Soon after Maria left to visit the Hoskins sisters, Harry went to visit the vicar and made arrangements for the memorial service. But riding back from the church he found himself again thinking about his kiss with Anna. There was no question it was time for him to be married and Miss Nora had made it obvious she wanted to be considered as a candidate. And while Miss Nora was suitable in many ways, he could not make the leap necessary to court her openly, for Anna had given him the faintest glimmer of hope earlier that morning that she might be susceptible to his overtures once the proper term of mourning had passed.

When he returned home, he sought out Christopher, finding him writing a letter in the library.

“Here you are,” Harry said, coming over to the writing desk and sitting opposite.

“Oh, Harry, I was looking for you everywhere. Where have you been?” Christopher asked.

“Making arrangements at the church for the Viscount’s memorial service. Anna asked me to help her with that matter.”

“Oh, exactly what I needed to know. When is the service to be held?”

“On the Wednesday after next.”

“Then would it be a terrible inconvenience if I were to request to stay on at Creassey until after the service? I should like to be here for Dorothy. I know this must be a terribly difficult time for her.”

“Of course, you are always welcome any time and for as long as you like. You know that. And it is a very kind gesture.”

Christopher smiled shyly, “Well, my motive is not entirely unselfish. You know I have fallen quite hard for the lovely Dorothy and I want to spend as much time as I can with her, before I must return home.”

Harry laughed. “I surmised as much. But I shall put you to work in the meantime. I have not finished birthing all the cows and you can be my helper.”

“How exciting. And I have not yet had the opportunity to ask about the result of Dr. Carson’s visit this morning. What did he say?”

“The sick cattle are improving. He thinks within a week all will be well.”

“And there are no other cattle developing symptoms?”

“We did not check on that.”

Christopher offered, “I can help you with that later… after I have visited with Dorothy. I need to pay my respects.”

“Of course. It is almost lunch time. Do you know if Maria has returned yet?”

“Not that I am aware of.”

“Then it will be just us two. Come.”

“Let me just finish this letter to my parents. I need to inform them I will not be home as was scheduled.”

“Take your time. And, if I might ask, will you please tell the sisters about the arrangements I have made for the service? I do not plan to go over there this afternoon.”

Christopher nodded. “I will be happy to.”

Christopher was excited to see Dorothy, but he knew she would be upset and perhaps not as open to him as previously. Death was always a complicated and delicate event and he had not had a great deal of experience in dealing with the grieving part. However, he knew he was expected and he hoped that Dorothy would not be in a constant state of tears. He was never very good at dealing with crying women.

When he arrived at Repington Hall, he was admitted and asked to wait in the sunny conservatory room at the back of the house. He had not visited in this room before and he found it to be pleasant.

Dorothy appeared presently, but was, fortunately, dry-eyed.

“Dearest,” he said standing and holding out his hands to her.

She came to him, put her arms around him, and burst into tears again. Not what he expected. He patted her back and said, “I am so terribly sorry to hear of your misfortune. Please accept my condolences.”

She immediately stopped crying and looked up at him. “Thank you, Christopher, you are so comforting.” She felt self-conscious and took a step away. “You must forgive me. We will not have our mourning dresses for the next day or two. I hope you will not think me callous.”

“Never, my sweet. But come… sit. I want to know how you are doing and tell me if there is anything I can do to help you in your time of sorrow.”

She led him to a loveseat where they sat and she sat holding his hand.

“Just having you near me is the greatest comfort of all.”

“Then let me tell you I have decided to stay on here until your father’s memorial service.”

Dorothy’s face lit up, but then darkened. “But I have no idea when that is to be.”

“Harry arranged it for the Wednesday after next. He told me to inform you and Anna.”

“Thank you. And how happy it makes me to think you will be here until then. I hope we shall see each other every day.”

“But my dearest, you are in mourning.”

Dorothy lowered her eyes. “Is it very wicked of me to want to see my dearest every day when we shall soon be separated for who knows how long?” She looked up at him with pleading eyes and added, “I cannot see how it would matter to anyone sensible, considering how much we care for each other and how far apart we shall be.”

“But Dorothy, we are not yet engaged. I could understand if we were, but it might appear to others to be unseemly if we were to spend so much time together while you are in mourning.”

“Well, Christopher… that could be remedied,” she said, coyly, diverting her eyes and twisting her handkerchief.

“I must speak to my father… before… before I can offer to take your hand in marriage.”

Dorothy pouted for a moment. “But my circumstances have changed.”

“Yes, your father has passed away.”

“Not only that.”

“My dearest…”

“You see, Anna and I are now the inheritors of the estate, our father’s shares in the East India Company, and we are also the beneficiaries of a hundred thousand pounds insurance policy. Do you think that might make any difference?”

Christopher was at first too stunned to speak. “I had no idea, my darling… you are going to be a very wealthy woman. I am quite certain there will be any number of interested gentlemen who will come calling once your mourning period is over.”

Christopher could not help himself and he laughed out loud. “My dear, I doubt those kind of gentlemen will wait until your mourning is over. You have no idea how many fortune seekers there are out there, who scrutinize the obituaries, just looking for eligible young heiresses.”

