From the moment Ransom arrived this morning, the household had been in turmoil. Hilda’s arguing had been nearly endless after he announced she needed to leave within the year. He’d gotten annoyed after a few particularly painful barbs, though he could admit shouting at her that she now had a fortnight to leave did not help. He hadn’t lingered to hear anymore of her venomous words. But retreating to his study brought its own headache.

From his place by the window, Ransom sighed as his thoughts became increasingly morose. At least the Duchess was reasonable. Though she more likely wanted to keep her place here. “I can hardly compare to her dear Henry.” he muttered bitterly. The mental image of the Duchess with his late half brother still made his heart ache and his temper flare.

Forcing himself to put his feelings aside for now, he turned and left the study. Ransom glanced at the longcase clock in the hall. He was just on time for dinner, which meant to him he was late. He’d intended to arrive before Duchess Ravenswood and Hilda, to set a precedent of how he expected things to be.

As he entered the dining room he could feel his irritation spike once more. He hated seeing her in black. Hated that she was in mourning for his brother. Did she truly love him so dearly? Does his loss haunt her even now? The thoughts lingered in his mind despite his best effort to maintain his stoic demeanor.

“Hmph. You reprimanded us about being on time and living up to your expectations, and yet you arrived after us.” Hilda said with a disdainful sniff, her grey eyes narrowing as she watched Ransom take his seat at the head of the table.

“Good evening, Duchess Ravenswood.” Ransom said formally, purposefully addressing her first before he turned to Hilda. “When you are gone in a fortnight, you will not need to worry about my rules.” He said evenly, though he felt a small measure of satisfaction from the way his stepmother turned red with impotent anger.