pillow. Fortunately, we were able to stop her before he died. But he was never the same since. We were furious with her. The worst part is that our sister wasn’t even sorry for what she’d done. She was angry that we had stopped her. She accused us of standing in the way of her and the gentleman she loved. I’d like to say we were sad when she killed herself, but the truth is, we were relieved she wasn’t alive to hurt Teddy anymore.”
Kitty was having trouble comprehending everything Hattie was telling her. It was impossible to imagine that a lady could be capable of doing such a thing. She’d heard of married gentlemen taking mistresses and not acknowledging the children as his, but she hadn’t once heard of a lady trying to get rid of her child in order to get such a gentleman back.
“Teddy usually does what he’s told,” Hattie said as she tucked her handkerchief back into her pocket. “Usually, I can handle things on my own. He probably got restless without Gretchen here. She’s the rock in the family. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know what we’d do.”
Kitty cleared her throat and said the only thing she could think of. “I’m glad she was able to come by to help you. If you ever need her, I don’t mind.”
“That’s nice of you, but I hope it won’t be necessary. Next time, I’ll find a better hiding place for anything dangerous.”
Kitty heard footsteps and turned to the doorway.
Gretchen came into the room, and Kitty was surprised that Gretchen no longer seemed like an imposing figure. Instead, she seemed like someone who had a lot of responsibilities placed upon her shoulders. Though there was that controlled expression on her face, Kitty detected a hint of relief and exhaustion as well.
“Teddy fell asleep,” Gretchen told Hattie.
“Good.” Hattie didn’t hide her relief. “He always feels better after a nap. I was thanking Lady Northton for allowing you to come and help me.”
“Things like this don’t usually happen,” Gretchen told Kitty. “This won’t be a common occurrence.”
“I didn’t mind coming here,” Kitty assured her. “If you would like to come by to see how things are going, I don’t mind.”
“Teddy loves stories,” Hattie said, “and we only have two books. Gretchen wrote that there are a lot of books in your townhouse. Could you come out and read one of your books to him?”
“That’s silly,” Gretchen told Hattie. “Lady Northton has better things to do than read him books. She’s a countess.”
“Despite what my husband thinks,” Kitty began, “my life is dull. Beyond visiting my friends, reading, and sewing, I don’t do anything. I wouldn’t mind bringing some books here and reading them.”
Hattie turned her hopeful eyes in Gretchen’s direction.
Gretchen sighed. “All right. I suppose that will do, but,” she gave her sister a pointed look, “we must not intrude on Lady Northton’s time any more than we have to. I won’t have her coming every day.”
“I understand,” Hattie replied. “And I’ll be respectful of her time.”
Kitty bit back a reply. She should have expected that Gretchen didn’t believe her life was really as dull as it was. Though Gretchen had been at her side this whole time, she seemed to think Kitty was only being good because she was being chaperoned. But as Kitty thought on what Hattie had told her about Teddy’s mother, perhaps Gretchen’s skepticism had some merit.
“We’ll take our leave now,” Gretchen told Hattie then hugged her.
Hattie looked over at Kitty after the hug was over. “It was nice meeting you, my lady.”
“It was nice meeting you, too,” Kitty replied, no longer feeling so awkward with her.
Between the two sisters, Hattie was easier to relax around. She was probably more trusting of people than Gretchen was, too, which was odd since Hattie had witnessed the same things Gretchen had. Unlike Gretchen, Hattie didn’t hide her emotions. Had Kitty not watched Gretchen with Hattie and Teddy, she wouldn’t have known Gretchen had any softness in her.
Kitty left the house with Gretchen. After the two settled into the carriage, Kitty heard the light sigh that escaped Gretchen’s lips.
“Did you worry that I might say or do something wrong in there?” Kitty asked.
“No,” Gretchen replied. “I worried I wasn’t going to be able to get Teddy to calm down or put my sister’s mind at ease.”
Gretchen didn’t say any more than that, but Kitty decided she didn’t have to. Gretchen had a lot to deal with. She