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“I think we have a lot to talk about. Right now, I need space.”
* * *
Letty had gone in a whirl of plaid skirts, leaving Anne alone with only the ticktock of the grandfather clock for company.
Letty hadn’t said good-bye, she told herself.
But she hadleft.
Like Hawthorne had.
She had shared everything with Letty and had been her most intimate self with her. Letty had shown her how to laugh again, how to be the woman that she had locked up so long ago. Finally, she was free, but at what cost if she no longer had Letty in her life?
What had she meant when she said that Anne hadn’t made room for her? Hawthorne House was enormous—and Letty hadn’t even seen the other estates. She had thought of bringing Letty to see them in the summer. She paused. Had she ever said as much? Had she actually told Letty that she saw a future with her?
Or had she made assumptions that of course everything would go the way a duchess planned it?
In truth, she hadn’t thought of Letty working past this job. She wouldn’t need it. Anne had heaps of money to spend as she pleased, and if she pleased to keep Letty with her, she knew no one would say a word against it.
She frowned. Maybe they did have more to talk about than she realized.
She could only hope that it wouldn’t be enough to tear them apart.
Chapter Twenty-five
After the grand magnificence of Hawthorne House, the apartment in Holborn felt small. Once, Letty had found it comfortable enough, but now she saw how cramped their quarters were. It had never bothered her before, and she was cross at the idea that she could have grown accustomed to splendor so quickly. Had she become snobbish by spending so much time at the ducal estate?
Upon her arrival, Robert mumbled something about going out to meet with his friends and made haste out the door. Letty was relieved. She knew they needed to talk, but the opportunity to rest sounded wonderful. She hadn’t realized how tired she was from stretching herself thin with work. Marcus and Fraser had been right—the hours at Hawthorne House had started to eat up her life, threatening to swallow it whole. Tonight was the first time she had been at home before nightfall in a long time.
More fool she for trying to grasp on to the illusion of forever.
The blankets on her bed were pulled up to the pillow, waiting for her to crawl in. Alone. It was only four o’clock in the afternoon, but Letty was exhausted. She rubbed her chest, which started aching after her argument with Anne. She rummaged in her chest of drawers and pulled out a thick flannel nightgown. With it came memories of Anne and the night they had spent here together months ago, but she bundled herself in its warmth anyway, with a pair of wool socks that needed darning. It wasn’t quite cool enough to merit the outfit, butit was well-worn and snug and she needed the comfort, so she slid the window open an inch to cool the room and then tucked herself into bed.
It was nice to be still enough to allow her thoughts to gather and disperse like smoke, and she fell asleep.
Letty only knew disorientation for a second when she awoke, hours later. The bruising feeling in her chest reawakened with her, but her headache had lessened. It was dark in her room, and cold, and there was a sliver of light beneath the door that told her that Robert was home.
She closed the window and drew on a shawl before she went to face him.
He was fumbling with a teacup on the table, which he dropped when he saw her. “Fancy a cup of tea, Mum? I had the water on for you.”
Sure enough, the kettle was in the fire and she could hear the water boiling away. Blinking away a sudden tear, she could only nod. He had never done anything like that before for her.
“Go sit and I’ll bring it to you.”
That earnest face, so sweet and so dear, brought another tear to her eye, and the bruise on her heart grew. She settled into the chair with the throw blanket and tucked it on her lap.
The tea was strong and hot when he brought it to her.
“We haven’t any milk,” he said, a trifle defensive.
“I didn’t complain,” she said, scalding her lips on a sip. It felt so nice to be coddled a little. When was the last time they had a moment like this together? Letty’s heart warmed with the tea. She had raised a fine young man after all. A troubled young man, and a complicated one—but a fine one, nonetheless.
She decided it would be best to have it out. “Why did you need the money, Robert?”
He flushed. “I had unexpected expenses.”
“Drink? Women? Gambling?”
