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expression on her face. She clutched the wooden doll her aunt had brought her with fierce possession, never mind her twin had an identical one dangling from her hand.
    “Aunt is quite all right, dearest,” murmured Victoria, smoothing a tangled curl back from Rosemary’s forehead while wondering how much she need reveal to her eldest sister.
    “Go and play with your pretty dolls, children. Mama wishes to talk with Aunt Victoria,” commanded Julia in a kindly but firm tone that the children knew better than to ignore. The twins settled down near the hearth to examine their new toys while their mama fixed her sister with a minatory expression. “Well? I postponed questioning you until this morning, for when you returned last evening, you looked worn to a flinder.”
    “It was not quite so bad as all that,” Victoria said with a bit of spirit. “The walk to Canterbury was blessedly cut short when a farmer gave me a ride on his cart for most of the way. Once I arrived in Canterbury it was but a minor problem to locate Sam and the chaise.” She added thoughtfully, “That is a lovely town, really. We must visit there someday.”
    “But to carry those cases? And your head injured?” Julia was clearly not to be appeased easily.
    “I’d a day or so to recover, remember?” Victoria hoped that her sister would not probe too deeply into the events of those two days. Not that anything had actually happened, mind you. But her sister doted on propriety, probably because the three of them skirted on the edge so often, particularly Victoria. It would not be astonishing for Julia to demand that her younger sister accept Sir Edward’s proposal, never mind that neither of the two involved wished for a marriage. Julia would organize the wedding before a cat could lick its paws.
    “What of the man who rescued you?” Julia’s study of her sister was with shrewd eyes.
    Victoria could only pray that her sister saw no more than a bland countenance. If she so much as thought that Victoria had an interest—of any sort—in Sir Edward, it would be all over.
    “It was his carriage that crashed into mine. I ought to demand he replace it, or at the very least repair the damage,” Victoria said with asperity as she thought of the expenses as a result of the crash. Although, to be fair, the other driver had had little chance to avoid the impact, given the weather. And, she admitted, her family was well-off, not the least purse-pinched. “Sam feels the chaise will never be the same, and suggested we order a new one. It is possible we might find one advertised in the Post,” Victoria offered mildly. “There are often carriages for sale by people who can no longer afford to keep them.’
    Any hope she might divert her sister to a different line of thought was lost when Julia said sternly, “Vicky, you spent two nights in the same dwelling with this man. Your reputation, should word of this get out, will be ruined.”
    Deciding the worst might as well be known, Victoria replied, “Actually, it was the same room. This windmill was not a particularly large one.” She prudently omitted the provocative information that Sir Edward had divested her of most of her wet clothing. It had been in the interest of her health, and this much she allowed. “He seemed only concerned for my well-being. He did not appear attracted to my person in the least.”
    Julia stared, utterly horrified, at her sister. “That is even worse.” She placed trembling fingers against her cheeks. “What might be bruited about Town should news of this latest escapade leak to the ton is beyond thinking. We already face a certain amount of censure that is mitigated only by our financial status and Geoffrey being a baron. Woman who paint, sculpture, and engrave because they wish to do so are on a different plane than those who are required to earn a living. Nevertheless ...” She sighed.
    Julia continued, “I do not know what we shall do regarding it. Perhaps wait to