The next day, right from the early morning, the real preparations for the party began. Nanny was running here and there within the limits of her abilities.
"I want this room to shine," she said.
The servants simply nodded.
Sofia got up late that morning. She had slept very poorly and woke up very early, but she didn't have the courage to get up; she didn't want to meet Edgar at breakfast. Not after having taken his letter in her hands, and especially not after being caught in the act. The young woman would have liked to apologize that very evening, but he had torn the letter from her hands and left so quickly...
"Without a doubt," Sofia thought, "it was a love letter to a woman already married."
She lazily turned over in bed and then closed her eyes again.
She wanted to fall back asleep, but she heard someone knock on her door. Nanny entered before the girl could get up and respond. The grandmother let in the daylight by pulling back the curtains and then sat on the bed next to Sofia.
"Is something wrong, my dear?" she asked.
Sofia would have liked to tell her the truth, but she was too embarrassed. So, she lied. She pointed to the medical book she had taken from the library and said:
"I studied a lot last night."
"By candlelight?" asked the grandmother.
The girl nodded.
"One of these days, you'll ruin your eyes and be forced to wear glasses like Edgar."
At the thought of him, the girl blushed. To hide it, she buried her face in the blankets.
"You really don't want to get up today, do you?" asked the grandmother. "Then who will help me with the preparations?"
"I will," Sofia said from under the blankets. "I'll be there in a moment. I promise."
The girl heard the old woman rise from the bed, slowly head towards the door, and disappear.
While Sofia was choosing her dress for the day, Edgar and his father were having breakfast in the garden and chatting about this and that.
"I hope you didn't invite the duke and Angelica as well?" Mr. Scott asked at one point.
"Even if I had, I don't think they'd come," Edgar replied. "I've prepared an apology letter for the missed invitation to Angelica."
At that point, Edgar pulled out the letter from the previous evening and waved it in front of his father's eyes.
"You should have written it to the duke instead of her, and you should have apologized for what you did to their marriage."
"I wrote to her because she's still a friend of mine," Edgar explained, "while I don't really know the duke."
"Are you sure she's still a friend of yours?"
They heard footsteps behind them and fell silent. It was Sofia. As soon as he saw her, Edgar put the letter back in his pocket and gave her a forced smile.
"Good morning, Miss Swan," his father said.
"Good morning."
"You've slept longer than usual today."
"I felt tired last night," Sofia explained.
"You can't imagine how tired you'll be after a ball," Mr. Scott said while his son remained silent and tense. "Sit with us. Breakfast?"
"Thank you," the girl said and sat down.
"What a beautiful day it is today, isn't it?"
Sofia nodded and reached out to take some bread, intending to spread some jam on it, but couldn't reach it. Edgar then took the plate with the bread and handed it to her. It was the first sign of thawing.
"Thank you," Sofia said with a faint smile, but he didn't even look at her.
"I must go," he said suddenly, stood up quickly, and left.
"Is everything okay?" Sofia asked.
"Dances agitate him," Mr. Scott explained.
"Why?"
"He's considered a good catch, so women won't stop following him, and he's very awkward when it comes to dancing."
"Awkward?"
"He moves like a wooden board," laughed the old man. "Even I dance better."
The girl took a bite of the bread and became thoughtful.
Who knows if, after that night, Edgar Scott would still want to dance with her at her first ball?