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"You hardly seem very cut up about it" Alexia watched as her sister cheay

"Oh, I assure you, poor Evy is deeply effected Shockingly overwrought," said Mrs

Loontwil

"Surely you mean a ffected?" Alexia was not above a barb or there her family was concerned

At the end of the table, Squire Loontwil , the only one likely to understand a literary joke, softly chortled

"Herbert," his wife reprie her to be pert Most unattractive quality in a married lady, pertness" She turned back to Alexia Mrs

Loontwil ’s face, that of a pretty wo it, screwed itself up into a grimace Alexia supposed was meant to siese with digestive coement with him is over, Alexia? You weren’t… brainy… with hi to Lord Maccon by na so she ht hold on to the fact that Alexia had hly unlikely right up until the fateful event--without having to remember what she had married A peer of the realm, it was true, and one of Her Majesty’s finest, to be certain, but also a olf It hadn’t helped that Lord Maccon loathed Mrs Loontwil and didn’tMrs LoontwilWhy, Alexia remembered, once, he had even--She stopped herself fro the itation of her thoughts had resulted in toast h, she helped herself to another piece

"It seems clear to me," interjected Felicity with an air of finality, "that your presence here, Alexia, has soue your way out of that, sister dear"

Felicity and Evylin were Alexia’s younger half-sisters by birth and were entirely unrelated if one took into account any other factors They were short, blond, and slender, while Alexia was tal , dark, and, quite frankly, not so very slender Alexia was known throughout London for her intel ectual prowess, patronage of the scientific co wit Felicity and Evylin were known for their puffed sleeves The world, as a result, was general yunder the same roof

"And we are al aware of how considered and unbiased your opinion is on the matter, Felicity" Alexia’s tone was unruffled

Felicity picked up the scandal section of the Lady’s Daily Chirrup, clearly indicating she wanted nothing eously on "Surely, Alexia, darling, it is high time you returned home to Woolsey? I mean to say, you’ve been with us nearly a week, and, of course, we do love having you, but he is rumored to be back from Scotland now"

"Bul y for hi to say!"

Evylin interjected "No one has seen him in town, of course, but they say he returned to Woolsey yesterday"

"Who says?"

Felicity crinkled the gossip section of the paper explanatorily

"Oh, they "

"Hefor you,away, miserable for want of your…" She flailed

"For want ofco table Conal may have enjoyed her bluntness on rare occasion, but if he , she doubted her as top of the list Lord Maccon was a olf of hearty appetites, to say the least What he would miss most about his as located substantial y lower than her tongue An ie of her husband’s face momentarily broke her resolve That look in his eyes the last time they saw each other

--so betrayed But what he believed of her, the fact that he doubted her in such a as inexcusable How dare he leave her re some lost-puppy look simply to toy with her sys he had said to her, right then and there She was never going to go back to that--hernitwit!

Lady Alexia Maccon was the type of woman who, if thrown into a briar patch, would start to tidy it up by stripping off al the thorns Over the past feeeks and throughout the course of an inexcusably foul train journey back froht she had come to terms with her husband’s rejection of both her and their child She was finding, however, at the oddest and ular moments, that she hadn’t She would feel the betrayal, like so ache just under her ribs, and becory without warning It was exactly like an acute attack of indigestion--only with one’s finer feelings involved In her more lucid moments, Alexia reasoned that the cause of this sensation was the unjustness of it alShe was quite accusto inappropriate, but defending herself when completely innocent , experience Not even Bogglington’s Best Darjeeling succeeded in soothing her teh, well , as a lady to do? It was not, certainly not, that she stil loved the ical But the fact rees Her fans

Felicity snapped the paper closed suddenly, her face an uncharacteristic red color

"Oh, dear" Mrs Loontwil fanned herself with a starched doily "What now?"

Squire Loontwil glanced up and then took refuge in close exa" Felicity tried to shove the paper under her plate

Evylin was having none of it She reached over, snatched it away, and began scanning through it, looking for whatever juicy tittle-tattle had so disturbed her sister

Felicity nibbled on a scone and looked guiltily at Alexia

Alexia had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach She finished her barley water with some difficulty and sat back in her chair