(A/N: Having Roland say Mystic Meadows instead of Mystica Prata was intentional.

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A couple days later, a travel exhausted Sofia finally arrived at Hexley Hall. It was quite an impressive sight. The estate was enormous, though that didn't surprise Sofia too much. It was the home of a family who held an old and very well respected title after all.

"Here we are, Miss Sofia," the coachman said. "Hexley Hall."

Sofia stepped down from the carriage. Apprehensively, she walked up the steps to the front door. Almost as soon as she knocked, the door opened. A maid looked the guest over.

"We're not receiving guests right now Miss."

"I have an explicit invitation from Her Ladyship," Sofia responded. "Please tell her that Mayor Cyning's youngest daughter is here."

The maid rolled her eyes before closing the door right in Sofia's face. Sofia stared for a movement, shocked at the behavior. The young lady was about to knock again when she heard some commotion from inside. Her nervousness began to build.

Unexpectedly, the door opened again. The same maid from before peered out.

"Good," a graceful, female voice said from somewhere inside. "Invite her in and apologize for your rude behavior."

"Please come in, Miss Cyning," the maid spoke gruffly. "My apologies for my rude behavior."

Sofia stepped in, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

"Now Sasha," the same speaker as before, clearly the marchioness, spoke. "Tell your aunt to make sure a guest suite is prepared, Miss Cyning's belongings are seen to, and have the cook prepare some tea."

The young maid nodded. "Yes My Lady."

Once the maid was gone, Lady Hexley turned to Sofia and smiled graciously.

"I do apologize for that, Miss Cyning. Sasha is new here and very rough around the edges. She's not even supposed to be answering the door."

Sofia curtsied neatly. "Actually My Lady, I'm called Miss Balthazar or most commonly Miss Sofia."

"You signed the letter as Cyning," Lady Hexley replied.

"I signed it as Balthazar Cyning," Sofia interjected.

"Of course. Do come in, Miss Sofia. I want to hear everything about my dear Ceddykins."

Sofia bit back a snort of laughter.

Ceddykins? "Of course My Lady."

Sofia followed Lady Hexley to a sitting room. Once seated, Lady Hexley looked at her guest curiously.

"So, how is my boy doing?"

Sofia took a deep breath. "Last time I saw him, he was not very happy. Ever since I discovered who he really is, we've hardly spoken at all."

"He's stubborn for sure. Much like his father."

"I also overreacted at the time. I really thought Cedric and I were friends. So finding out the truth of who he is from someone other than him really stung. But since then, I've thought things over. I realized it could not be easy to talk about something like that. When I asked him why he hadn't told me, he told me that his family life was very difficult to talk about, especially to someone who had the family life he had dreamed of. I got mad at him that day for hiding his identity but he didn't deserve it at all."

Lady Hexley nodded. "Have you tried to apologize?"

"I meant to do that before I left Cantare Valley but that conversation spiraled out of control quickly and things just got made worse. I made things worse. So much is unresolved."

"You made things worse or you both did?"

Sofia was quiet for a moment. "We both did."

Lady Hexley nodded. "So tell me, how did you meet Cedric?"

Sofia smiled fondly as she recalled the night of the harvest party, fleeing on Minimus, waking up in a strange place, and the kind treatment Cedric had shown her. Lady Hexley hung on to her guest's every word.

"After my foot healed and I was riding again, we had a chance encounter in the forests, not all that far from where he found me. Well...according to him, it wasn't very far away. We talked for a bit before he insisted he needed to get back to the cabin and make sure Wormwood hadn't done anything drastic. If that was the case, I don't understand why he followed me until I made it back to the main road. He didn't do a very good job at hiding from me, though I've not said anything about it to him."

Lady Hexley grinned. "Sounds like he took quite the interest in you."

Sofia shook her head. "I'm sure he was just being polite."

"I know my son very well. He is quite intrigued. He never did take any interest in any young ladies before the falling out. He was much too busy trying to prove himself to Goodwyn."

"Why does His Lordship think so critically of Cedric? I have horrendous rumors circulating about me and yet my father has been by my side trying to help me get through it. Why does His Lordship believe rumors over his own son?"

"I've wondered that for many years. Goodwyn is stubborn and prideful. And like his own father, he holds people to ridiculously high standards. He's never once believed Cedric capable of meeting those standards. Even when Cedric brought home excellent marks from school or came up with new ideas to help the estate run better, Goodwyn only saw a shy boy who would shatter the Hexley legacy."

"That's cruel of your husband. Cedric is not him."

"Goodwyn is overly harsh and critical of Cedric. I tried many times to get him to back off but I never could. And something happened when Cedric was only fourteen years old. To this day, I still don't know what happened. All I know for sure is that it involved the most honorable mayor Dunwittie has ever had."

"Most honorable…" Sofia gasped. "But that's-"

"Your father. Yes I know."