Falling Petals

Chapter Three

Sophia sat in the unmoving carriage, her soft blue eyes staring up at the massive brick building. Carmen and Arthur were already taking the Handmaiden's and young noble's bags as they prepared to head into the building. Carmen's eyes turned to the carriage window and met Sophia's blue ones with a kind look, and it was clear she was trying to reassure the young lady.

After taking a deep breath, the blonde pushed the heavy door open and landed in the gravel, her flats making it crunch under her feet. It reminded her briefly of when her and Maverick, her father, would walk the path behind their own mansion and sit in front of the pond, tossing bread to wild geese and ducks. A happy memory, but it made her depressed to remember such wonderful moments when he was alive.

"My lady?" Carmen's voice broke the silence as the gravel made cracking sounds under her feet when she began to approach the lady. "You look troubled. Are you feeling well?" She asked softly, genuine concerning filling her orbs.

"Yes, Carmen. I am quite alright. Let us just head inside so we can begin lunch, this long trip has left me rather hungry." Sophia's sky blue orbs met her maid's for only a moment before she began to follow Arthur up the gravel path to a large oak front door. It made a soft creaking noise as it was pushed open and revealed a large, beautifully decorated hall.

Gold and white colored curtains lined the vast windows, tables with matching vases filled with fresh roses sat neatly along the walls. The crystal chandelier above hung overhead, reflecting light from the windows around the room, bouncing off of some items to create lovely colors. Sophia was in awe. After her father passed, her own mansion wasn't as well taken care of as it once had been, so to see a home this well cleaned made her wonder about Lord Larson grow. She began to imagine what a man who would decorate like this looked like.

She imagined a tall, handsome brown haired man with emerald green eyes. His hair of course was slicked back neatly, as most nobles have it. His eyes slightly rounded and pearl white teeth curled into an attractive smile.

It was almost so vivid that a small blush began to appear on her pale cheeks which she had to quickly fight off with a shake of her head and returned to looking around. It was then a deep voice from the flight of stairs to her left pulled her from looking at the curtains to stare at a well-dressed man standing at the bottom.

He had shaggy black hair that hung over one of his eyes, which were a bright violet color. His hair wasn't slicked back, but just being allowed to hang freely in his face. His lips weren't curled into a handsome smile, but instead a small smirk. And in his right hand, he held a black cane with a golden colored hook at the top. Most noblemen carried a cane, even if it was something they didn't need. "You must be Lady Sophia." He spoke in a deep, even slightly intimidating voice. But it was still smooth, much to her surprise. "I see you like my curtains. My mother and father decorated this place before they sadly passed."

Sophia couldn't form words. He was someone completely different from what she had been imagining. Surely this wasn't the Lord Damon Larson? There was absolutely no way! His clothes were very dark, and his face was so pale that with the black hair he looked almost dead, which only added to the intimidation factor. It was only when a black eyebrow silently arched in questioning that she realized she had been staring rather rudely and silently.

"Oh! Yes, you must be Lord Damon." She lifted the skirt of her dress ever so slightly and managed a small polite curtsy and smile. "Forgive my rudeness, please. I've just never really been in someone else's mansion for quite some time and was taken aback by how beautiful everything is."

Damon bowed very slightly and his smirk turned into a warm smile. "I thank you. I agree, my parents knew what they were doing. Which is why I keep this way. It is also out of respect, as I'm sure you know my father Lord Daniel Larson was a very powerful man when he was alive."

Sophia's blue orbs widened in shock. "Y-You're...Daniel Larson's son?" She asked softly, her mind racing a mile a minute.

Lord Daniel was known for his work in trade. He traded most of London's goods, ranging from simple things like tea all the way up to fine jewelry. A very rich man when he was alive, and the wealth must have passed onto his son who continued his father's work after his death.

"That I am." Damon's head nodded, his hair flopping slightly over his right eye. He then tossed his head to the side, knocking the hair away and allowing Sophia to see both of his eyes for only a split second. They were truly a lovely violet color.

"I...I didn't know. You never told me in your letters and it never even crossed my mind that you could be his son!" She once again gathered her skirt and curtsied. "My most sincere apologies Lord Larson! It shan't happen again."

"Please, let us save the talk for lunch. I'm sure you must be hungry, and I'd hate to keep a lovely young lady such as yourself waiting. Especially one I am to be wed to in just a few short months." The nobleman chuckled a deep chuckle as he began to exit the room, gesturing for her to follow while his cane clicked on the tiled floor.

But Sophia didn't follow. Instead, she remained glued in her place as his words registered in her head. "A-A few short months?" She whispered, a hand slowly rising to cover her mouth as sick feeling washed her. She hadn't known this. No one told her that she only had a few months left as a fourteen-year-old girl and would then become a wife!

Carmen had just walked through the large front door just in time to see Sophia collapse to the hard ground and rushed to her side. "Lady Sophia?! Lady Sophia, are you alright?!" She spoke worriedly with a frown and her eyes scanned the room, meeting the violet eye of a young man who stood in the doorway with an unreadable expression.

Neither of them said anything as they watched each other, but if anyone else had been paying attention it would be clear that there was most certainly tension between the maid, and between Lord Damon Larson.