Hannah looked wide—eyed from face to face, her cake forgotten on the plate before her. Elizabeth wished suddenly that she had left the little girl behind at Lake in the Clouds, but there was almost no way to turn back the conversation at this point, and Hannah would never leave without a struggle.

"You do not know Richard as I do," Kitty said firmly. "No one does. I grew up with him, and I can appeal to his better nature. If I should have that chance."

"That is the worst kind of folly for a woman, to think that she can change a man by marrying him," aunt Merriweather said.

"You heard tell of the tiger and those stripes he so fond of," Curiosity agreed.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "What we are trying to say, Kitty, is that if Richard is still interested in marriage when he returns, we hope you would think very carefully about his motivations before you reconsider."

Kitty's head came up quickly, her cheeks sparked with red. As if he understood the fact that he was at the center of this controversy, the baby on her lap began to fuss. Amanda leaned over to burble at him. He settled, mouthing his fist with great sucking noises.

"I am not so sure of any of this," Kitty said finally in a strangled tone, refusing to meet anyone's eye.

"Katherine," aunt Merriweather said sternly. "Perhaps I must be blunt. You are no longer without connections. To marry is to compromise what you have gained."

With a rebellious flash in her mild blue eyes, Kitty said: "That did not stop your niece."

There was an immediate response on Elizabeth's lips, but her aunt silenced her with a severe glance. "Let me understand you clearly, then.  You intend on marrying Dr. Todd should he renew his offer?"

Kitty's chin trembled, but she held it high. "I will listen to what he has to say."

"It's what menfolk don't say that's the problem," Curiosity muttered.

Kitty stood up abruptly. "I think it is very cruel of you to talk to me this way, all of you. I have lost my husband so recently, and you are asking me to put aside the friendship of the one person in the world who has always stood by me."

Curiosity reared up to face the younger girl, fists on hips. "Now I got to tell the truth and shame the devil," she interrupted, sucking in one cheek and pushing it out again. "I don't see Dr. Todd hiding around here. I didn't see him here even a week ago worried about was you going to bring that child into the world without a name, or not."

"He would have come, if he had been able," Kitty said, jiggling the baby madly against her shoulder. He let out a wail almost as indignant and sorrowful as the look on her face.

"Oh, dear." Amanda sent a pleading look to her mother, whose thunderous expression was fixed on Kitty. Elizabeth wished now that they had told her about Richard's activities in Montreal, as painful as it would have been to her.

Kitty said: "You need not pity me. Richard will come still. He promised me that he would. And if he still wants to marry me although I am a widow, then why should I not—" Her gaze moved around the table in search of a kind and understanding face, but found only dismay, irritation, and anger. "How else shall I ever get out of this village and into the world?"

"Katherine Middleton," said aunt Merriweather calmly. "The world is yours without Richard Todd, if you so desire it. You and your son are welcome at Oakmere whenever you like. You can make your home with me."

"--Or with us, at Downings. We would love to have you." Amanda broke in on her mother.

"You see," aunt Merriweather said. "As the widow of my late nephew you are your own mistress. Marry again, and you are subject to your new husband's whims."

Kitty stood there swaying slightly, as if she could not quite make sense of these words.

"Either set down, or hand over that boy before you drop him," Curiosity said, holding out her arms for the baby.

The blank stare on Kitty's face lasted for a long moment, and then she swallowed visibly, and handed her son to Curiosity. She sat down heavily, and turned to Elizabeth with a questioning look.

"I might really go with them to England? To live?"

"The invitation was made," Elizabeth said.

Aunt Merriweather said: "We shall spend the winter visiting and we shall come back here before we sail—to greet the newest member of the family." She inclined her head slightly in Elizabeth's direction; the closest she would come to acknowledging her pregnancy in public. "Your son will be old enough to travel then, and you may sail with us. I hope you will."

"I had no idea," Kitty said.

"But now you do," aunt Merriweather said firmly.

The child in Curiosity's arms suddenly began to twist and arch as the small face screwed itself into a knot of misery to produce one long and plaintive wail. In response, two circles of moisture appeared on Kitty's bodice. She made a small distressed noise, glancing around herself in panic and embarrassment. Elizabeth felt a tugging in her own breast; whether out of sympathy with Kitty, or with the child's hunger, she was not quite sure.

Curiosity stood, making sympathetic noises. "No need to carry on, Kitty. Let's just get you to your room. He won't be satisfied with nothing but what you got to give him."

Kitty nodded. At the door, she turned back. Above the baby's wails she said: "I understand that your concern is for the child, rather than for me. You think Richard would only want me because of Ethan, and the land . " She paused, and there was a fresh rush of color on her face. "Perhaps you are right about that, but perhaps you are not. I should still like to hear what Richard has to say."