It had been a whole week since the ball at Chatsworth Manor, and the weather had been abysmal, which meant that Sophia and her sister Rose had been confined to the house. During this time they painted, sewed and played cards, the routine was awfully boring, one that Sophia did not care for much, she loved to be outside. She stared through the window pane, at the grey sky and the patterns being cast into the small pond outside with every drop that bounced onto its surface. All this time she had to fill meant that Signor Rossi had not been very far from her mind. Oh how she had replayed every moment of their last encounter, their almost kiss, the dance, his watching her movements for the rest of the evening. Her heart fluttered every time she replayed the moment in which he declared that he must see her again, and realised that although she had only known of his existence for a week, and spent only little time with him, she missed his presence. She must admit, during these days of stitching she longed to see him again, she wanted to know more of him, of his life back in Italy, of what brought him to this part of the world.

Once the rain had cleared, she decided to take a walk to town, to buy some ribbon for the dress she had been making. She had been pleased about the change in conditions so that she could escape from the company of her mother, who had been unbearable, constantly talking of her behaviour and how disrespectable it had been towards Mr Devonshire. Sophia had been surprised, she would have thought her mother would have lapped up the arrival of a new gentleman in society. Perhaps it was the lack of information of his wealth status which caused this disinterest, because no one could disagree with his beauty. The ground was soft, the shrubbery and flowers were covered in a blanket of dew, the moisture filling the air with a sweet, honeysuckle scent. She leaned down, took a stem in her hand and smelled the perfect, pink bud.

'Smells good' she heard the oh so familiar voice behind her. She sneezed and turned around to face him, he was already chuckling at her. 'Bless you' he murmured.

'Thank you' she replied whilst softly running her hand along her nose. He took his place beside her and they continued walking towards the town, not one word passed their lips, but each stealing glances a each other when the other wasn't looking. Just as Sophia went to look at him for the third time, she realised that his stare was placed on the top of her head, which immediately fell to her face, their eyes meeting. All she could do was smile and look away, hoping that he hadn't caught that blush forming at her cheeks.

'Miss Bridges, what have you been doing this week? The weather has been awful hasn't it? Not at all like the climate we have back in Italy. That is one thing I do miss, being able to walk without the fear of being caught in the rain'.

She turned attentively towards him, suddenly becoming more comfortable with his presence, this had been the most he had said to her since they had met. She wanted more.

'Yes, its been terribly boring. I so wanted to go outside, I love walking. Tell me more about Italy if you would be so kind. It sounds like such a lovely country.'

He bowed his head, she wasn't sure if her questioning had bothered him, or if he was lost in thought of memories of back home.

'Italy is marvellous. The weather is sublime. The food is exquisite. And the people are really friendly' His answer was brief, and didn't really give away any more than what she had read in books.

'What is your life like there?' She pressed. She needed to drink in as much information as possible. He was silent, and then looked her straight in the eye, she wasn't sure if there was a hint of moisture forming within his usually warm, inviting eyes, and as he turned to greet a passing coach, that was the end of the subject. There was obviously something that he didn't want to talk about. And she couldn't really complain, she was pushing the boundaries already, women shouldn't really ask gentlemen all these questions anyway…its just his mysteriousness brought out the questioning side of her character. As they continued along the path, the silence between them began to feel almost as if their meeting, their closeness at the ball hadn't happened at all. And this made Sophia feel melancholic. As they reached the town Signor Rossi turned to her, gave a fleeting bow and a 'Good day Miss Bridges' and marched off into the crowd. His actions left her feeling confused and depressed. Had she done or said anything wrong? Why had he acted in this way? What had she made him remember back home? She sighed and walked into the dressmakers shop, the bell of the door ringing to announce her entrance.

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As Signor Rossi lie in his room that night, his mind wandered back to his meeting with Miss Sophia Bridges earlier that day. He cursed the way that he had behaved towards her, how his actions and swift departure must have caused some pain within such a wonderful woman. He rolled over onto his side and covered his face with his hands. He had gotten past feeling angry, it was not her fault, she wasn't to know that her innocent questioning of his life back in Italy would bring so many painful memories back to the surface. He pulled the sheet further towards his face, closed his eyes and prayed for sleep. Sleep was something he was sure he would be lacking in tonight, as his mind whirled with countless images of the past.