‘Oh, Hetty. I’m so sorry. Don’t worry, I won’t interrogate you about it.’
She felt awful. Then again, was it truly a lie? After all, surely her mother and brother were long dead by now? At the thought of it, real tears sprang to Hetty’s eyes.
‘Never mind. No, really, never mind.’ She blinked them away, accepting both Stella’s hand and her wine glass. ‘What about your family?’
‘I’ve got a brother called Elliot, and then there’s my mum.’ Stella bit her lip ruefully. ‘My mum’s – well, she’s very old fashioned. The most old-fashioned woman you’ve ever met, probably.’
‘Oh, I sincerely doubt that,’ said Hetty.
‘No, really. She’s very religious. She wouldn’t like this at all.’ Stella looked away. ‘But then, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?’
‘Right,’ said Hetty, thinking about all the things Stella didn’t know. Hopefully none of them would hurt her either – because the thought of hurting Stella was unbearable.
Chapter 33
1817
Max was long gone by the time Etta went down to breakfast. A note slipped under her door had read simply:We must talk – later.It was unsigned. She supposed anything more would arouse suspicion with the servants, but it was thrilling to see his elegant, masculine handwriting nonetheless.
At breakfast she discovered that on his way out, Max had invited her family to go and see a balloon ascension that morning – and he’d promised a surprise.
Etta had expected the huge striped balloon and the crowd of awestruck spectators, but as their family’s carriage drew up to the crowded park just outside London and Charlie offered her his arm, she spotted Max there with something – someone – unexpected.
She was tempted to be jealous, but there was no mistaking the tall, dark-haired woman sitting next to Max. She stared first at the stranger, then at Max. ‘You never said you had a sister.’
Both Max and his hitherto completely unmentioned sibling grinned, Max apologetically and his sister in amusement.
‘Oh, that’s exactly what I’d expect from the both of you,’ said the woman, looking between Max and Charlie fondly. ‘Out of sight, out of mind. I daresay neither of you remember the time you went through my desk and ruined my best watercolours either. Or the time Charlie put all my dresses on and got caught by Nanny.’
‘You must be misremembering, Lizzie,’ Charlie said, bowing neatly in greeting.
Max grinned. ‘Miss Bainbridge – let me remind you of my older sister, Lady Elizabeth Mackinnon.’
‘Delighted to meet you again at long last,’ said Max’s sister. ‘It’s fair enough, you know, since I’m tucked out of the way in Scotland with my husband most of the time. We can’t have seen one another since you were perhaps six years old, when I went off to Finishing School in Switzerland. I’ve come to London to our house here for my confinement, though. Do excuse me for not getting up.’
Etta noticed for the first time that Lady Mackinnon was indeed heavily pregnant as they shook hands. ‘Gosh, I’m surprised you’ve come so far away from home. I suppose there aren’t any hospitals nowadays, are there?’
The other woman looked at her curiously. ‘No, not for— well, I shall see our doctor, of course. Besides, I wanted to see the balloon. I’m most interested in aeronautics.’
Etta felt her brows rise involuntarily. ‘Are you? Most women I meet around London seem most interested in ribbons and glaring at me in the park.’
‘Ha! Oh no, not I. Gosh you were completely right when you told me how amusing Miss Bainbridge is, Max. Well done.’
Etta looked questioningly at Max, but Charlie was callinghim over to inspect the balloon. Before Etta could say another word to him he was completely out of earshot. He seemed to be dissuading a determined Charlie from attempting to climb in the balloon basket. Etta wondered what he was thinking – if he was regretting what had happened last night.
What was the etiquette for this kind of scenario? Her mother’s copy ofDebrett’shad left her as clueless as she’d been before she picked it up that morning.
Max’s sister turned back to her. ‘Call me Lizzie – everyone else does.’
‘Only if you call me Etta.’
Etta couldn’t deny she was massively pleased to find herself a new friend who was anything but insipid. Etta quizzed Lizzie on everything aeronautical. Even in 2023, Lizzie would have known a lot. She was livelier than her brother, but shared the same deadpan humour that Etta loved about him.
Huh.Loved about him. Interesting word to think of there. She tucked it away for later.
‘So, you’re quite a favourite with my brother, then?’ said Lizzie, her voice ripe with gossip. Etta couldn’t help smiling in return. Lizzie nudged her. ‘I warn you, you’re in for a rough ride. He never does what he’s told. My father wishes for him to marry someone very traditional, like Miss Maria Marley.’
Etta snorted. ‘Why, does your father not like him very much?’
