She looked like Charlie.
“Aunt Edith!” Liza exclaimed.
The woman stepped out with surprise and outstretched arms. She and Liza embraced.
“Eliza, what on earth are you doing here? Is everything well?” She peeked over Liza’s shoulder at me and furrowed her brow. “Who is this?”
“Aunt Edith, may I introduce my dearest friend, Miss Rosalind Newbury.”
The woman’s face fell.
“Ros,” Liza continued. “My aunt Edith Winston. Charlie’s mother.”
I curtseyed as best I could. “A true pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Winston.”
She looked between the two of us in silence, with that same almost distraught look upon her face.
Then a girl squeezed her way through the narrow doorframe in between them. “Liza?”
“Eloise!” Liza’s delight doubled.
I needed no introduction to Charlie’s younger sister. She had his eyes, his coloring in every way, the same bounciness and energy in her step.
“Why have you come?” Mrs. Winston’s voice pulled me in. “Forgive me. My son is ... well, I wonder why you would visit us so soon after your wedding.”
Oh.“I am no longer engaged,” I said.
“She cried off!” Liza said, throwing her hands in some sort of celebratory fashion. “She has gone mad, but we still adore her.”
“You jilted the Duke of Marlow?” Mrs. Winston looked taken aback.
“Yes,” I said. Then I waited. For what, I was not sure.
Charlie’s sister—Eloise—threaded arms with Liza, her eyes locked on mine. “Areyou mad? Or wait—” She lowered her voice. “Are you with child?”
My face heated instantly. “I—I’m sorry?”
“Eloise Anne Winston,” her mother chided. “Into the house at once. You wonder why I cannot let you into decent society. Heaven and earth.”
Then I realized we had not been invited in. Mrs. Winston’s greeting was less than welcoming, and sudden embarrassment engulfed me. I’d decided against marrying a duke. And she thought me truly mad. “Liza, perhaps we should go.”
“Do not be silly,” Mrs. Winston waved a hand in the air. “Miss Newbury, when you are older, much older, and your children grow old enough to experience genuine heartbreak, you will understand why I hesitate in this odd, incredibly unique circumstance we find ourselves in.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say.
“You will understand why I must ask you to divulge your secrets in such an uncomfortable and direct manner. Before another word is said, I must ask:Whydid you break your engagement?”
Liza looked tensely at her aunt. Clearly, she too had not expected such a reaction.
I licked my lips. “The truth, Mrs. Winston?”
“Yes, please.”
I took a deep breath. “I left the duke because I love your son. And I came here today because I think he loves me too.”
She tilted her head and gave me the barest hint of a smile. “Charlie? My Charlie?”
I nodded. Liza swooned and Eloise made a gagging noise, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Is he home?”
