Turning towards Mattie, Melody said, “We are being completely rude to our guest. We haven’t even asked her how she is faring.”
Mattie lowered the teacup to her lap. “I am well, but I am struggling to find a way to help my cousin. She is distraught over the death of her parents.”
“Give her time, lots of love and understanding,” Lady Dallington recommended.
Elodie brought her cup up to her lips as she remarked, “Winston said something similar when he was discussing this very same thing with Mattie. Isn’t that right?”
Mattie tipped her head in acknowledgement. “Yes, Lord Winston was very insightful on the situation,” she acknowledged.
“That does not surprise me,” Lady Dallington said. “Out of all my children, Winston is the one that feels the most deeply.”
“I feel deeply,” Elodie argued.
Lady Dallington gave her daughter a pointed look. “Perhaps, but you are much more vocal about your feelings. Winston holds them in, and they no doubt gnaw at him.”
Elodie placed her empty teacup onto the tray. “I wonder if that is why he is such a successful barrister.”
“I cannot speak to that, but I do worry about him,” Lady Dallington remarked.
Winston’s voice came from the doorway. “There is no reason to worry about me, Mother,” he said, stepping into the room with a determined stride.
Turning her attention towards him, Lady Dallington responded, “I am a mother. It is my job to worry about my children.”
He went to stand next to Elodie. “I am seven and twenty years old. I can handle my own affairs.”
“Yet you are not married,” Lady Dallington reminded him.
Winston crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, and that is by choice. A wife would just complicate my life.”
“A wife is a blessing,” Lady Dallington countered. “Look at how happy Bennett and Delphine are. Their happiness seems to radiate off them.”
Mattie noticed that Winston grew rigid at the mention of a wife. Interesting, she thought. What was it about taking on a wife that bothered him so greatly?
In a gruff voice, Winston said, “Not everyone has Bennett’s good fortune.”
“Sometimes one must forge ahead, making their own path, and not rely on good fortune,” Lady Dallington advised.
Winston uncrossed his arms, letting them fall to his sides. “Do we truly have to discuss this now, considering we have a guest?”
Lady Dallington shifted her gaze to Mattie, her eyes warm and kind. “I daresay that Mattie is more than a guest. I consider her as family.”
Mattie offered Lady Dallington a grateful smile. “Thank you, my lady,” she acknowledged. “I feel the same way.”
As she reached for the teapot, Melody addressed her brother with a playful grin. “May I offer you some tea while Mother is interrogating you?”
“Tea would be wonderful,” Winston replied, his tone softening.
Melody went about pouring a cup of tea and extended the cup and saucer to Winston. He took it with a nod of thanks.
Lady Dallington placed her teacup onto the table. “I want what every mother wants, and that is for all of my children to be happily wed.”
“Getting married does not ensure our happiness,”Melody argued. “Even if we were most fortunate to find love, which is rare and elusive in high Society, we still must live our lives, which have no guarantees of being carefree.”
Winston took a sip of his tea, his gaze thoughtful. “Melody is right. Happiness is not guaranteed by marriage alone.”
Lady Dallington sighed softly. “I understand, but my marriage to your father has brought me immense joy. That is what I want for each one of you, especially since life is difficult.”
Mattie watched the exchange with interest, recognizing the deep bond between them all, one she was grateful to be a part of despite their disagreements.
