The Haunting of Lady Sophie

by Marly Mathews

  As her personal maid, Pamela wore Sophie’s last season outfits, making her a very well-dressed servant.

  “Well, let us get started. It is going to take a while for me to get you corseted up and in my evening dress. Let’s hope you can fill it out like I do,” Sophie murmured, trying desperately to make light of what was quickly turning into a dangerous and highly nerve-wracking plan. “Thank you for doing this for me, Pamela. I need to get back to the family castle so I can save Sylvie. I saw her while at Lady Harding’s house and she didn’t present like other spirits who have died appear to me, Pamela. She reached out to me from between the veils that separate our worlds. I believe that she is caught between this world, and Princess Sophie’s world of Carn Brea.”

  “So you think she is trapped and not actually dead?”

  “That is what I think and that is what I hope for. She asked me to help her. She begged me to help her, and I simply can’t let her down.”

  “I understand completely, my lady. I wouldn’t want you to abandon her. I wouldn’t want her to suffer any longer. If there is only a slim chance that we can have her back—then you must take it. I have faith in you, Lady Sophie. I know you can do it.”

  She only prayed she would be able to pull it off. Her family knew her too well, and that alone posed an enormous risk to making this work. They would pursue her, as they would know where she had run off to—but it would give her a little bit of time by herself and far away from the likes of Lord Huntingdon, and Rupert. And no matter what, she had to help Sylvie that was all that mattered right now.

  Rupert.

  She loved him still. The memories of their time spent together, eagerly awaiting their nuptials warmed Sophie’s heart. If only Sylvie had waited for her. If only she hadn’t taken on more than she could handle by fighting the supernatural force that kept them from opening a portal back to Princess Sophie’s Home Realm of Carn Brea.

  If she had waited for her, their twin powers might have been able to defeat the supernatural entity, enabling them to open a secure portal to the enchanted realm.

  *****

  Rupert had never met such a thoroughly exasperating woman. Sophie broke all of the rules. She not only rejected him, she did so with great satisfaction, and with a cold determination he had never seen before. He knew he had done wrong by taking her memories, and he still wanted to know how she had regained them, but that would mean the two of them would have to speak to each other. As matters stood between them right now, he figured that Sophie probably felt like blowing him up over speaking civilly to him.

  She had always been a challenge. Even when he had courted her the first time around she’d given him a run for his money, and humbled him to his core.

  Most women of the ton would have thrown themselves at his feet, and he had taken to his bed many a willing lady on his title and reputation alone. He didn’t care about any of those women the way he loved Sophie.

  He had lost his heart to her years before. Cliché as it sounded, it had been love at first sight for him, and the thing that hurt him the most was that his sweet Sophie had not felt the same way about him. She had come around eventually, and then, he had blown it all to hell, by rewriting the memories she had concerning Sylvie and their first courtship.

  Never before had he encountered a woman who caused his heart to beat fast, his palms to sweat, and his world to tilt on its axis. With all other beautiful women, he was the one in control, he was the seducer, but not with Sophie, with Sophie he would give her anything she desired, should she just ask it of him.

  He yearned to have her as his wife, and after pursuing her this long and after coming as close to having her again as he had in the last few days, he would not give up now. After all, she knew as well as he did that she could not fight the thrall of the Ruby. To do so was to doom themselves.

  How they had survived being parted these last three years, he still didn’t know, but he would not be denied her presence any longer. He banked heavily on the fact that she didn’t want to live the rest of her life without him.

  If she wanted to play cat and mouse a little bit longer, he would give her that luxury, just as long as she made the chase invigorating.

  However, he needed to do something to up the ante. He had to make her see just how good they could be together, and in order to accomplish that he would have to tarnish her reputation a bit. One night with him, and she wouldn’t want to leave his bed—ever.

  He had been stewing over the latest rejection in his dressing room while his valet starched his white dress shirt. How she could continue to push him away when she remembered all that they had once shared was beyond him!

