My Charming Earl

She saw the astonishment in her mother’s eyes, though she immediately covered it with a deep curtsy.

“How wonderful to meet you, my lord,” she murmured, her eyes drifting towards Sophia. “I saw both of you on the dance floor. How delightful that my daughter has managed to acquaint herself with such a fine dancer.”

“Not just acquaint, Lady Astor,” Lord Roderick said carefully. “I know this is very hasty, and I must apologize for not seeking you out first, Lord Astor, but I simply could not wait a day longer to ask for your daughter’s hand.”

“Her hand?” Lord Astor repeated, staring at him. “You mean—”

“We are engaged!” Sophia interrupted, flashing a bright smile at them both.

There was a stunned silence as both of her parents gazed at her as though she had quite lost her senses. Lord Roderick pressed her hand gently with his, as if asking her to bide her time before speaking again.

“Lord Astor,” came a disgruntled murmur. “I thought you said—”

Sophia’s father coughed loudly, stepping directly in front of the angry face of the Duke of Langley.

“How wonderful,” he said loudly. “My hearty congratulations to you both.”

“Thank you,” Sophia heard Lord Roderick reply as she held her mother’s gaze. “I do hope you can forgive me for not seeking an audience with you first.”

“But of course,” her father said, shaking Lord Roderick’s hand. “I understand.”

Sophia drew in a long breath and stepped forward to press her mother’s hand, leaving the safety of Lord Roderick’s side.

“I care for him deeply, and I believe he feels the same. It is my heart’s desire to wed him, mother. I am so glad you approve.”

“It is more than I ever hoped for,” her mother responded gleefully.

Thankfully for Sophia, his mother had been delighted, just as he had said she would be. She had grasped Sophia’s hand as though she would never let her go, apparently exclaiming that she had never believed her son, Christopher, would actually find himself a bride.

Sophia introduced her mother to the lady and had left the two of them in deep discussion, apparently both as thrilled as the other.

The same could not be said of her father. He was pleased, of course, but his plans for a partnership with the Duke of Langley had been broken to pieces.

A shudder ran through her as she remembered how the Duke grasped her father by the arm and spoke to him in rapid, hushed tones, gesticulating wildly at one point. His face had been bright red, beads of sweat trickling down his face, and his crooked teeth more than evident as he grimaced and growled.

Sophia had to admit that she was more than delighted with the outcome, meaning that she would not have to even entertain the idea of being engaged to the Duke of Langley any longer.

Lord Roderick, however, was entirely another matter. Sophia could not deny that she found him handsome and believed him to be of a warm disposition and kind character. She found herself enjoying being on his arm, relishing the warm congratulations that had come from all parties.

She was the talk of the town, although there had been a great deal of amazement that she had managed to capture the heart and the hand of the Earl.

***

“This is utterly ridiculous!” Her mother’s voice echoed from her father’s study, evidently having a heated exchange with her father. “She is engaged to an Earl, who will one day become a marquess!” Lady Astor exclaimed. “The Duke of Langley has nothing on that. Besides, Lord Roderick seems to make her happy.”

“The Duke of Langley still wants her for his wife,” her father said heavily. “He wants this partnership as much as I do.”

“Then work out a partnership without Sophia being part of the bargain,” her mother answered firmly. “You cannot wish her to end her engagement with Lord Roderick, surely!”

There was a brief pause. “No, of course I do not,” came the eventual reply. “The Duke of Langley is angry, however, because I promised him our daughter’s hand.”

Sophia caught her breath, leaning against the wall for support. Her mother’s shrieks began soon after, echoing down towards her. Apparently, she was furious that her husband wanted their daughter to still consider the Duke of Langley. Sophia’s engagement to Lord Roderick was much more advantageous.

“I will sort the matter out, I assure you,” her father pleaded, apparently quailing under his wife’s fury. “The Duke of Langley will have nothing to complain of soon, I promise.”

“He had better not ruin this engagement!” her mother screeched, slamming something down heavily. “I will not have our daughter’s new position ruined simply because of some old man’s fancy.”

Sophia’s stomach rolled at her mother’s words, but, on hearing footsteps, she rushed along the corridor and into the silence of the library.