SOFIESTOODLOOKINGATherself and Fia in the mirror the next morning. It had taken the two of them helping each other to dress and prepare for the day ahead. She couldn’t believe that she was about to be on her way to the convention of her dreams. There was still at least one major hurdle to jump, but she was sure she could convince Egan to go through with her plan. He wasn’t the gruff beast he tried to portray himself as.
“It doesn’t even look like me,” she breathed.
“Of course it does. You often wear yellow.”
“Not like this,” Sofie brushed her hands down the fine silk. “We don’t usually receive these types of gowns from Her Grace.”
“We got lucky this time,” Fia grinned.
“Extra lucky, indeed!’ Sofie smiled at her friend, who had donned an emerald green gown to perfectly offset her crimson curls.
“Did I tell you what happened last night, by the way?”
“No, what happened?”
“I just let a drunken fool get a little too close and Egan called him off.”
Fia stared at her.
“What?” Sofie asked.
“Don’t act like that. Like you’re all innocent and not starry eyed at all.”
“I’m not starry eyed.”
Fia continued the disbelieving stare. “I’d say, ‘Are too’ but we’re not twelve anymore.”
Sofie chuckled.
“Wouldn’t it be better to marry a duke than continue with your investments? Even that savings bank, first of its kind in Scotland, so you keep reminding me, pales in comparison to marrying a duke.”
“Fia, I’ve told you before. I don’t want to marry. If I marry, everything I possess becomes my husband’s. I want full control over my money and my life. I don’t want to be someone’s property. I want to make decisions for myself. It’s bad enough that I have to pass all my decisions through father even though I’m five-and-twenty. And he’s a good man, one I know I can trust. He was so encouraging about this trip. I couldn’t even believe it. I thought I was going to have to sneak out for the day. He’s a man I can trust, and I still resent the fact that he owns all of my money. Nevermind what it would be like with a man I hardly know.”
“I can’t see you marrying for less than love. If you love him, you’ll trust him.”
“Yes. True love. I suppose there’s that…” Sofie shook her head at the impossibility. “Anyway, that’s just part of it. Egan is a duke. He would never marry me. Not in a million years.”
“Oooooh, Egan? You’re on a first name basis?”
Sofie swatted at her friend, “Enough about me. How was your night?”
“I met someone too. He was just the cutest.” Sofie watched her friend’s eyes close in a dream.
“You’ve been keeping secrets? Do tell me about him.”
“I’ll tell you this one thing: if he asked me to marry him, there would be nothing stopping me from saying yes.”
“But you’ve always wanted to get married.”
“True. And never more now than ever.”
“Why now?”
“Because I methim,” her eyes turned dreamy again under closed lids. How did Sofie know her friend’s eyes were dreamy if her lids were closed? She knew her friend far too well.
“I’ll tell you more about him soon. Quite soon, actually. Come. Our carriage awaits us.”
As the two women strode out the front door, Sofie was greeted by Christmas. There was a light flurry falling, and standing in front of the grandest carriage she had ever laid eyes on was Egan, wearing a red and green kilt.
