At her words, all color drained from his face.
“And the similarities between you and this imaginary soldier are… remarkable.
You both vanished. You both left me alone. You both left her fatherless.”
Her breath faltered.
“But do you know the difference?”
Her voice softened into something deadly.
“In the story your mother forced upon me, her father would have loved her. In that fiction—the lie that protects her—he would have held her, known her, wanted her… had he not perished.
“That lie, William Ashford, is the only thing that spares her shame. And you—you—have no right to appear now thinking that a claim of enlightenment—one I am not entirely convinced is not its own deception—can undo it.
“Five years ago, in the rose garden, I told you what you were.
A liar. And a coward.
“And now—after seeing you again, after hearing your excuses—I am more convinced than ever that I did not know you at all.”
She didn’t wait for his reaction.
She turned, opened the door with a controlled, deliberate movement, and stepped into the corridor—leaving William behind in Nathaniel’s blue sitting room, with nothing but the echo of her condemnation.
She climbed the stairs one careful step at a time, forcing her breath to steady, forcing her expression smooth.
Outside the nursery, she pressed a hand to her chest, telling herself that it would be all right. William Ashford would leave. He would go back to his grand house and his proper choices, and the life he had deemed unworthy of her. None of it need touch her again.
Then she pushed the door open.
Three little heads turned toward her. Lily scrambled to her feet and skipped toward her.
“Mama!” Lily beamed. “We showed Mr. Hamilton everything! Even the very tiny snail shell we found!”
Violet summoned a tired smile. “I cannot wait to see them later.”
Nathaniel rose from the small table where he’d been helping them sort shells and crossed the room to meet her.
“Are you well?” he asked quietly.
“I will be,” she said, because it was the only answer she could give.
He nodded, the look of concern unmistakable in his eyes.
“Shall I walk you home?”
“No,” she said softly. “I… I have need of a moment’s quiet.”
She bent, lifted Lily into her arms, and pressed a kiss to her curls.
“Say goodbye, sweetheart.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Hamilton! Goodbye, Emily! Goodbye, Mary! Thank you for coming to the shore with me!” Lily chirped.
“Goodbye, Miss Lily,” Nathaniel answered warmly.
Violet managed one last grateful look. “Thank you. I will see you soon.”
