(A/N: What is Cedric hiding? You'll just have to wait and see.

And for those of you feeling the sweetness from the last chapter…

I own nothing!)

"I'm shocked. A young lady such as yourself who doesn't have nearby friends? I would think others would flock to you especially with your father's social standing."

"They don't. Most of the elite make a sport out of cruelly gossiping about me… That's why I don't have a lot of friends." -Scoundrel: Thanksgiving

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Sofia wondered again how she let Amber talk her into coming on one of her little excursions to the village marketplace. Not that spending time with her sister wasn't fun. But Sofia's idea of fun in the village did not include spending all her time finding out what the latest fashions were.

It'd been a few weeks since the accident and Sofia's foot had healed very well. In fact, she was considering getting on Minimus and riding back to the cabin. She wanted to let her rescuer know that she was doing well.

Her short time with Cedric had been all she'd been able to think of since then. She admired how courteous he had been to her, even when he didn't know who she was. And she had a tingling sensation around her waist where he'd held her when shooing away his territorial bird.

"Sofia, look at this dress!" Amber exclaimed. "Wouldn't it just look beautiful on you? Especially if it were lavender."

Sofia looked towards her sister and the dress she was pointing to. It was beautiful. She had to give her sister that. But Sofia wasn't all that interested.

"My wardrobe is sufficient," Sofia said flatly.

"Sure it is," Amber replied just as flatly. "It's all very plain dresses in all black or very dark shades of grey, blue, or purple. I'm surprised you even wore a light colored dress at Dad's party a few weeks ago."

Sofia shook her head as she looked longingly at a bolt of purple satin.

"Wasn't given a choice. It was wear something bright or lose my riding privileges until after Wassailia."

"Seriously Sofia, you should wear colorful clothes again. And in designs that don't make you look like you're trying to find a position as a governess. It's okay to be elegant."

"Whatever."

Sofia brushed her hand across the skirt of the plain, black dress she was wearing.

"Case and point," Amber said. "You used to wear such nice dresses. Colorful even. Now, you act like wearing a variety of color or anything extravagant is a crime."

Sofia's jaw clenched. "My wardrobe is fine."

"Sure it is. You look like you're in mourning."

"Leave it. It's my wardrobe. Not yours."

Sofia looked over the various bolts of material. A hand clasped her wrist. Sofia glanced back at her sister. Amber looked at her sympathetically.

"I just want you to heal and be able to move forward."

"How does one heal from…" Sofia trailed off.

Her mind wandered away from her sister and the present situation. Unconsciously, she grabbed at her left arm, gripping it as if it was in severe pain. Her throat tightened. She could almost feel his hand squeezing it again. Sofia struggled to take a breath.

"Sofia, look!" Amber's excited voice startled her out of her thoughts. "It's Hildegard and Clio!"

Sofia smiled, mostly in relief as she finally could take a breath. The two were really nice and mutual friends of both sisters, though they spent more time with Amber. And they were among the few elite who didn't make a hobby out of cruelly gossiping about Sofia.

Amber waved them over, quickly launching into a tirade about how excited she was to see them and look at the latest fashions imported from the capital and let's walk down the street to that wonderful little cafe for lunch.

Sofia walked slowly behind them, returning to her all consuming thoughts of a certain scoundrel.

Okay, Amber's right. I have read and taken to heart one too many romances. Cedric probably hasn't given me a second thought.

Sofia shook herself from her thoughts and looked around. She knew where her sister and friends were going, but she wasn't quite ready to eat lunch. She turned to walk elsewhere but paused when she heard something.

"Our mayor must feel so ashamed to have Miss Sofia for a daughter."

"Step daughter. She's just a step daughter."

"Right. Can you believe he still considers her as real and true a daughter as if she were actually born to him? She's nothing but an embarrassment to the Cyning family. I heard she yelled at a baron's son at the Cyning's harvest party just for him asking a dance. And then she left the party very early."

"I heard she turned another young man down flat just because she considered him short."

"That girl will never amount to anything special. Mayor Cyning should have sent her away years ago."

"His wife wouldn't allow that. She did bear Miss Sofia after all."

"Do you think Miss Sofia was actually born to Mayor Cyning out of wedlock? And that's why he doesn't send her away, despite her being so embarrassing?"

"No. Mayor Cyning is too good and honorable to do something like that. Besides, he still had the late Lorelei and anyone could see he was very devoted to her."

"Well, Lorelei was an excellent choice. The present Miranda and her daughter were rather poor choices on his part."

Sofia gritted her teeth. She recognized the two speakers. They were always polite to her and her mother.

Quickly, she stepped away before she said or did something that she might regret later.

Sofia hurried down the roadway. It wouldn't be long before Amber realized she had disappeared and Sofia had no interest in socializing or answering questions.

Walking as fast as she could, Sofia made her way towards Cantata Hall. It would be a long walk but it would do her some good. It would give her a chance to calm down a bit before she had to deal with people again.

Halfway to the hall, Sofia seemed to realize just what she was doing. She was walking a long way in the cold, just because she didn't want to deal with people. And she was starting to get very cold. Not to mention she still had a long way to go.

Letting out a frosty breath, Sofia walked faster. Next time, she decided, she wasn't joining Amber on a trip to the marketplace. She was staying in the safe, warm confines of the library or doting on Minimus.

A few minutes later, Sofia heard a horse galloping nearby. She ignored the sound. She wouldn't be in the rider's way and she still had no desire to deal with people. The horse got close and slowed down.

"Sofia, what are you doing walking out in this weather?"

Sofia stiffened slightly at the sound of her father's voice.

So much for avoiding people for a while longer.

"I was out in the marketplace with Amber but I decided I wanted to come home early. She's visiting with Hildegard and Cleo."

Roland held out a hand to Sofia. Sofia recognized the gesture quickly. She took the offered hand and hopped up onto the horse with Roland.

"You didn't tell your sister you were going to walk home did you?"

Sofia shook her head. Roland sighed.

"You do realize she'll freak out once she realizes you're missing, right?"

"I know, Dad. I just was ready to go home. And she wasn't."

Roland nodded and set the horse into motion. The ride to Cantata Hall was quiet. Although Sofia still didn't want to socialize much, she was glad her father had come by when he had. She had gotten more tired and cold than she had anticipated. And she was starting to get hungry too.

Minutes later, at the hall, Sofia hopped down quickly from her father's steed and hurried inside. Roland watched his daughter, eyes narrowed with suspicion.

What really happened out at the marketplace?

Inside, Sofia quickly flagged a maid and asked her to have some lunch sent to her room. Once that was done, she hurried to her room and changed out of her cold, wet clothes. Now clean and dry, she grabbed a basket full of yarn from the side of her bed and pulled out her latest project.

She did a lot of knitting, especially when she really wanted to be left alone. She made mostly blankets that she would eventually bring to a local orphanage. She loved spending time there and bringing little gifts to benefit the children. They didn't have much but they were as sweet as could be. In a couple of days, the young lady planned to go visit the orphanage again and bring with her a collection of her knitted blankets and a basket of pastries from the local bakery. She didn't have quite as many blankets to bring as she would have liked but Sofia knew the thought still counted.

For the next several hours, the young lady worked on her knitting, pausing only to eat. She knitted at a furious speed, hoping it would push away the memories of how her trip to the village marketplace had ended.

It didn't.

It never did.

When will I push past those parasites?