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years?”
    Lady Caroline was not in the mood to retain the kid gloves that she was wont to use whenever her aunt was particularly provoking. She had worked diligently that morning and her exertions had left her pleasantly tired. Her patience had already been stretched to the utmost by Mrs. Burlington’s spiteful utterances.
    Lady Caroline’s voice was cold. “I apprehend that you believe yourself ill-treated to have been given the home that you have enjoyed these many years since the demise of your wastrel husband.”
    Mrs. Burlington flushed with unpleasant surprise at her niece’s unusual bluntness. “I am sure that I have never complained of my position in this house, such as it is,” she said stiffly.
    Lady Caroline’s smile was faint at best and did not quite reach her eyes. “Indeed, that is undoubtedly true. However, I think that you would not have taken it amiss if my father had turned to you in the end. It would have justified your persistence in remaining here after my mother’s death, would it not? After all, before he met my mother, my father was originally your suitor. And you thereafter envied your younger sister the fortune that you felt should have been your own.”
     

Chapter Four
     
    Mrs. Burlington stared at her niece, aghast. It was all true, but that Lady Caroline should have guessed it was humiliation beyond bearing. “You are impertinent! You do not know what you are saying. What was once between your father and me has nothing at all to do with the matter!”
    For the first time in her life, Lady Caroline pursued her aunt mercilessly. “On the contrary, it is the very crux. You harbored resentment and envy against my mother until the day that she died. I saw it and came to understand it. Unlike my dear lady mother, however, I did not close my eyes to it. When she died, you transferred those feelings to me. But I did not bow to them.” She smiled, this time almost with amusement. “You always disapproved of the latitude my father allowed me, decrying it as shocking that I should become the mistress of the house upon my mother’s death.’’
    Lady Caroline stared a long moment at her aunt, who had apparently been rendered temporarily speechless, before she continued in a more moderate manner. “Pray allow me to remind you that I am my father’s daughter and it was far more my right then yours to step into my mother’s shoes. As for my brother making me his deputy, that also is not your concern. Nor is it your concern how I choose to receive Lord Hathaway. I am my own mistress, Amaris. Pray remember that from this day forward, for I do not wish to remind you again.”
    Rarely had Lady Caroline revealed the depth of her temper so completely. Mrs. Burlington felt herself to be scorched by the white heat of it. She said, with something less than her usual aggressive style and with an openly defensive note, “I have but attempted to guide you in what is considered to be the proper deportment of a young lady, which most certainly does not include acting the master of the house.”
    She made a gesture of distaste. “I sometimes expect to find you attired in frock coat and breeches, so presumptuous have you become.”
    Genuine laughter was startled from Lady Caroline. Her anger was somewhat defused by her aunt’s nonsensical revelation. “Really, Amaris! Such a picture you conjure up. I assure you that I have no intention of parading myself about in so ludicrous a fashion.” She shook her head, the smile still lurking about her mouth as she picked up her embroidery again.
    Mrs. Burlington perceived scorn in her niece’s laughing rejoinder and she reacted accordingly. “ ‘Tis but the truth.”
    When Lady Caroline merely sighed, Mrs. Burlington’s increasing incensement rallied her to her former style. “I am sorry to wound your sensibilities, Lady Caroline, but since his lordship and his dear lady embarked upon their honeymoon, you have become quite the anecdote!’’
    “Have I?