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S ophie smothered a yawn as she watched Letty pull funny faces across the breakfast table at Timmy. His high-pitched squeals of delight had her wincing and then reaching for another fortifying sip of tea.

“I am still astounded you held a maid’s position in my brother’s household for so many years,” Letty said.

“It is the late nights. When I was in service, I am sure I got to bed a lot earlier than I currently do.” Sophie watched Timmy smear the white tablecloth with jam fingers. A tablecloth that was likely worth more than a month’s wages for the old Sophie.

“I am sure Miss Lloyd will be able to remove the stain, dear, do not fret,” Letty said, handing Timmy another finger of toast.

“I wonder if she has heard of?—”

“If you recite another recipe for stain removal or boot-blacking in my presence, young lady, I will be annoyed.” Letty softened her words with a smile.

“’Tis who I was for many years.”

“But it is not who you are now,” Letty added firmly.

Sophie nodded and ate her own toast while Letty read the morning paper and fed Timmy. It was a routine they followed daily, and still, she had yet to adjust.

You could not walk out of one life and into the next—this one so different, there were no similarities—and not take time to adjust… even years.

“Fee-Fee!” Timmy yelled, waving a finger of toast at Sophie, who in turn poked out her tongue, which had him laughing.

At three, he was now talking constantly, running about the place, and getting into mischief if not watched. His blond hair was darkening, and those eyes were the exact color blue that her mother had.

“Now, Sophie, I want you to go to Morton’s bookshop today and collect a book I have ordered, then select something for yourself. I have already called the carriage. Bea is visiting, and we will take Timmy into the gardens while you are gone.”

“I don’t need any books, Letty.” She rarely went anywhere alone and had no wish to do so now. “It is a recipe for disaster to send me out there to commit some social indiscretion that will ruin us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You have better manners than most of society. Now, you will go there and do this for me,” Letty said firmly. “It is time for you to do things on your own.”

“Can’t a footman collect it for you?”

“No. You will go with your maid and gain your independence.”

“I don’t want independence.” In fact, what she wanted was to return to the country with Timmy and never leave it again.

“And yet I wish for you to do this for me.”

Letty rarely used that tone with Sophie, so she knew her sister-in-law was serious. Blowing out a loud breath, she looked at Timmy. This life he had was nothing like the one he’d been born into. Unlike her, he would never remember those horrible days.

“Very well, if I must.”

Looking around the sunny dining parlor of the Monmouth town house, Sophie still found it hard to believe this was her home.

Two years ago, she and Letty had taken steps to secure their futures, and while what they’d done still terrified her, she felt no shame over it.

Sophie’s concern was her ability to keep up the facade of playing a lady for the rest of the season. Letty had tutored her for hours on every facet of society, and so far, she had fooled everyone. But how long could she keep it up? A day would come when she slipped, and then what would happen?

“I insist you purchase yourself a book, Sophie. Money is no problem, and I know you like to read, so don’t tell me otherwise.”

Lifting Timmy down from his chair, she lowered him to the floor. Sophie then busied herself wiping his hands.

“I know, Letty, but when you have not had money, it takes time to get used to having some.”

“To the garden?” Timmy said, looking from her to Letty.

“Yes, we will go there now, darling,” Letty said.

“Letty—”

“Now, dear, we have been through this before.”

“I know—it just never gets any easier.”

“Are you unhappy, Sophie?”

“No, how could I be when Timmy and I no longer face a future of poverty?” She watched him walk to her sister-in-law and hold out his hand for her to take. “It is just that I am so scared of failing. I fear exposure and then the ridicule and humiliation that would surely follow.”

“Oh, Sophie?—”

“Not for us, Letty, but for you,” Sophie rushed to add. “I think the sooner I can leave London and retire to Monmouth, the better for us all.”

“Now you listen to me, dear. You and Timmy have given me something I never thought to have. A family to love as my own. I have happiness in my life now. I can also live in society, among friends I hold dear. This all would have been denied to me had we not wed you to my brother. Now, I want to hear nothing further on this matter, child. We will do what must be done in London, and then I will see you safely home to Monmouth. Yes?” she finished as she gave Sophie’s hand a last squeeze.

“Yes,” Sophie whispered.

“Now go to Morton’s and then to the shop that has all those funny little knickknacks you love to look at.”

“How did you know about my interest in knickknacks?”

