Because I belong where Hugh is. That’s what feels like home to me now.
But Hugh would never be her home. Eugenia had stolen him away.
She rolled over, buried her face in her pillow, and cried.
Chapter 31
Esther sat alone at the breakfast table, surrounded by silence.
It was late in the morning, and she would have expected her parents and her sister to be down to eat by now. But she hadn’t seen them. She had no idea where they were, or whether they were even coming to the meal.
At first, in fact, there had been no meal. She’d sat at the table alone for almost twenty minutes before a servant took notice of her and went to alert the kitchen staff. A few minutes later, she’d been given ham and eggs and a cup of coffee. She had been working her way through them slowly, taking tiny bites and doing her best to make the meal last, hoping that she would still be here by the time her family arrived.
She was particularly eager to see Caroline. She missed her sister almost painfully, and she knew that Caroline would be the only member of the family who wouldn’t be angry with her. At least there was one thing to be happy about now that she was home.
But she hadn’t seen her.
She didn’t understand.
Where is everybody? What’s going on?
It felt as if the Manor was empty. The silence was deafening. It had even occurred to her to go to the carriage house and count the carriages, to see whether they might have left.
But where would they have gone?
She had just made up her mind to go out and check after breakfast when the dining room door opened and Caroline came in.
Esther jumped to her feet. “Caroline!”
Her sister ran to her and flung her arms around Esther’s waist. “You’re home!” she cried. “I thought you might be. No one would tell me.”
“I don’t understand,” Esther said, feeling her eyes grow wide. “Who wouldn’t tell you?”
“Mother and Father,” Caroline said. “They were upset last night, but when I asked them why, they wouldn’t explain. And then they told me that I wasn’t to leave my bedchamber when I woke up this morning. They said that breakfast would be served to me.”
“Have you eaten?” Esther asked, concerned.
Caroline shook her head. “A breakfast was sent up, but I couldn’t touch it,” she said. “I snuck out of my room late last night and heard Mother and Father whispering. They sounded very upset. Mother said your name, and I thought you might be home—but I couldn’t figure out why you would be. The Season isn’t over already, is it?”
“For me it is,” Esther said gloomily. “Aunt Tabitha sent me home early. She wants the gentleman who was courting me to marry Eugenia instead.”
“That won’t happen,” Caroline protested. “If a gentleman was interested in you, he isn’t going to turn his attention to Eugenia just because you’re at home now. He’ll come after you.”
“No, he won’t,” Esther said. “I wish you were right, Caroline. But the truth is that he’s agreed to marry Eugenia instead of me. There’s nothing for me in London anymore.”
“He must be a very fickle and disloyal gentleman,” Caroline said. “If he’s willing to turn his attention to another lady so quickly, he can’t be worth your time. I say good riddance. It’s best you found out what he’s really like before you were tied to him permanently.”
Esther smiled. “You’re the wisest person in our family, Caroline, in spite of your youth,” she said. “Mother and Father will only see what a shame it is that I could have married a Duke and I lost my chance.”
“A Duke?” Caroline asked, momentarily sidetracked. “Was he really a Duke?”
Then she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter,” she said firmly. “The only thing that matters is that you’re happy, Esther. And you could never have been happy with a gentleman like that. Eventually—in five years, or ten—he would have shown his true colors, and he would have broken your heart.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Esther said.
She didn’t know if she truly believed what her sister was saying. After all, Hugh would never have turned against her if he hadn’t believed thatshehad been duplicitous first.
Still, it was good to hear from someone who was so staunchly on her side. For the first time, she realized how alone she had felt since Hugh had walked away from her.
