“Really old,” Lilly said. “Like Father.”
Marina took a sip of imaginary tea in order to keep a straight face. “Your father is twenty-seven years old, Lilly.”
“Exactly. He’s old.”
Marina’s hand went up to her mouth as she snorted her laughter. “Tell me more about Mr. E.”
“He’s my best friend,” she said. “Well, except for you, Mr. Bear, and Prince William. He loves walking with Prince William. And he likes fishing too! Yesterday, he went to the river and talked to Princess Delphinium the Third. She is doing very well. She just got new seaweed curtains in her drawing room.”
“How marvelous,” Marina said. “How long have you known Mr. E?”
She hummed in thought, and her brow furrowed. “He showed up a little after Mama died.”
Marina asked more questions over tea, careful not to push too hard and make the little girl shut down. By the time tea was over, Marina was sure ‘Mr. E’ was Lilly’s imaginative stand-in for her father.She certainly has a vivid imagination. And she’s also very lonely.
Marina waited until after dinner to bring it up with Evan. She waited until the nanny had taken Lilly to wash up before bed before turning to him. Evan himself was about to leave the dining room to go to his study, but he paused in the dining room entrance when he realized she had not risen from her seat. “Is everything all right?”
“There is something I need to talk to you about. It is about Lilly,” she said.
He frowned and nodded slowly. “All right.” He took his seat again. “What’s wrong?”
Marina felt a little silly bringing this up, knowing there was a good chance he would laugh or brush it off. After all, children have active imaginations all the time. But this felt important. She had to talk to him about it. “I had tea with Lilly today. For the first time.”
His lips quirked up in a smile. “You have not attended her tea before?”
“It is a very exclusive event.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “Some say that when children have imaginary tea, they model it after their parents. How do you take your tea, Evan? In your office with your best friends: Mr. Book and Mr. Newspaper?”
He inclined his head in acquiescence. “Understood. Continue.”
“Well, at tea, she mentioned having an imaginary friend. One that I had never heard of before.”
Any mirth on his face was quickly erased. He leaned forward, looking intent. “Did this imaginary friend have a name?”
She nodded, feeling relieved that he was taking her seriously. “Yes. Mr. E.”
He nodded. “I have heard that name before. At first, I thought it was an intruder on the premises, or even a spy from Mr. Barrowman. Now I don’t know who this Mr. E fellow is. Perhaps that is what she calls one of the servants, or an image from a painting, although I can’t imagine which one.”
Marina shook her head. “Mr. E. isn’t real. He’s simply a figment of her imagination.”
Evan frowned. “She imagined an entire person? That seems unlikely.”
“The imagination is a powerful force, especially when it belongs to a child.”
He grimaced. “I know. It gives her terrors every night.”
“It can also be her friend.”
He shook his head. “Why would she imagine an adult man named Mr. E?”
Marina shrugged. “Because she is lonely. After her mother died, she didn't see a lot of people. Just me, you, and some of the staff in the house. This character she created is there to comfort her.”
He scoffed. “How can something like that bring her comfort?”
“Believe it or not, most humans need connection with others.” She smiled. “Even you. Do not deny it. You would have been a mess without Carlson this past year.”
He gave her a wry smile. “No, I certainly can’t deny that.”
“If her imagination is powerful enough to scare her every night, it’s also powerful enough to comfort her by creating an imaginary friend.”
