Chapter Text
The grounds of the estate glistened under a fresh downpour; a rainstorm had just blown through, and all the house guests were inside. Perhaps that was why he was outside, in order to avoid said guests and all of their tedious inanities.
There was only so much one man could take when each conversation reeked of unoriginality and enough pompous drivel to fill an entire washtub full.
The air smelt fresh after the rain, and he breathed in sharply, the breadth of his jacket stretching across his shoulders at each inhale.
The winding trail that wrapped around the garden had darkened from copper to bronze, and he would need to be careful not to track mud inside, or his housekeeper would have his hide, but at that moment, he was just happy to escape and enjoy a little bit of freedom away from his societal duties.
The green grass seemed to glow like the sun’s light, orange as a tangerine in a bowl of fruit, descending towards the horizon and the leaves of the bushes gleamed like jewels in freshly washed coats of water droplets.
Gravel crunched under his boots as he took a different pathway leading into another garden feature. The trickling of water in an intricately carved fountain revealed itself around the next corner, the centerpiece of the entryway into a hedge maze.
It was a nice spot, with intervals of benches and large urns of flowering trees. The musicality of falling water was a soothing counterbalance to the riot of worries that stormed around in his head, and he would have stopped there to rest on one of the benches, but there was a distinctive sound that caught his attention.
Benedict paused, cocking an ear towards where he thought it had come from, and heard it again: the faintest sound of sniffling.
“Is anyone there?” he called out, his voice sounding rather loud to his own ears. He cursed his own indelicacy when he heard the sharpness of a feminine gasp.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” He moderated his tone, glancing from one side of the clearing to the other, but was still unable to catch sight of whomever was taking refuge there. “I’ll just be going.”
He turned on his heel, hands on his hips as he walked away, but he barely made it a few steps before a voice stopped him in his tracks.
“It’s alright. I was just going.” The voice was decidedly feminine, and despite the influence of tears, sounded warm yet direct.
“Ah. I didn’t mean to imply that you should leave.” He turned back around to catch sight of a young woman appearing from around the other side of the fountain, hands clasped in front of her in an anxious manner.
She was decidedly damp, and he had to avert his eyes in order to give her some modicum of respect, but from what he had managed to gauge from her appearance, she had to be someone’s companion or poorer relation.
“Are you alright, miss…?” Benedict asked, staring over her shoulder though he could see the dark coil of her wet hair out of the corner of his eye.
“Sophie. Miss Sophie Baek. I’m Miss Rosamund Li’s companion.” Her voice shook just the tiniest bit, and he wondered if she was nervous or perhaps cold.
“Miss Sophie, what are you doing out here?” He took a step closer, turning to look down at his boots, but instead, he found his gaze traveling up from the peep of her slippers to her flowing light blue skirt and darker blue bodice.
“It’s not important. I should really get back to the house. Miss Li will be looking for me.” Her voice was as cultured as a pearl in a jeweler’s case, but her gown was aged, shabby at the sleeves and collar, and yet, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
“I’m sure she is. Though you don’t have to be afraid of me. I would not want to ruin your reputation by letting you be found alone with me, as I have several sisters who I would want to be treated in the same fashion. But then, if I follow society’s rules, how am I to treat you chivalrously if I leave you here alone?” He offered her a smile, putting on all the charm that he possessed and was rewarded with a smile back, though it trembled at the corners as she shivered. “It’s quite the conundrum.”
Benedict stepped forward, noticing the indentation of a dimple in one cheek, close to her mouth, but immediately stopped when she jerked, startled, her foot sliding on the loose gravel around the base of the fountain.
“Forgive me,” he spoke as he jogged forwards, grasping her under the elbow, her skin chilly under his hand. She wore no gloves, and despite the summer heat, the coolness of the evening had descended after the rain, and she was practically soaked through. “I must not let you fall and hit your head, but then you’re so cold. I must worry about you getting sick instead.”
He shrugged out of his coat, carefully draping it over her shoulders as he attempted to avoid touching her too intimately. “Here.”
“Thank you,” Sophie murmured. He was struck by how clear her skin was, as pure as gesso, and at the whisper-thin scent of lilacs that must come from her damp hair.
“Why are you out here alone?” he blurted, finding it very hard to move away from her despite the rules that dictated how a young lady must be treated by a gentleman, especially when unchaperoned.
