An Offer From a Gentleman

the long version

Miss Sophie Beckett is the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood in Julia Quinn's An Offer from a Gentleman. Raised in his home, Sophie has a tolerable existence until the Earl marries and her life takes a distinct turn for the worse. Sophie's new stepmother hates her, and when the Earl passes away, she relegates Sophie to the role of servant. Sophie's days are pure drudgery until one night when her fellow servants conspire to help her attend a masquerade ball. Her life changes irrevocabl