Effie was so chuffed by thatwe, by the use of the plural pronoun, that he had to remind himself to attend to the rest of what she was saying.
“First, there’s the immediate aim of the dispensation of advice. But the other purpose is to affect readers. To entertain them, or inspire empathy in them, to move them in some way. You are writingtoyour correspondent, but you are writingforall our readers.”
“That . . .” Seemed eminently logical. Effie didn’t know why he hadn’t considered it from that perspective before.
“Take this current letter. Should you advise the correspondent to visit her mother, you are also telling everyone who reads it that this is the correct course of action. You will have done good in more settings than the life of the letter writer. Beyond that, even if the specifics of the scenario in question do not apply to the wider readership, the tone you take in a response may yet affect them.”
Hmm. “This is the reason you appreciate amusing replies.”
“Yes. They entertain our readers.”
Ourreaders. There was another plural pronoun. He smiled. “Was there another piece of advice?”
“I see a thread weaving its way through your Mrs. Landers letters. A theme, if you will.”
“You do? What is it?”
“You always take the part of the lady.”
“I don’t think I do that intentionally.”
“I know you don’t, which makes it all the more effective.”
“It is possible—likely—that I am overcompensating for notbeingthe lady I was meant to be when you gave me the job.” He paused. “I am sorry. It is a consequence of my dishonesty.”
She waved away the apology. “I do not believe you are overcompensating. That’s not why you always take the part of the lady.”
“Why do I do it, then?”
“Well, in some measure, I suppose because your charge is to help your correspondents. You are primed to be sympathetic to them. But also, in a larger sense, I believe it is because you are a good person.”
“I am?”
She threw a pillow at him. “Yes, you fool.”
He caught it. “Do say more.”
He thought she would decline, tell him not to flatter himself overmuch, but she said, “You care about people. You put yourself in others’ shoes, and you are willing to entertain the notion that your way of thinking may be incorrect. That’s what you are doing here, is it not, asking whether your instinct is right in the case of this particular letter? Do you know how exceedingly rare such an attitude is, especially for a gentleman?”
Effie found himself choked up. Had anyone ever said such lovely things about him? To him? And she had said different but equally flattering things during their sunrise swim. Effie did not doubt that Archie and Simon respected him, and regarded him very highly. But much of that had to do with their shared history. And certainly his family had never said anything of the kind.
He thought of his peacock waistcoat. He felt like a peacock now, displaying his feathers, proud of himself.
He turned the paper over and tried another version of the letter while she watched, her head resting on his shoulder.
Dear Home for Christmas,
You must go. Your mother must not die alone.
With sympathy,
Mrs. Landers
“What do you think?”
“It’s perfect.”
Shewas perfect.Thiswas perfect. Lying here with Julianna, working on the magazine in bed.There is only now. Perhaps her philosophy worked, after all.
