Selina watched him leave, feeling sad for her husband and for Percy. Dominic had told her that Percy had loved Eugenia, who could not be bothered to return that love. It was also clear that Dominic was still deeply affected by his first wife’s death.
If there was any truth in what Lady Gillray had told her, then Dominic must have had an unrequited love for Eugenia. She did not particularly consider her godmother a reliable source, but judging Dominic’s reaction, there might be some truth to her words. No wonder Percy and Dominic were both so devastated by Eugenia’s death.
She looked down at the note in her hands, written in neat cursive. At least she could give Dominic’s note to Percy.
Percy was in his nursery, sitting near his window. Even though it was daytime, he was staring up at the sky, as if he could still see the constellations in his mind. When she stepped into the room, he startled slightly and looked at her.
“It is a beautiful day outside, isn’t it?” she said. “Your father told me you were playing in the garden earlier. I am happy to hear it.” She smiled and sat down in a chair next to the window seat. “He gave me a note to give to you.” She held out the piece of paper to him.
Percy’s eyes widened as he took the note from her. He turned it over carefully in his hands as he stared at his father’s handwriting. Then he scrambled off the window seat and went to a small cupboard on one side of the room.
He pulled out a small wooden chest and opened it. Selina could see that the chest was full of pieces of paper, just like the one in his hand. She smiled at the sight of it.I knew Percy would not just throw away notes from his father.
A thought crossed her mind at that moment. “Percy, do you want to know what the note says?”
He looked up at her, surprised.
“I can read it aloud to you if you wish,” she said.
He nodded eagerly and thrust the note back at her. She looked at the neat cursive again. “Dear Percy,” she read aloud. “I was happy to see you playing in the garden today. I love you, son.” She peeked at the child to see his reaction.
He was staring at her, his face unreadable for a moment. Then he took another note out of the box and held it to her.
She smiled as she looked at it. “This one says, ‘I’m proud of you, Percy. I love you.’”
One by one, he took the notes out of the box and handed them to her. Selina would read them aloud and carefully stack them up on the window seat. All of them shared similar sentiments:I love you. I miss playing games with you. I enjoyed reading aloud to you today. I am proud of you. I am sorry. I love you. I love you. I love you.
Selina felt a lump rise in her throat as she read the notes. After she finished the last one, she had all of them stacked up on the window seat. She looked at Percy to see tears streaming down his face. He wiped them away quickly before jumping into her lap and hugging her. Selina closed her eyes and hugged him back, happy that she was able to provide him with a little bit of happiness through the notes.
The next day, the dowager duchess and Selina sat together in the garden on a bench. A short distance away was Percy, sitting on the ground. He had gathered a small pile of pebbles and was arranging them in a spiral pattern.
“It is so nice to see him playing again,” the dowager duchess remarked. “It has been so long since he has done anything except sit and stare at the sky, or off into the distance.”
“I am happy to see him playing too,” Selina said. “Yesterday, I read him a bunch of notes from his father. It seemed to give himpeace.” She smiled. “I’m glad I was able to give him that. I do not know if I will be able to help him find his voice—it is truly up to him if he wants to speak again—but I hope I can at least make him happy.”
“You have already helped him greatly,” the dowager duchess said. “And I never doubted you would. I knew you were exactly what he needed from the moment I saw you with that dog at the party.”
Selina’s cheeks reddened as she remembered that scene. “I was only acting on instinct. I certainly did not have any ulterior motives in mind when I picked him up.”
“I never thought otherwise,” the dowager duchess said, beaming at her. “That instinct is exactly why I knew you would be perfect for both Percy and Dominic.”
“And that’s why you sent me to Dominic’s room?” Selina lowered her voice to keep Percy from hearing. She did not want the child to know exactly why his father decided to take another wife.
The dowager duchess merely smiled. “You will certainly not let me forget that, will you?”
“Probably not,” Selina said, smiling.
The older woman stretched her arms up above her head. “Perhaps we both need something else to occupy our minds. Ithas been two weeks since the last party. I am getting bored, and I am sure you are too. When are you planning on hosting a ball?”
“A ball?” Selina frowned. “It had never occurred to me.”
“You are duchess now,” the dowager duchess pointed out. “It is your responsibility to host balls, afternoon teas, and other gatherings. You should also take the time to sponsor charitable organizations, as well as perhaps a favorite artist or two. At the very least, you should start accepting invitations. You and Dominic should start being seen in public as a newly married couple.”
“Dominic did not mention anything to me about hosting parties,” Selina said. “And I am sure he is too busy to attend an event.” She doubted he would want to. From what she understood, he had been very reclusive since his wife’s death, and only attended the Duke Hunt out of obligation to his grandmother.
The dowager duchess tsked. “I shall have to have a word with him about his keeping you locked up here. A young duchess like you should be enjoying herself instead of settling down to have the life of a recluse.”
“I certainly do not mind,” Selina said. “I have more than enough to keep me occupied in the manor.” She doubted she would find it easy to ‘enjoy herself’ with members of the ton who disliked her family so much.
