"What happened in Greece, stays in Greece, Colin - do remember that."
Josephine Sinclair is determined to stick to her promise and to not let herself fall in love with Colin Bridgerton - again.
But, Josephine has also made a deal with her brother:...
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1801 — LONDON.
TRAGEDY STRUCK FOR THE Sinclair's on the cold early morning of the harsh winter. It had not snowed — no, as ten-year-old Josie would have known. Instead, the temperature had set about an iciness, coating the roads, and promising devastation.
For Lord Henry and Lady Miriam Sinclair, the ice had been the cause of their deaths. One slip and the carriage had overturned, tumbling from a stone bridge as the metal had fallen into the frozen lake below. As their children slept, the parents drowned, desperately trying to survive for the three they would leave behind.
Josie had first been disturbed that night by a pounding on the front door. It had frightened the young girl, who had clutched at her covers tightly to her small body, hurrying to her twin brother's bedroom that was opposite her own.
"What happened?" Freddie asked.
"I don't know," said Josie. "I am scared, Freddie."
Her twin opened his covers as Josie scrambled up to his bed, dragging her own covers with her too, where she then felt at ease as his arms wrapped around her. The two were silent, listening out to the chaos that was happening downstairs, but they could not make out the voices or the words.
Only when daybreak cracked between the dark clouds, did the bedroom door open. Edward Sinclair — the oldest of the three— stood silently, staring at the two wide-eyed children as they reminded him of frightened deers, waiting for their mother to come home when she never would again.
"Is Moma home?" Josie questioned.
"Josie, Freddie..." Edward stepped into the bedroom, stopping before the bed as he fell to his knees, sinking to their eye level. "I...it's just us three now."
"Where is Papa?" Freddie demanded.
"I promise you," said Edward as Josie watched his eyes glisten, knowing that he was trying to be brave for them. "Freddie. Josie. You have my word that I will give you the life you both deserve."
"I want Moma," Josie announced, becoming panicked with her fear. "Where is she, Edward?"
"They are gone," Edward told them. "They never made it home, Josie."
"But they said they were coming home—"
"I know they said that," Edward cut in, softly, where his hands reached up, holding onto the twin's joined hands. "There was an accident..."
"They are dead?" Josie realised, having come to know what that was when her grandparents had all passed. Death was final — you would never see them again. "They are gone?"
