“Sybil. She’s the one who helped me see that fighting with you about every restriction only made you more suspicious of my judgment. She suggested I try talking to you instead of arguing, try showing you that I could be trusted with important decisions.”
“She also warned me about men who would take advantage of young women’s inexperience. She taught me how to recognize genuine interest versus flattery designed to compromise me.”
Every word felt like a dagger to Hugo’s conscience.
She was protecting Rosalie. Everything I asked her to do.
“Papa, Sybil loves you. Anyone with eyes can see it. But she also loves me, Leah, and Melanie. She wants what’s best for all of us, even when what’s best might not be what’s easiest.”
Does she still? After the things I said to her…
“She tried to tell you that I was mature enough to make my own choices about Thomas. She tried to explain that forbidding something outright would only make me more determined to pursue it. But you wouldn’t listen because you were so afraid of losing control.”
Afraid. Yes, that’s exactly what I was.
“And now she’s gone, and you’re about to fight a duel that will destroy everything she tried to help us build.”
Hugo sank into his chair, the weight of his mistakes settling on his shoulders.
What have I done? What have I thrown away out of pride and fear?
“Papa?” Rosalie’s voice was gentler now. “Are you all right?”
“No,” he said quietly. “I don’t believe I am.”
For the first time in years, Hugo felt his careful control beginning to crack.
I’ve been so focused on protecting my family that I’ve driven away the one person who actually understood how to help them flourish.
“Rosalie, do you truly love him? Not the excitement of being courted—do you love Thomas Pemberton himself?”
“More than anything in the world.”
The simple certainty reminded him painfully of how Sybil used to look at him.
“And you believe he loves you the same way?”
“I know he does. Papa, he was willing to face you in a duel rather than abandon me. He could have withdrawn his proposal, could have claimed it was all a misunderstanding, but he chose to stand by me, even knowing it might cost him his life.”
Willing to die for her.
“That suggests either remarkable courage or remarkable stupidity.”
“Courage, I think. The same kind of courage Sybil showed when she married you despite knowing you might never love her back.”
The observation hit him like a physical blow.
But I do love her. I love her so much it terrifies me.
“Rosalie, your stepmother and I… Our situation was complicated.”
“Was it? Because from where I stood, it looked like two people who were perfect for each other but too stubborn to admit it.”
Hugo rose from his chair, moving to the window. Somewhere out there, Pemberton was probably preparing for their meeting, perhaps writing final letters to his family.
Final letters. Because I’m willing to kill a boy over a kiss.
“Papa, what if you’re wrong about Thomas? What if he really would make me happy?”
