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She had no idea how it ended But not here

What had she done?

"Any chance we ht leave with two?"

The words were punctuated by the happy bell above the door, and then King was inside the bakery, and Sophie knew that so could, in fact, makesant witness to her uncertainty

Jane’s eyes widened and her mouth turned into a perfect O Sophie could not bla seemed to overtake every space he entered--taprooes Why not bakeries?

"We don’t need two," Sophie said

"Of course we do, darling"

The darling attracted her attention And Jane’s And Robbie’s, for that nored her, turning his brilliant, beautiful s but talk about the her all over again She was not Mrs Matthew to these people, she was Lady Sophie Talbot They knew her And they would not hesitate to gossip about her

"My lord," she began, not entirely certain of what she would say

He ignored her, instead reaching a hand to Robbie "You must be the famous Robbie"

Robbie looked terribly confused "I arinned "Eversley Marquess of"

Robbie’s eyes were round as plates "Marquess!" He looked to Sophie "Are you--"

"Not yet," King laughed, answering the question before it was finished "Sadly, she wanted to return to Cumbria before she married me But she swears it will be done just as soon as we’ve seen my father, the Duke of Lyne" He lifted her hand to his lips, staring deeply into her eyes as he kissed her knuckles "I didn’t need her to stand on such ceree on the day we nored the flip of her heart at his outrageously roe But as he doing? What would happen to her when they didn’t marry? When she was left in discarded ruin--unwanted by the Marquess of Eversley?

She was not one of the other ladies, with copious offers of e was here And it was ar buns

It hadn’t been an option at all, if she was honest with herself

She should be ht she would be grateful for his arrival But instead, it ehly She didn’t want him to see that this had turned into such a disaster She didn’t want him to see that she was alone Without a holoat

She didn’t want hie her

Embarrassment flared hot and unwelco back to starry-eyed Jane, and said, "But she was so eager to see her old friend"--he leaned in conspiratorially--"and, between us, to have one of these legendary buns, that she forgot to ask for one forfor days, so I forgive her Exhaustion takes a toll on such a delicate lady" Sophie resisted the urge to roll her eyes

"Of course, th of cotton in which to wrap them

"Are you a lord?" Alice asked, the arrival of an aristocrat apparentlybent down to meet her "How do you do, Miss--"

Alice did not understand the prompt, so Sophie interjected "Alice"

"Alice is a lovely na lady"