Torie had though Estelle might leave it at that; she hadn't quite envisioned her sister actually asking after her predicament. Torie sighed softly, looking out the window and back down at the letter before at her sister. It was going to come out eventually and she supposed she ought to tell Estelle directly before her sister could twist the story around.

"Mr. Alderton and I have," she paused, cleared her throat, and continued. "Called off the courtship." It was disheartening at best and heartbreaking at the worst of it. Torie volleyed violently between the two, depending on her mood. Torie was still in love with him, obviously, but the overwhelming disappointment that his work was to come before her and the life they had envisioned together was miserable. She appreciated his honesty, but at the root of it, she didn't agree and it was making her bitter.

Swiping away an errant tear as quickly as she realized they were falling, Torie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Nobody in the house would understand. Angel and Raf wouldn't care. Estelle would gloat. Her parents would be disappointed and she would be alone once again.