A Study In Seduction(23)

When Jane didn’t respond, Lydia’s heart sank. She wished Jane would immediately say she didn’t want to go, but of course her sister didn’t respond to anything without thinking it through.

“I don’t know,” Jane finally said. “I’d miss you, of course, and the house. But it’s not as if… I mean, it isn’t as if we ever go anywhere, d’you know?”

“That’s not entirely true. We—”

“It is true, Lydia.” Frustration edged Jane’s voice. “The only place I’ve been outside of London was that trip we took to Brighton. At least Paris would be interesting.”

“Yes, it would,” Lydia admitted, though her heart began to feel like a rock.

“And honestly, I’d like to learn piano and French.” Jane turned her head to look at Lydia’s face. “Oh, Lyddie, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t.” Lydia hugged her sister. “I understand what you mean. When I was a few years older than you, I went away to school as well. To Germany.”

“Did you like it?”

Lydia’s stomach knotted. That single year was like a diamond inside her—bright, cold, and hard. In some ways it had opened her to things she could never have anticipated, and in other ways… it had destroyed both her and those closest to her.

“I liked learning new things,” she said. “Everything was different and interesting. But it wasn’t easy. I spoke little German. I didn’t make many friends. I missed home. I often felt alone.”

I was alone.

Even before Sir Henry had agreed to send her to Germany, Lydia had been alone. With her grandmother caring for her mother and her father either away or working… solitude had been Lydia’s sole companion.

Until him. The man with the cold green eyes and twisted heart. She shivered.

“What happened when you were there?” Jane asked.

“What—”

“I heard you say something to Grandmama about punishing you for something that happened. Was that in Germany? What was it?”

Panic quivered in Lydia’s chest. She tightened her arm around Jane and kissed the top of her head again. “Nothing you need worry about. It was a very long time ago.”

She released her sister to stand. “Would you like to see the diorama in Regent’s Park this afternoon? It just opened last week.”

“Yes, let’s.” Jane brightened.

“Good. Go upstairs and finish your geography report. We’ll go after lunch.”

Jane hurried from the room.

Lydia picked up the book her sister had left on the sofa. Bright, multicolored butterflies sprang from the pages, each illustration created with meticulous detail. A folded piece of paper stuck out from the back of the book. Lydia slipped it back into place.

She tried to imagine what her life would be like without Jane—and couldn’t. She had her work, yes, but almost everything she’d done for the past eleven years had centered around her sister.

She couldn’t lose Jane. Not yet. Not even if Jane wanted to go.


Talia’s hand tightened on Alexander’s arm, her fingers digging in hard as they descended from the carriage into the cold night air. He ignored the pang of regret as he turned to his sister. In a pale blue silk gown, her chestnut-brown hair perfectly coiffed, she looked lovely and brittle. She’d applied a slight excess of rice powder, which gave her a cold, masklike expression.

He put his hand over hers. “Talia, it won’t do any good to look as if you’re heading to the gallows.”

“Five hundred pounds, Alex. I told Mr. Sewell of the Ragged School Union to expect your bank draft on Monday.”

“If you act as if you’re enjoying yourself, I’ll add a hundred pounds to that.”

She flexed her fingers on his arm as if making an effort to relax. “If Lord Fulton is here, I’m leaving straightaway.”

“What about Fulton?” Sebastian asked, clambering out of the carriage after them.

“Last week, Alex suggested to his lordship that I would be amenable to a marriage offer,” Talia replied.

Sebastian let out a noise that was a half snort, half laugh. “Fulton? Good God, Alex, what are you trying to do? Send our Talia running to a nunnery?”

“A far more attractive prospect than Fulton, I daresay,” Talia agreed, turning to Sebastian. “Your brother took it upon himself to make the suggestion to Lord Fulton before discussing it with me.” She threw Alexander a withering glance. “Likely because he knew what my response would be. So I found myself the object of some great joke since everyone at the theater knew about it except me. It was humiliating.”