Recaptured Dreams (7 page)

Katherine brushed Sophia’s hand away. “I didn’t.”

“Really? She happened to show up at your doorstep the same night we were attending this function?”

Katherine sighed quietly. “Something like that.”

Sophia’s hold loosened. “Why didn’t you tell her we had plans? Or company? Or
something?”

Katherine curled her fingers around Sophia’s hand, giving her a gentle, pleading squeeze. “Please, dear. Your father—God rest his soul—was her only child. We are the only family that connects her to him. The least we can do is appease her.”

Sophia took the hint to heart. She didn’t dislike her grandmother, and a part of Sophia did love her. But she couldn’t help but be bitter about how pushy and in-her-face her deceased father’s mother was. Something Sophia’s father wasn’t. Her grandmother was like Katherine—only ten times worse. And Sophia didn’t have the patience for it anymore.

They stepped through the glass door together.

“Fine,” Sophia agreed. “But if she starts lecturing me about getting married again, I’m not promising anything.”

Katherine nodded. “Believe me, I understand. Please do your best to act like you were raised.”

Sophia hid her snort. Wasn’t that part of her problem?

Hansom Hall, the largest event room inside the St. Pancras Renaissance, sat just beyond the lobby. The expansive room was flanked on both sides by brick walls with arched windows. Glass walls on the other two sides enclosed the airy space. A two-story-tall ceiling drew Sophia’s eyes up to beams, blue girders, and a glazed roof. Normally used for casual seating, it was now decorated to the extreme and transformed into an eating area that included a large stage surrounded by huge Greek-style columns wrapped with gold and red silk. The spicy scent of expensive perfume assaulted Sophia’s nose. The numerous round tables and chairs were draped with white linen, and the chairs each had a gold taffeta bow tied around the back. Polished red plates adorned the tables, with crystal wine glasses that held neatly folded gold napkins. Huge bouquets filled with red and gold flowers sat at the center of each table.

It was beautiful…but the noise was clattering against Sophia’s eardrums. Caterers clanked silverware while preparing the food. There were several distinct pops of champagne bottles. People chatting and gossiping. Sophia touched a hand to her already pounding head and reminded herself that the clothes she would see tonight would be worth it.

Sophia had been excited to see the fashion designs at the charity event, but now, flanked on both sides by her mother and grandmother, her mood was glum. The four women made their rounds, greeting and kissing what seemed like a million people. Sophia glanced behind her at Anne Marie, praying her friend would save her from the rest of the evening.

When her grandmother curled her fingers around her hand and led her to a tall, good-looking young man with a hopeful smile on his face, Sophia knew any saving would be impossible.

“Sophia,” Elise said with her bright, aristocratic voice, “this is Evan Moore.”

The dark-haired man bowed slightly and took Sophia’s outstretched hand.

“His grandfather was your grandfather’s business partner. Our families have worked together for years.” She touched a gloved hand to her glossed pink lips. “Now that I think about it, I’m surprised I never introduced you two before now.”

Evan smiled proudly, his dark gaze twinkling beneath the golden lights. “Well, I’ve spent the better part of that last eight years going through undergraduate at St. Andrews and post-graduate studies at St. Leonard’s. It’s hard work preparing to take over Father’s company.”

Sophia didn’t miss the look of pride on her grandmother’s face.

“There hasn’t been time for socializing,” Evan continued. “I’m a little out of practice.”

He laughed deeply. It was all Sophia could do to not roll her eyes. Another one of
those
types.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Lady Sophia,” he said in a smooth voice as he drew her hand up to his mouth and kissed it lightly. His lips were moist and warm, but the touch made Sophia’s blood run cold. “Your grandmother has told me a great deal about you.”

She slid her hand away. “Don’t believe everything everyone has told you,” she said in her most grandmother-approved voice.

“Sophia, dear,” Elise replied. The warning was in her tone, even if Mr. Handsome Face didn’t recognize it. He just smiled with a gleam of interest in his brown eyes.

“Not to worry,” he countered. “I’m sure Lady Sophia is merely shy and unaware of her accomplishments. Or her beauty.”

That earned Evan an airy chuckle from Sophia’s grandmother. Sophia did her best to hide the unease in her breathing.

“Well,” she said after several silent seconds. “Thank you. I should be finding my seat; dinner will be soon.”

“Of course,” Evan said in that same unshaken tone. “I’ll be sure to seek you out after dinner. That is, if you don’t mind.”

Sophia opened her mouth to protest, but her grandmother’s hand had found her wrist and gave it an uncomfortable squeeze.

Sophia plastered a smile on her face. “I would like that.”

“Good. See you then.” Evan gave a quick grin, nodded, and walked off.

Sophia could only frown. Evan was attractive, and he seemed nice enough. But Sophia was as sure as the grass was green that he was no different than any other man her grandmother and mother had set her up with. Handsome, charming, and rich, with their wicked smiles and good jobs, the men were just like her grandmother in a five-piece suit. They cared about themselves, their image, career, and lifestyle more than they cared about their wives.

All the men Sophia had been set up with wanted an attractive, proper lady on their arm. They wanted not a life partner but a silent wife who supported her husband on every front, no matter what it was. Opinions were something the women weren’t necessarily expected to have, let alone share. The men, of course, wanted them to be faithful and giving in every way. But the men themselves? Sophia had seen too many devoted wives turn a blind eye to their husbands’ extramarital affairs. Sophia had herself been charmed by a man who’d had that same mentality. She’d been wooed and cheated on.