  “Will you be wearing your diamond cufflinks tonight, my lord?”

  He nodded his head at Jenkins, his valet, and became lost in thought, as Jenkins helped him with his evening attire. He stared into his full-length dressing room mirror. He struck a handsome profile in his fancy black dress suit. His dark green eyes always stood out when he wore black and this look usually had the ladies drooling over him but she knew there would only be one simpering lady at Rayne House and it wouldn’t be Sophie.

  “How do I pull Lady Sophie in while successfully eluding the attentions of her cousin, Simone?”

  He asked the question aloud, not really expecting Jenkins to respond.

  “I should think, my lord, that you should use your curt tongue on her. With the fairer sex, you always come on with silky smooth charm, but you can be firm when you want to be.”

  He stared over at Jenkins in surprise. Had he used his acerbic tongue on his valet before? He liked to think he treated everyone with respect, and yet even he had to admit he had some foibles.

  “I do believe you have hit the nail right on the head, Jenkins. I am going out tonight, and if I don’t return with the lovely Lady Sophie, then I will be a monkey’s uncle.”

  Jenkins smiled softly, “You said it, my lord.” He handed him his top hat, gloves and walking cane. “The carriage will be ready for you. I didn’t think you’d want to travel there by the unconventional methods you typically employ.”

  He nodded his head. “That is quite astute of you, Jenkins. As of yet, I am not familiar with how open the duke and duchess are with their staff about their use of the craft.” He strode past Jenkins and walked out into expansive hallway of his London mansion. Redding House was a bit larger than Rayne House and a bit more decadent.

  His parents had spared no expense in traveling throughout this Realm and beyond to acquire the finest things in life. Things that the FitzCharles Family couldn’t afford. They were an old and noble house, but their coffers were drying up from some foolish investments the duke had made over the years, not to mention Sophie’s grandfather’s bad gambling habit.

  Once he and Sophie were married, he would be able to assist her family into once against thriving financially. If they didn’t have someone come to their rescue soon—they would lose everything they had once held dear.

  Which could possibly include their most cherished possession of all, the Isle of Dragonwyck, which held Sophie’s undying love. Castle Rayne had witnessed many familial events over the years since Princess Sophie of Dragonwyck had overseen its construction, and he would be damned if he allowed her father to lose it and shatter Sophie’s heart.

  He knew that she was completely in love with that place, as it was steeped in mystical charm. Whenever he was there he could feel the magic vibrating through the air, and it had awed him in a way that only a few other residences in Great Britain could.

  Lost in thought, he passed his eager staff always waiting for a chance to glimpse him in person, as he rarely stayed in to host soirees of any sort. His mother had retired from London life long ago, and now spent most of her time traveling with his father across Europe, and if they were in Britain, she would be at their lavish Georgian estate in the Cotswolds.

  His family boasted two castles, one in Wales, and one in Scotland. When Queen Victoria missed his mother, she would sen
d correspondence to her via the right channels, and his mother would return to London or travel to the Highlands of Scotland if the Queen was in residence at Balmoral as quickly as her magic could take her.

  In her youth, she had been the Queen’s personal guard, and had saved her from numerous supernatural threats. They had become fast and dear friends, and his mother cherished their bond almost as much as she treasured her family.

  For that reason alone, his family’s standing within the nobility would be assured for generations, as they had been given so many titles they hardly knew what to do with them all.

  Perhaps, he should have been more forthright about his feelings for Sophie by sending her love letters or expressing his love through various other romantic gestures, such as flowers, sentimental jewelry or painted miniatures. He had never had to work this hard courting a woman so he hadn’t given it the kind of thought he should have, he knew that, and regretted it deeply.

  Now that she had her memories, she would remember their intense courtship the first time around.

  Tonight he was armed with two such tokens of his love. One was a rose cut diamond ring surrounded by sapphires—which made a stunning engagement ring, and the other was an enchanted gold locket that held his photo and her photo in it, and the back was inscribed with her initials.

