“We are truly sorry for your loss Lady Brighton. May our wishes to help be taken with thankfulness and used in the opportune moment.â€? By this, Alodie knew her sisters-in-law meant when ‘the baby’ arrived. Alodie hung her head and kissed their hands each in turn, holding on to the eldest in a friendly grip the longest.
“And help will be needed in due time.â€? Alodie watched the hidden smiles grow across each face. Strange. An heir would finalise their loss of the money but they smile non-the-less. She watched their many black skirts swish away as the well-wishing crowd around her decreased. A flicker of colour jolted through the dark and Alodie followed it as best she could with her tear-stained eyes but to no avail. The source of the colour, whatever it might have been, was gone. Alodie soon forgot it as the crowd thinned and she was helped into the carriage by a friendly hand.