My Dear Sophy (6 page)

“
He’ll be fine,” Papa growled, still angry. “He needs to rest both limbs, especially the leg. So no lessons with Mr. Hollingson for the rest of the week. Can’t be walking that far. We’ll watch it and make sure nothing more severe develops.” This was all delivered to Sophy as if Freddy were not present in the room.

Sophy smiled at her father. “Well, then. Let’s get everyone some tea and then we’ll work on getting Freddy set up for the next few days.” Her father softened noticeably as she pronounced this eminently sensible plan.

“
Thank you, my dear. I’ll be in my study.” He left the room with Sophy, who was going to the kitchen for tea.

When she returned to the front room with a tea platter and some sandwiches, Sophy saw that Edward had not been idle. He’d clearly recovered from his father’s recent accusations, enough to gather some pillows from the chairs and use them to pad every part of the sofa around Freddy, as if he was an infant who might injure himself. Freddy’s leg was now elevated on a group of these pillows. The two boys were commiserating about the unfairness of their father. Sophy let them talk while she poured the tea.

“
I can’t believe he thought I did this deliberately!” Freddy gestured angrily to his leg and wrist.

“
And that he thought I let you do it!” Edward joined in. “I mean, what kind of brother does he think I am to let you ramble into holes and hurt yourself?”

Sophy snorted with laughter. She loved her brothers, but they could be entirely ridiculous. The boys turned on her angrily.

“
Don’t laugh, Sophy,” Freddy pouted.

“
Calm yourself, my dear brother,” Sophy advised him, still laughing. “I am not laughing at you or your current plight. I have only imagined the idea Edward presented of you simply rambling willy-nilly across the countryside falling deliberately into every hole you come across.” Her humor was infectious. The image of Freddy was too funny to resist. They all dissolved in laughter, choking out further additions to complete the image even more. Each detail added to the hilarity of the original picture until they no longer knew what exactly they were laughing at.

Through his laughter, Freddy said, “I would never get anywhere at that rate! I would take two steps and fall over again!”

Edward found this picture so funny that he decided to demonstrate for them. He took a few steps and then suddenly disappeared behind a chair. Then he popped up again as if nothing had happened, took another few steps and disappeared behind the sofa. The siblings howled with laughter. Edward made to do it again, until Sophy cried out, “Stop. Stop. Mercy, brother! No more! My middle hurts with all this laughter.”

But the tension of the afternoon had been broken. The boys were no longer ready to shout about everything. They were actually on the same side now. And it had been very good to laugh. The room fell into a companionable silence while Sophy served the tea. Each was thinking about what had happened this afternoon.

“
Why does Papa hate me so?” Freddy asked to no one in particular. He sounded more sad than upset.

“
He doesn’t hate you, my dear,” Sophy assured her brother.

“
Then why does he yell at me like I’m a small child? I didn’t do this on purpose. He thinks I do it to annoy him specially.”

“
No he doesn’t,” Sophy said calmly. “He comes down hard on you because he loves you. Think of how it must feel to see your son come limping home one afternoon. And limping from some accident he sees as utterly preventable. He is upset with you because he’s scared. He loves you and wants you to have great things in your life. That does not include losing you to a silly accident.”

“
But I only sprained my leg and wrist. I’m still alive and no harm done.”

“
It’s not that.” But Sophy could not quite explain to her brothers what it really was, what she knew her father must be thinking. How she herself had been nearly petrified by Edward’s cry. Then how she’d been relieved and angry all at the same time when she had seen that he was okay. She wouldn’t be able to explain all of those feelings to a boy of fifteen who thought himself invincible. She couldn’t explain that it was his very idea of invincibility that scared her father the most. And so she let it pass. The evening continued with the siblings in comfortable companionship, their hurt feelings and limbs on the mend.

As the rest of the week wore on, relations did not improve significantly between father and son. Edward was allowed to go to Preston-Bowyer for daily lessons, but Freddy, to his infinite annoyance, was confined to the house. Worse, he was confined only to his bedroom or the front room. Somewhere he could elevate his leg. His father came to check on him from time to time, but only succeeded in irritating them both. It was the same argument over and over. Papa scolded Freddy for being careless of himself and his own well-being. Freddy, in turn, accused his father of treating him like a baby and not trusting him at all. This was beginning to wear, even on Sophy’s forgiving nerves.

Much of the village called to see how their beloved son Freddy was, including some young ladies who seemed to Sophy to smile too broadly and giggle too loudly in his direction. She was amused to see her brother posturing for them – as much as someone confined to a sofa could do – and alarmed at the new details of his harrowing story that seemed to cast Freddy in some kind of heroic role. A few times Freddy had caught her raised eyebrows as he embellished the tale. He had only grinned at her and continued on.

“
Saving a rabbit, were we?” Sophy had asked him dryly after the latest young lady had left, having heard an earful about a heroic young man who had rescued a helpless rabbit from a deep hole in the ground. Nevermind that the rabbit would have missed the hole, unlike her clumsy brother. “That was all quite heroic of you, my dear.”

“
What are a few bumps and bruises when the life of one of God’s innocent creatures is on the line?” Freddy intoned piously before cackling with laughter.

Sophy merely rolled her eyes. “I hope you remember what story you’ve told and to whom, dear brother.” Freddy only grinned.

* * *

By Friday – two days after the accident – most of the village had paid a formal call or stopped to chat with Freddy and Sophy through the window. Freddy was moving around well on his leg, limping only a little at the soreness, but he quite enjoyed the attention, so he continued to play the invalid.

