Thea woke to the sound of rain being dashed against her window by gusts of wind. In the square, sodden leaves lay in drifts and the few passers-by hugged their overcoats about them. Hoping that Jason would not leave the snug haven of the house, Thea went down to breakfast. He was there already, preoccupied with a sheet of paper on which he made occasional notes as he ate. Greeting her, his handsome face sombre, he said, “Mama is with Penny, as usual. It’s a cursed nuisance, this morning sickness.” “Yes, but she is better in the afternoons, as you would know if you were ever at home.” She was not quite bold enough to ask outright where he went and on what business. “Surely you will not go out today?” “I cannot let foul weather coop me up. Darlington is expecting me at noon, and I am engaged to meet a number of others at Brooks’s later. Fortunately, I have a wide acquaintance among the ton.” Fortunately! How was she to tell Penny that her husband spent his days amusing himself with his friends?
