Dolly shrugged. “Perhaps not yet. But most boys his age have been away at school for years by now. Or have you forgotten how things are done here?” she added with a teasing smile.
“Not at all. That’s largely why we left in the first place,” I said, with more confidence than I felt. But when Dolly’s smile fell, I realized my error.
We.
She reached out with solemn eyes and patted my arm. “It must be hard to be back here without your dear Oliver.”
“Yes,” I murmured. In truth, I associated Greece with Oliver far more than London, but it was not something I cared to explain.
“Would you like to have some tea?” Dolly asked gently. “We can sit in the parlor for a bit and talk.”
“Some other time,” I said with a tight smile. “I was hoping to have a nap before I have to meet Delia.”
I also did not wish to play the part of the grieving widow this afternoon.
“Ah, a good plan,” she replied, with a knowing smile.
We then parted ways, and I returned to the flat alone in the carriage. But even as I grew farther and farther away from South Kensington, Dolly’s ominous words stayed with me all the way to Hyde Park Street:And the next I was only getting in the way.
Perhaps raising Tommy on Corfu had put off the inevitable for a bit longer, but one day he would grow up. And ifnothing else, this afternoon had taught me that I needed to do a much better job of preparing myself for that. If such a thing were even possible. Cleo was only a few miles away, and yet sometimes it felt like she might as well be on the moon. Of course, I was happy that she was taking her education so seriously, but it was a cold comfort at times. The carriage then rocked to a stop, and I headed up the front steps to my aunt’s home. Perhaps I could take up traveling or become a paid companion once the children were gone.
There’s always the typing. Perhaps you could ask Mr. Dorian for a reference.
I let out a loud snort as I entered the house, but luckily Mrs. Ford wasn’t around to hear me. As I tore off my coat and hat, I could think of absolutely no circumstance in which I would willingly contact that man. After all, he had made his indifference towards me quite obvious when he left Corfu without a word. While I may have mistaken his intensions previously,thatmessage had been received loud and clear.
Once I hung up my things, I stomped up the stairs and paused on the landing. My heart was racing, but I knew it could not be blamed on the exercise. It was that lingering resentment I felt towards Mr. Dorian. I let it upset me far too much. Forcing those thoughts aside, I took a deep breath and continued on. Besides, I had far more important things to think about than a grumpy mystery writer with unintelligible handwriting. Tonight I was going out in London. And I needed to decide what to wear.
Chapter 4
“Good heavens, Minnie,” Delia said. “Don’t tell me you’re wearingthat?”
I had just entered the foyer of my parents’ home and automatically looked down at my sapphire dress, though I very well knew what I had on. “What’s wrong with it? Aunt Agatha ordered it for me in Paris.” And at an eye-watering expense. But she had insisted I needed at least one serviceable evening gown for London, and this could be worn to a number of different events.
But perhaps that was the issue, given that my sister wore a much more eye-catching mint-green gown trimmed in pink organza.
“There’s nothingwrongwith it,” Delia began, in a slightly more amicable tone. “It just isn’t right for tonight. Maybe if we were attending the opera or some such. But not this.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, I’m not going home to change.”
“No, no. Of course not. You can wear something of mine. We’re nearly the same size, I think.”
I shot her a dubious look. We were about the same height,but Delia had a slim waist and narrow hips, whereas I had given birth to two children and possessed neither.
Delia seemed to read my thoughts, but she remained undaunted. “I have just the thing. Come with me.”
I reluctantly followed her upstairs to her room. Though it was only a little after eight, the house was as silent as a tomb. “Are Mother and Father out tonight?”
Delia gave me a quick, confused glance. “Certainly not. They’re abed. I hardly ever see them after six these days, unless we have company. Otherwise, we all eat separately.”
“Oh, I had no idea.”
Delia shrugged, unconcerned. “How could you?”
“Is it because of Father’s fall?”
I still hadn’t had the chance to inquire about the state of his health.
“I suppose it started then. He hasn’t really been the same since,” Delia said softly. “Though I will say that his memory has grown worse these last few months, especially if he is tired or hasn’t slept well. On those days, it’s as if he’s traveled back in time.”
