“Her morning sickness seems to be worsening, the poor dear. The doctor suggested brisk air for her today. They might retire to the countryside before the season ends. Hermina insists she is quite fine to be in town, but Colin is determined to see to her every comfort.”
“He loves her very much,” Ester said softly.
Emma smiled a bit wistfully. “I know. He is so thrilled they will have a child soon. Do you think we will have a little nephew or a niece?”
“Everyone is having children,” Ester whispered, shocked at the prick of tears behind her eyes.Everyone is happy.
Her sister gently touched her shoulder. “Ester, what is it? You seem alarmingly morose, and this is unlike yourself.”
She rolled over, rustling up to sit against the headboard. “I snuck into the Glendevons’s gambling den and stole an IOU for Cousin Samuel, who had been foolish enough to lose his fortune in that hellish place.”
Emma’s lips parted, and her eyes widened almost comically. “You didwhat!”
“I pretended to be Ellie to infiltrate the gambling den, and…” Ester blew out a breath. “I was successful. Samuel and I destroyed the IOUs before he carried me home. I scolded him fiercely about the ills of gambling and even threatened to inform his mother about his outrageous conduct. I daresay he is properly chastised and should be more careful in the future.”
Emma frowned. “How could you take such a risk?”
“He is our cousin, Emma, and he was on the verge of losingeverything. How could I not act?”
“Are you worried that you will be found out?”
She lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug. “The discovery that I pretended to be Ellie is inevitable. What the consequences might be, I cannot foresee, but surely it cannot be allthatserious.”
Ester hoped even as a warning tingled down her spine, and she had to briefly squeeze her eyes closed to blot out the memory of Edmond’s assessing stare. “I encountered the eldest Mr. Glendevon, and I am certain he will mention my presence. I…he thought I was Ellie, congratulating me on myenceintestate.”
Emma gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. “Ellie is with child?”
An ache crowded Ester’s throat, and she nodded, unable to speak.
“Oh, Ester, are you so out of sorts because she has not told us?”
“Why would she keep this from us, Emma?”
“Knowing Ellie, she perhaps wanted to make the announcement at our family dinner next week. Remember that we are to attend a family gathering at her and Lucien’s new townhouse in Russell Square?”
“Perhaps,” Ester whispered, plucking at the sheets. “I…I felt the oddest sense of yearning when Edmond revealed his knowledge. The sensation was so very painful, Emma. Am I not wretched? I should have only felt happiness for our sister.”
“What was the painful sensation you felt?”
The pain of longing.
Though Ester did not say the words aloud, a soft smile touched Emma’s mouth. “It is quite normal to wish for similar happiness of our own. Even Nicholas is recently wedded! And he is terribly happy with Lady Cressida. Our siblings are wonderfully contented with their choices. Their marriages are ones of love and acceptance. Even though I thought I would have no interest in marriage for myself, how can I not wish for it now when I see how contented Fanny, Ellie, and Lizzie are with their lots. Can you imagine being with a gentleman who seems as if he would lay the world at your feet with a simple smile from you?”
Ester wrinkled her nose, hating recalling Edmond at this moment. “I cannot.”
Of the three, Emma was always one who keenly felt there was more to life than marrying and having children. Ellie had been the dutiful one who owned romantic notion. Ester had always been ambivalent, and it was for that reason the ache of want crowding her heart surprised her so much.
“Neither can I,” Emma admitted with a laugh before softly saying, “Do not be sad that Ellie has not yet told us her happy news.”
They shared a smile and snuggled closer together under the covers.
Emma sniffed. “You missed some excitement today.”
“What?”
“Mr. Devon Rundbull called upon Colin today.”
Ester gasped. “What?”