The hour was late. The clock in the entryway chimed eerily in the silence. Rosalind replayed the hurtful words she'd heard Ashton and Charles say, her mind still reeling with the revelation of Ashton's betrayal. It was time to leave and return to London. She'd find a way to get her life back from Ashton's ironclad control some other way. There was no chance she would marry him now, the damned awful man.

Rosalind came down the main stairs, intending to fetch a glass of water ...