(A/N: Allyrwhitney, I was a bit confused when the first half of your review cut off. I could not figure it out. After a bit, I did see that there was a second email saying I had a new review. Ya know, things happen. And it gave me something to laugh at.

I own nothing!)

Sofia felt a tear slide down her cheek. Quickly, she wiped it away.

"So you know what did happen," Sofia's voice cracked. "Then you understand plenty enough."

With that, Sofia turned and ran away. For several long moments, Cedric stared at the pathway before proceeding to turn and kick the forgotten plate of fly cakes.

"You idiot," he muttered to himself.

Cedric paced for a few moments, trying to figure out how all of this had gone wrong. All he was certain of was that the kiss was what had done it. But why was the question he couldn't answer.

Frustrated, he went inside and took his pacing to his bedroom. After a few minutes, a knock on his door interrupted his dark thoughts. The door opened and Winnifred stepped in.

"I don't think you would be acting like this if the fly cakes were a success," Winnifred said plainly.

"She loved the fly cakes alright. But then I bungled everything."

Cedric sat down on his bed, feeling like a failure. His mother sat down by him.

"What happened?"

Cedric couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed of not giving Sofia a chance to refuse the kiss.

"I kissed her, actually kissed her," Cedric said after a few moments.

Despite the heaviness of the way Cedric made the declaration, Winnifred grinned momentarily.

"I got caught up in the moment," Cedric continued. "Everything felt so right and she was so…"

Cedric paused, not sure how to describe how Sofia had seemed to him in that moment. Winnifred nodded slowly, as if understanding what her son couldn't say.

"I didn't even give her a chance to say no," Cedric said mournfully. "I just couldn't hold back anymore. I wanted her to know without a doubt how I feel about her. And just last night, she told me a story of another man who tried to force a kiss from her in her very own home. And I turned around and forced a kiss. I messed up."

Winnifred patted her son's hand. "Falling in love with someone who was viciously assaulted by another man was never going to be easy. I suspect you know exactly what the bastard did to her."

Cedric looked at his mother in shock. "You know too?"

"It wasn't hard, Ceddykins. When a young woman tells you she will never marry or have children and you hear of a history with a criminal, it isn't hard to put two and two together."

"She actually said that?" Cedric was even more stunned.

Winnifred nodded. "It wasn't hard to tell that that wasn't what she wanted though."

"I clearly don't understand her at all. Why would she resign herself to something she doesn't want?"

"You know what the bastard did to her. Such an action has consequences. And not just personal, physical consequences. Our society is not a kind one. If they found out what happened to her, she could have been shunned and her family spurned. And if Sofia had gotten pregnant because of him, it would have been infinitely worse for her."

Cedric looked alarmed. "Do you think she did get pregnant?"

"No. My understanding is that she never left Cantata Hall for an extended period of time until coming here. If she had gotten pregnant, whether her family liked it or not, she would have had to be sent away to hide it for the sake of her reputation. Our society is not kind to unwed mothers, even when it is not their choice. Our society is especially strict on women. You know that."

"Society is trash sometimes," Cedric said sourly.

"I know. And I don't see it changing very soon. I don't doubt Sofia knows the social consequences of people finding out she was raped. Some people might purposely misconstrue the story and make it seem like she was a willing participant in the activity. If that kind of a story got spread, Sofia's reputation would be utterly destroyed. The way I see it, she has had to live with a fear of being ostracized for something that wasn't her fault. But now, she is a prisoner to that fear. And she doesn't know how to free herself from that prison."

Cedric was silent as he thought about Winnifred's words. Everything made sense but it was still hard to think about how the attack impacted Sofia.

"She knows I know," Cedric said slowly. "That got slipped out in the garden. She was not happy about it."

"I don't blame her for not wanting anyone to know," Winnifred's tone was gentle. "With what's at risk to her, she has to be careful about letting anyone know. I don't think it's anything against you. I imagine she's just overwhelmed right now. But I know you well and she knows you very well. I think she is going to realize that it's alright. You're not the kind of person who would destroy another person with gossip and rumors. Especially after being subjugated to that yourself. You know how that hurts."

"I once promised Sofia her safety with me, when I first began to suspect something wasn't right. That promise has never changed."

Winnifred smiled. "Perhaps you should remind her of that as soon as you can. I see your heart, Ceddykins. I know you want to help her. And I know your innermost desire right now. I approve, but it is not going to be an easy path. Do you understand what I mean?"

