‘No. I was too in love with him to even look at anyone else. I used to write him letters, but I never mailed them. When I told him that, he said that I should have mailed them, because it would have made it much easier for him to find me.’
‘Find you? He didn’t know that you had moved to Winchester?’
‘No, my uncle sold the townhouse and the country estate after my father died and used the money to travel. Peter eventually tracked him down and upon learning where I lived, went there immediately.’
Though it was a wonderful story, and she was glad to have asked, Meridith didn’t find any information in it that would help her to decipher the feelings she was experiencing.
‘If there was any advice that I would offer someone,’ Alena said, ‘which I rarely do because everyone needs to experience their own journey, I’d tell them that when it comes to love, believe what’s in your heart, and when it comes to letters, mail them.’
Meridith was about to ask how a person knew what was in their heart, when her name echoed through the house.
It was Diana. Judging by her tone, she must have spoken to the Baroness Montgomery.
Meridith started to push away from the dining table, but Alena laid a hand on her arm.
‘She’ll find you.’ Alena then picked up the teapot. ‘Let’s have one more cup of tea, shall we?’
Meridith nodded. Though she’d always liked Alena, a newfound respect for her sister-in-law formed. She was always so calm and thoughtful, yet could be stern in a way that was still gentle.
Moments later, as Diana stormed into the room, Alena said, ‘Hello, Diana. You’re just in time for tea.’
Diana marched up to the table and planted her hands on her hips. ‘I’ve just come from the Montgomerys’.’
‘That must mean that Walter has returned from Holdenstall,’ Meridith said, knowing it would make Diana angrier, but she was tired of always being treated like she didn’t know anything. Or was in the wrong. Or needed to be told what to do.
Diana pinched her lips together.
Meridith shrugged. ‘You rode to the theatre with Peter last night because you didn’t have a coach available. Now you do.’
‘This has nothing to do with Walter, the theatre or Peter. It has to do with you and how you’re forcing my best friend’s children to work at the zoo and the park!’
‘I’m not forcing the baroness’s sons and nephew to do anything,’ Meridith replied. ‘I merely pointed out the damage their actions had caused last night and provided a way for the boys to pay for the mistake they’d made.’
‘How is that, Meridith?’ Alena asked, pouring tea into a third cup for Diana, who dramatically fell into a chair.
‘Upon visiting with a park gardener, Mr Andrews at the zoo, and the owner of a public house, I totalled the amount of damages and obtained permission for the boys to work at the zoo and the park until the costs are covered.’
‘The Montgomerys would have simply paid for the damages,’ Diana said.
‘They offered, but I pointed out how that wouldn’t teach the boys how they need to be responsible for their own actions.’ Meridith considered saying that she’d learned how people needed to be responsible for their actions at the very school that her siblings had sent her to, but chose not to. It wouldn’t make any difference. Nothing she said ever made a difference.
‘That is true,’ Alena said. ‘Why is the baroness upset about that, Diana? It sounds like a very honourable way for the boys to pay for their misdeeds. As parents, we must teach our children that their behaviors have consequences.’
‘Some adults need to learn that, too,’ Meridith said.
‘Yes, they do,’ Diana said, glaring across the table.
‘Some will, and unfortunately, some won’t,’ Alena said. ‘Mainly because people only see things through their own eyes. They rarely consider what others are seeing. The baroness is only seeing things through the eyes of her children, not through the eyes of those who experienced the damage. If it had been her property, she would see it differently.’
Meridith nodded in agreement, but Diana made no move to agree or disagree.
‘You, Diana, are seeing it through your friend’s eyes, and perhaps it would be good for you to learn what your sister sees. Tell us, Meridith, why did you decide to assess the damage and request the boys learn from their mistakes?’
Not willing to tell them it had been because she’d needed something else to think about besides Drake, Meridith said, ‘Because I saw all the damage while looking for Hugo, and I didn’t want him to get blamed for it. He was scared and being chased, and became lost and thirsty. If someone didn’t make amends, he would have been blamed. The zoo might have had to stop providing rides, or worse, they could have sent him to another zoo. It seemed only fair that whoever had caused it all by trying to ride him after dark and letting him out of his enclosure should be the ones to accept responsibility.’
‘I agree with you,’ Alena said. ‘It wasn’t Hugo’s fault, and yet he could have been blamed.’ She looked at Diana.
Diana let out a long sigh. ‘I agree, too.’
