Page 151 of A Scandal for the Beastly Earl

Lucien looked at her.

"Into that lake, I'd have married someone suitable and been miserable forever."

"Instead you married him."

"Instead I married someone unsuitable and I am chaotically happy."

"Chaotically happy," Margaret repeated. "Matilda would have liked that phrase."

"Would she?"

"She had a secret fondness for chaos. Used to create it when we were children."

"You knew her as a child?"

"Briefly. Before Father discovered I existed and paid us to leave."

"But she remembered you?"

"She found me. Years later. She said she'd always known something was missing."

"A sister."

"A friend. She had no real friends, you know. Just society connections."

"That's sad."

"That was her life."

"Not at the end," Lucien said quietly. "At the end, she had plans. Friends helping her. Hope."

"It did not do a lot of good."

"No, but... at least she died reaching for something better."

"Pretty way to phrase burning to death."

"Harsh way to phrase an accident."

"Was it? An accident?"

"Yes," Lucien said firmly. "Cassandra knocked over a candle during an argument. The fire spread faster than anyone expected."

"Cassandra. The vindictive blonde Matilda wrote about?"

"The same."

"She caused my sister's death?"

"Accidentally."

"Still caused it."

"Yes."

"Where is she now?"

"Gone. Banished. If she returns, she'll face consequences."