Page 48

As they moved from shop to shop and stall to stall, their anxieties about being discovered faded, and Miss Coventry’s joy grew and expanded to each person she spoke to or even so little as smiled at.

She found joy in everything, whether that was pointing out various trinkets for sale at one stall, a street performer making adults and children laugh, or the way the trees created spotted shadows against the cobblestones.

Near the end of the afternoon, the three of them made their final stop at the town’s bakery. Edward purchased a few cheesecakes for the three of them, and they meandered slowly down the street as they ate, speaking of their parents and growing up, until the conversation shifted to their time in the town.

“Have you truly never been to any shop before in Ashwick without your family?” he asked.

She nodded, taking a bite of the cheesecake. A piece of the pastry clung to her lower lip before it fell to the ground. It was unfortunate he could not have wiped it off himself.

“You never went with your friends?”

She sniffed with derision. “What friends?”

“Ashwick is not so very small. There is not a single woman your age?”

She sighed, swallowing the last of her cheesecake and rubbing her hands together. “I did have friends when we first moved there, when I was ten years of age.” She retrieved her gloves from her reticule and put them on one by one. “I enjoyed their company, especially when Beatrice grew busy with her own friends and courtships, but eventually, they all entered Society and married, starting families of their own.” She looked away. “It became too difficult to find things in common, and our friendships faded fast.”

His heart reached out to her. What a lonely life to have been dealt. “Did your relationship with your elder sister help you in any degree?”

“Unfortunately, no. Once we moved to Ashwick, our relationship faltered, as well.”

Edward had always wanted a sibling, though he only now realized how infinitely more sorrowful it was to have had a sibling and lost one, than to have never had one at all.

“Do you remember much of life, before your father made his fortune?” he asked next.

“Yes. It was far simpler in many ways. In truth, there are times I long for that life to return.” Her eyes took on a distant look. “Now, my family is always separated. Father is preoccupied with business matters, Mother is taken with Beatrice marrying, and Beatrice, well, she has become disenchanted with life. She is a mere shell of whom she once was. We may have had very little before, but at least we had each other.”

Edward frowned. Even with his business failing, he still had friends who wished to see him and a mother who loved him. With a controlling father, an obedient mother, and an absent sister, Miss Coventry truly had very little. No wonder she’d wished to escape the confines of Daffley Park.

His mind was brought back to what she’d said earlier that morning in Ashwick. “You mentioned that your sister has no intention of marrying. She told you this?”

She nodded. “After my conversation with you in the fields, I decided to share with her how difficult the last few years have been for me. I had every intention of helping her so we’d both be happy, but I’m afraid our conversation shifted. She told Father that she would never marry, and it was then that I learned that Father still had no intention of allowing me out in Society. I was tired of waiting, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.”

They reached the outside of the inn and paused off to the side, standing in front of an alleyway that led between the inn and another shop.

Miss Coventry turned to Jane. “Will you continue to the inn to ensure my dress is made ready for the evening? I will be up shortly.”

Jane glanced between her and Edward, then with a barely contained smile, she nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She scurried away, and once they were alone, he faced Miss Coventry. “I’m sorry that speaking with your family was not successful. I cannot help but blame myself for giving you such poor advice.”

“It is no one’s fault but their own. Besides, I am finished waiting. I simply decided to create my own happiness.”

“A wise decision,” he responded. “So long as you do not do anything reckless, such as fleeing from your home.”

He gave her a pointed look, and she smiled. “May I ask you a question next?”

His stomach shifted. Given the questions she’d asked him in the past, she could throw anything at him. But it was only fair for him to answer after the questions he’d sailed at her. “Of course.”

“What was it that made your business no longer profitable?”

He had been expecting this question for some time. It was only natural to wonder. But he could not tell her the truth. Not now.

“A misunderstanding occurred between my father and a gentleman who’d hired him,” he explained briefly. “Words were exchanged, and false accusations were made. Horrible accusations.”

Solemnity crowded around him as it did every time he thought of that period of his life, sitting with his parents, listening to Father as he described the lies said about him.

Such darkness, such sorrow, could not be imagined, nor could any of them truly comprehend what had occurred. It had taken its toll on them all, especially Father.