“It’s Miss Li.” She grasped the lapels of the jacket and drew it closer around her, the only thing visible from beneath it the paleness of her fingers holding the edges together. “She— she has lost one of her jeweled combs, and she insists if I cannot find it within the next day that she must tell the constable that I have stolen it and I— I don’t have anywhere to go if I lose my position but I— I didn’t steal it, she must have simply misplaced it. Perhaps dropped it out here or it is stuck among the folds of one of her shawls. I don’t know except that I don’t have it.” Her brown eyes gazed up at him, glistening with pain and the depth of righteous indignation as a tear streaked down one cheek.
She brushed it away with an abrupt motion, struggling to hold onto the jacket as it began to slip from around her narrow shoulders.
He reached for the coat, sliding it back up and pulling the collar tighter against her neck, fingers lingering for the span of a breath before he snatched his gaze away from hers and made himself step back before he did something entirely regrettable. Something that would most definitely ruin her reputation and force her out of her position with or without the presence of a lost hair comb.
Sophie sniffed again, but she steadied herself, the orange glow of the setting sun turning red as it sunk behind the windbreak of trees, striping her black hair with umber highlights.
“I— how can I help?” he offered, catching the surprised widening of her eyes before she turned to walk away.
“You do not have to help me.” She shook her head, fingers tightening to white around the coat, the length of her filmy skirts catching against the sturdier fabric as she moved.
“Of course I must.” He huffed out an amused laugh that she turned to ashes with a glare that made him reach out for her, stopping her with a hand. “I insist. It is my property after all, and I cannot let one of my guests be booted from her position.”
“You’re Mr. Bridgerton?” Her face faded to white, and he grasped her other arm in hopes that she would not swoon, but if she did, he wouldn’t let her fall.
“Yes, what does that matter?” He searched her face, but he wasn’t sure what he was looking for since he had barely known her for more than fifteen minutes.
“I— I can’t believe I have just… tattled on one of your guests. I’m sorry. I must leave.” She tried to shrug out of his hands, the length of her hair falling even farther from its pins as she tried to pull away, but he gently detained her.
“Why? I’ve asked you what the matter is, and you have told me. You were not speaking of Miss Li disparagingly, you were simply speaking the truth. Who could that hurt?”
A small frown appeared between her brows, and he suddenly wished that he was able to solve her problem, if only to bring back one of her gentle smiles.
“You don’t know Miss Li,” she murmured, and Benedict could see the real fear in her eyes. He wondered how someone like Sophie could be beholden to someone who clearly didn’t deserve or respect her loyalty.
He searched her face as he tried to remember seeing her at the house earlier that day or at any time of the week since his house party had started, but he didn’t recall her. The house was large but filled with so many people of the ton it was not surprising that he did not recognize her. He also didn’t recall a Miss Li on the guest list, but then, he had let his younger sister, Francesca, approve the guest list since it was for his mother. Mother was so insistent that he find a wife, and they invited so many eligible young ladies and other gentlemen of equal status so that there were enough pairs to make each night in the ballroom a veritable crush.
“No. I cannot say I do, and I don’t think I want to.” Benedict realized he was still grasping her by the arms and loosened his hold.
Sophie’s color had returned, but now that it was getting dark, he knew he needed to return her to the house and the respectable ladies who had accepted invitations as chaperones.
“Let me show you back to the house.” He offered her his arm as a breeze blew around them, rustling the leaves of the trees and lifting the strands of her hair to send lilac scent floating over him like softly falling petals.
She nodded, accepting his arm, and he gently wrapped a hand around her fingers, alarmed to find them still chilled despite the covering of his jacket.
“I must insist you get inside and change as soon as possible, Miss Baek. I will find you tomorrow morning, and we will set this right. I promise.” Benedict squeezed her hand as he ushered her closer to the building, but stopped just shy of the lanterns that lit the doorstep so that she would not be seen with him, unchaperoned.
“Goodnight,” she murmured, a grateful if shy smile washing over him like the heat of the summer sun as she retreated through the door.
“Goodnight,” he whispered, still mesmerized after she disappeared behind the door.
Benedict chuckled, shaking his head as he shoved a hand through his hair and walked away. He was definitely in trouble, but he didn’t think he would want to be in the same situation with anyone but Miss Sophie Baek. She seemed a veritable paragon, and one with a core of strength not seen amongst other young ladies of his acquaintance.