
Your brother's closest friend left Hendon early after the Marchioness rebuked him for addressing you without your title. George has tolerated rank as our household custom, Frances, but he will not let it define his worth. You step into this one-chapter preview with George Roden at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. With England closed by distance and supervision, you had to choose between exposing your words to her or letting silence answer George for you. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
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