Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Several peaceful days passed in quiet mornings spent visiting the dowager, afternoons filled with gentle conversation or walks through the garden, and evenings shared with Greyson in the library, as they chose new books for his mother.
Hazel felt herself settling into a rhythm she hadn’t expected, one steady enough that she almost trusted it.
Almost.
But on this particular morning, Hazel was curled in her drawing room with her embroidery when the door flung open so abruptly she nearly pricked her finger.
Her butler appeared in the doorway, a touch breathless.
“Lady Callbury, your sisters are here.”
Hazel shot to her feet. “Chastity? Patience?”
Before she could take a step, two whirlwinds in pastel silk barreled through the doorway.
“Hazel!”
“Hazel, dearest!”
Chastity launched herself into Hazel’s arms first. Hazel staggered back a step from the force of the embrace. Patience followed, sweeping Hazel into a nearly suffocating hug.
“Oh, we’ve missed you so terribly!”
Hazel laughed, a bright, joyful sound that felt like her younger self rising from some long-buried place. She wrapped an arm around each sister, pulling them close.
“I’ve missed you both as well,” Hazel said, feeling warm and full.
For a moment, the room shimmered with the familiar chaos of the three of them together, with Chastity fussing with her gloves, Patience bouncing slightly on her toes, then both speaking at once or not at all.
Then, unexpectedly, Patience stilled, and Chastity’s smile changed somehow.
Hazel frowned slightly. “What is it?”
Chastity exchanged a glance with Patience. Hazel’s breath caught. Her sisters had never managed to communicate silently in their entire lives.
Patience bit her lip. “Hazel… we came to see you because… well…” Her voice faltered. She looked at Chastity helplessly.
Chastity took a breath. “Because we owe you an apology… a real one, one where we actually understand what we are apologizing for.”
Hazel blinked. “An apology? For what?”
Patience stepped closer, taking Hazel’s hands in hers. “For everything.”
Hazel stared, unsure she’d heard correctly.
Chastity nodded. Her eyes were shining with an emotion Hazel had not expected.
“We’ve realized… truly realized, how much you did for us all these years. How many things we simply assumed… would happen on their own.”
Patience sniffed, which surprised Hazel even more. “You managed everything from our dresses and our schedules to our tempers, our ridiculous arguments, and even our suitors. And we just… let you.”
Hazel didn’t know what to say.
Chastity squeezed her hand. “When you left, it all fell apart for a bit. We didn’t know what to do. Mama didn’t know what to do. And we finally understood how much you shielded us from.”
Patience added softly, “You protected us from so much, Hazel. From expectations, from consequences, from ourselves… and we never thanked you for it.”
Chastity’s voice cracked. “We took you for granted.”
Hazel felt her breath tremble. “Oh, girls…”
Patience shook her head vehemently. “No, Hazel. Let us say it. We’re sorry. We were selfish and childish, and we leaned on you far too much.”
Chastity wiped at her eyes, as though appalled to find tears there. “And we love you so very much, which means we want you to have your own life now. Your own joy, not just us.”
Hazel’s vision blurred. Her chaotic, exhausting, beloved little sisters looked at her with sincerity she had never seen before. They were not turning to her for dependency or expectation, but pure love.
Hazel pulled them both into her arms at once, holding them tightly, the way she had for years, but this time, the embrace did not feel like responsibility. It felt like family.
“My darlings,” Hazel whispered, “you have nothing to apologize for. I did what I did because I loved you. And because you needed someone to be your guide.”
Patience clung to her. “We know. But we want to do better, to be better.”
Chastity nodded into Hazel’s shoulder. “For you, and for ourselves.”
Hazel kissed each of their heads, feeling her heart full in a way she had not known it could be. When they finally pulled back, Hazel saw a new version of her sisters. They had reached maturity, gratitude, and there was a slight spark of independence she had long hoped to see.
She smiled, brushing a tear from Chastity’s cheek. “Well then, I suppose I must get used to having grown-up sisters.”
Patience laughed through her tears. “Not too grown up, we hope. You’re still our Hazel.”
“Yes,” she said softly. “And I always will be.”
Hazel dabbed the corners of Chastity’s eyes with her handkerchief, then sat back to look at them both properly.
“My loves,” she said gently, “now that you’ve realized all this…
tell me. Have you thought about what you want?
Not what Mama expects, or society expects, but rather, what you desire for your own lives. ”
Chastity and Patience exchanged a glance. This one was less nervous and more contemplative.
Hazel smiled encouragingly. “Well? I am listening.”
Sweet, dramatic, thoughtful Patience twisted the ribbon on her sleeve. “I… have thought about it,” she said quietly. “Quite a lot, actually.”
Hazel’s eyebrows rose with approval. “And?”
Patience bit her lip. “I don’t think I want a Season this year.”
Hazel blinked. “You don’t?”
Patience shook her head, curls bouncing.
“I know it is what Mama wanted. And Chastity is already enjoying preparing for hers. But I…” She took a breath.
“I feel so young, Hazel. I don’t feel ready.
I think I was rushed into it because Chastity was coming out, and it seemed easier for Mama to present us both. ”
Chastity snorted. “Easier for Mama, perhaps. Not for Patience.”
Patience nodded gratefully. “I would like… one more year at home. Perhaps a chance to grow up a little more, to learn who I am before I start parading it about at balls.”
Hazel’s heart swelled with pride. Patience, who once wanted nothing more than to follow Chastity like a shadow, was finding her own path.
