“That was my first thought, but Althea said Constance positively loathed her music teacher and her French tutor, that she had no use for the riding instructor and even less for the dancing master. My bank staff never frequented my home, and our neighbors tended to be older couples with grown children. She ran off alone and she was gone for more than three months.”

At the foot of the garden, Althea was standing much too close to Lord Nathaniel—or he to her. Was Constance watching this scene from the gallery, and if so, what did she make of her sister’s sudden engagement?

“Constance excels at hiding,” Jane said. “When I first married you, I thought she would be my greatest challenge. Althea confronted me directly about my intentions where you were concerned; Stephen did so even more overtly. I kept waiting for Constance to question my motives or test my resolve, but she never did. She was polite and quiet, no trouble at all, but to this day I have the sense she will pounce if I ever serve you a bad turn.”

“She caused a great deal of trouble when she was fifteen.”

“Many of us are troublesome at that age, Quinn. Where did she go?”

“I still don’t know the whole of it. When I eventually found her, she was handling the rough work in the kitchen of a private hospital in the West Riding.”

Good God, Althea had just kissed her fiancé’s cheek. The kiss had been chaste enough, but Quinn’s heart still lurched at the sight.

“Why would a girl who knew how dangerous the streets could be run off like that, Quinn? Why turn her back on safety, security, and loving family?”

The lovebirds wandered up the walk, arm in arm, meandering back toward the house.

“Constance was initially unforthcoming about the why of it. When I brought her home, I had to promise that I’d not question her, or make a great to-do, or call anybody out. She would have gone right back to scrubbing potatoes if I’d so much as raised my voice.”

“She has endless self-discipline,” Jane said, smoothing a hand over her skirts. “All four of you do, Stephen most of all.”

Self-discipline was not a characteristic Quinn would have attributed to his brother. Stephen was self-indulgent to a fault, but also inhumanly determined on his objectives.

“There is more to the tale, Jane, but I’ll save it for when I’m not mustering my resolve to impersonate a gracious, doting older brother.”

Jane kissed him, much as Althea had kissed Nathaniel. “You are a gracious, doting older brother. You suspect Constance encountered Rothhaven when she worked at that private hospital?”

“I can’t think when they might have met otherwise.” Did not want to think of how they could have met otherwise.

“You still don’t know why Constance ran away?”