Aunt Venie nodded. “Sad but true, dear.” She looked at Letitia. “Your family, darling, has suffered greatly thanks to the man who sired you all. And I will apologize for some of the wicked thoughts I’ve entertained about him burning in hell for what he did to you.” She grinned. “Some, but not all.”
Hecate chuckled and Letitia realized that she was going to like this woman. A lot.
“Anyway, be that as it may, I feel it my duty to help Kitty rise above the tarnished reputation that man bequeathed to you all. Otherwise, her chances of making a good match are seriously reduced.”
Kitty nodded. “She’s quite right.”
“Do youwantto make a good match, Kitty?”
“Of course,” declared Kitty. “How else am I to go on?”
Hecate had no answer, and neither did Letitia.
“We shall see,” said Aunt Venie. “Now I suggest we call it an early night and have tea in our rooms. I’m sure you girls are tired, I know Kitty will be making lists of things to do while you’re here, and I wouldn’t find a bit of extra sleep amiss.”
“Shall we be out and about tomorrow, then?” asked Letitia. “I need to send a message to my publisher and let him know I’m in town.” She rose from the table, casting a quick thank you glance to the footman who held her chair.
“And indeed you shall. Just pen your note and I’ll have it delivered in the morning. Then, I believe, our Kitty has visits to themodistescheduled for you both. And herself too, I’ll be bound.”
Kitty laughed and nodded. “You know me so well, Aunt Venie. You don’t mind?”
“Of course not, dear. What use is having money if one does not spend it to improve the lives of others?”
Hecate’s back stiffened. “Willnew gowns improve my life, Ma’am?”
“If you let them.” She grinned. “If not, well at least they’ll brighten the lives of those who see you in them.”
Hecate blinked at that. “I take your point.”
“Oh, and I believe that dear Sir James FitzArden wishes to visit while you’re here. I understand he’s a close friend of the family,” added Aunt Venie on her way out of the door. “We should send him a note too. Let him know you’re here.”
Letitia found her teeth clenched tight, and struggled to part them. “How delightful,” she lied. “We have not seen him in quite some time.”
Hecate waited until they were all in their rooms, and had bade Kitty good night before she popped her head around Letitia’s door. “About James?”
Letitia, wrapped in her robe, with her hair down and a pen in her hands, was writing furiously. She looked up. “What about him?”
“Do you want to see him?”
Letitia sighed, put the pen in the inkwell, and leaned back. “If he visits, I will be happy to say hallo, of course.”
“My dear sister.” She walked into the room and sat on the end of the bed. “That was the most insincere tone I’ve ever heard you use.”
“Really? I wasn’t aware of it.”
It was Hecate’s turn to sigh. “Here we are, not in London above a night, and already you’re prevaricating and turning into one of those London ladies who can never give a straight answer to a direct question.”
Letitia knew her sister was right, damn her. But her emotions were in an uproar, she was tired, and she had no idea how to answer truthfully without revealing more to Hecate than she wished. Or indeed revealing more to herself than she could deal with.
“I cannot answer otherwise at the moment, my dear. I’m sorry. You ask a question to which I have no reply. Not tonight. Ask me again tomorrow when my mind has sorted itself out.”
Hecate slid from the bed, came to her sister and gave her a little hug. “That’s better. Sleep well, love.” She kissed her cheek and left.
Warmed by the affection, and conscious that her eyelids were growing heavy, Letitia wiped the pen, capped the inkwell and blew out the candle on the desk.
She hoped she was right and that the morning would bring order to her thoughts. She ignored the annoying little voice that whispered of a hope she wanted to deny.
The hope that she might see James again. Because she didn’t. She really didn’t.
All right, she did, but only for a few minutes and from a distance.
Not too near. Not close enough to smell his unique fragrance or see his mouth quirk slightly at a joke, nor close enough to remember how it felt against her skin…