“That,” Hazel said warmly, “is a very wise decision.”
Patience let out a breath of relief. “You don’t think it’s foolish? Or childish?”
Hazel took her hands. “I think it is brave, and thoughtful, and entirely your choice to make.”
Patience threw her arms around Hazel with sudden force. “Thank you.”
Then, Chastity cleared her throat delicately. “Well, since Patience is admitting things…” She straightened, as if mustering the courage to speak her mind. “I have decided I do want my Season, a real one.”
Hazel smiled. “Not one where you are constantly looking over your shoulder for Mama’s approval or my guidance?”
Chastity shook her head. “Exactly. I want to see who I am, on my own. I’ve always relied on you, Hazel. But I don’t want to do this Season as someone’s responsibility.” Her voice softened. “I want to do it as myself.”
Hazel reached out, brushing a stray curl from Chastity’s cheek. “I think that is a wonderful idea.”
Chastity’s eyes shimmered. “Do you think I can manage it?”
Hazel laughed softly. “My darling, you are eighteen. You are charming, kind, beautiful and far stronger than you realize. Yes, you can absolutely manage it.”
Chastity leaned forward, resting her forehead briefly against Hazel’s shoulder. “You make everything seem possible.”
Hazel held her close. “It is because you already have the strength. You simply needed to see it yourself.”
Patience sniffed, wiping her eyes. “Hazel… we want to ask you something.”
Hazel nodded curiously. “Anything.”
Chastity took Patience’s hand, and together they looked at Hazel with a mixture of hope and vulnerability.
“Will you help us with our Seasons?” Chastity asked softly.
“Not as before, not because you must, and certainly not because Mama expects it.” Her voice steadied.
“But because you are our sister, and we would feel steadier if you were there.”
Patience nodded fervently. “We don’t want you to carry us, Hazel. We just… want you with us.”
Hazel didn’t even have to think.
“Yes,” she smiled. “Without the slightest doubt.”
Her sisters hugged her from both sides, laughing and crying all at once, and Hazel felt something quietly settle inside her.
This was what she had wanted all along: not to abandon them, not to sever ties, but to love them without being their guardian, their shield, their second mother. She simply wanted to be their sister.
Once the tears were dried and the apologies properly felt, the three sisters settled together on the settee, with their skirts spilling like pastel blossoms across the cushions.
Chastity dabbed her eyes one last time, then straightened with dramatic dignity. “Well, enough crying. It is terribly unflattering for my complexion.”
Patience rolled her eyes. “You cried for half an hour yesterday over a missing ribbon.”
“That ribbon matched my slippers,” Chastity said with utter seriousness.
Hazel laughed. “There she is. I wondered how long the new mature Chastity would remain before the old one resurfaced.”
Chastity gasped in mock offence. Patience giggled. And just like that, the room was alive again with familiar sisterly teasing.
They talked about Belvington Manor, about minor scandals Hazel had missed, about London shops and which ones were absolute thieves disguised as dressmakers. Hazel relaxed, leaning back as her sisters animatedly filled every corner of the room with chatter.
Chastity fluttered her hands as she spoke. “And you simply must see the gown Madame Bellerose made for me. It is exquisite, Hazel, she is a miracle worker. Silk the color of spring violets.”
“It cost a fortune,” Patience added helpfully.
“It cost a fair price,” Chastity corrected, with her nose in the air. “Besides, I needed something beautiful for the last garden party. All the other girls looked stunning, and I… I wished to feel a bit stunning myself.”
Hazel smiled warmly. “You have always been stunning. You hardly need French silk to prove it.”
Chastity preened. “Well, a little doesn’t hurt.”
Patience nodded sagely. “It helps especially when one wishes to attract a certain someone.”
Chastity froze in mid-sip of her tea.
Hazel blinked. “A certain someone?”
Patience gasped, realizing what she had just said. “Oh… oh dear. That slipped out.”
Chastity nearly dropped her teacup. “Patience!”
Hazel’s interest brightened. “What slipped out?”
Patience clasped her hands over her mouth, but her eyes sparkled. “Nothing. Forget I said anything.”
Chastity groaned, burying her face in her hands. “It was one conversation.”
Hazel leaned forward, gentle but curious. “A conversation… with whom?”
Chastity peeked out between her fingers, while her cheeks bloomed pink. “It is nothing, Hazel. Really. Only… well, we spoke at Lady Harrow’s musicale, and he was… kind.”
Patience was unable to restrain herself. “And clever! And Chastity has not stopped talking about what he said about the sonnet—”
Chastity pressed her hand over Patience’s mouth. “Enough, enough!”
Hazel laughed softly. “So, there is someone.”
Chastity let out a defeated sigh and lowered her hand. “Yes. But only barely. We were introduced, we spoke for perhaps ten minutes, and that is all.”
Hazel’s voice softened. “And what impression did he leave?”
Chastity hesitated, then her shoulders relaxed. “He was… unexpected. He was also thoughtful. He listened more than he boasted. And he asked what I thought of the performance.” Her smile turned shy. “No one ever asks.”
Hazel reached for her hand. “He sounds promising.”
Patience sighed dramatically. “He sounds romantic.”
Chastity glared at her. “He sounds like someone I have met once. Let us all calm down.”
Hazel squeezed her hand gently. “Just remember, my dear, do not give your heart lightly. Not until you know it is safe in the right hands.”
Chastity nodded. “I promise, Hazel.”
Only, it was a promise Hazel herself was not certain she could keep.