She had not brought Prudence into the country with her. She had been accustomed for years to managing without the services of a maid.She was dawdling, she realized. It was well past her usual time of going downstairs to breakfast. And the outdoors certainly looked inviting. Despite fallen leaves and bare branches, there was a look of summer about the clear blue sky and brightly shining sun.But she was dawdling anyway. And her heart made an uncomfortable lurch when there was a sudden knock on the door of her bedchamber.“Come in,” she called, and looked in the mirror to see that it was indeed Jennifer who came inside and closed the door quietly behind her. Ellen put down her comb and turned on her stool.The girl was looking pale, rather as she had looked when Ellen first came home from Belgium.“Good morning,” she said rather lamely.“Good morning, Jennifer.” Ellen clasped her hands in her lap.“You were right,” the girl said in a rush. “When I thought about it, I knew that you were telling me the truth.