  He stepped into his carriage, and settled himself on the silk cushions. As the carriage started rolling along, he sat back and dreamed of holding her in his arms again with her chest pressed against his, and tasting her sweet lips.

  “Soon, Sophie, soon, you will be mine again, and this time, you will be mine until the end of time!”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sophie stared proudly at her handiwork. Getting Pamela cinched into one of her corsets had proved to be quite the challenge, but she had prevailed and succeeded without losing her head.

  Pamela stared uncertainly at her own reflection. “I don’t think we should be doing this, my lady. Can’t you just go to your parents and tell them about Sylvie? They loved her as much as you did. They will help you, I know it.”

  “This isn’t just about Sylvie, Pamela. It is about me getting away from the two men that vie for my hand. I only want Rupert, I love him so, but I don’t want to hurt Beau, and right now I don’t think I can face Rupert, not after what he did to me—to Sylvie and me.”

  “I know I said I would do whatever you wanted of me but there is one fly in the ointment. I can’t possibly pass myself off as a lady. I don’t move as gracefully as you do, and what shall I do when they expect me to speak with your softly refined voice? They will know we have deceived them as soon as they hear my Yorkshire accent!”

  “Try not to speak, just blend in like I usually do. Trust me, no one will call on you for your opinion, or try to make any kind of social interaction with you. The only person that has ever attempted to gauge my thoughts on various subjects is Rupert, and he is not on the guest list for tonight. Mama, however, is a wild card. She might notice something is amiss. Papa is usually so dazzled by whatever Simone has on, and as such, he doesn’t pay any mind to the rest of us girls.

  “Tonight I am actually grateful for the presence of Simone in my life. She will rule the roost as she usually does. She has always overpowered me and my sisters, so do not stress out about tripping up. You shall be fine, dear friend.”

  She put her arm around Pamela, and led her over to the mirror. “Now, Pamela, we are going to make our plan a startling reality.” She left her standing in front of the mirror and walked over to her jewelry case. Opening it, she reached inside for a pair of chandelier style earrings.

  Sparkling emeralds dropped from them, and would go quite nicely with the emerald hue of the lightweight silk chiffon A-line gown that Pamela wore. Next, she brought out a beaded emerald necklace, and lastly, she would decorate Pamela’s upswept hair with a comb that would make her look regal.

  Holding the necklace, she spoke her incantation softly. “Forty-eight hours is but a dream, where my maid Pamela, shall sparkle like a gem, and appear to be me.” Her incantations were always something to be desired in way of creative quality, but they usually did what she wanted them to do, as her mother used to say, a spell will work not by the words spoken but my the heart of the person who speaks it, or thinks it.

  Smiling, she brought the jewelry over to Pamela. “This necklace will make you look like me for the duration of forty-eight hours, which will give me plenty of time to escape Rupert. When you take it off, the enchantment shall be lifted.”

  “I can’t wear it during the day…”

  “Of course you can, no one will take notice of it. Chin up, Pamela,” she whispered, as she put the necklace on her.

  In an instant, Pamela’s visage started to transform, and when the enchantment had worked its magic, Sophie had a twin.

  Oh, if only it were Sylvie. Dear sweet Sylvie.

  Laughter tinkled through the room, and Seraphina appeared.

  “Oh, my little miss, what kind of delicious things have you put in motion now? I have some news for you, Sophie. Your beloved Rupert approaches. He is about to invite himself to the soiree your dear mother has so carefully planned out.

  “If you intend to escape you had best get to it now, but I don’t think you will be able to take your trunks with you, sweetheart. After all, you cannot exactly call for one of the family carriages, if you don’t want your parents to know that you’re fleeing their loving embraces.” She could always trust Seraphina to throw a pail of ice water on her plans. And yet, she had to grudgingly admit that Seraphina was right in this instance.

