The Last Eligible Bachelor - Ashtyn Newbold Page 0,6

most of which were dresses she had already planned to give me anyway, as I often wore her second-hand clothing. Her father had taken a great deal of convincing from Sophia to allow her the trip with only myself as a chaperone, but he had eventually agreed, requiring a second maid, Jessie, to accompany us. It had worked to our favor, for it wouldn’t suit for me to arrive in Bibury unaccompanied if I were charading as Sophia, so Jessie would stay there with me.

I found Sophia in her room. After folding the last of her dresses, we made our way downstairs, where the footmen began loading our trunks and valises onto the coach.

Mr. and Mrs. Sedgwick watched their daughter with proud smiles, Mrs. Sedgwick holding a handkerchief to her nose. “I cannot believe my daughter is off to meet Mr. Hill,” she whimpered to her neighbor, a short, plump woman who had come to visit for tea an hour earlier. “Mrs. Ollerton has all praise for the man and seems to think Sophia will suit him. I believe the town of Bibury will be quite attractive as well, for I have heard it is lovely in the spring.” She gave another wave as Sophia climbed happily into the coach. “The next time I see her she could be engaged!” Mrs. Sedgwick looked near to dissolving into tears of pride.

I followed after Sophia into the carriage. The other maid, Jessie, entered after me. Jessie hadn’t spoken to me much since my arrival at Sedgwick Manor, nor had several of the other servants. As the lady’s maid, I was not to be trusted. Any gossip they wished to share below stairs was shushed at the sight of me, a trusted confidant of the family. Even now, Jessie watched me with a hint of worry, but it was also accompanied by pity. She knew the task I was to accomplish. At least I would have a friend to confide in during the ordeal.

The moment Sophia’s mother was out of sight, her sweet smile transformed to one of mischief, and she ducked away from the carriage window. “I believe we have fooled them all.”

I stared at the passing scenery as Sedgwick Manor grew smaller in the distance, disappearing entirely as we moved down the slope of the path.

I exchanged a quick glance with Jessie, her brown eyes filled with a similar measure of misgiving.

Mrs. Ollerton, I had learned, was the name of the matchmaking woman Sophia had spoken about. She was Sophia’s mother’s cousin, a woman she had never met, and whom Mrs. Sedgwick had only shared one greeting in her entire life. As unfamiliar as Mrs. Ollerton was with Sophia and her parents, it was even more surprising that she had written to invite Sophia to come to her house in Bibury. According to Sophia, Mrs. Ollerton had learned that she was of marriageable age and considered a beauty. That had been enough to earn Sophia an invitation.

Jessie knew much less than I did about the situation, and it showed in the deep creases on her brow. “How’ll we fool the guests in Bibury? I daresay that’ll be much more difficult than foolin’ your family.”

“I don’t believe it will be,” Sophia said with a sigh. “If Mrs. Ollerton is daft enough to think herself a talented matchmaker, and if a gentleman is daft enough to allow himself to be thrown into an event such as this, then they will have no problem believing Sherbrooke’s impersonation of me.”

The nature of this visit was still quite puzzling, and Jessie’s concerns echoed my own. Why was this Mr. Hill allowing Mrs. Ollerton to seek a wife for him? As Sophia had explained in greater detail that week, Mrs. Ollerton had intentionally sought out some of her distant relatives, young women, to come for this specific purpose. She intended to find a wife for Mr. Hill by the end of the spring, and he had agreed to it all. What sort of man would agree to choose his wife from among a total of five young ladies? There was a great chance he could find little to admire in all of them. All of us. Mr. Hill’s task sounded even more difficult than my own. All I had to do was ensure I was the least admirable of the five.

“I have no doubt Sherbrooke will pass easily to the bottom of his notice,” Sophia said in an offhand voice. “My mother learned that at least two