Two years later.

Scarlett wrapped up a negotiation and called Mrs. Hale. "Aunt, I'll swing by shortly to pick up Molly. She has a sketching class tonight."

A year and a half ago, Madam Summers had fallen seriously ill, and Scarlett had been stretched thin trying to hold everything together.

That was when Mrs. Hale stepped in.

Since then, the two of them had kept in touch — but Scarlett was careful about it. Whenever the Hale family picked ...