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Only two meals each day

Nia also misses the Season

Sell some possession have nothing of value

Pull Scuff from Shrewsbury he’ll need a profession

Pull Edmund from Shrewsbury

It was clearly a list of possible ways for her family to further economize. She must have been even more worried about the O’Doyles’ finances than she had been when they’d spoken about it on their journey. She’d not, at that point, been talking about curtailing what the family ate.

Duke rubbed at the back of his neck as he paced away. He wasn’t in a position to be a confidant, yet if she was this worried, she likely needed one. He also couldn’t violate her trust by telling anyone else what she had told him about her situation.

“’Tis as if I’ve been left behind by everyone already.” She’d said that while they’d been at the inn. There’d been such sorrow in her voice. And loneliness. Even he had stepped away from her since then.

What ought he to do now? He didn’t want Eve to feel entirely abandoned. But he wouldn’t break his promise not to spill the secrets she’d told him. And he couldn’t risk implying renewed promises of a future that he couldn’t follow through on.

He’d maneuvered through the complications of his family for twenty-one years, but he didn’t know how to navigate this.

He lowered himself onto a chair, one facing away from her. He would likely be able to think more clearly that way. But the chair scraped against the floor as he sat, and the noise woke her. He could see just enough of her out of the corner of his eye to know she had sat up straight.

Now what did he do? Ought he to quickly reveal he was there and attempt to make an expeditious, if embarrassing, exit? She might be angry that he was in the room. If she was about to leave, then keeping mum might be his best bet.

“This is what happens when you don’t sleep.” For a moment, he thought he’d been spotted. But then he realized she was talking to herself. “Perhaps Mrs. Greenberry’s suggestion was a good one, after all.”

What had Aunt Penelope suggested?

That question was quickly brushed aside as he realized his hesitation to decide whether to reveal himself or hide had, in the end, made the decision for him. She would be terribly embarrassed if she knew he’d overheard her having a self-directed conversation.

“Miss O’Doyle.” And now, apparently, there was a second potential witness to his bungled decision-making. “Dr. Wilstead asked that this be given to you.”

“Thank you.”

He heard footsteps, a pause, then footsteps again that faded into the corridor. Duke could only just catch the slightest glimpse of Eve, standing near the desk. She was holding what looked like a folded piece of parchment.

“Well, Dr. Wilstead, how impossible is this number going to be?” She held the note but didn’t unfold it. “I need to know what I’m facing, but I suspect you are about to deal me another blow.”

Duke should have left when he’d had the chance. Now he was trapped, intruding.

“And if you could hear me talking to myself, you’d likely recommend I head to Bedlam instead of Dublin.” He heard her sigh. “But I don’t have anyone else to talk to about this. I—I have to sort this out on my own.”

That was one of the last things he’d said to her. He hadn’t intended to be cold or unfeeling, but hearing his words repeated, he felt the sting of them. And he was being unfair again, listening to her private conversation, no matter that doing so hadn’t been his intention.

He heard the sound of stiff parchment unfolding. A moment’s silence was followed by a whispered, “Good heavens.” It was not the sound of someone who had just received good news. “We could never economize enough for this.”

Duke couldn’t be an eavesdropper any longer. He shouldn’t have continued as long as he had. Careful not to scrape the chair legs again so as not to startle her, he stood and turned toward her. But her back was to him, so she still didn’t know he was even there.

He moved around the chair, which placed himself between her and the door behind her. He could have slipped out. But she was hurting, and no matter that he knew he needed to keep a distance, he couldn’t simply walk away.

“Eve?”

She spun around. His heart lurched to see tears clinging to her lashes.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked.

She swiped firmly at her eyes. “No.”

“Are you certain?”