Sophie and her father arrived at the Lord Glenview’s around six that evening. Sophie was immediately rushed to her chambers to change for supper. Sophie didn’t understand why she had to change for supper. What was wrong with the dress she was wearing? Sophie changed into a light blue ball gown (on the insistence of the maid) and headed downstairs to the dining room. Sophie was stopped at the double doors.
“Why?” Sophie asked the nearby butler.
“You must be announced Princess.” The butler told her.
Momentarily trumpets began to sound. Then a booming voice was heard.
“Her Royal Highness Sophie Marie, Princess Royal of Caledonia and Duchess of Norwood.”
The doors opened to a large ballroom filled with many people, not at all what Sophie had been expecting. Her father had told her it would be a supper not a ball. But he wasn’t stupid; he knew that if he had shared with Sophie the real details of the event she wouldn’t have come out of their carriage.
Sophie walked slowly into the room and gazed at all of the guests, there had to be almost 200 people. She then remembered that she had to curtsy and when she did so the entire room replied with the like. Her father then approached her, took her hand, and led her down the stairs. Two men stepped forward and bowed.
The elder man spoke, “Princess, may I present to you my son, the future Lord of Glenview, John.”
John bowed and kissed Sophie’s hand, “It’s an honour to meet you Princess.”
“Likewise.” Sophie smiled her winning smile.
“May I dance with you?” John asked, still kneeling.
“Only if you promise to get of your knees when we dance.” Sophie joked. No one laughed. “Yes, Yes, It would be by pleasure to dance with you.” Sophie hadn’t managed to keep the sarcasm out of voice as John looked rather hurt. Despite this they danced two dances together.
Sophie also danced with the son of the Duke of Kilbride, the son of the Count of Brant Hills, the son of the Lord of Pearson and the son of the Duke of Bancroft. All of them were terrible dancers. The son of the Count of Tansley asked if he may dance with her but by that time Sophie’s poor feet had been stepped on so many times that they were throbbing in pain. Sophie then found her father and asked if she may have a word with him alone. He agreed and the two went into a small room to the side of the ball room.
As soon as they were alone, Sophie exploded, “You told me that we were going to a dinner! A dinner, Papa! Why did you lie to me?”
“Sophie, we both know that you wouldn’t have even come inside the building if you had known.”
“Of course not! I am tired of being treated like a doll that you and those ridiculous men may pass around until I am married off!”
“Sophie, please quiet-”
“No, I will not be quiet; I am not getting married to any of those boring, stupid, mundane boys! None of them can even dance Papa! My poor toes are aching!”
“Sophie, I am in no way trying to force you to marry any of those boys.”
“Then what is the point of having me come to this ridiculous ball?”
“Do you really want to know Sophie?”
“Yes, Papa, do tell.”
“Because you have never spent time with anyone your own age, not girls or boys, you are always with me or you are off daydreaming and gazing off into space!”
“I am always with you because you require me to be with you!”
“Sophie I do not require that you be with me at all times, if you wanted to go out with some friends, I would allow you do so. But you can’t because you-” Sophie’s father stopped himself.
“What were you going to say Papa? Were you going to say it is because I don’t have any friends?”
“Sophie, Monkey, I… I’m” Mark stammered, trying to think of something to say.
Sophie began to cry, “You think I prefer it that way? Do you Papa?”
“No, Sophie, of course I don’t.”
“I want to have friends, but it isn’t my fault-”
“Of course it isn’t your fault darling; you were never exposed to other children.” An unknown voice cuts in.
Mark whose back had been facing the door spun around, allowing Sophie to see an older lady standing in the doorway. Sophie’s face must have shown her confusion, for the woman noticed, “Do you not recognize me darling?”
Sophie shook her head no.
“Mark, you’ve done worse than I expected with the girl.” The woman said to Sophie’s father.
Sophie let out whimper. The woman turned to her, “Sophie, do not cry, it is very unbecoming for a prospective bride, like yourself.”
Sophie turned to her father to see if he would provide information as to who this woman was and to why she did not address him as “Your Highness” like everyone else.
Mark understood and answered Sophie’s silent question, “Sophie, this is your Grandmother Elizabeth, Duchess of Coe Hill.”
Sophie stared at her grandmother, she had been expecting something different, but the woman was tall, blonde and not as old as Sophie would have thought.
“It is not proper to stare young lady.” Sophie stopped staring at the sound of her grandmother’s sharp voice. Sophie shifted her gaze to the floor.
“Do you have anything to say, or will you just stand there gawking at me, that too makes a prospective bride quite ugly to a suitor.”
Sophie did not say anything for a few moments then murmured, “Hello, Duchess. How do you do?”
Grandmother Elizabeth looked sharply at Mark, “What have you done to this child? Is he unable to polite?”
Sophie’s father, who had said nothing thus far, turned away from the woman and began counting under his breath.
“Now I see where the girl received the quality from.”
