“It is very nice to meet you.”

Sophia tried her best to smile at the little girl who was staring up at her with big blue eyes, so like the duke’s. There was no smile on her face, but no anger or upset either. Instead, there was simply a consideration of her, as though the child was assessing her in some way.

“Curtsy, Sarah,” the duke murmured pressing his daughter’s hand. “Can you show Miss Weston your very best curtsy?”

The girl frowned for a moment, before her face split into a wide smile, beaming up at her father. She did her very best – almost tumbling over in the process since she bent forward a little too much, only to laugh aloud as her father caught her.

Sophia was in love.

The child was beyond beautiful, her adoration for her father evident. The duke had been a little intimidating last evening, but today, in front of his daughter, he was much softer with a great deal of tenderness displayed. Sophia had been surprised to learn that she was to have so much time free from her duties as governess—for she had not expected the duke to care so much about his child. Now that she saw them together, she quite understood. They had such a strong bond that she did not think the duke would be able to go even a single day without seeing his daughter. It was a bond she had shared with her own father, albeit later in life when she had taken more of a role in the running of the house, but it had been wonderful nonetheless. A stab of pain shot through her heart as the duke lifted his face to hers, his smile for his daughter still lingering. Oh, how she missed her father!

“Miss Weston?”

Wiping the pained expression from her face, Sophia smiled brightly down at the child, not wanting to give a bad first impression. “I am sure we will get on splendidly, Lady Sarah. I can see that you have already learned to curtsy very well, and I am quite sure that come the end of the week, you will be able to do it perfectly.”

To her consternation, the girl frowned. “My name is Sarah. Not Lady Sarah.”

A little confused, Sophia looked up at the duke, who was laughing quietly.

“I do beg your pardon,” she mumbled, her cheeks burning red, as she wondered if she had somehow misstepped. She had thought it was perfectly appropriate to refer to the duke’s daughter by her correct title, but apparently, she had been wrong.

“Do forgive me, Miss Weston,” the duke chuckled, shaking his head. “My daughter is unused to such formality, although I suppose it is best that she begins to get used to it.”

“No,” the child interrupted, folding her arms. “I do not like being called Lady Sarah. I am just Sarah.”

“Very well,” the duke grinned, shrugging slightly, as he turned his eyes back toward Sophia. “Miss Weston, I believe my daughter would like to be referred to without her title at the moment. I am sure that in the years to come, she will grow to understand the significance of it.”

“I am sure she will,” Sophia agreed softly, finding even the child’s stubbornness to be something of a delight. “I would say that such determination is a good quality, your grace.”

He nodded slowly, the smile fading from his features as he contemplated her. “I suppose it is,” he said eventually. “Just so long as she does not become accustomed to always having her way, you understand.”

“Yes, indeed, I quite understand,” Sophia replied, looking down at the girl who was looking up them both with a slightly puzzled expression. “Might I take Sarah to the schoolroom now, your grace?”

“Of course.”

The duke bent down to look into his daughter’s face, instructing her to do everything that Sophia asked of her and telling her that he would be getting a report on her progress by the end of the week. This seemed to give little Sarah a determination to do as well as she could for her father, solemnly promising that she would do just that.

The duke smiled and rose to his feet, standing a little closer to Sophia than he had done before.

“Do come and find me this evening, once you have eaten,” he said, his eyes still on his daughter. “I would like to know how everything has gone.”

Her heart quickened as she looked up into his face, seeing his gaze slowly travel toward her. There was a moment of silence, a moment of something sparking between them. Then, it was gone.

He did not say another word, but turned on his heel and left the room, leaving her with her new charge staring up at her and a heart that was suddenly pounding with confusion.

The schoolroom had been dusted, tidied, and aired by the maids, and Sophia had only had the briefest of visits to it before she had been called to meet Sarah. Walking into the room now, she felt a fresh new responsibility settling on her shoulders, seeing the little girl coming in behind her as they stepped inside.

“I have not been here before,” Sarah said loudly, looking at the chalkboard and then at the map on the wall. “What is it we are meant to do?” She looked up inquiringly at Sophia, who immediately tried to think of the best explanation she could give.

“Well, Sarah, in this room, we are to start to fill your mind with all kinds of knowledge,” she said slowly. “There is so much for you to learn that I hardly know where to begin!”

“I know my numbers and my letters,” Sarah replied, with a slight air of indignance. “Is that the kind of thing you mean?”

“Yes, that is it precisely,” Sophia answered, pulling out a slate and a piece of chalk. “Why do you not show me your numbers, Sarah? I would very much like to see them.”

The girl looked up at her for a moment, her eyes traveling from Sophia’s face to the slate and chalk she held out in her hand. Then, with a slow deliberateness, she took the slate and set it down in front of her.

Sophia let out a long, slow breath of relief, having been a little concerned that the girl might not do as she asked. She had no idea what she was supposed to do if that kind of thing occurred, wondering if she would have to go and speak to the duke and ask him for his help, only to worry that in doing so, she would then appear to be entirely incompetent.

“Here,” Sarah said, interrupting her train of thought. “I did them.”

Taking back the slate, Sophia looked down at the scrawl of numbers. Some were back to front, some upside down, and some entirely wrong. Sophia smiled at the little girl.

“You have done an excellent job,” she said, wanting to encourage her. “I think, however, that we will do the numbers one at a time, and we shall do them together. That way, we can make sure not to have any mistakes.”

Sarah nodded, giving Sophia the smallest of smiles as she came to sit next to her, her own slate in hand. She smiled back at the girl, her heart filling with a happy relief that Sarah now seemed to be a little more amenable to having a governess.

The day passed quickly, and to her surprise, Sophia found herself more than able to fill the day with lots of different activities. After doing their numbers, she helped Sarah to write her full name, explaining to her the reason she had referred to her as ‘Lady Sarah’. After lunch, they had wrapped up warmly and gone for a brief walk outside, even though it was windy and rather cold. The girl had bounced about like a jack-in-the-box and made Sophia laugh, finding a spark of happiness beginning to build a fire inside her.

When the dinner gong sounded, Sophia was surprised to find that she was already looking forward to having another day with the little girl tomorrow. After all of her worry and concern, she had found the little girl to be a happy and bright child, who smiled readily and laughed often. She was sure that tomorrow would go just as well, if not better, now that she had begun to get to know her.

“Good evening, Sarah,” she said, rising to her feet and smiling down at the little girl. “It is time for me to go now. The nurse will be here with your dinner very soon.”

Sarah nodded and got to her feet, setting the dolls she had been playing with aside. “Are you back again tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course I will be,” Sophia replied, with a gentle smile. “I will see you again tomorrow morning after breakfast. I am sure we will have another wonderful day, Sarah. I will be sure to tell your father just how delightful you were today.”

Sarah lifted her eyes to Sophia’s, and to her surprise, wrapped her arms around her waist. A little taken aback, Sophia did not know what to do initially, only to then press one hand to the little girl’s head, her heart filling.

“Goodnight, Miss Weston,” Sarah said, her voice muffled in Sophia’s skirts. “Thank you for helping me with my letters.”

Sophia swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, running one hand down Sarah’s dark curls.

“You are more than welcome, Sarah,” she replied, hoarsely. “I will see you again tomorrow.”