Hester was forced to smile. There was a ridiculous humor to it, in spite of the tragedy. "I never thought my father acted dishonorably," she said truthfully. "In his mind he was paying the price for his error."

"What happened to the soldier who ... ?"

"He was murdered, very violently, by someone else he had . . . robbed," Hester answered, then changed the subject. "What was Mary like? Please tell me the truth, not what kindness dictates because she is dead."

Rose thought for a long time, in fact until they reached the omnibus stop and stood side by side waiting.

"I liked her," she began. "Which means that my opinion is probably not accurate. She was brave in her opinions, and in fighting for what she cared about. But she was afraid of certain kinds of failure."

"I think we all are," Hester agreed. "There are things we can afford to lose, and things we know we can't and still stay whole at heart."

Rose looked at her, then lowered her glance. "I think Mary was afraid of being alone, but also of marrying someone she did not love. And she did not love Toby. I am not certain if in the end she even liked him. She preferred the safety of being a good daughter. She did that superbly."

"And she thought there was no risk in it," Hester added.

"Exactly." Rose met her eyes again. "But she never thought of her own danger in defending her father. I think her courage may have cost her her life."

"You think Toby meant her to go over the bridge?"

"I know the Argyll brothers only socially. We've met maybe a dozen times in the last few months, but anyone could see they were very close. Toby was clever and ambitious. Alan was proud of him."

"But Alan was a success already?"

"Very much. He is quite wealthy. And well regarded, so my husband says." She frowned. "Actually, his company's record of safety is excellent, better than that of many other companies. If Mary found anything untoward, then she must have been either very lucky or extraordinarily clever."

The omnibus arrived and they climbed onboard awkwardly, struggling to hold wet skirts out of the way. They did not continue talking until they had found seats and the horses moved off again.

"Then it won't be easy," Hester observed. "I cannot help assuming that Mary was unusually intelligent and of a very practical turn of mind."

"Yes, absolutely," Rose agreed. "In fact, she was a little unfeminine in her grasp of logic, mathematics, and such things as engineering. At least she was told so, and I think she believed it."

"Did she care?"