Mark turned around suddenly, “’The girl’ has a name and it is Sophie, you will address her as that or you may call her Princess. Also, Sophie is usually very talkative but at this moment the two of us were having an argument and I made her cry, which she is allowed to do if she wants to. And Sophie is one of the most polite girls I know. And finally Madam, Sophie is the most wanted bachelorette in this whole country, so please do not make any more comments denying this.”
Sophie smiled, her father was forgiven, “Thank you Papa.”
Mark walked over and joined his daughter, putting his arm around her protectively. Grandmother Elizabeth continued to look displeased with both Sophie and her father.
“You haven’t changed much Sophie. You’ve grown of course; you have quite the figure now, which you no doubt got from your dear mother, your green eyes and your brown locks as well. But I believe that your character has stayed much the same.”
Sophie looked at her grandmother, searching for something to say, something polite that is. Mark looked at Sophie sensing how uncomfortable she was asked Grandmother Elizabeth how Grandfather Luke was.
“He’s doing fine. Sophie did you have a governess as a child?”
Sophie glanced at her father, hoping that his features would tell her whether to lie or not, but alas they gave away nothing. Sophie decided to be honest, “No, Ma’am, I never had one growing up.”
“That explains a great deal.” Grandmother Elizabeth muttered under her breath.
Mark, who finally seemed to hear the conversation, “I never felt it necessary for Sophie to have one, I am and was always with her.”
“That is all good and well Mark, but you are not a lady and do not know how lady should act when in company.” Grandmother Elizabeth said curtly.
“Elizabeth, we’ve had this debate already and you have lost; why must we have it again?”
“Mark, Sophie is now of age to become engaged, which means she must know what men like and how to act around them-”
“Would a man not man what a man likes?” Mark interjected.
“She’s not marrying you Mark! And besides that, Sophie must know how to be a wife.”
“Get to your point Elizabeth.”
“What if Sophie was to spend time with a married woman, perhaps a woman of 25, and just to get an idea of how to be a gracious wife?” Grandmother Elizabeth looked at Sophie as she spoke.
“That’s a ridiculous idea.” Mark said.
Grandmother continued anyway, “The Duchess of Ancaster would be perfect, she is only a young lady of 25, but she is a good wife.”
“What makes her a good wife?” Sophie asked her grandmother.
“Oh, you are able to speak.” Grandmother Elizabeth said sarcastically, “She is a good wife because she does what she is told, she is a good hostess, and she bares happy, healthy children.”
Sophie rolled her eyes; she was not going to be some man’s child bearing slave.
“I should get back to the ball; I believe there are still some young men who would like to step on my toes for two songs.” Sophie told her father and grandmother while she walked toward the door.
“You have not been dismissed yet.” Grandmother Elizabeth told her.
Sophie turned around and gave her grandmother a look and exited the room.
Grandmother Elizabeth gasped, “The nerve of that child! Mark, what have you done?”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“You must have done something, to raise a child who is that rude and full of herself.”
“You’re right actually; I did do something to make her like this. I raised her to think for herself and challenge the world. I told her to be her own person.”
Grandmother Elizabeth was shocked, “Men will not like a woman like that, men want a woman who will listen to them, do what they say, and-”
“Like Anne?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I said like Anne, your daughter, the woman I married.”
“What does any of this have to do with Anne?”
“Well, you said that men, I am a man, like women who do exactly what their told, Anne never did what I asked her to, but I didn’t mind that.”
“You and Anne are an exception.”
“Sophie is too, I can tell. She will marry a man, who does want a drone as a wife. Sophie will marry a man, who would prefer that she have opinions of her own and the two of them will be the happiest married couple in Caledonia as they will be married because they love each other and not because they were told to get married by their parents.”
Mark and Grandmother Elizabeth looked at each other for a moment then Mark excused himself, but as he was leaving Grandmother Elizabeth spoke, “If Anne had done what you had told her to she wouldn’t be dead.”
Mark spun around and walked briskly toward Grandmother Elizabeth, stopping just inches from her face.
“You have no business to comment on that subject Madam.”
“Don’t I Mark? She was my daughter too, not just your wife.”
“Regardless, it is none of your business.”
“Oh. Mark admit it, if she had just let Sophie drown in that pond, as you had told her to-”
Mark became very angry and yelled into Grandmother Elizabeth’s face, “I never told her to let Sophie drown. I never said that!”
“You may not have said those exact words Mark, but you did tell Anne not to go into the pond, did you not?”
“I said that only because I didn’t want to lose both of the women I loved.”
“So you chose Anne?”
“I didn’t choose Anne; I just thought that we would never be able to save Sophie.”
“But Anne saved Sophie, but because the pond was freezing cold, Anne caught pneumonia-”
“So did Sophie.” Mark interjected.
“Yes, but Sophie was expecting twins was she Mark?”
Mark than began to sob loudly and uncontrollably. He fell to the floor in tears.
The door opened suddenly and the Lord Glenview entered. He saw the Prince on the floor sobbing and asked Grandmother Elizabeth what had happened.
Mark answered for her, “Fetch my daughter, the two of us are leaving immediately.”