Page 33

Helen stood and dusted her skirts. “Let her play a little more. She is enjoying it so much.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The nursemaid sat beside Laney, and the girl looked from her to Helen with a frown.

“Go on,” Helen urged her to continue playing. “You’re almost done.”

Helen always had a tug at her heart when she had to leave Laney. Usually, she just didn’t have enough strength to play with her for more than two hours in a row. Today, she would’ve stayed longer, except she’d promised Lord McAllistair to go for a ride with him. Everything squeezed inside her at the thought.

What am I doing?

Olivia appeared on the threshold then and leaned her shoulder against the doorjamb. Helen joined her and turned to look at her little girl playing with the wooden puzzle.

They stood quietly, not conversing, just watching Laney play for a long moment.

“It passes by quickly, doesn’t it?” Helen asked finally.

“What does?”

Helen watched her daughter stick her head up in a gesture of victory and burst out in applause.

“Mo’!” Laney demanded, pushing the puzzle toward her nursemaid to disassemble.

Helen swallowed. “Life.”

Olivia turned toward Helen, her brows furrowed. “I don’t… I don’t know.”

“I don’t remember myself being a child, do you?” Helen asked. “I don’t remember myself being as young as Laney.”

“I don’t either,” Olivia said after a moment of thought. Then she smiled. “My first recollection is probably of me being ten years old. I remember sitting under the trees with Jarvis and playing this game where I had to look him in the eye for as long as I could.”

Helen chuckled. “You are so lucky to have a lifetime with the man you love. Since you were this little.” She turned back to look at Laney. “Time passing by seems different when you have a child. In a blink of an eye, she turned from a helpless babe to this capable, yet very stubborn child. Time flies quickly. Too quickly. It seems like it was yesterday that Greyson was still here.”

“Helen—” Olivia’s eyes communicated pity, but Helen didn’t want that.

She shook her head. “I am just being maudlin. But time truly flies when you have a baby who grows so rapidly. Once you have a babe of your own, you’ll understand.”

Olivia’s gaze remained firmly fixed on Helen, her brows still creased from confusion. Helen could feel that Olivia was still trying to process the rapid change of subject from what was actually bothering Helen. But instead of pressing on, she turned back to look at Laney.

“You are really wonderful with her,” Olivia said. “It’s as if you understand her without speaking. I don’t think I know how to approach her. I don’t even understand what she says. All the things that I was taught about conversation and social etiquette don’t work with her.”

Helen smiled. Of course, it doesn’t. She’s not even two years old. “Don’t try hard. Just… be with her.”

Olivia scrunched up her nose. “I feel so awkward.”

Helen took a deep breath. “Well, you feel awkward with adults, too. And yet you’ve found a way to communicate with us, haven’t you? And we love you.”

Olivia smiled slightly, then exhaled. “I just… I suppose I am afraid not to be able to find the connection, to find a way to communicate.” Her hands went to stroke her rounded belly, while her maudlin gaze was concentrated on Laney.

“I know exactly what you mean.” Helen followed Olivia’s gaze. Little Laney was diligently working on her puzzle, mumbling something to herself, an adorable frown marring her chubby face. “Because I felt it too.”

“You did?” Olivia seemed surprised that someone else expressed frustration with difficulty communicating. But children were different.

When Laney was brought into their house Helen was afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep the babe alive. But little by little, with every moment they spent together, she fell in love with the little girl. And when there was love, communication followed. Even if it was unspoken. “You’ll learn,” Helen soothed. “I promise. You’ll be a wonderful mother.”

Olivia didn’t seem convinced so Helen took her hand. “Come. Sit and play with Laney, you’ll see. It’s easy.”

Helen led Olivia toward Laney, and Olivia settled on the floor next to the child. “I’ll play with her if you don’t mind,” she said to the nursemaid and then she turned to Laney.

They sat like that for one long moment staring at each other in silence. Then Laney took a piece of a puzzle and placed it in the right place. Her face tipped up with pride. Helen chuckled and clapped her hands. “She requires praise when she does something right. She loves the attention.”