“Of course, you did not ensnare him, my dear. Adrian is far too smart for that,” she replied.
She shook her head, still smiling, and then took a sip of her tea.
“Adrian and Evander, even when they were boys, drew the attention of many young ladies. There had been many times that a few emboldened women attempted to trap either one of them, but my boys were too smart for such tricks. No, my dear, I am absolutely certain that if Adrian married you, it was simply because he wanted to.”
Bridget clung to Nora’s words as if they were a lifeline. She wanted, more than she realized, to accept that Adrian wanted to be with her for who she was, not because of circumstances, but with all that had happened in her past, she felt doubtful. Frightened, even, of being tricked.
“All three of my children have always been willful, you know,” Nora went on as Bridget’s thoughts swirled. “Stubborn too, but in the best possible way a person could be so. Not willing to settle.”
“That is quite admirable,” Bridget replied, and meant it. She had been raised to be the exact opposite, and it had brought her nothing but loneliness and pain.
“Would you tell me about them?” Bridget asked. “I am starting to know Adrian on a deeper level, and I am making friends with Elara, but I do not know much of Evander other than Adrian loved and admired him greatly.”
Nora’s smile was proud as Bridget said so.
“He certainly did,” Nora replied. “Evander would always do what he wanted. He had an innate ability to bend people to his will. In the wrong hands, such a gift would be most dangerous, you know, but my Evander? He had an idea of what was good and right, and he always followed that. It is no wonder that he builtsuch wealth and rose to such popularity among his peers.”
Nora’s smile died a little. She set down her teacup and traced her fingers around its lip. “However, even good people have enemies, and enemies are meant to be crushed. In that aspect, like all others, Evander did not hesitate.”
Bridget grew curious over the dowager’s words, but did not question them. She would find out more in time, she decided, but for now she would simply listen.
“Adrian is the same in the way that he does not stop until he gets what he wants,” Nora went on.
She tsked her tongue as she looked off into the distance and shook her head.
“I fear I did not allow myself to see that in this last year, though. Too heartbroken by Evander’s passing. It was too painful to admit how much they truly were alike.”
Bridget’s heart went out to Nora as she heard the genuine remorse in her voice.
“Adrian loves you, Your Grace,” Bridget said sincerely. “I am sure if you spoke to him about such things, he would find forgiveness for you.”
Nora focused her blue gaze on Bridget and smiled.
“You are a sweet girl,” she told Bridget. “I am starting to see why Adrian adores you so much.”
Bridget could not help but feel deeply satisfied by such words and mentally rejoiced at the information.
“And Elara?” she urged on, wanting the conversation to continue.
“Elara,” Nora said with a sigh.
She got up from the table and walked to the wall of windows facing the side gardens, beckoning Bridget to join her. Bridget did so immediately and saw that Elara and her cousin Caroline were sitting on a bench among the flowers, facing one another in deep conversation.
“Elara, I fear, is my most willful child,” Nora went on. “She is reckless and stubborn. I am only starting to understand just how much of her life she has taken into her own hands while I was in mourning, and though I probably should be mortified, I am rather impressed by her resourcefulness.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I have learned recently that she has been sneaking out to see Caroline, and only God knows what the two of them have been conspiring about,” Nora added with a chuckle.
Bridget let out a small laugh as well and turned to face Nora.
“I must confess, Your Grace, I find your family so very fascinating and refreshing,” she admitted. “It is so vastly different than what I grew up with.”
“Oh?” Nora said, raising an inquisitive brow. She took Bridget’s hand and led her back to the table. “Well, you must tell me. You are my new daughter-in-law, after all, and I would very much like to know you better.”
Bridget’s heart ebbed with warmth, feeling for the first time that she was actually being welcomed into a family instead of forcing herself into it.
Bridget was reveling in the fuss Nora was making over her mother’s brooch when a knock came at the parlor’s door. They both popped their heads up from taking in the details of the brooch, and Bridget felt a flutter in her stomach when she saw Adrian leaning against the doorframe. He had his arms folded, his head cocked with curiosity, and a smile on his face that made him appear almost boyish.
