Hello everyone who just watched Sophie's backstory get revealed on Bridgerton—aka the moment the Earl of Penwood introduced her as "my ward" to his new wife, Araminta. The scene was slightly confusing since the show doesn't explicitly explain how or if Sophie is related to the Earl of Penwood, so here's the deal:
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a ward is "a person, especially a child, who is legally put under the protection of a law court or a guardian." However, based on Araminta's strong negative reaction to meeting Sophie (and the cruel way she treats her), it's safe to assume that Sophie is, in fact, the Earl of Penwood's "illegitimate" daughter.
Julia Quinn's book, An Offer for a Gentleman, also makes this clear. As the book's Fandom page notes, "she’s the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood. When she was three years old, she was dropped off at her father's estate in the country by her dying grandmother. The Earl told everyone she was the orphaned daughter of a friend who he’d taken in as his ward, even though it was quite obvious that she was his child."
In other words, Sophie is the Earl of Penwood's daughter! Which you better believe will be important as the show continues...