Sophy had suffered through another check up that had turned into a row. Her father had declared that Freddy should not be moving around as much as he was, his leg still needed to heal.

Freddy, on the other hand, had insisted that he knew best for himself and his leg was doing fine. That's how it had started. It had ended with both men huffing at each other's intractability and stomping off to separate corners of the house: Papa to his study and Freddy to his bedroom where he declared he didn't want to see
anybody
for the
rest of his life
.

Sophy had just finished thinking that the Wentworth men needed softer-soled shoes, when she heard her name being called from down the lane. Sophy was sitting near the window, again working on the endless round of mending. She recognized her brother's voice.

“
Hello, Edward!” Sophy called in response, not looking up from her work.

“
Is Freddy about? I've brought Mr. Hollingson to see him.” Her head whipped up. She had not expected to see him. But yes, Mr. Hollingson was there, too. In the middle of her confusion, it took Sophy a moment to register that her brother was asking her a question.

Sophy shook her head, partly in answer to her brother's question and partly to clear her thoughts. “I am afraid not. He's had a check-in with Papa.” Through the open window brother and sister exchanged significant looks.

“
I guess that not all is well between them?” asked Mr. Hollingson, correctly interpreting the looks.

“
Correct,” Sophy confirmed. “It has been a few tense days in the Wentworth household.”

“
Then I am sorry I could not come sooner.” Mr. Hollingson smiled gently at her. His look was conspiring and sympathizing at the same time. A small, gentle smile played over Sophy's lips, drawing his attention to them. She saw him looking. The heat of his suddenly intense gaze drew a blush to her skin.

“
Well, come on, old chap. Might as well come in, even though Freddy's gone,” Edward said. He had missed the look that passed between his sister and tutor.

Sophy was recalled to her manners. “Oh, yes, of course. Please come in, Mr. Hollingson.”

“
Joshua,” he prompted her. Edward's gaze narrowed, clearly suspecting something.

“
Joshua,” repeated Sophy, still blushing.

The two men came in and sat for a cup of tea. After he had finished, Edward declared that he would check on Freddy. He was halfway to the door when he thought to ask where his brother was. Sophy laughingly told him and then listened as yet another Wentworth stomped noisily around the house.

When the sound of his footsteps on the stairs had died away, a nervous silence remained. Sophy had not made eye contact with Mr. Hollingson since he'd entered the room. He finally put his cup down and moved to the edge of his seat. He was in a chair across from Sophy, who had seated herself on the sofa that Freddy had occupied since Wednesday.

“
Miss Wentworth,” he began. “Sophy...” The sound of her name crossing his lips drew her attention to his face. He looked eager and anxious all at once. He tried to smile, but it came out crooked.

“
Miss Wentworth,” he repeated. “I have something particular I would like to say to you.” Her breath caught in her lungs and so her “yes” came out almost as a gasp. Her emotion seemed to mirror his.
             

“
Miss Wentworth, I...” he paused and his features worked. “I have meant to speak to you for some time now. But what happened the other afternoon...I...” Was he going to ask her? Or was he trying to tell her he did not feel that way about her. Sophy could hardly concentrate on what he was actually saying.

Mr. Hollingson cleared his throat, clearly nervous of what he was about to say. His speech came out in starts and stops. “... I have held you in high esteem ever since coming to this town. Right away I saw how you are a light to the people around you. And you have come to be a very dear light in my life, too.” He looked shyly at her. “But the other day...I … I... our embrace...” He was looking at her quite intently again. “When we... I want to protect you always. I want to
love
you.” He looked at Sophy directly, making sure she heard the significance of his words. “I do love you, Sophy.”

Her heart had gone from not beating to running as fast as a racing horse. She could hardly breathe. Mr. Hollingson loved her. This dear, caring, quiet man who treated her brothers so well. And he loved her. Sophy waited expectantly for his next words.

The two had been so focused on each other that they had not heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming toward them. So they were both startled to hear Papa's loud voice say, “Mr. Hollingson! I was not informed that you had come to call. But I am glad to see you. I have wanted to speak to you about the boys...”

Papa settled himself into the chair next to his guest and asked Sophy to fetch another warm pot of tea. He did not seem to realize that he had interrupted the most important conversation of her life. Sophy looked desperately at Mr. Hollingson as she left, unsure what else to do, unsure how to signal to her father that she and Mr. Hollingson needed to be alone again. There seemed to be nothing for it.

There had been no time during the rest of his visit for a private word with Mr. Hollingson, for a time together to renew the significant conversation they had started. Her father – not realizing that his daughter's future happiness was in question – had monopolized all of his guest's attention with talk of how his sons were progressing. Mr. Hollingson had played his part valiantly, remaining attentive to her father's conversation. Papa had not suspected anything and they had passed a maddeningly normal evening.

All the while, her mind had been racing. What had Mr. Hollingson been about to say to her? And how did she feel about it? She was almost certain he had been about to offer for her. If that was so, he would try again. What would she say to him? She hardly knew him and yet... Yet his embrace had been thrilling. Would it always be like that?

Sophy's mind had been in such a whirl that she had not fallen asleep until the small hours of Saturday morning. She was still abed when a cry rang out from down the hall.

“
Papa! Sophy! Come quick!”

It took a moment for the words to penetrate her heavy sleep. Sophy had trouble telling if they were in her dream, until she heard them again.

“
Papa! Sophy! Come quick!” Edward sounded panicked. She heard her father's footsteps running as she took up her robe and flung open her bedroom door. The uncarpeted floor was cold on her feet as she ran down the hall, but she had no thought of herself, only of reaching Edward and finding out what was so desperately wrong.