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Anthony found her alone in the small morning room, the quiet hum of the household drifting faintly through the open door. Sophie stood near the window, her hands folded together, as though she were uncertain whether she ought to be there at all.
It was a look he had seen before.
For a moment he simply watched her, this young woman who had somehow done what none of them had managed for years.
Then he knocked lightly against the doorframe.
“Miss Baek,” he began, and immediately corrected himself, his tone softening. “Sophie.”
She turned at once, straightening. “My lord. I am so sorry… I hope I am not in the way. I only thought…”
“You are never in the way in this house,” Anthony said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
That earned him a small, uncertain smile.
He was silent for a moment, studying her with the same careful assessment he used in matters of estate and family alike. Sophie bore it bravely, though her fingers tightened together.
“I wished to speak with you before the wedding,” he said at last.
Her eyes widened slightly. “If there is some concern…”
“There is,” he said.
She went very still.
Anthony’s expression gentled.
“My concern is that no one has properly told you how very glad we are that you are here.”
She blinked.
“I am not certain,” she said slowly, “that I understand.”
“I imagine you do not,” he replied dryly. “The Bridgerton’s are not always skilled at solemn conversations. We tend to overwhelm people instead.”
That drew a quiet laugh from her.
Anthony moved closer, resting one hand against the back of a chair.
“My brother has been… adrift,” he said. “For years. Since our father died, he has hidden it better than most would think, but I have known. Benedict has always been the one who feels things most deeply. And for a long time, he had no direction for that feeling. No purpose. No place to anchor himself. Constantly late. ”
Sophie listened without interrupting.
“Then you came into his life,” Anthony continued. “And for the first time in years, he came back to us. Fully. Laughing again. On time for things! Arguing with me again, which, I assure you, is a marked improvement.”
Her smile grew, though her eyes shone.
“You gave him something to belong to, you have given him an anchor, he is no longer seems to be adrift. He has a purpose. A reason.” Anthony said quietly. “And I will be grateful to you for that for the rest of my life.”
Sophie shook her head at once. “My lord, he has given me far more. I came to you all with nothing. With a past that…”
“I know your past,” Anthony said calmly.
She faltered.
“I know what that woman attempted to do to you, my mother filled me in about what happened in that Jail cell. I know you were falsely accused. I know the circumstances of your birth.”
Each word seemed to weigh on her, her shoulders drawing inward as if bracing for judgment.
Anthony’s voice softened further.
“And none of it matters.”
She looked up sharply.
“You are the woman my brother loves,” he said. “You are the woman my family already loves. That is the beginning and the end of the matter. That you were our maid, that you were another’s maid, trust me Cavander will not say a word if he values his place in society and Lady Penwood might have tried to spoil your name with those in the ton but we Bridgerton’s have a lot of weight in the ton… more than she does… those families will not argue with your place in our family. You are our family Sophie”
Her lips parted, but no sound came.
“Kate considers you her sister,” he went on. “My sons adore you, Edmund asks for you every morning, and Miles stops crying when you hold him, which is more than I can manage.” His mouth curved faintly. “And my mother has already begun speaking of you as though you have always been one of us and both Hyacinth and Eloise would riot and burn down London alongside Benedict to keep you with us.”
A tear slipped down Sophie’s cheek before she could stop it.
Anthony did not look away.
“The Bridgertons do not care for bloodlines half so much as we care for loyalty, kindness, and stubborn devotion,” he said. “On those matters, you are exceptionally well qualified.”
She laughed weakly through her tears.
“I have always been afraid,” she admitted softly. “That one day, I would be told I did not truly belong.”
Anthony straightened.
“You belong,” he said firmly. “Not because Benedict chose you, though he chose very wisely, but because you chose him. You chose us. Even when it would have been easier to walk away, you stayed until the end, I know you were trying to leave but it wasn’t to protect yourself… it was to protect us… my sister’s… my family… you are the missing piece we have needed for years.”
Sophie pressed her hand briefly to her mouth, overwhelmed.
Anthony hesitated only a moment before adding, more quietly, “When my father died, everything changed. I became Viscount overnight, and my brothers… They needed something steady. I have spent years trying to hold this family together.”
He met her eyes.
“You have helped me do that.”
She stared at him.
“For bringing my brother back to himself,” Anthony said, his voice low but certain, “thank you.”
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Sophie managed, very softly, “I think… I am the fortunate one, my lord.”
Anthony’s expression warmed.
“You may call me Anthony,” he said. “Everyone else does. Eventually, you will too.”
She gave a small, tremulous smile. “Thank you… Anthony.”
He nodded once, satisfied.
“And Sophie?”
“Yes?”
“Welcome to the family.”
This time, when she smiled, there was no uncertainty in it at all.