Miles offered him a weak smile. “She was the best part about me,” he said. “I couldn’t quite believe she agreed to go with me to the Continent.”
“She was an extraordinary woman.”
“That she was,” Miles said, his voice growing hoarse with emotion. “I was grateful for the time I was able to spend with her.”
The groom cleared his throat behind them. “Pardon the interruption, my lords, but your horses have been readied.”
Bennett put his hand out, indicating that Miles should go first.
As Miles headed towards his horse, he worked hard to bury the familiar emotions that were threatening to rise to the surface. He would ride to the village, drink some watered-down ale and try to forget. Just as he always did. But it never seemed to work.
Chapter Six
As Edwina descended the grand staircase, her eyes caught sight of her aunt standing in the entry hall. The wide brim of a straw hat sat slightly askew on her head.
Her aunt had always been a striking woman with her blonde hair and fair skin, but the lines on her face were starting to mark her advancing age. But it wasn’t just her face that made her beautiful. It was the way she was quick to smile or offer a comforting embrace.
“Where is your hat?” her aunt asked.
Edwina came to a stop on the bottom step. “I forgot it,” she said sheepishly.
Her aunt didn’t chide her but rather turned towards the butler who stood nearby. “Will you retrieve Lady Edwina’s hat?” she requested.
White nodded with a bow. “Yes, my lady,” he responded before he departed to do her bidding.
“Thank you,” Edwina acknowledged.
Her aunt smiled. “You can’t very well go into the village without a hat. What are you, a ruffian?” she teased.
Edwina returned her aunt’s smile. “Good heavens, I think not.”
“There it is,” her aunt said. “I have missed your smile. I daresay you have been far too serious as of late.”
“I suppose I have,” Edwina admitted.
Her aunt stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her sleeve. “You are loved. I hope you know that.”
“I do,” she replied, grateful for her aunt’s kind words.
“Good, because we will get you through this,” her aunt said, lowering her arm. “We can’t have you moping about when we arrive in London for the Season.”
Edwina lifted her brow in surprise. “I thought I was not to have a Season.”
“Who told you that?” her aunt asked, tilting her head curiously.
Pressing her lips together, Edwina didn’t wish to reveal that she had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
Her aunt gave her a knowing look and lightly chided her for it. “You have been eavesdropping again.”
“I did, but only because you were speaking about me,” Edwina admitted.
“If you had stayed around a little longer, you would have heard your uncle relenting and agreeing to let you have a Season,” her aunt said with a hint of amusement in her voice.
Edwina stared at her aunt in disbelief. “How did you manage to convince him?” she asked incredulously.
Her aunt’s expression softened. “My dear, you didn’t truly think I was going to stand by and deprive you of a Season, did you?” she asked.
“But Uncle was so adamant.”
