"Katie, why are you crying?" Adele asked with a quivering lip. "Don't cry!" She held out a cookie to me as we sat in her nursery having tea.
I hastily wiped my tears. I couldn't afford to be melancholy here. My identity as Catherine du Pont had to remain intact.
Little slips in my true character—like insisting Adele call me Katie instead of Cathy, like she had been before—were all I could allow.
I gave her a watery smile. "How could I cry when I have a sweet little sister like you?"
She beamed at me with her gap-toothed grin. As a seven-year-old, she was missing nearly half her teeth.
"I love you, Katie!"
I scooped her into a hug, craving sisterly affection. Just with a different sister. "I love you too, Addie."
A knock sounded on the door and Percival popped his head in. "Edmund is here visiting with his schoolmate, the Duke of Orla. Mother and Father are requesting your presence."
