THE MASKED BRIDE

Chapter 8

" you need to stop stop acting like child" Philip said because he saw a clear view of why Amelia never caught the duke's attention she was too impulsive and childish…..when you are in the presence of the duke, you must act like a refined lady and stop acting like the Duke is a random man and be kind to Sophia as he will be your tool to getting closer to Philip now, if she complains to the Duke about you, he would not want to be around you.... Now go back there and apologize for what you did to her kitten.

" father!!" Amelia exclaimed as it was one thing to be kind to Sophia and another thing to apologize to her when she clearly deserved what she got anyway

"Amelia so help me….. I will slap you, do you think you can get close to Sophia if you don't apologize about the kitten .. you can't get to the Duke if you don't have a good relationship with Sophia..... tell me what matters most to you now , your pride or your marriage to the Duke?" Philip asked

" the Duke obviously matters most to me" Amelia responded but it still hurt her deeply that she has to apologize... my wedding better makes everyone jealous " Amelia said as she finally agreed to her father's plans

" good , we must go back now" Philip said as he clapped his hands

" father who is the man you has to marry Sophia, I never heard of it from my mother" Amelia asked

" just and old friend, their marriage will help us settle some debts " Philip remembered the deal offered to him …. His friend has a taste for unique things and nothing was unique than his rumored masked daughter

" I see…. That is a fate much suited for Sophia than being a Duke's wife" Amelia grinned as she pictured Sophia's face when later find out she will not be getting married to the Duke

Philip and Amelia walked back into the dinning room to find Clare placing a plate in front of Sophia like a maid serving her master

Sophia didn't thank Clare for bringing the food to her , Instead she picked up her fork to taste the egg

" you see, you took so long and now the egg is cold, I have never enjoyed cold eggs Clare why do you keep giving them to me" Sophia said

" we're back " Philip interrupted before his wife would say something wrong

"Sophia, your sister has something she wishes to say to you" Philip said as he pushed Amelia to the front .

" I'm sorry " Amelia said as the bitter word left her mouth

" for" in Sophia's opinion, Amelia had a lot to be sorry for therefore she needs to be more specific

" I'm sorry for hurting your kitten"

" you did so much more than hurting it, the animal died, if you're going to apologize then do it properly" Theodore interjected

" I am sorry I killed your kitten yesterday, my emotions got the best of me and the fact that your kitten has died made me feel really bad, I'm als sorry for the way I've acted in front of the Duke, I hope you'll be happy with him , please forgive me" Amelia said digging her nails into her skin as the words left her mouth

Sophia wanted to laugh in Amelia's face , did they really thought she was stupid enough to not realize they were planning to play her, she knew her father and Amelia better than they realize but instead of calling them out , she decided to play along

" Apology accepted " Sophia said pretending to be ignorant of their plans

" that's good" Philip said smiling….. glad that Sophia had taken the bait

" I was not finished father " Sophia said looking at her father with clear annoyance written all over her face

" since Amelia has admitted her fault in the matter I think she should take responsibility for her actions "

" Amelia is not your maid do not take things too far" Clare interrupted before Sophia would humiliate Amelia further… Amelia is the Baron's daughter and not a servant…. Clare would be damned if she allowed her dig a grave to bury the kitten.

" it is okay mother shouldn't be too hard to dig a grave for the kitten, it's my fault after all hopefully with this we can mend our relationship " Amelia said bringing out her to call a truce with Sophia

" Sophia only stared at Amelia's hand not moving to accept it, she had a better idea just from looking at Amelia's hands….. it was clear that Amelia has never had to lift a finger her entire life

" I just remembered, I heard the gardener below my window saying the shovel we have is broken " Sophia said

" I guess we will have to wait for a new one to arrive " Amelia said trying to hide her smile

" Not really, the hole needs to bury a kitten wouldn't be too big, I remember your mother asking me to tend to the garden with nothing but my bare hands as a punishment so it wouldn't be too hard for you" said Sophia

"I hope you're not expecting me to dig out a hole with my hands Sophia" Amelia said

" that is what I was expecting " Sophia state the obvious, it was not an issue when Clare made her do it and Amelia would stand beside her mother laughing.

" it has to be done quickly before the kitten starts to rot and smell and I want to give it a proper send off quickly " Sophia added

" I am sure it won't be too hard for Amelia" Philip said as Amelia digging a grave was so minor in his eyes compared to what they were looking to achieve…. If Sophia had asked him to do it, he would have done it in a heartbeat

" that is easy for you to say when you are not the one doing it " Amelia said as she glared at her father

" I shall get to it right away " Amelia said with a fake smile