started to get out without a word. Jackson leaned forward and caught her arm. She looked back at him, startled.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked. “At the park?”
“If you want me there,” she said softly, her heart singing.
“Oh, I want you ,” he said. “I wonder if you realize how much?”
Sophie held his gaze as long as she dared, and then turned to go inside. She heard the sound s of his leaving, and turned back at the kitchen door to stare after him.
She crept like a mouse into the kitchen, surprising the cook, Mrs. Ferguson.
“Miss Sophie!” the woman said , her fingers pleating her stained apron . “You’d better watch out. Your sister is looking…”
The door burst open , and the woman’s voice died away . Delia entered the kitchen, arms crossed over her chest, eyes narrowed. Her lips were thin with displeasure.
“Just where have you been, missy?” she hissed. “As if I didn’t know! I saw you getting into his vehicle this morning after breakfast. I wanted you to iron my new dress for tonight. I had to get the little maid to do it, and she’s made a right mess of it . I told her I was docking her pay. ” She sniffed and shot Sophie a venomous look. “You can just march yourself up to my room and do it again.”
Sophie took off her bonnet, and folded it slowly , her hands shaking. Claire, ‘t he little maid’ was all of 12 years old, and Delia paid her a pittance. Any docking of her pay, and she would be giving Delia money to work here.
“ You are perfectly capable of using an iron, Delia,” she said coolly. “ You did it often enough when we were children. I’m not at your beck and call night and day. If you need it done, do it yourself.” She looked her sister straight in the eyes as she said the next words. “ And I wasn’t aware you had to vet my friends, Delia. Perhaps you’re more like Father than you care to think.”
Delia gasped. “So this is the thanks I get! I open ed my home to you, I took you in when you had nowhere else to go, my dear sister, and for th is you give me insults and snide remarks. I’ve bankrupted myself taking care of you. You refuse to help me, and you’ve taken to running around with my men behind my back!”
“Running around with y our men?” Sophie asked , her anger boiling white-hot. She felt her hands trembling, and she clenched her fists at her side . “ I went for a picnic with a man, one man , singular . I haven’t been out of this house in months except to do your shopping, and I deserve a morning off once in a while. And I wasn’t aware you were still interested in him, Delia, since you threw him out of this house and told him not to come back . I’m quite sure you don’t even remember his name. And open your home to me ? Bankrupted yourself ? Don’t make me laugh! You spent the money ‘your men’ gave you on fripperies, and never put a penny away for a rainy day. That’s your fault, not mine. You only keep me here so that you can work me like a dog without having to pay me anything.” Sophie snorted derisively. ” My dear sister, indeed!”
“Oh, I see,” Delia said softly. She smiled, and her eyes were cold as ice. “He couldn’t get me to go to his backwater home, so he’s working on you instead. Well, beware, sister: Once he realizes exactly what he’s getting in you, he’ll turn you out like a shot. And who will ta ke you then , sister ? Not me! I won’t have you back , Sophie . So if you decide to go with him , you ’d better make sure you’re set up right and tight, because you won’t be sneaking around here ever again.”
Resentment welled up in Sophie, and oh, she felt like a tea kettle with hot air built up inside. She wanted to let it spill. She was tired of keeping her mouth shut. She was tired of creeping around the house like a scared little mouse. Sophie crossed her arms and looked her sister up and down.
”Oh? Who are you going to get to run your house then, Delia? ” she asked