Adrian closed his eyes. For the first time, he let himself feel her concern for him. This woman had done so much for him. For his family.
“I owe you my happiness,” he acknowledged.
“Just take care of yourself, and of your wife.” She went to the cabinet and retrieved two packets of letters. “These are yours. And Mr. Vane has been kind enough to supply the letters written by Poppy to Olivia. Why don’t you take them upstairs and read them together. The usual room—”
Adrian snorted. “For the usual price?”
“This one, is my wedding gift. And before you go, I have something for you, my dear.” She unlocked a drawer in thecabinet, pulled out a ring with a cluster of rubies, and handed it to Eliza.
“My grandmother’s ring!” Eliza exclaimed.
“As I feel I made this match at Adrian’s unspoken behest, I cannot keep the payment I took for you. Besides, a lady should always have something to remind her of the strong women in her life.”
Eliza placed the ring on her finger, eyes sparkling. “How can I thank you?”
“No need for thanks.” She shrugged. “But should I ever be in need of a favor in future…”
“Consider us both at your service,” Adrian replied.
Hermia made sure the pathway to the upper rooms was clear, then led then into “their” room. They climbed up onto the bed and, together, pored through the letters.
“I’m glad my mother had a friend in yours.” Adrian shook his head. “I never knew.”
“And I had always wondered about the identity of the mysteriousO,” Eliza replied, gathering up the piles. “Unfortunately, the letters from my mother prove that Cassandra was right—she did love my father, even though he’d been chosen for her, even though he proved so cruel.”
Adrian took the collected letters and set them aside. “What’s clear to me is that she loved you all even more.”
Eliza placed her hand in his. “We will be different.”
“That we will—though I imagine we will make different mistakes.”
“I choose you.”
He brushed her hair from her face. “And I, you.”
“Do you forgive her? Your mother?”
“Yes. I knew how badly she suffered, and I have always cared for her. But I also believed care didn’t mean much. I can see now how little in her own life she was able to choose. And I can seehow much my mother’s scandalous behavior was in response to my father’s poor choices.”
“She hurt him because he’d hurt her?”
He nodded.
“I don’t think my mother had the power to hurt my father. But she did have the power to love us. She tried to shield us. And she chose Lady Asquith as a godmother to Cassandra and myself.”
“Lady Asquith, I’m sure, will always be a maternal figure to you all.”
Adrian held out his arm and Eliza cuddled up against him. He listened to her breath. Marveled at the weight of her against his chest. This was the luckiest he’d ever felt inside a gaming hell.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
“For what?”
“For reading these with me. For agreeing to spend your life with me. For softening my rough edges.”
She turned her face upward so she could see him. “As you’ve softened mine?”
“Have I?”
