“Do not mince words. It does not suit you. I deserved it… at least be honest about that.”
“You did. I have said it is forgotten, so take me at my word. What happened after that?”
“I did manage tomarry well.Or at least I thought so. A clever man of large fortune. No title, but he seemed perfect.”
“May I assume he wasnot?”
“You may.”
“How so?”
“He was a gambler, drinker, and libertine, but kept it well hidden. He spent all of his fortune over three or four years, then all of mine.”
“Oh… I am so sorry!”
“It happens. Then—”
“Take your time.”
“Then he was killed in a duel in Italy, leaving some… let us say… well… disreputable people seeking blood. I barely managed to escape back to England, and I have hardly a penny to my name.”
“Unless I am mistaken, you have something else… something more precious?”
“You really can hear things unsaid—”
“I can. I have yet to meet anyone who can dissemble or lie to me, and I have been sorely tested.”
“I have two daughters… three and five years old. I will do anything for them. I would have killed or died for them if I thought it would do any good. Now they are all I live for.”
“Where are they now?”
“I left them with a lady in a boarding house where I lodge in—”
“I hear a caustic laugh in the back of your throat, Mrs Harrison.”
“That is just the ironic chuckle. I am lodging in Cheapside.”
“I admit, I see the humour.”
“What are their names, if I may ask?”
“Claire and Emily.”
“Are they as hungry as you?”
“No, but they will be ready for supper soon.”
“You have been feeding them at the expense of your own health?”
“Of course. You would do the same.”
“I imagine I would. May I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Why did you not come to me at Darcy House? Or even your brother? Did you really believe I would let my nieces starve?”
“They are not your nieces.”
