Her apology took him by surprise. “It is not necessary, Lady Violet.”
“I responded in an emotional manner, which I’ve sworn never to do, nor should I have earlier.”
Her response perplexed him. Wasn’t there emotion behind most disagreements? “If not emotional, then how should you have responded? Were you not angry with myself and Lady Esther?”
“I should have explained my position in a calmer tone,” she answered with a lift of her chin. “It is illogical to become emotional.”
Illogical? It was his experience that there was little logic to emotions. “Are you usually logical?”
“Yes, of course.” She blinked up at him as if he should have already known the answer. “At least I attempt to be.”
Emory frowned, recalling his younger years at Eton. “Is everyone in your family so logical, or only you and Epworth. I’ve just realized how much you are like him.”
“You know my brother?” She turned her face to him so quickly that the golden curls bounced and fell away from her shoulder and down her back.
“Yes. We attended Eton together. He was quite a serious lad.”
“He is the one who influenced logical thinking over emotional reaction when I was younger.” She frowned, her ruby lips pursed. “Though there was a time when he wasn’t so logical, believing in fairies, ghosts, mermaids, and all of that nonsense.”
He remembered, but Epworth ceased believing in such after his first year. “I see no harm in believing in the possibility of such.”
Lady Violet tipped her head and looked up at him from beneath her bonnet, delight in the green eyes and a small smile upon her face. “Do you believe in magic, Lord Ferrard?”
He suspected that she wished to tease him, but there was no malice in her tone. Not like those older boys at Eton. “Magic is simply a situation or events for which there is no explanation.”
“The same could be said for miracles,” Lady Violet suggested.
“Perhaps one person’s miracle is another person’s magic.” At least she wasn’t laughing at him.
“I agree.” She nodded. “Further, it likely depends on one’s faith. Those who are more religious would choose the word miracle over a person who is of a more fanciful state of mind.”
“Yet, I can’t imagine either you or Epworth using miracle or magic to describe anything that is unexplainable.” The brother and sister were far too analytical not to seek an answer.
She laughed. “My brother is no longer as sensible as before, which is the fault of his wife, Miranda, who was raised in Cornwall and believes in all things magical. Miranda also has a relative that is a gypsy and tells fortunes.” Lady Violet shook her head and chuckled. “Miranda convinced me to have my fortune told when I visited last, and I learned my past, present, and future, which havenotaltered my perception.”
“I’ve always wanted my fortune told,” Emory admitted. “For the enjoyment of it. Not that I’d believe anything seen in a crystal ball or what my palm or tarot cards might reveal.” He looked down into her delightful green eyes. “What did you learn, Lady Violet?”
She took a deep breath and sighed. “Of my past, that I was hurt as a child, deeply, and that I’ve allowed that to change how I viewed all situations in my future and going forward.”
His humor died and concern rose. “Hurt?”
“It was not a fortune specific to me, even though she wished me to believe so,” Lady Violet dismissed.
“Why do you say so?”
“Because what child is not harmed when they are young, whether it’s falling from a tree, touching a candle, or any number of things in which a child might be curious about. If the child has any intelligence, they’ll not repeat actions which caused them injury, or they’d learn to proceed with a bit more caution a second time. Thatpastcould belong to anyone.”
Emory supposed she was correct.
“As for my present, which was two years ago, I was told that I was guided by logic and not my heart.”
Emory didn’t need to be a fortune teller to know that bit of information was correct. Anyone could determine the same from a short conversation. “What of your future?” he asked, curious as to the response.
“She said that I need to guard against letting logic cloud emotions and the heart.”
Violet had simply beenpolite and humored Miranda when she’d insisted that they visit the gypsy, and Violet hadn’t given much thought to her fortune after she’d left Cornwall. And even though she did not believe the old woman, she had to wonder if she did let logic cloud her emotions and heart.
Logic should always prevail, especially during an argument. But, what of her heart?
