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The two ladies left to prepare for their day, and soon enough Emma was on her way to the front door. On her way, however, she was met by Levi, who looked her up and down with curiosity.

“Are you going anywhere interesting?”

“Indeed,” she replied, laughing nervously. “I am… I am going to town with your mother.”

His smile faltered momentarily, but he fixed it once more.

“How have you managed to persuade her to do that?”

“She has regrets,” she explained quickly. “We have decided that we cannot live with regrets anymore, and so we are going to do what we can to remedy the situation. You are welcome to join us, if you wish.”

He shook his head instantly.

“I couldn’t. I do not wish to intrude. Go, enjoy yourselves. You know the rules, you may purchase whatever takes your fancy, and you may take all of the time that you need. I only ask that you are home for dinner.”

Emma nodded happily, leaving for the door. She met Eloise there, and the two left for their carriage. Emma watched the scenery change as they traveled, and she was vaguely aware that Eloise was watching her. She wondered if Eloise pitied her.

“Might you have anywhere in particular that you wish to go?” Emma asked, looking back at the Dowager Duchess.

“I should like to see a modiste, although I would much prefer one that can fashion gowns of my style rather than your own. That is not to say I dislike what you wear, but I am rather too old for them.”

“We can do that. I would like to find a nice new quill, so that I may write to my sister. I miss her terribly, but fortunately I shall see her at the ball.”

“Is she married, too?”

“No, not as yet. She is not yet twenty years of age, and so she has time. Even so, she is quite taken with a baron, and she hopes to marry him soon.”

“Ah, a baron. She does not care for titles, then?”

“No, and she never has. She only wishes to marry for love, even though our father tried everything he could to change her mind. It is fortunate that she has found a nice gentleman that she has fallen for, as he was practically at his wit’s end.”

“She mustn’t bend to his will,” Eloise said firmly. “No matter what he says, she must do what pleases her. If this Baron makes her happy, then she must do all that she can to keep hold of him.”

“I agree. I have told her as much myself, and I am quite certain that she will do so.”

She told Eloise what happened at that final ball, and how Sarah had dance with the Baron in spite of her being forbidden from doing so. She neglected to mention what she had done herself as an act of rebellion, however. Eloise’s eyes sparkled at the tale.

“I should very much like to meet this girl. You younger ladies are bolder than we ever were, and though we should look down on you for that I cannot bring myself to. Perhaps, had I been brave enough to do the same, I would have lived a happier life.”

She sighed, and Eloise tried to smile encouragingly at her, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

“Yes, yes, I know,” Eloise smiled. “We will change our circumstances. I will try.”

“That is all that can be asked of you.”

When they arrived in town, they made their way into a different modiste than the one that had visited that day. It was an older lady, thankfully, who displayed older-style designs. Eloise brightened at the sight of them, and within minutes she had requested five. The modiste took her measurements, and then they left once more. Already, Emma could see a difference in the lady. She was smiling, walking taller, and she seemed almost confident in herself.

Then the whispers began.

They were very quiet at first, and few and far between, but it was as though they became more confident in what they were saying as Emma and Eloise passed them by.

“That cannot be the Dowager Duchess,” one lady whispered.

“It is, indeed,” an older lady replied, “I would recognize her anywhere.”

“But she has not left her home since her husband passed away!”

“Yes, that tends to happen when one is accused of causing it.”