Emily raised her brows as if surprised.
“Edward left,” she answered. “He went to the country estate. I was told he had some business to attend to with our parents.”
Victoria blinked and stared at Emily for several moments as her words sunk in.
“He…left?” Without a word?
Emily nodded. “A little before noon while you and Lily were out. He is supposed to be returning by week’s end.”
“I see,” Victoria murmured.
She tried not to let her disappointment show. Tried not to appear too heartbroken.
He’d left.
After their time together in the library, he had just left and had not said a single word of goodbye to her. All the hope she had felt about a possible future together drained from her in an instant. How could she have been so foolish? She should not have expected anymore, and it was most certainly not Edward’s fault that she had. He had not made any promises to her, and why would he? She was only the help, after all.
“Victoria? Are you all right?” Emily asked with a small frown. “I hope whatever you wanted to talk to Edward about was not terribly urgent.”
Blinking, Victoria pulled herself from her tumbling thoughts and replied, “Oh, yes, I am fine, and no, it is not terribly urgent. It can wait until he returns.”
“Are you certain?” Emily questioned gently.
Nodding, Victoria forced a smile and answered, “Yes, yes, no worries whatsoever. It can wait. Now, what have you been up to in my absence?” She looked down at Lily. “Have you been telling your mama about our trip to the park?”
Lily nodded. “Yes, I have! I told her about the swans and how pretty they were.”
Victoria chuckled. “Indeed, they were very pretty.”
Lily turned to her mother and continued chattering away, and though Emily gave her daughter her focus and attention, she would glance up at Victoria now and again as if to check on her. Victoria was careful to maintain a light and happy expression so that Emily could not see how heartbroken she truly was.
***
The next day, Victoria was free to do as she pleased, and so she went to visit Aunt Henrietta. She needed to talk to someone who knew her background so she could actually relax and let her guard down. It was rather exhausting hiding who she really was all the time.
She also needed a distraction. Something to keep her mind off of Edward and her heartbreak. It was impossible not to think of him when she was in his home, surrounded by his family.
Aunt Henrietta greeted her at the door with a wide smile.
“I am so glad to see you, my dear,” she declared. “It has been far too long.”
“I was in the country, remember aunt,” Victoria replied with a grin as she stepped over the threshold and into the house.
“Of course, I remember,” Henrietta replied with a click of her tongue. “I am old, not daft.”
Victoria chuckled. “I apologize. I did not mean to insult your quick-wittedness.”
“You are forgiven,” she said with a little huff, but then she grinned and led Victoria into the drawing room. They sat, and within moments, a servant appeared with a tea service. The servant set the tea in front of Victoria and her aunt and bowed before leaving the room once more.
Once they were alone, Henrietta took a sip of her tea and said, “My dear, I am glad you came to see me today. There is something I would like to talk to you about.”
Victoria raised her brows in surprise. “Oh? What is it?”
“The grandest ball of the Season is coming up soon, and I would very much like you to attend,” Henrietta answered.
Shaking her head, Victoria nearly laughed. “You know that is impossible. I would be recognized, and everything would be ruined.”
“That is just it!” Henrietta exclaimed. “It is a masked ball. You would be in disguise so that no one would know who you were.”
