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‘Oh, Aunt.’ Ianthe wiped at her eyes, brushing away tears. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘So am I, dear. Even forty years later, it still hurts.’
‘Did you love him so very much?’
‘We loved each other very much. We weren’t romantic like your parents. Their love was based on words and ideas. Ours was somewhat earthier, but just as real.’
‘Earthier?’ She frowned in puzzlement. ‘What do you mean?’
Her aunt’s eyes flashed with amusement. ‘Your mother would never forgive me for telling you. Though I’ve a feeling you might find out on your own.’
Ianthe looked away quickly, to where Robert and Matthew were splashing about in the shallows. She had a feeling she might have found out already.
‘Just like Horace.’ Aunt Sophoria smiled dreamily.
‘So you never regretted eloping?’
‘Not for a moment.’
‘Then you don’t think... That is... Elopements themselves...’ She took a deep breath, the words escaping in a rush. ‘You wouldn’t judge somebody else for doing the same thing?’
‘Ah.’ Her aunt’s expression softened with understanding. ‘No, dear, I wouldn’t judge. Is that what happened last year?’
Ianthe hung her head, shame-faced. ‘We didn’t get far before his family caught up with us. They convinced him that it was a mistake—that I was a mistake. He didn’t really love me, Aunt.’
‘Then he wasn’t the right man.’
She blinked, taken aback by her aunt’s matter-of-fact tone. ‘But it’s so shameful. I was wicked!’
‘I don’t see why. Did you pursue him?’
‘No.’
‘Was it your idea to elope?’
‘No.’
‘Did you do anything your mother might have disapproved of?’
‘No!’ She felt her cheeks start to burn again. ‘But if people found out they might think that I... That we... That is...’
‘Oh, my dear, if you can’t even say it, then you really have nothing to be ashamed of.’ Aunt Sophoria screwed her mouth up thoughtfully. ‘That explains it then.’
‘What?’
‘All the grey. I knew it wasn’t you.’
‘But I wanted it to be!’ Ianthe almost wailed. ‘I wanted to
be sensible and respectable, so nothing like it would ever happen again. I thought I was different, that I’d changed. That’s why I agreed to marry Robert. And now...’
‘Now you’re the young woman I remember.’ Aunt Sophoria reached down and patted her cheek. ‘I’m glad to see her again.’
‘But you don’t understand, Aunt. I married him under false pretences. He thinks I’m still her, the woman in grey. I haven’t told him any of this. I know I should have, but I couldn’t. I thought that if I could be the respectable wife that he wanted...’
‘Then what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him? You might be right. Though I think he’d understand more than most.’
‘No!’ Ianthe shook her head adamantly. ‘You don’t know how important respectability is to him. I didn’t realise how much until after we were married. Just look at the way he is with Matthew!’