She knew, though, that every rich and powerful man wasn’t shallow, overbearing, and unloving. A good example had been her father. He’d been loving in all the important ways. Caring for her mother’s every need. Going to all of Sophia’s school plays and recitals. He’d loved Sophia dearly. And Sophia’s mother as well.

Yet when he had been alive, he’d fought with Katherine like cats and dogs over Sophia’s memory. Her father had felt the same as Sophia, yet he’d never been able to convince her mother that the basics of getting her memory back began with the simplest of things: her childhood. Sophia all too well remembered when she’d sat up, quietly sobbing, in her room a year after the accident, listening to her father and mother scream about the repercussions of it.

Now, with Elise at the helm and Sophia’s steel-hard mother not too far behind, they blocked any and all of Sophia’s past and thought they knew what type of man would make her happy. The type of man that would make
them
happy.

It didn’t take Sophia long to find Anne Marie and her seat after scurrying away from Evan.

“Thank God,” Sophia huffed as she sat down. “Please don’t leave me alone with Grandmother again.”

Anne Marie grinned feebly. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. The woman is incorrigible.”

Elise and Katherine sat down across from them at the table.

“Sophia,” Elise said. “Tell your mother about Evan.”

Sophia picked up her butter knife and swirled imaginary circles around the crisp tablecloth with its tip.

“Sophia,” Katherine said.

“He was nice.” And that was all she said. It was all she was going to say. Anne Marie touched her hand gently.

Elise raised her gray brow. “Nice? All you can say after you meet a successful man is that he was nice? Really, Sophia, you won’t ever get married if you constantly act like you don’t care.”

“I don’t.”

All three of the other women gasped in unison.

“Oh dear,” Anne Marie whispered.

Katherine set her wine glass down with an unsteady hand. “Don’t take that tone with us. We have done no more than give you the tools and manners needed to succeed in this life. Do not bite the hand that feeds you.”

Elise gave an approving nod. “I’m glad you are standing up to her, Katherine. She needs to know she can’t continue like this. She is well past the time of traipsing around and doing nothing with her life.” Elise pointed a sharp finger at Sophia. “Your mother told me about the man you met last night, Xavier-something. I would never approve of such a man. And your father would surely roll over in his grave if he knew you had your sights set on someone with such a past.”

Past? What past?

Elise’s words rang through Sophia’s ears. She blinked, not hearing her grandmother’s voice but her mother’s. She closed her eyes fully, focusing on the sound. Soft-spoken, as though Katherine was years younger, without the slight shake her voice held now. The words sharpened and repeated. Only this time, Sophia
saw
her mother saying those exact same words in a place Sophia didn’t recognize. A place with shimmery green curtains and wall-to-wall windows.

“She can’t have her eyes set on someone with such a past.”

Then her father’s voice rang out:
“We’ll be gone soon enough. Let her enjoy this one summer.”

Sophia shook her head, puzzled, and opened her eyes. Anne Marie was right in her face.

“Sophia? Are you all right?”

“Uh, yes. I think so.” She twisted her clammy hands in her lap. “I just saw…” She didn’t know what she saw. Or heard. Maybe it was the wine? “Déjà vu, I think. Yes, that must be it.”

“Your face is flushed. You’re sure you’re all right?”

She gave a tight-lipped smile. “Absolutely.”

“Sophia?”

She snapped her attention back to her grandmother.

“Did you hear me? This fashion designer, Xavier, isn’t suitable for you.”

At the very sound of his name, Sophia’s senses kicked up a notch.

“It’s time to focus on the important things,” Elise continued. “Evan is a successful and handsome man to start with. And if he won’t do, there are plenty more
suitable
men you can meet. Understand?”

Sophia ground her teeth but said nothing. What could she say?

“Elise,” Katherine said. “I do believe I know my daughter well enough to know what she needs. I understand the need for her to marry as well as carry on the duties we complete. Sophia understands this as well. Don’t you?”

Two sets of very determined eyes focused on Sophia. She didn’t squirm in her seat. She didn’t run away like she wanted to. She simply closed her eyes, drew in a shallow breath, and said, “Yes.” The air in the room was dry and stale.

“Good then,” Elise chimed. “Because I, for one, am tired of explaining to all my friends and associates why my only grandchild is not married. Or even dating. It puts a cloud over my head—and the family.”

Sophia’s shoulders slumped. She was cornered. Her hopes and dreams had been squashed the moment she’d taken her first breath in the world. All in the name of her family legacy. Her future. Suffocating defeat surrounded her as she realized she couldn’t fight the inevitable. Tears threatened to spill, but she fought them back while downing an entire glass of wine.

Anne Marie placed a comforting hand on Sophia’s shoulder and leaned in to whisper, “Don’t worry, darling. I’m here for you.”

“Thank you,” she mouthed to her best and most loyal friend.

This was her life. And, in the end, the lessons and duties that had been engrained in Sophia’s head came forth, reminding her that her privileged existence—while a gift—was not all about her. It was about family. Respect. And sometimes doing the things that you hate.

The food was superb, as expected: oven-roasted prosciutto and fresh basil wrapped around a pork loin with asparagus spears atop a pile of spicy fingerling potatoes. But to Sophia, everything tasted like cardboard. And she’d only been able to take a few bites of her molten lemon cake with simmered blueberries for dessert without feeling the need excuse herself.