He sank into a comfortable chair at her bedside and took her fragile hand in his. He shuddered as he remembered the small headstone and prayed, for the first time in years, that this was enough, that he’d gotten to Emmaline and Grace in time.

“I’m sorry, little one,” he breathed. “I’m so bloody sorry that I haven’t been there for you.”

“It’s all right,” she assured him. “I’m just so happy to meet you at last.”

Tears stung his eyes at her easy forgiveness, which he knew he didn’t deserve. But he would take it. He couldn’t change the past, but he could and would change the future.

He sent a maid to collect one of his favorite books, and then he read to Emmaline until she fell asleep.

Her breathing became slow and steady, and over the next hour, her fever nearly completely subsided. As he sat there in silence, he could hear distant conversation, laughter, the clanging of pots and pans, and moving furniture. His house had come alive in the last few hours. He was surprised by how it warmed his heart to hear his servants cheerfully going about their duties, feeling the difference in the air now that he’d given them some room to be themselves, to be happy.

He didn’t want that warmth ever to go away again. He wanted to care about the people in his life and allow them to care for him as well. Why hadn’t he realized that in depriving himself of human contact and kindness, he’d made things miserable not only for himself but for those around him as well? When he thought about all the impossible rules he’d set in place for his staff, he was filled with shame.

He gripped his daughter’s hand a little tighter.Thank you, Spirits, for giving me this second chance. I promise I won’t waste it.