Chapter 2

Sophia woke up to the sound of her dog chasing the cat across the lawn barking wildly in excitement. These two creatures usually got along but, for some reason, at this early hour it was not the case. The sun was just moving above the horizon so there was a gentle pink light shining through her window. Still tired, she slowly moved to the window seat and sat down. Today is going to be different she thought to herself, and I am going to make sure of it. Since the rest of the house was just waking and breakfast was not yet ready, she decided to pick up a pencil and parchment. Humming softly to herself, she began to draw eyes. Then came a nose, next a mouth, and soon there was a handsome boy looking up at her through the page. She was surprised to see what she had drawn and set it aside to go downstairs.

"Good morning my sweet." said her mother.

"Good morning" she mumbled back.

"It's pleasant to see you in kitchen at such an hour. Maybe you could help with breakfast because you will need to know how to cook when you are married. In fact, maybe tonight will be a lucky night and you can snatch the heart of a fine young man."

"Oh Mary, is that all you think about? Sophia will find a man when she is good and ready. If you keep pestering her she might be obliged to stay here forever." her father said in a playful manner.

"Good morning father" Sophia replied with a slight giggle.

"Good morning to you my favorite daughter" he said with an amused expression. Mr. Camden always called Sophia his favorite daughter simply because he could. She was his only daughter since she had two older brothers Theodore and Luke. Theodore was already married and lived about a mile away. Luke was still living at home and was always causing trouble. She couldn't imagine how quiet the house would be when he was also married. He hadn't really set his eyes on any particular girl yet and we were all wondering when he would. Although he was very strong-willed, Luke could be a charming young man and would certainly not struggle in life. He was an exact opposite to Sophia and she admired his outgoing nature despite the fact that it was sometimes overbearing.

As she started setting the table for four, she was thinking about her promise that she made to herself as she woke up. I will talk to someone new at the party, I MUST. She must have looked distracted because her mother worriedly ask her if she was well.

"Of course I am fine mother! Why do you ask? Do I look ill?"

"My dear you are no paler than usual, but you have a very curious expression on your face as if you are in pain. I was just making sure that everything was alright with you. You don't talk to me a lot about things you know."

"No I'm fine" and she simply left it at that.

Suddenly the family heard the slamming of a door and Luke tripped into the room. His face was beet red and he was panting as if he ran all the way to town. His appearance was so shocking that the room was filled with complete silence.

Mr. Camden, the first to recover asked, "What happened to you?"

"One... moment.... I... need... a break." Luke replied in a most struggling manner. The family patiently waited for him to regain his ability to speak. "Alright, I'm fine now." He chuckled to himself as he saw the startled expressions on his family's faces. "I have great news! A wealthy and prestigious Mr. Darcy is presently staying as a guest at the Brinkley mansion and is expected to stay for three weeks! We shall all get to meet him at the ball this evening. The Miltons told me all about it as I was taking a morning stroll and they think he will be a most delightful acquaintance and a rather important one at that!"

"Oh dear, this is great news! Heaven has shown us much kindness! Hurry! Eat up, breakfast is ready. Sophie I expect that you get ready at once! You must look beautiful for our dear Mr. Darcy." Mrs. Camden shouted overwhelmed by joy. Sophia rolled her eyes at the thought of the long day ahead of her. She knew her mother would be checking in every second to make sure she was preparing herself. And so the Camdens sat down at the table and quickly consumed the morning feast. When the dishes were at last put away, everyone was bustling about in anticipation of the evening which awaited them.