A commotion from the hallway drew their attention. The sound of the front door slamming shut, followed by unsteady footsteps, heralded their father’s return.
“Yoo-hoo! Where are my lovely girls?” James Balfour’s slurred voice echoed through the house.
Evelina exchanged a look with her sisters. “Stay here,” she instructed them quietly. “I shall deal with Papa.”
She found her father in his study, fumbling with the lock on his desk drawer. “Papa,” she said, keeping her voice level. “I thought you were dining at your club this evening.”
James looked up, his eyes slightly unfocused. “Ah, Evelina, my girl. Yes, well, the evening took an unexpected turn. A stroke of bad luck at the tables, I’m afraid.”
Evelina’s heart sank. “How much, Papa?”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing to concern yourself with. A trifling amount, really. I’ll win it back next time, you’ll see.”
“Papa,” Evelina pressed, a sharp edge to her voice. “How. Much?”
James hesitated, then mumbled a sum that made Evelina’s blood run cold. It was more than a trifle. It was more than they could afford to lose.
“Good God, Papa,” she breathed. “How could you be so reckless? Do you not realize what this means for the girls? For their futures?”
Her father had the grace to look ashamed, if only for a moment. “Now, now, Evelina. You mustn’t fret so. These things have a way of working themselves out.”
Evelina felt her carefully maintained composure begin to crack. “Work themselves out? And how, pray tell, do you imagine that will happen? Shall we simply wait for pennies to rain down from the heavens?”
“Mind your tone, young lady,” James snapped sternly. “I am still the master of this house.”
“Are you?” Evelina challenged, her voice low and dangerous. “For it seems to me that you have abdicated that responsibility along with all others. Tell me,Father, when was the last timeyou inquired after your daughters’ well-being? When was the last time you concerned yourself with anything beyond your next game of chance?”
James recoiled as if slapped, his face flushing with anger and shame. “You forget yourself, Evelina. I have given you and your sisters everything?—”
“You have given us nothing but uncertainty and disappointment,” Evelina cut him off, her cheeks reddening with barely contained fury. “It is I who has raised them, I who has seen to their education, their needs, their futures. And now, with your carelessness, you threaten to undo all of that work.”
For a long moment, Evelina refused to look away. She had suffered enough for the day, and she couldn’t hold back anymore. Not this time.
Finally, James looked away.
“What would you have me do?” he asked, his voice small and defeated.
Evelina took a deep breath, forcing her anger back down. “Tomorrow, we should discuss how we might salvage what remains of our finances. For now, I will take care of this. You should get some rest.”
As her father shuffled out of the study, Evelina allowed herself a moment of weakness, sinking into his chair and burying her face in her hands.
How had it come to this? How much longer could she hold their family together by sheer force of will?
A timid knock at the door pulled her from her despair. She looked up to find Margaret hovering in the doorway, concern etched on her delicate features.
“Evie? Is everything all right?”
Evelina forced a smile, rising from the chair. “Of course, dear. Just a small disagreement with Papa. Nothing for you to worry about.”
Margaret didn’t look convinced. “I heard raised voices. And… and I heard what Papa said about losing money.”
Evelina’s heart clenched. Of course Margaret had heard. She was far too observant for her own good.
“It’s nothing we cannot overcome,” Evelina assured her, though the words felt hollow even to her ears.
“But what of my debut?” Margaret asked, her voice small. “What of… what of our dowries?”
The question hung in the air, heavy with implication. Evelina crossed the room, taking her sister’s hands in her own. “Listen to me, Maggie. I promise on my life that you will have your debut. You will have your Season, and you will shine brighter than any diamond of the ton. As for our dowries…” She hesitated, not wanting to lie but unwilling to crush her sister’s hopes. “We shall find a way. We always do.”