  “Blast and damn,” she muttered. She had on traveling clothes, but now she knew she would have to make her way to Victoria Station on her own.

  If only magical transportation weren’t frowned upon in her family. She could just fly to wherever she wanted to go. Since she was in the midst of her own private rebellion she might as well take a chance and use her magical might to take her to their family Isle. It would be a stretch for her as she had never traveled that far under her own power but she was willing to give it a try.

  “Did I do something wrong, my lady?” Pamela asked worriedly, looking at her with eyes so like hers and Sylvie’s.

  Seeing Pamela as she was, slightly unnerved her. She had to get to their castle, she had to figure out a way to help Sylvie. Ordinarily, she would have asked for Charlotte, Alexandra and Amelia’s help, but she was under extraordinary circumstances, and right now, Charlotte wanted nothing to do with her.

  “No, I am sorry, Pamela. I just realized a mistake I made. I won’t be able to take a carriage to Victoria Station unless I hire one.” She had never taken a hansom before, and didn’t know if she wanted to try one out now.

  Her family generally snubbed anything of that sort. The only public transportation that was allowed was the train. She looked over at the clock. Time ticked away while she attempted to make sense of her current situation.

  The sensible thing to do would be to give up on fleeing from her lord, and stay and take the medicine that the Ruby prescribed. She shut her eyes and counted to ten. She couldn’t marry a man who had stolen so much from her and had damned Sylvie to the half-life she had lived for the last three years.

  She would not dive into that kind of a relationship again. Besides, after seeing the hand that Eden’s marriage had dealt her, she wanted to bolt like a frisky colt. She knew deep down that Rupert wasn’t capable of that kind of brutality but he was capable of doing whatever he thought was right even if it wasn’t right for her.

  “Now, Pamela, I am afraid we must part ways. I am going to magically pop myself outside of the house until I can figure out my next move. While I am doing that, you can go down and make your very subdued entrance. Just smile and curtsy when required. You won’t be missed by Mrs. Langtry, as I have take the liberty of magically making her think that you asked for some time off from me and I granted it.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “And don’t answ
er people like that. Remember you are me! You must act and speak the way I would!”

  “Yes, yes. I will do my best, Lady Sophie—I mean Sophie. I shall do my best, Sophie.”

  “You shall shine like the stars in the sky.” She smiled at Pamela one last time, and slipped out of her bedchamber.

  *****

  Lord Redding’s carriage came to a stop near Rayne House. He would walk the rest of the way and take in the beautiful night.

  Romance beckoned to him everywhere from the corner flower carts to the haunting sunset. Everything felt perfect. He stopped mid-step, as an attractive figure emerged from the servant’s exit of Rayne House.

  Electricity shot through him as his soul recognized its mate.

  She, too, must have felt the similar sensation, for Sophie stopped, and looked his way with panic etched across her features. She was going to run if he didn’t do something to stop her.

  Lifting his walking stick, he activated his magic, and rooted her to her spot on the sidewalk. She struggled against his jinx, and he could see her attempting to lift it. She must have worked a bit of her own hocus pocus, as he could tell she had been sneaking out of the house under the cover of night rather, than leaving with her parents blessing. He could work that transgression to his advantage.

  Quickly, he shot across the distance that separated them. Hope surged inside of him, even as he prepared to do his worst to Sophie.

  “I see you have got quite the dilemma on your hands, sweetheart.”

  She pursed her lips into an unreadable line, and fire danced in his luminescent green eyes.

  “Damn you, Rupert! Why do you always show up to ruin my life?”

  Pain struck him as if she had punched him in the gut. She really had no tender feelings toward him whatsoever. He had ruined what they had shared by altering her memories of the night that Sylvie had died, and now there was little hope for her to forgive him.

  How could she resist the powers of the Ruby? She had to be in denial that was the only explanation. And since she lived in denial, he would help her to bring her out of that dreadful haze by doing the only thing he could think of. He would take her where no one would find them.