From flashbacks, it’s clear that Sophie understood the truth. Despite the polite fiction maintained for society, she saw that Lord Penwood was her father.

That doted-upon childhood comes to an abrupt end when Sophie is still young, and the earl marries Araminta (Katie Leung), a widow. He hopes she’ll embrace Sophie as part of their blended family, alongside Araminta’s daughters from her first marriage, Posy (Isabella Wei) and Rosamund Li (Michelle Mao). But Araminta immediately senses the truth behind Sophie’s status, and it unsettles her. Fearing what Lord Penwood’s secret could mean for her own daughters’ inheritance and financial security, Araminta’s resentment begins to take root.

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Sophie’s true identity

Now, Sophie is introduced as the Earl of Penwood’s ward, but we’re all very nudge-nudge, wink-wink aware that she’s widely believed to be his illegitimate daughter. Araminta certainly seems to think so, too, as her thinly veiled disdain for Sophie practically screams it.

But what if Sophie isn’t Lord Penwood’s daughter at all?

What if she’s his niece?

The series notes that Lord Penwood had a sister, and as head of the family, her welfare and reputation would have fallen squarely under his responsibility. If that sister had become pregnant out of wedlock, the scandal would have been catastrophic. A disgraced woman and an illegitimate child would threaten the entire family name. In contrast, the story of an earl’s affair with a maid — while still improper — would place the shame largely on the child, not the household. Especially when that child could be discreetly labelled a ward. Gotta love those double standards.

This theory could explain why Lord Penwood never publicly acknowledged Sophie as his daughter, never used the word outright, and yet still raised her with care and privilege. It might also account for the family resemblance — present, but not too obvious. Sophie wouldn’t be his child, but she would still be blood.

Araminta, of course, would remain blind to this possibility. To her, Sophie is simply a perceived threat to her daughters’ futures. But with Bridgerton already proving it’s willing to deviate from the books (hello, Michael-to-Michaela switch and shuffled season order), who’s to say another major change isn’t on the way?

After all, Bridgerton loves a secret hiding in plain sight.