Chapter Two
The next morning, as Sophie was about to crack open her boiled egg with her spoon, Aunt Agnes floated into the room, carrying two newspapers.
“Take a look at this!” She dropped the newspapers in front of Sophie. “We’re famous!”
“Let me see that,” Aunt Mildred said, rising out of the floor and peering over Sophie’s shoulder.
Sophie put down her spoon and picked up the newspapers. Ghostly Attack at Highgate Cemetery! screamed one headline. Earl to the Rescue at Haunted Highgate, shouted the other. Sophie’s gaze dropped to the article below.
Miss Juliana Waterford and her mama, Lady Waterford of Hampstead, described the horrifying attack that took place yesterday whilst they were visiting Sir Walter’s grave.
“I was paying my respects to Papa when something choked me from behind and whipped off my cloak. The evil force then knocked me onto my back and rendered me unconscious,” Miss Waterford said.
Lady Waterford reports seeing her daughter’s boots being removed from her feet, although her assailant was not visible to the naked eye.
Luckily for Miss Waterford, Lord Rodwell was in the cemetery, and upon hearing their cries for help, rushed to the scene, chasing the specter away.
It seems Miss Waterford lost her cloak and boots but gained her very own knight in shining armor. Could this be a match made in Highgate?
“How rude!” Aunt Mildred exclaimed. “There’s hardly anything about us. They’ve made it all about the Earl of Rodwell. Knight in shining armor indeed! If those two are matched, then it’s all due to us!”
The Earl of Rodwell. Sophie felt a stab deep in her belly as she pictured the dashing earl kneeling before Miss Waterford.
Suddenly, she no longer pitied the woman or felt guilty for wearing her expensive leather boots, which fit perfectly.
She closed her eyes, envisioning herself on the ground and the earl’s handsome face gazing down at her.
No, she did not pity Miss Waterford. She envied her.
There was a time when falling in love and marrying had been part of Sophie’s plans, but that no longer seemed possible—not since her papa had disappeared almost five years ago whilst on an expedition to discover the location of Homer’s Troy.
She’d been seventeen when her papa had chaperoned her debut, and her first season had been a great success.
She’d received many marriage proposals, but none of the gentlemen had captured her fancy.
Before setting sail, her papa had reassured her that there was no rush for her to marry and promised there’d be plenty more seasons to come. But he’d been wrong.
“Hmm, that story has me thinking,” Aunt Agnes said.
“Oh, dear! What now, Aunt?” Sophie said, a little embarrassed. She had a strong suspicion that her aunts could read her mind. However, they refused to admit as much.
“I think it’s high time you had your own knight in shining armor, if you know what I mean.”
“No, what do you mean?” Sophie asked, playing innocent.
“A husband, Sophie. You need a husband.”
“I don’t want a husband, thank you,” Sophie said defensively. “I am managing fine without one.”
“Think of us, then. We’d like a grandniece or a grandnephew, or possibly two. Besides, you’re far too pretty to be a spinster. Isn’t that so, Mildred?”
“Certainly!” Aunt Mildred’s ghostly ringlets bounced as she nodded her head vigorously.
“What is going on?” Sophie said. “Why do you talk of marriage now?”
Her aunts shared a glance. And Sophie thought, as she often did, how different they looked despite being twins.
Aunt Agnes was as tall and skinny as a beanpole with dark curls and even darker eyes.
Aunt Mildred, meanwhile, was short and plump with a head of springy curls tucked under a large bonnet.
In life, her curls had been honey-colored, and her eyes had been a sparkling blue.
Now, the coloring difference between the two did not matter as their ghostly forms were in shades of grey.
But neither of her aunts had lost their personalities.
Aunt Agnes remained the more serious of the two and often frowned or looked sternly at her sister, who was prone to exaggerated expressions and rhapsodic speech.
They’d helped Papa raise her from the time of her birth after her mama had died bringing her into the world.
Then, shortly after Papa had vanished, they’d both died in a carriage accident.
But death had not forced them to abandon their niece.
They’d vowed to stay by her side and protect her until Papa returned, and so they had done.
Aunt Mildred let out a long and exaggerated sigh. “We know what you’re thinking, my dear. And we want you to be happy.”
“Aunts! You promised to stay out of my thoughts.”
“It’s not healthy for you to keep living in this crumbling house with two elderly ghosts,” Aunt Agnes said.
“I’m perfectly happy. Besides, I have no intention of leaving you two or this house.”
“Leave us? Nonsense!” Aunt Agnes said. “We can go wherever we please. And as for this house, I should be glad to be rid of the draft and the mold.”
“You feel the cold?” Sophie cocked her head.
“Not anymore, but I see you shiver, and I want something better for you. If we can settle an earl on Miss Waterford, then why can’t we do the same for you?”
“An earl?” Sophie laughed. “Why should an earl be interested in me?”
“Why ever not? At your debut, you were the talk of the season. Do you remember how many marriage proposals you had?”
“That was before I became a penniless orphan.”
“You are not penniless. Your father is a well-respected explorer who was knighted by the queen and who amassed a tidy fortune. When he returns—”
“But until such a time, his fortune remains his, and I remain penniless,” Sophie reminded her aunt.
Sophie did not know what had happened to her father, but she feared the worst. Unlike the rest of the world, she did not believe him eccentric enough to abandon his daughter—no matter where his findings had led him.
“Anyway, it’s no use. No one will invite me to their balls anymore.
I’m a pariah in society now because people believe I live alone, and they disapprove of that.
And some say I’m mad because they think I talk to myself. ” She frowned at her aunts.
“Oh, Bosh! People always gossip,” Aunt Mildred said. “Pay no heed to that.”
“And who would be my chaperone?” Sophie asked. “A young lady cannot attend a ball unaccompanied.”
“You don’t need a chaperone,” Aunt Agnes said.
“We will be at your side the entire time, and we have our ways of making people believe what is not there. As far as everyone is concerned, you will be accompanied by a trustworthy and innocuous relative, who no one will remember by the end of the evening.”
“Marvelous!” Aunt Mildred clapped her hands. “Now, we must make sure you have the most beautiful gown for Lady Cheshire’s New Year’s Ball. The cemetery at Highgate is a treasure trove, but I’m afraid it won’t do for that purpose. We shall have to take a trip to Oxford Street.”
“Now that’s going a bit too far!” Sophie scolded as her Aunt Mildred zipped around the room in excitement. “We must think of a better plan than stealing.”
“I’ve already told you, we only take what’s necessary, and all will be paid back when your papa returns.”
“A ball gown certainly isn’t a necessity because I shan’t need it. What makes you think Lady Cheshire will invite me to her ball?”
“Don’t worry about that, dearest,” Aunt Mildred trilled. “Your Aunt Agnes and I will see to it that she does.”
“You’re not going to—” Sophie began, but her aunts had already slipped through the walls, disappearing from sight.