But on this particular morning, Hazel was curled in her drawing room with her embroidery when the door flung open so abruptly she nearly pricked her finger.
Her butler appeared in the doorway, a touch breathless.
“Lady Callbury, your sisters are here.”
Hazel shot to her feet. “Chastity? Patience?”
Before she could take a step, two whirlwinds in pastel silk barreled through the doorway.
“Hazel!”
“Hazel, dearest!”
Chastity launched herself into Hazel’s arms first. Hazel staggered back a step from the force of the embrace. Patience followed, sweeping Hazel into a nearly suffocating hug.
“Oh, we’ve missed you so terribly!”
Hazel laughed, a bright, joyful sound that felt like her younger self rising from some long-buried place. She wrapped an arm around each sister, pulling them close.
“I’ve missed you both as well,” Hazel said, feeling warm and full.
For a moment, the room shimmered with the familiar chaos of the three of them together, with Chastity fussing with her gloves, Patience bouncing slightly on her toes, then both speaking at once or not at all.
Then, unexpectedly, Patience stilled, and Chastity’s smile changed somehow.
Hazel frowned slightly. “What is it?”
Chastity exchanged a glance with Patience. Hazel’s breath caught. Her sisters had never managed to communicate silently in their entire lives.
Patience bit her lip. “Hazel… we came to see you because… well…” Her voice faltered. She looked at Chastity helplessly.
Chastity took a breath. “Because we owe you an apology… a real one, one where we actually understand what we are apologizing for.”
Hazel blinked. “An apology? For what?”
Patience stepped closer, taking Hazel’s hands in hers. “For everything.”
Hazel stared, unsure she’d heard correctly.
Chastity nodded. Her eyes were shining with an emotion Hazel had not expected.
“We’ve realized…trulyrealized, how much you did for us all these years. How many things we simply assumed… would happen on their own.”
Patience sniffed, which surprised Hazel even more. “You managed everything from our dresses and our schedules to ourtempers, our ridiculous arguments, and even our suitors. And we just… let you.”
Hazel didn’t know what to say.
Chastity squeezed her hand. “When you left, it all fell apart for a bit. We didn’t know what to do. Mama didn’t know what to do. And we finally understood how much you shielded us from.”
Patience added softly, “You protected us from so much, Hazel. From expectations, from consequences, from ourselves… and we never thanked you for it.”
Chastity’s voice cracked. “We took you for granted.”
Hazel felt her breath tremble. “Oh, girls…”
Patience shook her head vehemently. “No, Hazel. Let us say it. We’re sorry. We were selfish and childish, and we leaned on you far too much.”
Chastity wiped at her eyes, as though appalled to find tears there. “And we love you so very much, which means we want you to have your own life now. Your own joy, not just us.”
