“Beth, stop,” Mother says, but Beth can’t stop. They have somewhere to be. “Where are we going?”
“To get you your happy ending,” Beth says firmly, laughing as Mother splutters. She turns them down the street, away from their townhouse.
“Stop. Where are you taking us?” Mother demands, pulling them up short beneath a streetlight.
“I told you. Your happy ending. It’s still there,” Beth insists.
Mother stares at her for a moment, confused, until it clicks, and she blanches. “No, no, Beth, there’s no way—”
“You wanted me to have a husband who would be good tome. Who would have a title and the money to support both of us. Who would treat me well and love me, right?”
Mother frowns down at her.
“Right?”
“Yes,” Mother says tightly.
“Someone who was genuine, and had good morals, and fought for good things?”
“Beth—”
“Lord Havenfort is all of those things, but for you. You spent my whole life with a lout—you said so yourself. Now you should spend the rest of yours with a gentleman.”
Mother’s mouth falls open and Beth laughs, trying to tug her back along. But Mother holds tight to her hand, an anchor there beneath the streetlight.
“Beth, you’re not—I can’t—he won’t take me,” Mother says, her voice suddenly rough.
“Of course he will,” Beth counters, too filled with hope now to second-guess herself. “He loves you. He’s been a wreck since we parted ways, drinking and throwing himself into politics. But he loves you. He has for years.”
“I’ve broken his heart too many times,” Mother says. “I can’t—why would he take me now?”
“Because you’re ready now. And because you’re you,” Beth insists.
“I’m not—”
“What—beautiful, learned, witty, fun, and a match for absolutely anyone? Lord Havenfort may have cracked him one, but Lord Ashmond looked destroyed tonight and you didn’t lift a finger, barely even a brow!”
Mother snorts. Beth can’t remember the last time her mother looked at her like this—vulnerable and still so young, and open, and seeking Beth’s approval. Her opinion matters now. Has always mattered.
“Come on. He’s no scarier than Lord Ashmond, and infinitely more handsome.”
Mother laughs a little and lets Beth tug her up the street, moving more slowly, but following all the same. All they need to do is put them in the same room together, free of previous obligations, contracts, and responsibilities. She’s sure of it.
Doubting it now would only make her as pale and frightened as her mother, and Beth doesn’t have time to wonder and worry. There’s a fire in her stomach and a tingle in her limbs as she drags Mother the four avenues until they’re standing outside the massive Havenfort home. The last time she was here, Gwen—
No. This is her mother’s moment. There will be time for her own reunion after.
“Darling,” Mother whispers, wrapping her free hand around Beth’s arm and squeezing. She’s practically trembling.
“It’s right there. You just have to reach out and take it. Twenty-two years, Mother, and it’s just minutes away now.”
Mother turns and meets her eyes. Beth takes in the wide, wet sheen in her gaze, her shaking hands, her pale cheeks. She smiles reassuringly and squeezes her mother’s hand.
“Tonight, just think about what youwant. Nothing else matters.”
“And if he says no?”
Beth takes a deep breath and keeps her smile. “Then you and I will live cozily in a hovel somewhere and we’ll be happy there too.”
