But I could say none of this to Hazel. My mother might contact her with a letter and ask horrible questions. Poor Hazel would be forced to write things she never would say.

“I know. And thank you for making me as comfortable as you could, Hazel.”

Her face twisted with frustration. She tossed back the bigger fish she had chosen and nodded. “I don’t need much, then,” she said sadly, and finished her shopping quickly. She was quiet until we had started back to the house. “That man disappointed you?”

I was silent, but she heard my thoughts.

“Let’s just say it hasn’t turned out as I thought it might.”

“Your aunt’s maybe lost her wits, but her memory of the Foxworths might have done you good service,” she said. She nodded to herself. “Probably a good thing you came and heard her, even if you haven’t stayed much more than a day.”

I wasn’t going to make her feel better about it by saying I’d be back soon. I had no doubt Hazel would see through a false promise better than I could. She had probably lived through tons of them, growing up poor and being someone’s servant from the moment she could lift a washcloth. I wondered what would become of her the day after my great-aunt’s funeral, which was probably a day rising on the horizon like the morning sun.

“Do you have any family left in England, Hazel?”

“I have a younger sister who works for a Lord Appleby in Oxford. He and his wife live in a large manor house with ten bedrooms. We have an understandin’ that I’d return when the time came and help her with her duties. You young people don’t put as much value on it these days, but family is the best gold you’ll find. It takes some almost all their lives to realize it,” she added. “And by then, it’s usually too late. Worst thing on God’s green earth is dyin’ alone.”

My abrupt leaving obviously had opened the door to dark thoughts and memories for her. I felt more guilty about that than anything.

My great-aunt’s house came into view. Maybe because of what had happened, it looked more dilapidated and run-down than it had when I arrived.

“If you want, you can leave your clothes for me to wash, and I’ll have them shipped home.”

“Oh no,” I said, maybe too sharply, but I was worried about a bloodstain.

She didn’t say anything until we reached the front door. “While you’re gettin’ your things together, I’ll send a boy to fetch you a carriage taxi to take you to the station,” she said.

“Thank you, Hazel. I will miss you.”