Days Gone By

Realisations

May 1944 - Aubrey Hall, Kent

Sophie had felt a little embarrassed that she'd asked Benedict out to Lunch and he'd declined. She had to wonder if she had just imagined everything between them. She'd finally decided to give up on her man from Christmas and try and move on but all it had done was left her feeling a little humiliated.

Though when she spoke to Kate about it later that night, she hadn't actually said it was going to be the two of them, so she couldn't really be feeling too humiliated if she never made it clear that it was going to be a date.

For all Benedict knew it was a trip with the kids, and if he had a lot of things to do that day he may not have wanted to spend time with the kids but if she'd made it clear, then he may have come.

But still, there was a little bit of hurt there and so she'd been doing her best to ignore him. She'd changed the lessons around and spent more time on Mathematics and Latin with Hyacinth and Gregory so that Benedict would spend less time with them, they weren't enjoying it as much as they had the previous lessons but Sophie tried to make up for it by baking and giving them treats at the end of the day.

It worked until Violet then informed them that since Anthony was now on his feet more than he was in his wheelchair, they were going to host an engagement party on Friday night and everyone was coming and Sophie had no way of getting out of it and given Kate was her best friend and she'd already been asked to be her maid of honour when she did eventually marry Anthony she had to go.

And she lived in the house so without somehow managing to catch a cold before then, she would have no choice.

She did try to go out of her way to catch a cold early on in the week as she'd gone outside into the rain on Monday but was caught by Eloise and Colin and dragged back inside before she could get too wet, she'd barely gotten a foot out of doors.

Sophie had a mild panic on Wednesday about having nothing to wear but Kate had come into her room and raided her wardrobe and came across her silver dress from Christmas and was adamant that Sophie should wear that.

Sophie shook her head "No, I... I it's too much surely"

"For an engagement party? Of course not! It's perfect and you'll look all decked out! And just because you had a heart break the first time you wore this doesn't mean it will happen again, a dress is not a bad omen" Kate said "besides, you will look, the bees knees" Kate grinned and Sophie had to admit she was probably right.

Sophie didn't really have any desire to wear this dress again, she had half thought to just burn it and be done with it but for some reason she'd kept it.

It had belonged to her mother, it was sentimental and it was all she had that was really party worthy without going and buying something new and she didn't really have time between now and the party to do that, so she reluctantly agreed with Kate that it was the best option.

She had managed to mostly avoid Benedict before the party, Hyacinth and Gregory were really excited on the day of the party at being allowed to attend so Sophie had agreed that the afternoon's lessons could be cancelled on the proviso that they worked extra hard during the next lessons.

They had eagerly agreed and so Sophie found herself sitting in her room, the silver dress hung up, the silver of the silk shimmering and she couldn't help but let her mind wander back to that night...

It had been a cloudless night for December, she hadn't wanted to go to the party but she owed it to her friends that weren't here anymore to not waste her life sitting around avoiding social situations.