100 Nights with the Duke by Jess Michaels

Author:Jess Michaels
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Passionate Pen

CHAPTER 11

Sophia stood in the middle of the milliner shop, her stare unfocused on the beautiful selection of bonnets along the wall behind the counter. She had always loved a good hat, but today her mind was elsewhere, just as it had been since Edward had let her go the night before.

She hadn’t slept for thoughts of him and what he was going to say to her in the carriage. She couldn’t eat because she was plagued by worries and what-ifs and…God help her…little flutters of excitement that he might tell her that he loved her. As if she couldn’t recall how devastating that would be in the long run.

She shook her head and made herself come back to where she was. The shop was called Master Gliffin’s, but it was Mrs. Gliffin, a widow, who did the design and creation of the masterful hats and bonnets all around her. Sophia liked the woman and often had her make special designs.

She’d received word a few hours before that one of those designs was ready. A surprise, really, for she’d not expected it for another week. And now Mrs. Gliffin had gone in the back to fetch the piece, but…Sophia shook her head and glanced at the clock in the corner of the shop. Goodness, it had been ten minutes since the shopkeeper had slipped away. And she’d been acting oddly before she had, nervous almost. Was something wrong? Was she well?

Sophia moved toward the back and drew in a breath to call out for Mrs. Gliffin when the bell at the door behind her rang. She pivoted to see who had entered the shop and her heart seemed to drop away. There in the doorway was the Dowager Duchess of Lockhart.

Edward’s grandmother was dressed in all her finery, her graying hair spun up in an elaborate style. She glared down a long, narrow nose at Sophia, her hawkish stare focused and cruel. Sophia had never met the lady, of course. But judging from the way the duchess sniffed, it seemed she knew a little about her. Or perhaps she simply gave everyone that dismissive look.

“Your—Your Grace,” Sophia gasped, and gave a small curtsey.

One fine eyebrow arched high on her forehead before the duchess glared at her. “So you know who I am.”

Sophia nodded. “Yes.”

“I suppose you would.” There was no masking the disdain this woman felt. And Sophia had to believe it was targeted, not just the dismissal a woman with this kind of power might have for anyone she considered lesser. Her hunch was proven when the duchess took a long step forward. “I know who you are, as well, Miss Sophia Russell.”

Sophia drew in a long breath to calm herself before she said, “I…well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Grace.”

The duchess looked at Sophia like she was something nasty that had just been scraped off a slipper. “A pleasure, is it? I suppose it must be. You must want to laugh as you stare at me, all politeness while you work so hard to destroy my family.

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