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Esther opened her mouth to explain and found that she couldn’t speak. Instead, a sob broke free. Desolate, she threw herself down on her bed and cried.

“Oh, Lady Esther…” Amelia crossed to the bed, sat down beside her, and carefully rested a hand on her back. “What is it?”

“Hugh is gone,” Esther wept. “He’s left, and he wants nothing to do with me anymore.”

“But your courtship was going so well,” Amelia said. “How could his interest just disappear?”

“It’s all Aunt Tabitha’s fault,” Esther said. She explained to her lady’s maid what her aunt had done.

“Oh my goodness,” Amelia said quietly. “That was very cruel of her.”

“She hates me,” Esther said. “She always has. I knew that. But I didn’t know she hated methismuch.”

“You believe she intentionally set out to destroy your relationship with the Duke?” Amelia asked.

“I’m sure that’s what she did,” Esther said. “When my mother and father left, she saw her opportunity. She knew she wouldn’t get another chance.”

“But how does it benefit her?” Amelia asked.

“She wants Hugh to marry Eugenia,” Esther said. “He’s free to do that now.”

“He wouldn’t,” Amelia said, clearly aghast at the idea. “He wouldn’t simply turn around and marry the closest lady to him just because his relationship with you is over. If there’s one thing you’ve made clear to me about the Duke, it’s that he’s looking for real love. He isn’t going to marry someone he isn’t in love with.”

“You’re probably right,” Esther agreed, pulling out a handkerchief and dabbing at her eyes. “But that’s Aunt Tabitha’s goal. That’s the reason she did what she did. She’s hoping Hugh will choose Eugenia instead of me.”

“I’m so sorry, My Lady,” Amelia said softly.

Esther sat up. “I just can’t believe it,” she said. “I actually thought—I had hoped that Hugh might propose marriage soon. If my father hadn’t gone home, I believe he would have done it tonight. He loved me. I know he did.”

“You’ll find love again,” Amelia said quietly. “I know it doesn’t seem that way right now.”

“I don’t want to find love again, Amelia,” Esther said. “He was the one I wanted.” She sighed. “I should have listened to you from the start.”

“What do you mean, My Lady?”

“You told me that I should come to London with the aim of looking for love,” Esther said. “You told me that I shouldn’t treat courtship as a means to the end of money and status.”

Amelia shook her head. “I never intended to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, My Lady,” she said. “That’s not my place.”

“But you were right,” Esther said. “Because I did find real love, and it’s worth so much more to me than what my parents wanted me to look for. And now…” She drew a deep, shuddering breath. “And now I’ve lost everything. If I had been pure in my intentions from the start, this would never have happened.”

“You need a cup of tea, My Lady,” Amelia said soothingly. “Why don’t you come and sit by the fire?”

Esther realized that she was trembling. She allowed Amelia to pull her to her feet and lead her to the chair before the hearth.

Amelia wrapped a blanket around Esther’s shoulders and turned to begin preparing tea. “I’m sorry, Amelia,” she said, her voice soft and weak. “I wish you didn’t have to help me recover from this. You knew all along that I was making the wrong choices.”

“Don’t apologize to me, Lady Esther,” Amelia said. “You know it’s my pleasure to serve you, in whatever way you need.”

Esther had to admit, it was soothing to watch Amelia go through the familiar motions of preparing tea. She did her best to relax and lose herself in the rhythm of it, watching her lady’s maid pour and stir and add a bit of sugar. She could almost forget that her heart had just been broken. She could almost persuade herself to believe that this was just a normal night.

Then there came a knock at the door.

Esther’s head darted up, her heart immediately pounding with excitement.

Perhaps Hugh has come back. Perhaps he has decided to forgive me after all!

Amelia pressed the cup of tea into her hands. “Stay where you are, Lady Esther,” she said. “I’ll see what this is about.”