Chapter 33
Victoria’s mother met her just inside the front door, pale cheeks flushed, hands fluttering over her lace covered bosom. The matron of the house wore an elaborate emerald green gown, her hair piled high and her face carefully embellished.
The contrast between the two women was even more stark than usual, with the younger in her sturdy work dress and plainly put together.
“At last, we’ve been holding everything until you arrived! Did you forget your dinner with your fiancé this evening, Victoria?”
Victoria managed not to say she’d forgotten quite on purpose, but it was a near thing.
Her awareness of this impending chore, firmly in her mind when she’d left that morning, had faded away long before she’d learned of Michael’s deterioration.
“I’m sorry, Mother. We had more to do