“I have seen you looking at them when we go shopping. Have you ever owned a doll or a figurine, Sophie?”

“Pardon?”

“I saw you looking in some cabinets the other day when we were out. They were full of small glass animals and delicate dolls,” Letty said.

“I haven’t and am now far too old to do so,” Sophie said, rising.

“If you say so,” Letty said. “Give me Timmy, and you can get your things. The carriage will be here shortly. I will take him out to the gardens.”

She did as Letty said and took the stairs up to her bedroom.

Sophie had lived here for a while and was still awed by how lovely the Monmouth town house was.

Delicate furnishings, pale duck egg walls, and darker wainscoting.

Gold trim and gilded mirrors. Everything about it was elegant.

She’d worked in a place like this before but never lived in one, and now it was her, Letty, and Timmy’s forever.

She hurried to her room, which had a large bed with the softest mattress and covers she’d ever slept in. Putting on her bonnet, Sophie tied the pink ribbons and then slipped on her gloves. Lastly, she picked up her reticule and left the room.

“The carriage is waiting, my lady,” the butler said, opening the door.

“Thank you, Buford. What are your plans for the morning?”

“Well, I am hoping that with a cup of tea I will shortly be having, there will be a wedge of almond cake. Mrs. Peel is exceedingly good at baking, and this is my personal favorite.”

“Well, make sure you save me a wedge for the tea tray later,” Sophie said.

“I will see it done. Enjoy your shopping, Lady Monmouth.”

Tall, broad shouldered, and with a head of silver locks that made women sigh, Buford was the epitome of what a butler should look like. He also had a wicked sense of humor and was often found playing with Timmy in the garden.

Stepping out into a sunny day, Sophie was soon inside the carriage with her maid, Jenny, and rolling toward Bond Street. She saw people strolling and vendors selling their wares. This city was always bustling with activity.

“Do you think you should have worn a scarf, Sophie? My lady,” Jenny added.

“No. The sun is high, and it’s warm. Thank you, Jenny,” she said to her maid.

Jenny’s lips pulled into a disapproving line.

Letty had chosen to bring two of her most loyal Monmouth servants to accompany them to London. She thought Sophie would be comfortable with their friendly faces supporting her. One was Jenny, her maid, and the other Robbie, the Monmouth driver.

“You’ll have a care who you speak to, and I’ll be close,” Jenny said. “You never know who you’ll meet.”

“I will, and thank you, but I assure you I am merely collecting a book for Letty, Jenny. All will go well.”

The carriage stopped seconds later as Jenny was explaining the bad things that could happen to a lady on the streets of London if she did not have a care. Sophie reached for the door.

“I’ll do that,” Jenny said. “You’re the lady now.”

“Jenny—”

“Lady Carstairs picked me and Robbie because we’d been with her for years, and she trusted us to care for you. It was an honor that she did so, and we’ll be watching over you like she asked of us.”

Sophie sighed and then stepped down from the carriage.

“I will not be long, Robbie,” she said to the driver when she stood beside Jenny, both looking up at him.

“You stick close, Jenny. We don’t want any trouble,” he said.

“Robbie, I?—”

“You can count on me, Mr. Robbie,” Jenny declared, moving closer to Sophie as if to prove that she was more than equal to the task.

Older and even more protective than Jenny, Robbie was constantly on the lookout for danger that was supposedly lurking nearby.

“I will be fine, Robbie. Please don’t fuss.”

“Now, Soph—I mean Countess, Lady Carstairs had a word with me before we left, and I assured her I’d keep an eye out for danger,” Robbie said, his head tilting slightly to the side in an expression similar to an adult addressing a child.

“That Jack Spode made those nasty threats before leaving Monmouth, so we need to be on the lookout in case he tries to harm you.”

Sophie shivered at the name. He was part of the past she wanted to forget, yet the memories of his threats were still clear in her mind.

“I am safe here from him, Robbie,” she said to reassure them both. “Now, I will walk the length of these shops.” Sophie waved one gloved hand to show the buildings before her. “Please meet me there,” she added, pointing to the last one some distance away.

“If you’re sure, although?—”

“Not another word, Robbie. Jenny is with me,” she said, walking away.

Ignoring the tsking sounds from her driver, Sophie entered the first shop. “Welcome, my lady,” the man behind the counter said. “My name is Mr. Draven. Please look around, and I am here if you need my assistance.”

“Thank you.”