“My sisters. Lushing didn’t object to their living with us. His residences were so much more organized, and I was quite skilled at managing them. It’s what I’d been trained to do. Winslow, as a bachelor, is rubbish at caring for the girls. He was especially so when he was only twenty. I like having them about, but they retire by nine, and then the house becomes so quiet.”

“So you came to the Elysium in search of comfort as much as anything.” Not just the sex as she’d initially indicated.

“You might have the right of it. While for Lushing and myself the act itself was never . . . might have been lacking, afterward provided me with some of my favorite memories. He would simply hold me, and we would speak in low voices about nonsensical matters: dreams we’d held as children, disappointments, moments that filled us with happiness. We’d recount our favorite aspects of journeys we’d taken, and we’d plan where we’d go next. He wouldn’t stay long. Half an hour or so. But I always felt we shared more intimacy during those minutes than at any other time. I was always bereft when he left, but never found the courage to ask him to stay. Marriage is an odd thing, Mr. Trewlove.”

“Based on what you’ve revealed, I don’t think he would have found fault with you seeking solace away from the residence.”

“I hope you’re right. I never wanted him to find me disappointing.” She glanced up, sighed. “I pray he’s at peace.”

“Is there a reason he shouldn’t be?”

She shook her head slowly, wistfully. “As you deduced, he was a good man, well liked. The residence was packed with mourners this afternoon. Yet all I wanted was to be alone.”

“Shall I walk away for a bit?”

Shifting slightly, she faced him. “No. Why is it that I draw such comfort from you, a man I’ve known for only a couple of days, and found little with those I’ve known for ages?”

“Perhaps because we have no history to muddy the waters.”

“It’s more than that. I can’t explain it. From the first moment I spied you, it was as though something within me recognized a kindred spirit.” Her laugh was brief but mocking, slicing into the air that was beginning to gray with fog. “Yet, we couldn’t be more different.”