Chapter 16
Cedric died when August was five.
Natural causes.
No reconciliation with me.
He and Lenora reached something quieter.
Not forgiveness exactly.
She visited.
He stopped advising her marriage.
Progress.
At the funeral, Eudora attended.
So did Lenora.
Verity did not.
No reason.
August did not.
Good.
Afterward Eudora approached me.
First time we had spoken in years.
“You look older.”
“Everyone is insulting me lately.”
She almost smiled.
Then:
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
She understood the question.
Specific.
“For telling Verity her baby died.”
Silence.
“For helping Father plan the transfer.”
More.
“For frightening her when she kept asking.”
More.
“For using that carriage to make her feel foolish for hoping.”
There.
She looked at me.
“And for trying to make you marry someone you didn’t actually know.”
That one was ours.
I nodded.
“I’m sorry too.”
She looked surprised.
“For what?”
“For mistaking charm and compatibility for knowing what you did when you felt powerless.”
She absorbed that.
No reconciliation.
No new beginning.
Just two adults naming what happened accurately.
Then Eudora asked:
“Is August okay?”
“Yes.”
“Does he know?”
“Some.”
She nodded.
“Does he hate me?”
“He’s five.”
She laughed quietly.
Right.
Children are not repositories for adult verdicts.
Before leaving, she said:
“I thought taking control would stop me from becoming invisible.”
I looked at her.
“Did it?”
“No.”
Then:
“It made me someone I couldn’t stand looking at.”
Hard lesson.
Hers now.
She walked away.
No hug.
May you like
No promise.
Enough.
