her.

The market was as busy as the day before, everyone living their own life, trying to buy what they needed, chattering and discussing problems at home. Sophia didn’t notice anybody much, today she was not paying attention to her surroundings, all she wanted was to see his face. She went to the spot they had met the day before, but he was not there. She looked around, squinting her eyes to look in the distance hoping he was still making his way there.
Maybe he is running late for something, he will be here. He did say he was coming, did he not? Or did I misunderstand what he was saying? What if he just only meant that we would meet again?

The hope in her slowly began fading away; there was no sign of him anywhere. Sophia still waited for him, wanting to prove herself wrong, that despite it all he would be there. It was getting dark again, and she had stood there alone in the chilly wind for a long time. Giving up and confirmed that he was not coming, she walked back home with a heavy sinking heart.
He’s not for me.

Coming home again, with Mary’s help, she snuck in through the kitchen door and went to her bedroom to change her clothes and return her mother’s bonnet. She walked into the drawing room where her parents sat; they looked at her briefly and continued doing what they were doing. Her father was reading a book on Literature and her mother was writing a letter for her sick sister on the other side of England. Sophia went back upstairs to her room, saddened.
I do not deserve to be treated like this, I really do not.

She didn’t bother changing her clothes again and fell limp on her bed, with no energy inside of her all due to the way things had turned out that day.

Suddenly, Mary came in running through the door.

“Tell me what happened!” Mary said, before noticing Sophia’s mood.

“Oh, it didn’t go well, did it?” Mary asked, sitting next to her sister who was lying in her bed.

“No, it didn’t. He didn’t come,” Sophia said, feeling hopeless and miserable.

“I am so sorry to hear that Sophia, but maybe he was busy and something had come up all of a sudden? You should not give up just yet! You were so happy leaving, don’t let something you are not even sure of bring you down,” Mary said, trying to cheer her up and make her see the other side of things.

“I do not know, Mary. I am beginning to think that Mother and Father are right. I should just quietly get married to whomever they say, I mean what is the point? It is not like I love any man or any man loves me? Why not just live the normal life every woman lives? They are happy too, are they not?” Sophia said, depressingly.

“Sophia! Do not talk like that! You are my inspiration. You will see, everything will be alright! Just wait and see!” Mary said, hugging her sister. Mary was not sure at all of how things would really turn out, but she could not stand seeing her sister so sad and unhappy; she knew she had to say the right things to comfort her, even if they were untrue.

Mary hugged her once again and left the room, closing the door behind her. Sophia stared at the ceiling, wishing and hoping with all her heart for a miracle to come knocking on the door.

After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door.