“I don’t see why not. He admits that he’s too young to think of marriage but that if he were going to, it would be with you. That should lift your spirits and make you feel better.”
She sniffled again. “Yes—yes, it does.”
“Good. Now, why don’t you go send him a note thanking him for his lovely letter and that you’ll look forward to renewing your acquaintance with him when he returns?”
Gwen’s eyes brightened and a smile spread across her face. “Thank you, Louisa—you are the best sister in the world. I’ll do that right now.” She spun away.
“Gwen?”
Gwen stopped and turned back to her.
“I’m glad the duke was there for you to talk to last night.”
“So was I, Louisa. It was almost like having Nathan back.”
So Bray and Gwen really did feel like brother and sister.
Louisa shivered and her eyes closed as understanding flooded her. She wrapped her shawl tighter around her and wondered how she could have let Bray walk out the door without explaining her feelings of hurt and anger?
Bray hadn’t done everything right, but neither had she. He’d admitted he didn’t have the kind of childhood she’d had, that he’d never been around girls. Maybe he had been patient with the girls—for him. She once thought he could never learn to accept her sisters, but just maybe he already had. And she’d been too blind to see it, but Bonnie, Sybil, and Gwen hadn’t.
She had always thought she’d marry a gentle soul like her father, a man who didn’t argue, demand, or raise his voice no matter the situation. But she now knew she would never be happy with a man like that. She wanted there to be laughter and sparks of excitement between her and her husband. She wanted the passion she’d experienced when she was in Bray’s arms.
Louisa had to go to Bray and ask him to forgive her. She knew it wasn’t proper for a young lady to go to a gentleman’s house, but she had been improper with him before. She hoped she wasn’t too late and that he hadn’t already decided to completely wash his hands of her.
Hearing the back door open, she turned to see her uncle step out on the landing. Louisa’s mouth dropped open.
“There you are, Louisa.”
“Uncle, you’re back.”
“Yes. Mrs. Woolwythe said she thought you were in the garden. She’s seems a nice woman, but we’ll have to let her go now that I’m back with my staff. Well, don’t look so shocked. I can’t have two housekeepers.”
“I’m shocked that you’re back, Uncle. We never heard a word from you while you were away.”
Her uncle walked down the steps. “You knew I would return one day,” he said.
“Yes, of course. How is your wife? How was your journey?”
“My wife is blessed to be with child. We discovered she was not long after we arrived in Portugal, so we immediately started making plans to come back to England. We didn’t want there to be any chance that my son would be born abroad.”
“I’m very pleased for you, Uncle.”
“Have things been well here? Has Ramona behaved herself and done what a proper chaperone should?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I didn’t speak to her. Mrs. Woolwythe said she naps every afternoon before readying herself for the evening’s parties.”
“She has done an outstanding job, Uncle,” Louisa said, knowing she was fibbing a little on the word “outstanding.”
“Excellent. I’m glad the Season is almost over. Are there any offers of marriage on the table?”
She hesitated, and finally said, “No.”
“Well, of course, you and Gwen can remain here until the Season is finished, but I’ll have to send the younger girls back to Wayebury immediately.”
Louisa recoiled from that thought. “Why would you want to do that?”
