As the little girl flung herself into her arms and Lettie caught her and hugged her, she thought mayhap she had only just seen her, because the children so adored their father.

“Papa said he would play hide-and-seek with us!” her niece said as she wiggled out of Lettie’s embrace and flashed a wide smile.

Lettie donned a somber expression. “Then far be it for me to keep your papa from that very important business.”

“You can play!” Charles added. “We can be teams.”

“But then we won’t be ev—ow!” The little boy grunted as his sister kicked him in the shin. “What, we won’t—ow!”

Charlotte glared at him, and cupping a hand around her mouth, she whispered loudly, while jamming a finger in Lettie’s direction, “We don’t want to make her feel bad.”

Over the top of his children’s heads, her brother gave her a look and shook his head.

Lettie’s lips twitched. “Alas, I fear I must join you at a later time for this very important game. I have other matters I must attend.” Fortunately, they did not press her. Fortunately, they did as children did and dove back into the preparations for their game, divvying the players up into teams.

Rhys waved, and she lifted her hand in a return wave and headed for the door…and then stopped, turning slowly back.

Her brother disentangled himself from his children with a promise to return. “What is it?” he asked when he reached her.

“I was just thinking how very awful it was…what happened to you all those years ago,” Lettie said. And it would have been. She slid her gaze back over to his uproarious children. “But if that hadn’t happened, then there’d be no Alice, and there’d be none of your children, and that would be by far the greatest of heartbreaks.”

Leaning down, Rhys kissed her cheek. “You aren’t wrong.”

She beamed. “Which also means I’m right. You can say it that way, too.” Lettie winked, earning a laugh from her brother.

Chapter 6

Anthony had always preferred to ride in the morning, particularly in London.

During the crush of the Season, riding paths in London were more crowded, and there were countless distractions.

At the break of dawn, however, he was free to ride and give his mount the right to roam. It also cleared his mind.

There’d never been a time when he’d not thought about his sins against Rhys Brookfield. It had been almost twenty years, but with each year that passed, the memory of that transgression had not left him.

That indiscretion had shaped him indelibly.

It had shown him how easily he’d let himself be manipulated, how his loyalty and friendship had been used against him.