“But there is one way I will no longer be eligible,” she said as she dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief. “You may go ahead and ask me now… even if it is to be provisional until you talk to your father.”

“But I am totally unprepared. I have no engagement ring. I have been promised my grandmother’s ring, but it is back in Dorset.”

“Oh, Christopher, do you think that matters to me one whit?”

“But is this entirely proper?”

“Christopher Stewart, I swear, you are more stubborn than any fellow I have ever met. Do you want to marry me or not?”

“I do.”

She gave a great sigh. “Then we are engaged. Now you may kiss my cheek.”

The dresses had been ordered and would be delivered the day after tomorrow. Maria had returned home after conferring with Warrick and the household staff about the funeral reception. And Dorothy had quite unexpectedly announced that she and Christopher were engaged. What an extraordinary day it had been so far!

But what had surprisingly crossed Anna’s mind was her well house project for Harry. Of course, her life was in turmoil, but the one thing she felt might calm her was her design work. She gravitated to her work table and examined her drawings. She still had not had her meeting with Harry to ride out to the well site, but it was what she longed to do. However, it was not possible. Not now. Unfortunately, that would have to wait.

Then the thought suddenly struck her—her father could no longer prevent her from building whatever she wanted on their estate. She could design, build, and exalt any project she wished from here on out. There were no limits to what she could do. She and her sister would be wealthy women—able to travel, marry, or make real anything they could dream up for themselves.

This was extremely liberating, and she turned to her books and began flipping through different ones to find inspiration for projects she might do for the estate. She could do anything she wanted—limited only by the scope of her imagination—and available funds.

But then her enthusiasm came crashing down. First, she did not have the training to build such structures by herself, and secondly, she did not have the funds to accomplish such projects—yet.

She was getting way ahead of herself. She needed to get together with her sister and their solicitor to find out exactly what would be needed to run the estate. And then the two sisters would need to consider exactly how much each would have as their share to use as they wished. And no doubt, Dorothy was already thinking what she might have to take with her to her marriage with Christopher.

With all the turmoil of the day, Anna had barely acknowledged Dorothy’s announcement that she was engaged to Mr. Stewart. How incredibly negligent Anna had been in congratulating her sister on her joyous news.

Anna found Dorothy in her flower garden deadheading roses. She snuck behind her unannounced and startled her.

“Dorothy…”

She turned abruptly. “You surprised me.”

“I am sorry. But I realized I had not reacted to the announcement of your engagement as I should have. It took me so by surprise. Please tell me all about the proposal.”

Dorothy picked up her basket of spent roses and asked, “Was it improper of me to accept his proposal at such a time?”

Anna was uncertain, but said, “Does it really matter? But you realize it would be improper to marry before the end of the mourning period. But I see no harm in accepting his proposal.”

“Good,” Dorothy said with a smile, as she linked her arm with Anna’s and said, “Is it tea time? Let us return to the house and I shall tell you everything he said.”

Settled into Anna’s chambers with tea, Dorothy told Anna an embellished story of the proposal where it was Christopher who pushed for the engagement—not her.

Anna was thoughtful before asking, “Are you certain, my dear? You have known him such a short time.”

“Well, we will have at least six months before we marry, and I am thinking I should visit his family. That should give us more time to be together and get to know one another. He has even promised to take me to the seaside. How jolly that would be!” Dorothy suddenly got a splendid idea. She leaned forward and enthusiastically said, “Oh, Anna, do come with me. I should love for you to meet the family too. I would so much value your opinion. It would be good for both of us to get away for a while after the service.”

“Hmm. That might be a good idea. But it cannot be too soon after the service. We must observe some propriety,” Anna said. She realized that now that they were orphaned, and she was the eldest, she would need to be the responsible one.

“Oh, and Christopher is to stay with Harry until after the memorial service. We shall have almost two more weeks to visit.”

“Have you discussed where you will hold the wedding? Of course, you are welcome to have it here, but perhaps his parents would prefer it to be in Dorset.”

“Anna, it is far too early for us to discuss that. But my preference would be to have it here. After all, we will be paying for it, since Father is no longer here to represent the bride’s family.”

“Perhaps it can be decided on our visit to Christopher’s family.”

Each held their own thoughts for a moment before Dorothy said, “But Anna, what are you to do after I am gone? I cannot bear the thought of you living here all by yourself. It only occurred to me just this minute.”

“I am certain I shall be kept quite busy running the estate. There is no need to be concerned for me.”

“But what if you marry? Certainly, your husband would want you to live with him. What will become of the estate then?”

“That is a very good question, my dear—and one that I have not yet thought about. I suppose we could always sell it.”

“Oh, Anna… but it is our home.”

“But not if we are both married and creating families elsewhere.”

It was clear the two sisters were only now beginning to realize the extent of the changes in their lives. They became lost in thought again as Dorothy poured them each another cup of tea and passed the plate of biscuits to her sister.

Anna finally spoke up. “Do you know where you and Christopher plan to set up your household? Does he have his own property?”

“He says he must remain at home as he is to inherit the property. But he promises we shall have our own quarters.”

“You might want to suggest to him that the two of you live here until he inherits.”

“I believe he is needed at home to help run the estate.”

“I see. Well, there is certainly a lot to consider, and a lot of unknowns—for both of us.”