~~*
Sophie found her sister in the nursery, preparing to nurse Alexa and put her to bed for the night.
“So how did you enjoy Hyde Park?” Fanny asked, bringing Alexa to her breast to suckle. To Sophie, her sister looked like a Flemish Renaissance painting with her vivid auburn hair piled carelessly on her head and her beautiful, clear-cut features focused on the child at her breast.
Sophie loved the nursery, wallpapered with sprigs of cherries, furnished in cherrywood, and curtained with cherry-and-white-striped hangings. “It was entertaining,” she said.
She told Fanny about the young men she had met, as well as Lady Frampton.
“And how was Gorgeous Frank?”
“Gorgeous as ever. He has come up with an intriguing idea. He is going to coach me in archery!”
“Splendid! You will cut a bold figure, Soph. I can just see you holding the bow and taking aim. Then, ‘Ppft!’ So you had a good visit, then?”
“I am afraid he is a little put out with me.”
“With you? How could that be?”
“I am not certain. You see, Melissa has developed a tendre for someone called Lord Oaksey. I ventured to ask Lord Trowbridge about him. He nearly bit my head off. Told me Lord Oaksey was badly dipped and then asked me straight out if I had a fortune!”
“Bad manners, surely, Sophie. But I merely think he was trying to warn you off Oaksey. It shows he has a proprietary interest in you, dearest.”
Sophie laughed. “How could that be, Fan? He is a Corinthian and I am lame. I cannot so much as go walking or riding with him!”
“Hence, the archery scheme. I cannot believe you are so blind, Soph. He is taken with you.”
Sophie batted a hand at Fanny in dismissal. “How can you think so?” Thinking of Lady Manwaring, she said, “I am not at all the type of woman he admires. I am as inexperienced as a newborn filly, and he is always offering me outrageous compliments. But they are too outrageous to be believed, even by a country bumpkin. Plus, he openly acknowledges that he is a master at flirtation. I think it is just his instinct where females are concerned.”
“Well, let me tell you what I know of him through Buck. He has a serious streak, believe it or not. He is a devout Whig, very concerned for the poor. I do believe he has political ambitions, though for some reason, he chooses to act the part of an empty-headed sportsman most of the time.”
“He told me about his sister. She sounds a lot like you, Fan. And like Elise—she’s an enthusiastic rider.”
“I have never met his family. But Buck says they are solid people. Not at all pretentious for all that his father is an Earl.”
“Fan, he must have faults. Everyone has faults.”
Her sister bit the inside of her cheek, a habit while thinking. After a moment, she said, “I have always thought that Frank was a bit divorced from his feelings. He hides behind those beautiful manners of his. I do not know if even he knows what his feelings are. He is so … dispassionate. That is why I think his bad humor over the mention of Lord Oaksey is meaningful.”
Sophie thought about this. “I bury my feelings, as well.”
“You, me, Elise, we all do. And beware your heart, Sophie. Elise once told me, and I have found it to be true in my case, that we are all vulnerable because of our lack of motherly affection. It is as though we have this yawning hole inside. We bury our feelings to protect ourselves from snatching at fulfillment and being hurt again. That said, Buck thinks you could be the making of Frank.”
Sophie laughed. “Oh, Fan, you must not count on that. We are not even true friends yet.”
“And how do you measure true friendship?”
“My standards are a bit high. But a friend is someone you can trust without reservations. With your faults, your secrets, even your life.”
“That is a tall order, Soph.”
“That is how I feel about you and Elise. And about Buck and Peter, Anna and Melissa.”
“I do not think that trust can be had for a man outside of family or marriage, my love.”
“Why not?”
“I do not think you should trust a single man that much. Only when he has married you, and oftentimes in today’s society, not even then.”
“That is grim,” Sophie paused, thinking. “But it is true that I have a difficult time with trust. When did you begin to trust Buck?”
“After we were engaged. He revealed his deepest secrets. I vowed never to share them with another person. And I knew that he trusted me completely. That made it easier for me to trust him in return.”
Fan had finished nursing. They discussed her plans to take Sophie to the modiste the next day.
“Ah, I see it now, Fan. You are not contented with the roles of wife and mother. You have a sudden desire to take on a new role, that of matchmaker! Spare me, please.”