“Her hand tightened around the handle of the serving spoon."Don't do it," he warned."Do what?""Throw the spoon.""I wouldn't dream of it," she said tightly.He laughed aloud. "Oh,yes you would. You're dreaming of it right now. You just wouldn't do it."Sophie's hand was gripping the spoon so hard it shook.Benedict was chuckling so hard his bed shook.Sophie stood,still holding the spoon.Benedict smiled. "Are you planning to take that with you?"Remember your place, Sophie was screaming at herself. Remember your place."Whatever could you be thinking." Benedict mused, "to look so adorably ferocious? No,don't tell me," he added. "I'm sure it involves my untimely and painful demise."Slowly and carefully, Sophie turned her back to him and put the spoon down on the table. She didn't want to risk any sudden movements. One false move and she knew she'd be hurling it at his head.Benedict raised his brows approvingly. "That was very mature of you."Sophie turned around slowly. "Are you this charming with everyone or only me?""Oh,only you." He grinned. "I shall have to make sure you take me up on my offer to find you employment with my mother.You do bring out the best in me, Miss Sophie Beckett.""This is the best?" she asked with obvious disbelief."I'm afraid so.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” he said hastily. He gestured for Sophie to come closer. “Lance, this is Sophie. She helped me out when you and the others ran out on me, and she’s been travelling with me ever since. Sophie, this is Lord Lance the Lazy. You’ll never meet a person lazier than him. Watch as he asks you to come forward so he can kiss your hand.”“Don’t be ridiculous, Oliver, I wouldn’t ask her to come forward,” Lance scoffed. And then after a momentary pause, he added to Sophie, “Incidentally, if I do ask you to come forward, would you oblige?”

“Will you let me lift you?" he said. "Just let me lift you. Just let me see how light you are." "All right," she said. "Do you want me to take off my coat?""Yes, yes, yes," he said. "Take off your coat."She stood. She let her coat fall to the sofa."Can I do it now?" he said."Yes."He put his hands under her arms. He raised her off the floor and then put her down gently. "Oh you're so light!" he shouted. "Your'e so light, you're so fragile, you don't weigh any more than a suitcase. Why, I could carry you, I could carry you anywhere, I could carry you from one end of New York to the other." He got his hat and coat and ran out of the house.”

“I would be pleased to participate in this conversation to a greater degree," he drawled, "except that you have not seen fit to share with me any of the details of your life.""It was not an oversight on my part."He clucked disapprovingly. "So hostile."Her eyes bugged out. "You abducted me-"Coerced," he reminded her."Do you want me to hit you?""I wouldn't mind it," he said mildly. "And besides, now that you're here, was it really so very terrible that I browbeat you into coming? You like my family, don't you?""Yes,but-""And they treat you fairly, right?""Yes,but-""Then what," he asked, his tone most supercilious, "is the problem?"Sophie almost lost her temper. She almost jumped to her feet and grabbed his shoulders and shook and shook and shook, but at the last moment she realized that that was exactly what he wanted her to do.And so instead she merely sniffed and said, "If you cannot recognize the problem, there is no way that I could explain it to you."He laughed,damn the man. "My goodness," he said, "that was an expert sidestep."She picked up her book and opened it. "I'm reading.""Trying,at least," he murmured.She flipped a page, even though she hadn't read that last two paragraphs. She was really just trying to make a show of ignoring him, and besides, she could always go back and read them later, after he left."Your book is upside down," he pointed out. Sophie gasped and looked down. "It is not!"He smiled slyly. "But you still had to look to be sure, didn't you?"She stood up and announced, "I'm going inside."He stood immediately. "And leave the splendid spring air?""And leave you," she retorted, even though his gesture of respect was not lost on her. Gentleman did not ordinarily stand for mere servants."Pity," he murmured. "I was having such fun."Sophie wondered how much injury he'd sustain if she threw the book at him. Probably not enough to make up for the loss to her dignity.”

“Bad luck," he commiserated. "Afraid I can't do that, either, Freddie, Dad's sending me to recon. That's food reconnaissance," he added to Lulu and Sophie. "There's a chef in a restaurant in Stoke Newington he wants me to check out before anyone else gets to him." He looked at Lulu. "Come with me," he said. From the corner of her eye, Lulu saw Sophie's hand snake to grab Charlie's wrist-- she avoided looking at Sophie's expression. "Don't you want to take your sites?" she asked coldly.”

“Nice for Freddie," she said. "Whoever he is. I'm Sophie, Lulu's sister." "Nice for you," he said. "Are you the sister who's getting married?" "No, I'm the one who is still available." She perched herself on the counter and swung her legs. "So, it's your lucky day, isn't it?" "Do you know," he said slowly, "I'm beginning to think it is." It was the sort of thing that men were always saying to Sophie, but not, thought Lulu crossly, the sort that generally made her gape and goggle at Lulu like a demented hen who had just won the lottery ticket, It was a couple of moments before she realized that Liam was looking, not at Sophie, but at her.”