ETHAN SLAMMED THE DOOR to his study shut and made his way behind his desk where he plopped himself on the chair and ran his hands through his hair. Rage pumped through his veins, causing him to tremble slightly as he fought the desire to break something.

For a brief second, he considered storming back into the parlor and withdrawing his job offer, but he thought against it; he needed Gretchen. She was good with Elizabeth and although their conversation earlier had left him feeling an odd combination of shame and rage, he knew he needed to put Elizabeth's needs above his own.

He hated the way he felt; the shame that came with knowing that the whole world was laughing at him for his misfortune of marrying a woman who chose to run off on him, and to make matters worse, she was cruel enough to return long enough to dump a child on his doorstep.

Heaving a frustrated breath, he rose to his feet and combed his fingers through his hair —he needed a break. For the sake of his sanity, he needed to get away from London and its insanity. He needed to get away from this house and its cruel reminder of Juliet. The entire building was accursed with memories of Juliet and it felt as if he was drowning in them. He should have left months ago, but his own ego had forced him to trap himself in his study in a failed attempt to get away from the shame. Then, Juliet had added fuel to the fire by dumping a needy child on his doorstep. Now that the needy child had someone to see to her care, Ethan decided it was time to leave.

**

AVOIDING LUNCH CROSSED Gretchen's mind quite a few times but each time, she thought of Ellie and decided she needed to swallow her pride for the infant's sake. All she needed to do was avoid having a conversation with Ethan or making eye contact with him.

Picking Ellie —who had now woken up from her nap and was beginning to fuss— in her arms, Gretchen began to make her way down the long hallway and down the curvy stairs, dreading lunch. She highly doubted she'd be able to eat or go through lunch without giving Ethan a piece of her own mind. In fact, she knew that her pride would be something she'd have to consistently swallow throughout her time at lunch, and with so much pride to swallow, there simply would be no room left in her stomach to accommodate food.

When Gretchen got to the dining room and Ethan was nowhere in sight, she assumed he was simply late. But then, lunch was served for her and Ellie, and the realization that Ethan would not be joining them, immediately sank in. Dinner would also come with Ethan's absence, and by the time the day was over, Gretchen couldn't help but think that she wouldn't have to avoid Ethan, for he himself, was now avoiding her.