Chapter 14…Did Francesca say that she misses me? Or did you merely infer it?
…from the Earl of Kilmartin to his mother, Helen Stirling, two years and two months after his departure for India.
Three hours later, Francesca was sitting in her bedroom back at Kilmartin House when she heard Michael return. Janet and Helen had come home quite a bit earlier, and when Francesca had (somewhat purposefully) run into them in the hall, they’d informed her that Michael had chosen to round out his evening with a visit to his club.
Most likely to avoid her , she’d decided, even though there was no reason for him to expect to see her at such a late hour. Still, she had left the ball earlier that evening with the distinct impression that Michael did not desire her company. He had defended her honor with
