“She was,” she murmured.
Deborah took a moment to line up her next shot and frowned as she missed again.
“I am woefully out of practice,” she muttered.
“Do not worry, you will get the grasp of it again soon,” Adeline offered, walking toward her ball.
Encouraged by Adeline’s conversational tone, Deborah followed.
“You know, I lost a parent as well when I was younger,” she explained.
Adeline looked to her in surprise, then quickly turned her attention back to her stance and mallet placement.
“Who?” She asked, then took her shot.
Deborah couldn’t believe it as the ball tapped precisely into the stake. The girl was a natural!
“My father,” Deborah replied, giving up on her ball altogether. She waved for Adeline to continue, and Adeline did so without protest.
“He was a wonderful, kind man, but neither he nor my mother told my sisters or me to be strong. Their lessons were more focused on us being polite, pretty, and well-versed in womanly skills such as sewing, embroidery, singing, and such.”
She let out a weak laugh.
“Though looking back, I wish either of our parents would have encouraged us to be strong. We certainly needed to be once he was gone.”
Adeline turned to Deborah and gave a casual shrug after she gave her a brief look over.
“You seem strong to me,” she replied, then turned back to the game.
Deborah smiled.
“I do?” She asked.
“Well, you must be to put up with my uncle,” Adeline replied, and Deborah could not help the deep belly laugh. Even Adeline giggled.
“What is it like having sisters?” Adeline asked, lining up her final shot, “My mother said she always wanted to give me a brother and sister, but I guess that did not work out.”
A pang moved through Deborah’s chest, both for her and for Adeline. The girl was far lonelier than she wanted to admit.
“We fought quite a bit when we were younger,” Deborah explained. “My mother had her hands full. As we got older, though, we became quite close. Especially Hester and I. Grace and I’s older sister.”
Adeline’s brows drew down in confusion.
“If you were so close, why was she not at your wedding?” Adeline asked. “I only met Grace, and the only other lady there was your mother.”
Deborah felt another pang move through her heart, wishing more than anything that Hester could have been there. Then again, if she had been, Deborah would have likely not found herself married to the Duke in the first place.
“She is…staying somewhere else,” Deborah finally answered, “Somewhere far away. She could not make it in time.”
“Will she visit us?” Adeline asked.
Deborah felt a knot of emotion well in her throat; once more, she wondered where her dear sister had disappeared to. She had received letters the first year of her absence, but then one day they stopped. Deborah had sent a letter to the housekeeper at the estate where Hester had been working, and that was how she had discovered that her sister had left to take another job. The housekeeper insisted she had no idea where Hester had gone to work next, and Deborah had not heard from her since.
“Probably not,” Deborah whispered.
Adeline took her final shot and once again hit the stake with ease. Wanting to change the sudden somberness of her mood, Deborah forced a wide smile, clapped her hands, and praised Adeline for her victory.
“Come along, Deborah!” Adeline yelled, “Do catch up!”