Neil nodded, breathless with relief. “That one it is.”
The boy handed it down, and Emma hugged it to her chest.
“Oh, well done, your Grace,” Maggie said, turning a beaming face up at Neil. She smiled so widely that it felt as though his insides were twisting in his stomach. “We could never have won such a gift for her.”
It was as if her eyes drew him in, forbidding him to look away. Neil’s lungs ached, as though he’d been holding his breath for the entire time.
“It was nothing,” he managed. “I only—”
“There you are, Neil.”
The breath rushed out of his body again at the sound of Aunt Harriet’s voice. The happiness faded from Maggie’s face, too. He had not even noticed how happy she was until it disappeared from her eyes. Clearing her throat and ducking her head, Maggie stepped back.
Aunt Harriet stepped forward, a tight smile on her face.
“May I speak with you, Neil? In private,” she added, gazing straight at Maggie.
Maggie nodded, still not meeting anybody’s eyes. Taking Jenny’s hand in one hand and Emma’s in another, the trio hurried along the muddy boards and out of sight.
Neil turned to his aunt, clenching his jaw.
“What is it?”
Aunt Harriet tilted her head. “Can’t you guess? The Fairfaxes are furious. Lord Farendale vows to leave this very night—although I can’t imagine he’ll go through with it. Lady Constance is on the brink of tears, and I suspect a full tantrum is brewing.”
“And what of it?”
“What of it?” She glared up at him. “You had no right to humiliate them like that. No right to threaten them.”
He met her stare evenly. “And you had no right to bring them here without my leave. Let’s not quarrel over rights, Aunt.”
Her mouth tightened. “You think I act to vex you, when all I want is your happiness. I think of your future—of Emma’s future. That child needs a mother, not a rotation of governesses and nursemaids.”
He flinched. “And you imagine Lady Constance would make one?”
“Why not? She was raised for such a life—she knows how to bea duchess. She is not fabulously wealthy but has a modest fortune. She is pretty, well-bred, and charming. Why can you not like her, Neil?”
There was a short silence after this. Neil sighed, raking a hand through his hair.
“I just don’t, Aunt. I am sorry that you have wasted your trouble.”
Aunt Harriet stared up at him, as if waiting for something.
“I shall ask you plain, then,” she said at last. “Do you intend to propose to Lady Constance Fairfax?”
He let out a rattling sigh. “No, Aunt. I do not.”
She pressed her lips together again, forming a bloodless line.
“I see. Well, do you intend to propose to the governess?”
Neil’s head shot up, eyes wide. “What? To Miss Winter?”
“Don’t pretend surprise. I’ve seen how you look at her. Perhaps she doesn’t mean to encourage it—perhaps she’s merely fancied herself in love—but she would not refuse you. You must not make that offer.”
He struggled for words. “I— I—”
Aunt Harriet stepped forward, seizing him by the shoulders.
