“How has your daughter adjusted to her new life?” Lord Rushcliffe asked.
“She is thriving,” Enid admitted, proudly. “She is talking more and is trying to assert her independence.”
“Already?” Lord Rushcliffe asked. “That does not bode well for you.”
“She is stubborn, just like me,” Enid replied.
Lord Rushcliffe’s eyes crinkled around the corners. “That trait has served you well. I hope it will do the same for Miss Marigold.”
“I hope so, too,” Enid agreed. “John wasn’t appreciative of my stubborn nature and he tried to beat it out of me.”
All humor vanished from Lord Rushcliffe’s expression. “That was wrong of him to do so,” he said firmly. “No one should have treated you so distastefully.”
“I know, but it was my own fault. Had I not run off with him, my life would be very different,” Enid sighed.
“Do you regret it?”
She shook her head. “No, because that pain-filled path gave me Marigold. She gave me the strength to leave John before he ultimately killed me.”
“Then I am most grateful for your daughter.”
“She is the most important thing to me in this whole world,” Enid shared. “I find myself more times than not in the nursery. I must drive the nursemaid mad with all my attention towards her.”
A reflective look came into Lord Rushcliffe’s eyes. “My mother was the same as you,” he shared. “She showered attention upon her children, and she even insisted on dining with us each evening.”
“My father would never allow that,” Enid said. “He can barely tolerate me sharing a table with him.”
“Has he not embraced your return?”
Enid shook her head. “He has not.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There is no reason to feel sorry for me,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I do not have the grand illusions that my father will ever forgive me for what I have done.”
Lord Rushcliffe’s eyes held compassion. “I would not give your father any heed,” he said. “There are many people that are happy that you are home.”
“For which I am most grateful. I find that I am most pleased at how much love my mother showers upon Marigold.”
“I do believe my mother would have been the same way around her grandchildren, had she still been alive,” Lord Rushcliffe said, a hint of sadness resonating in his voice.
Enid took a sip of her tea before saying, “My condolences on your mother’s passing.”
“It has been a few years now, and with each passing day, it gets easier to remember her without getting sad.” He offered her a weak smile. “A part of me never wants to marry because I have seen how broken my father has become after losing my mother.”
“You must not give up on love so easily.”
“I said nothing about love,” Lord Rushcliffe said. “Although, I have seen too many unhappy marriages that started as a love match.”
Leaning forward, Enid placed her teacup and saucer down onto the tray. “Just because it doesn’t work out for another doesn’t mean it won’t work out for you.”
“It is a risk that I do not wish to take.”
Enid nodded, knowing how Lord Rushcliffe felt. She had thought she had found her love match with John, but he had just been using her. “I doubt that I will ever trust another with my heart, as well,” she said. “But that is only because it is irrevocably broken.”
“Hearts can be mended,” Lord Rushcliffe attempted.
“Not mine,” Enid said. “How can I ever fully trust another after what John did to me? He took my innocence in his stride and used it against me.”
