Valerie studied her for a long moment. “So you survived the humiliation of it all,” she concluded quietly.
Amelia did not deny it. “Yes,” she admitted. “And somehow ended up here.” For a brief moment, silence settled among them, broken only by Grover’s contented sigh.
Valerie looked down at her hands. “I am afraid my uncle does not truly want us,” she said suddenly. “I think he only keeps us because he feels he must.”
David stopped swinging his legs, suddenly attentive.
Amelia’s expression changed immediately, her posture straightening. “That is not true,” she said firmly.
Valerie looked unconvinced. “He is always distant,” she continued. “He follows rules more than people.”
Amelia inhaled slowly, choosing not to let frustration take over her tone. “Your uncle is not distant because he does not care,” she said carefully. “He is distant because he cares too much and does not know how to show it properly.”
Valerie frowned slightly, considering this.
Amelia leaned forward slightly, her voice softening. “He brought you here, did he not?” she asked.
Valerie nodded reluctantly.
“He provides for you, ensures your safety, and has built an entire household around your stability,” Amelia continued. “That is not the behavior of someone who feels indifferent.”
David nodded enthusiastically as though this settled the matter entirely. Grover barked once in agreement.
Valerie looked away, her expression uncertain but no longer defensive.
“Perhaps,” she said quietly.
Amelia smiled faintly, sensing the shift. “You do not have to understand him perfectly,” she added. “Only enough to see that he is trying.” Valerie did not respond at once, but something in her posture eased slightly.
Amelia stood again, brushing dust from her skirts. The sun had shifted slightly, warming the path beneath them. For a moment, she glanced back toward the house, half expecting to see Gabriel watching from a window. He was not there. Yet the awareness of him remained anyway, like a presence just outside reach.
And for reasons she still refused to examine too closely, that thought did not unsettle her as much as it should have
Chapter Thirteen
“There! Look!” David’s voice carried such urgency that Amelia instinctively followed his gaze.
A kitten was wedged awkwardly in the iron fencing near the far edge of the garden, its small body trembling as it mewed pitifully.
David had frozen for half a second before launching himself forward with determined urgency, calling out, “It’s stuck! It’s stuck!”
Amelia followed more cautiously, already anticipating disaster, while Valerie sighed. “Do not touch it with your bare hands, David; that is revolting.”
Grover, sensing distress, began circling the fence and barking in confused encouragement, as if offering strategic advice.
David ignored them all and insisted, “It’s frightened; it needs help,” before immediately attempting to force the bars apart.
Amelia reached him just as the situation shifted.
The metal had not been forgiving, and David’s arm had slipped against a sharp edge, drawing an immediate streak of red that startled even him into silence for a brief second.
Then the pain registered, and he gasped, “Ow!” before dissolving into tears, clutching his arm while the kitten remained entirely forgotten.
Amelia dropped beside him instantly, tearing a strip from the hem of her dress without hesitation as she said sharply, “Valerie, do not panic and fetch help now.”
Valerie’s eyes widened, but she obeyed, muttering, “This is precisely why I said servants should handle this,” as she hurried off.
David, between sobs, insisted, “But the kitten…” only to be cut off by Amelia’s firm, “The kitten is fine. You are not, so stay still.”
