"Sophia, dear, are the children settled for the night?" The stately woman dressed in her evening finery, prepared to attend dinner and entertain her guests, demanded as the girl appeared on top of the wide staircase, one foot on the burgundy coloured runner carpet descending down the centre, the polished wood of the banister reflecting the warm flickers of light emitted by the multitude of candles set in the crystal chandelier high above them.

"Yes, Lady Jane. I am just coming from the nursery." The young woman, looking like a child herself dressed in the sombre, unassuming black gown replied as she descended the stairs, swift and silent like a ghost, only the whisper of her voluminous skirts and petticoats sending the scent of burning candles and melting wax astir around them hinting that she wasn't an apparition.

She would be such a marvellous addition to their household, well bred, meek and demure as she was, a thing becoming always rarer in the new generations, Lady Jane mused, smiling at the girl as she approached her, reaching out and pushing one of her indomitable auburn curls that had escaped her chignon behind her ear. The children adored her, and she, with her wisdom beyond her seventeen years paired with her infinite patience, would be a perfect governess... But it would be below her social status. Even though reduced to almost poverty by the vicissitudes of life, Sophia's family was just as important as Jane's. Her distant cousin's eldest daughter should marry well to help her unfortunate parents and not seek employment. And Jane would help her with that.

"Oh just how many times have I begged you to call me Aunt Jane, Sophia? You are incredibly stubborn for a wise, well read girl like yourself, that stubbornness might just be the only, albeit crucial, fault of your character; I yet have to meet a man who appreciates stubbornness in his prospective wife," Aunt Jane scolded on a sigh. "You're almost old enough to get married; it is high time you learned to obey... But never mind that now. Come, join us for dinner tonight; you always hide in the kitchen with the maids as if you weren't my cousin's child. A cousin of yours is visiting tonight, and I am certain that he will be delighted to see you... I only wish you did not always wear black; you would look delightful in white, pink, or even violet like our cousin Queen Victoria. She loves that colour for a reason, I swear it does miracles to the look of our fair, English skin!"

Sophia sighed. She wished Lady Jane had forgotten about their familial bond because she had been plucking up her courage this past week to ask her for a place of a governess. It didn't matter that her mother was Jane's second cousin or Queen Victoria was Sophia's third or fourth cousin when her parents had lost most of their fortune in the last few years, through the misfortunes of life, the cruel destiny, the awful storms that had sank one of her father's ships to the bottom of the sea after another, with their cargo and the poor sailors, reducing the prosperous viscount who enjoyed playing at a merchant in the fast changing, modern society to almost a landed beggar. She needed a paid place, she needed to help her parents somehow because she absolutely wasn't going to accept the other option-- Sophia wasn't going to allow them to marry her off to save the family. She was going to earn her independence, leave the noisy London and move to the seaside, and open a book shop...

She shook her head to clear her rambling thoughts when Aunt Jane, still talking, took her by her elbow and steered her towards the dining room.

"Come on, girl. You've been working so hard, you deserve some entertainment. Your uncle told me that we will dance too tonight; the guests who arrived today insisted on it. All the youngsters, apart from you, my darling girl, seem to be already in the Christmas mood, and it is only the beginning of December! I wish you wore a more cheerful gown; you and your obsession with dark colours! You should wear something brighter, take the example from our young Queen!" she enthused, straightening the folds of her own wide, lilac skirt with her free hand as she led Sophia, who walked at her side, down a candle-lit corridor.

Sophia loved eating in the kitchen, alone or with the maids; no one ever told her off for reading while eating there. But now, she mused, trying to suppress a sigh as she pretended to listen to Jane who was trying to explain to her which of Sophia's numerous, more or less distant cousins was visiting tonight, she would have to sit straight and eat while engaging in a polite, boring conversation when spoken to, the picture of a meek, well bread lady she had learned to fake too well as she grew up and yet despised. She couldn't understand why men were always allowed to speak their minds while women had to simply agree with them to please them, especially those who wished to marry well.

That was why matrimony was absolutely out of the question, she thought, following her aunt into the dining room where a couple of servants were putting the finishing touches to the long table already laden with food and the guests and family members strolled in from the adjacent room which they must have set up for the dance Jane had mentioned. Even though she wasn't thrilled by the prospect of having to dance, Sophia was surprised and relieved by the relaxed, unofficial atmosphere reigning in the dining room tonight. Normally, her aunt insisted on strictly keeping the utmost decorum, which Sophia always found stifling.

She much preferred it this way, Sophia mused, slipping into a chair her maid friend, Clara, indicated to her, blending in with the guests and family almost unnoticed. "Thank you, Clara," she whispered to her friend who helped her sit, then vanished towards the distant wall where she disappeared in the shadows with the other servants until they would be needed again.

She could do this, she resolved, taking a sip of water while her plate was filled, and the merry conversation that was already in course around the table finally reached her ears. Sophia could act like the perfect lady everyone was expecting her to become tonight, then read again in the kitchen tomorrow. She didn't have a choice, anyway.