“My father grew sick and tarried for quite some time,” Edwina replied solemnly. “I could not fathom leaving his side for a frivolous Season among high Society.”
“And rightfully so,” Miles agreed.
Edwina offered him a grateful smile before she continued. “You are kind to say so, but now I am debuting with my two cousins. I daresay it will be a competition to see which one of them will be the diamond of the first water.”
“They don’t strike me as the type of young women to care about such things,” Miles stated.
“Indeed, they are not,” Edwina replied. “Elodie and Melody would be content living as spinsters in a quaint cottage by a stream.”
Miles chuckled at that thought. “I would love to overhear some of their conversations.”
“It would certainly be entertaining,” Edwina said. “They have a unique perspective as twins, but they don’t realize how much attention they garner from their looks. Or they simply don’t care.”
Edwina glanced up at the sky and continued. “I will need to retrieve my bonnet for the ride to the village, and I might change into another gown.”
He perused the length of her. “What is wrong with what you are wearing?”
“Do you think it is too lively?”
Miles furrowed his brow. “I do not think I would consider lavender to be a lively color.”
Turning her attention away from him, she confessed, “It will be the first time in months that I have visited the villagewithout wearing my mourning gowns.”
Now he understood. “And you are worried about what people might think,” he stated.
She winced. “I just don’t want them to think I have forgotten about my father.”
“Trust me, no one will think that,” Miles reassured her. “But you can’t live your life wondering what other people will think of you.”
“I try not to, but doubt always seems to creep in,” Edwina shared.
As they entered through the back door of the manor, Miles asked, “Do you think of your father every moment of every day?”
“I do.”
“Then what else matters?” Miles asked as they walked down the corridor.
Edwina considered his words for a moment before she inquired, “When did you stop wearing your black armband?”
“I took it off before I departed to come here,” he admitted.
Her surprise was evident in her slightly parted lips. “You wore it for a long time.”
“I did, and I do not regret doing so.”
Edwina came to a stop by the grand staircase and dropped her arm from his sleeve. “I think it is admirable.”
“My sister thought I was foolish,” Miles shared. “She wondered how I would ever get married again if I continued wearing it.”
“I am sure your sister was just worried about you.”
Miles let out a huff of air. “You could say that. You could also use the words overbearing and stubborn.”
The corners of Edwina’s mouth turned upwards in amusement. “Isn’t that what sisters are for?” she teased.
“I suppose so,” he replied. “She writes me all the time and I have yet to write her back.”
Edwina tilted her head. “May I ask why?”
