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them he was addressing, Olivia could always tell when he wasn't certain.
    But Victoria wasn't making any promises, her eyes were dancing at the prospect of a month in the city. "Are you serious? " she asked, wide-eyed with delight.
    "About sending you back? " he blustered. "Absolutely."
    "No, about New York, I mean." She looked from her father to the lawyers, and they were all smiling.
    "Apparently, " her father answered. "It could even be two months, if they don't do their jobs right, and dally around once we get there."
    "Oh please, Daddy, " Victoria said, clapping her hands and doing a little pirouette on one heel and then grabbing her sister by the shoulders. "Think of it! New York, Ollie! New York! " She was beside herself with joy and excitement, and it made her father feel guilty when he thought of how isolated they were here. They were of an age where they belonged in the city now, meeting people, and finding husbands. But he hated the thought of them leaving him forever, particularly Olivia.
    She was so helpful to him, she did so much for him. What would he ever do without her? But he was worrying prematurely. They hadn't even packed their bags and gone to the city yet, and he already imagined them married, and himself abandoned.
    "I hope we'll see more of you, Charles, when we come to the city, " Edward said as he shook his hand finally in the doorway. Victoria was still talking about New York to Olivia, paying no attention at all to the two men who had come to visit. And Olivia was quietly watching Charles as he said good-bye to their father. He assured Mr. Henderson that he would see a great deal of him at the office, as long as John Watson was willing to let him handle his business. John assured him that he would, and Edward urged Charles to come to see them at the house as well, as Charles thanked him politely for the invitation. And as he left, Charles glanced over the older man's shoulder and looked into Victoria's eyes again. He wasn't sure which one she was, but he felt the oddest pull whenever he looked at her. He couldn't have explained it if someone had asked him to, it was a kind of electricity he felt from her, and not from her sister. It was the oddest feeling not knowing which was which, and yet he was fascinated by both of them.
    He had never met anyone like them.
    Edward Henderson walked the men to their car, and as they drove away Olivia stood watching them at the window. And despite her wild excitement over New York, Victoria noticed.
    "What's that all about? " She had seen Olivia's intense look at the car driving slowly down their driveway.
    "What do you mean? " Olivia asked, turning away to go and check on the library, and make sure the tray had been removed directly after the meeting.
    "You're looking awfully serious, Ollie, " Victoria accused. They knew each other far too well. It was dangerous sometimes, and at others merely annoying.
    "His wife died on the Titanic last year. Father says he has a little boy."
    "I'm sorry to hear about his wife, " Victoria said, sounding unmoved.
    "But he looks terribly boring, doesn't he? " she said, dismissing him, in favor of countless unnamed delights soon to be discovered in New York, among them political rallies and suffragists' meetings, none of which interested her sister. "I think he looks incredibly dreary." Olivia nodded, and made no comment as she walked into the library to escape her sister. And when she emerged again, satisfied that the tray was gone, Victoria had gone upstairs to change for dinner. Olivia had laid her clothes out for her earlier that afternoon. They were both going to wear a white silk dress, each with an aquamarine pin, a pair that was their mother's.
    And a few minutes later, Olivia went to the kitchen to find Bertie.
    She knew instantly that she was Olivia, and not her sister.
    "Are you all right? " she asked Olivia, looking worried for a moment.
    It had been a terribly hot day and she knew Olivia had been out walking.
    And