Cedric gasped softly. His mother read him too easily.

oOo

Cedric paced the grounds. Despite what he had told Sofia several hours ago, handling his father's business by himself was proving to be very difficult. Of course, it didn't help that he was distracted with concern for his father and even more concern for Sofia. Maybe the next day, he would do better.

A rumbling sound momentarily distracted Cedric from his pacing. Despite the fact that dinner was approaching, he wasn't sure he could eat anything. There was simply too much on his mind.

"Ceddykins."

Cedric sighed and faced his mother.

"Yes, Mummy?"

"You're moping," Winnifred observed. "And you haven't eaten anything substantial since the party. You can't keep going on like this."

Cedric nodded slowly. "Yes, Mummy."

Winnifred motioned to a nearby bench. "Sit down, Son."

Cedric did as told. Winnifred sat down by him.

"You need to go after her."

Despite the fact that Winnifred didn't say who 'her' was, Cedric knew.

"Can I ask her to go against her father? Is it fair to ask her to come back here when she doesn't seem to want anything to do with me?"

"I find that hard to believe. She came to check on you right before she left, didn't she?"

Cedric looked at his mother in surprise.

"Don't give me that look, Cedric. You know I have eyes and ears all over Hexley Hall. I did try to slow her brother down while he was looking for her by sending him to places where Sofia wouldn't be."

"No wonder he was so irritated this morning," Cedric said sardonically.

"Oh yes, the comment to stay away from Sofia. You're not going to listen to an irrational brother, are you?"

"He's not as irrational as you might think," Cedric said. "James was the one to find Sofia when the bastard went after her the first time. Everything Sofia has told me of him since that day has indicated that when he's not getting into trouble, he's being very protective of her."

"Too protective, if you ask me," Winnifred said. "He had no place treating you the way he did this morning. James has met you before. He met you when you first met Sofia and rescued her, did he not?"

Cedric nodded in confirmation. "He took Sofia right out of my arms when I was carrying her home."

"That behavior, I can justify. At that time, you were a complete stranger to the family. But you are no stranger to Sofia anymore, or her sister for that matter. Other than hiding your true identity from Sofia, you've never done anything that would hurt her. You're better than that. And in any case, a brother, if he is a good brother, is always going to be a little protective of his sisters when suitors become a thing. I didn't have any brothers, but I did have a few male cousins who were as dear to me as if they were my own brothers. When your father started pursuing me, my cousins did not make anything easy for him. It was, you could say, a test to see if your father truly was devoted to me. And he did show them and pass their test. You ought to do the same. James doesn't seem to like you, just because of Sofia's past and not really knowing you. And you also have her father to contend with and we both know that thanks to your father, Mayor Cyning may not have a glowing opinion of you."

"'May not'? I know he doesn't. Sofia introduced me to her parents at the party and all Mayor Cyning did was glare at me."

"Then you have to show both Cyning men that you aren't the villain that they want to think you are."

"Well that's easier said than done."

"Nothing about falling in love is easy. You just happen to have some factors that make it even more difficult."

Cedric sighed. "It should be so easy to make the decision to go after Sofia. But she didn't seem to want to be with me. And Father needs me here. I can't abandon him while he's laid up the way he is."

"Ceddykins, do you think that the estate would fall apart if you left for a day or two to go after her? I wouldn't let it fall apart while you're gone, you should know that."

Cedric sighed again. "I don't know..."

"You're never going to know unless you try. I happen to know that the Cyning family did not travel nearly as far as they could have."

"What do you mean?" Cedric looked confused.

"I may have convinced their coach driver to take a scenic route instead of the direct route. Oh for sure, the scenic route will put them back on the direct route back to Cantare Valley. But if one were to take the direct route to where they should be right now, it will only take two, maybe three, hours on horseback."

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "How on earth did you manage that?"

Winnifred smiled. "Well, I did have some help from Amber and Violet convincing the coach driver that it would be best if they did not get too far too fast."

"You are as meddlesome as ever."

"Yes, well, unlike some people in the Cyning family, I am not blind to how Sofia felt about leaving here. I didn't get to see her much before she left, but I saw enough. I have no doubt that she did not want to leave. She does not want to return to Cantata Hall."

Cedric sighed. Another rumbling was heard and Winnifred scowled.

"Cedric, you need to go eat something before you cause yourself to pass out from hunger and lack of energy. You can't keep skipping your meals, it won't help you do anything at all. Then once you've eaten, you should go after Sofia."

Cedric's expression was neutral but he stood up and went inside. As he did, Winnifred thought about how she was going to convince her conflicted son that it would be okay if he left.