Page 33 of An Orphan for the Broken Duke

“As she wants the same for you.”

“That is a lie.”

She sighed. “Do you know what Lucy asked me just now? As soon as you left the room?”

“If I was leaving for good?” he said darkly.

“No,” she said as she looked down at him. “She asked if you were upset. Despite everything, she was worried about you, Rhys, and I know that she was sad to see you leave as you did.”

“That…” Rhys blinked as he searched Violet for what he was sure to be a lie. “You are lying.”

“I am not,” she said rightly. “I know Lucy as well as anyone—as well as I know myself. She is scared, but not of you. She is just a little girl, this world is new to her, and she does not know how to act in it. But I know too that she sees what you have done, and she will appreciate it when she is a little older. She wants to care for you, Rhys. She wants to grow close. I know it.”

Rhys felt something that he did not expect. It was hope. Like a candle sparking deep within his conscience, it pushed back the darkness that he assumed had long since taken him, never to leave. It was a weak flame for now, barely there, but he felt it.

“She… she does?” he asked, letting that hope shine.

“She does,” Violet said. “So, the question is, do you still want to grow close to her? Do you want to be there for her? To give her a home?”

“Of course I do.”

“Good.” She nodded once. “Then prove it.”

“But how?” he asked desperately. “You heard me just now. I know not what to do. I am a fish on land, unable to breathe, but desperate to prove that I can, anyway.”

“Be patient,” she said to him. “Might I suggest something?”

He laughed. “I am sure that you will.”

“Take the day,” she said to him. “Tomorrow, I will take Lucy and Rose for a walk, and you can join us. When you do, you need to not try so hard. Forcing her to listen or trying to pull her toward you, will only scare her off. But if you are there, merely existing, that will be enough. That will show her that you care.”

Rhys nodded along as he felt that hope grow.

“Yes, that…” He allowed a smile. “That makes sense. Not trying so hard… letting her come to me.”

“It will work,” Violet assured him. “I promise.”

Rhys looked at Violet, searching her as if he did not understand what he was looking at. She was being so kind, so caring, the complete opposite of the woman he had married just one day ago. He did not understand it.

“Why?” he asked her. “Why are you helping me?”

“Is that not obvious?” she said simply. “You trusted me yesterday, even when you did not have to. And now, I am returning that trust.”

“For Lucy,” he nodded along.

“No,” she said, shaking her head, letting her smile grow. “Not just for Lucy.” With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Rhys to consider her words and their true meaning.

He had been depressed just moments ago, certain that there was nothing that he could do. That depression was now a thing of the past, and he breathed in deeply as if buffering the flame of hope that grew steadily within.

What he could not escape, and what he would not ignore, was that it was all thanks to Violet. Whatever their marriage might be, and whatever she thought of him, he knew then that he had misjudged her completely, just as he knew that he would never do such a thing again.

Twelve

“Rose!” Violet called out to her sister. “Will you please be careful?”

“No,” Rose called back as she laughed and sprinted ahead. “I do not think that I will!”

Violet scrunched her face and folded her arms as she watched her sister hurrying across the garden and towards a tall oak tree. Behind her, trying to keep up, was Lucy. And because Rose was so much bigger and faster than Lucy, it meant that Lucy often tripped and nearly fell in a bid to keep pace.