“And that is precisely why we are here,” Hermia’s firm voice came from the doorway.
Sibyl looked up to see Hermia, Charles, Isabella, and Oscar standing in the doorway. While they had been present at Edmund’s funeral earlier, the four of them had slipped out afterward to arrange for her return to Kerrington House.
Sibyl was certain it had to do with keeping Ferdinand away until tomorrow.
“Hermia,” she breathed, relieved at seeing her eldest sister.
Her attention drifted to Isabella next. The two of them were leading happy lives as duchesses, and it was strange to see how much they had matured since their marriages.
Sibyl had always considered them much older than her—mostly because of their endless mocking of her lifestyle when she was younger and their scolding—but their titles made them even more so.
“Sibyl,” Hermia asked, “can we speak to you for a moment?”
Relieved at the chance to escape their parents, Sibyl hurried over to her sisters before the five of them retreated to the drawingroom. They took their seats, while Oscar and Charles hovered by the door.
“Sibyl, you should have told us about Edmund sooner,” Hermia began, never one to prevaricate unless it was to tease her husband. “We could have helped with his addiction and your finances.”
“I did not know our finances were so bad,” Sibyl protested. “I only thought he… I only thought he disappeared often to gamble and drink in private—to avoid my questionings, I suppose. But I had not known about his laudanum addiction. Besides, it is too late now. My life has broken apart right before my eyes.”
Isabella took her head and squeezed it gently. “I have been there, Sibyl. Hermia and I both have. Marriages that did not go the way they were supposed to. But do listen to us. We fought our way out of those dark places, and I know you can, too. But you must know that you can come to us with anything,anythingat all, for we are your sisters. If we cannot support you in times like these, then when can we?”
Sibyl considered her sister’s words. She felt a pang of guilt in her chest, for she really had toughed through so much of this mess alone.
She nodded in agreement. “I am thinking mostly of Rosie’s future,” she murmured. “I need her to have a good life and a good upbringing. I cannot have her raised in this scandal. I made a mistake by marrying Edmund; I see that now. But I did not know at the time.”
“And it does not help that we have the most overbearing mother,” Hermia muttered. “She forced us into many unsavory situations if not to protect ourselves from her meddling.”
“Indeed,” Sibyl sighed, burying her head in her hands. “But now I must focus on putting my daughter first.”
“I understand your duty.”
She raised her head and looked over at Charles, who was leaning against the doorframe. He was older than when she had first met him, graying at the temples and lines around his eyes. But back when she had been pink-cheeked and wide-eyed, in awe of the romance she was insistent that her sister have, Charles hadn’t had those, yet he was no less handsome for the ageing.
“Allow me to look into Stonehelm.”
Sibyl nodded, grateful. The memory of her accusing the Duke of Stonehelm of being a vulture flashed through her mind.
“And I,” Oscar spoke up, drawing her attention, “will take care of that bastard, Ferdinand. I do not like this threat he has put over your head, nor the power he will now inherit. Do let me take care of him for you, Sibyl.”
“Oscar,” Isabella warned, scowling at her husband. “There is no need totake careof anyone.”
“There is every need, darling.” Oscar grinned at her, cracking his knuckles.
Isabella shook her head, but there was a smile on her face.
“Sibyl.” Hermia stood up and pulled Sibyl to the far corner of the room. She nodded towards Isabella, who went over to the men and launched into what seemed to be a heated discussion.
Sibyl frowned at her eldest sister.
“Sibyl, are you certain you want to go through with this? You are still young, and you still have time. Heavens, I did not meet Charles until I was four-and-twenty, and you are barely even twenty. Do not rush into another marriage.”
“But I have little choice. I recall Isabella feeling the same way, and that seemed to work out for her, so perhaps I can have that.”
Hermia hesitated, her gaze growing pensive. “What if I took you and Rosie in for a while?”
Sibyl shook her head. “No. No, Hermia. While I am grateful, I cannot be a burden.”
“Which you will never be. Rosie deserves a chance, and if she is a duke’s ward, then I could give her a very good life. I could give her a good chance.”
