Alexander pulled the sheet off and got up. “I knew that something was wrong, but I did not want to pry. Your father is always away, and your mother stands alone at every ball. Their behavior toward one another strikes me as being rather odd.”
Theodora’s throat constricted. She was unable to speak the truth without crying.
Alexander continued, oblivious to the true reason for her turmoil. “If she is unwell, we will go to her at once then?—”
“Let me finish.” Theodora’s voice wavered but she felt a new wave of warmth at his eagerness.
He nodded, gathered his clothes, and waited for her to continue.
“My mother is not sick in body. But in mind. She has been for years. She believes, and she convinces herself, that my father is in love with her and he is a faithful man. That every late night, every unexplained absence, every scent of perfume on his coat isnothing. She clings to the fiction because the alternative would destroy her. And I… I help her cling to that.”
Alexander’s expression darkened. He crossed to her in two strides.
“What are you saying, Theo?”
“My father is having an affair…many affairs to be exact. And my mother does not know. But I know. I saw him and I?—”
“You covered for him,” he said quietly.
It was not a question.
Theodora nodded, eyes burning with tears. “I lie to her every day. I try to keep the truth within me. I make excuses when he does not come home. I can barely sit with her sometimes. I can barely hold in my father’s secrets when she claims that he loves her, that he would never—” Her voice broke. “I do it because if she faces the truth, I am afraid she will simply… stop living.”
Alexander reached for her, cupping her face between his palms. His thumbs brushed away the tears she hadn’t realized were falling.
“This is not your burden to bear alone, Theo. You have to tell her the truth.”
She tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let her.
“Your mother deserves the truth,” he said more sternly. “Not the pretty lies your father has been feeding her. There is no gentle way to do this and no perfect moment that will make it easy. But she should know. She should have the chance to grieve what was never real, and then perhaps… rebuild something that is.”
Theodora shook her head, even as fresh tears spilled. “She will hate me for shattering her mirage of love. For being the one to say the words.”
“Maybe,” he conceded. “For a while. But she will hate the lie more, in the end. And she would not be alone. You will be there. You will help her through it. That is what daughters do.”
She stared at him, chest tight with emotions. She had never told anyone the truth and the weight she carried for so long, finally lifted.
Alexander brushed away another tear. “You do not have to decide today. But do not keep carrying his secrets in silence. Not anymore.”
She nodded once then turned back to her clothes, pulling on her gown with mechanical movements. Theodora could not tell him that her own father threatened her if she told the truth to her mother. As she dressed, Alexander helped her with the laces. His fingers were steady where hers were not. She hastily pinned her hair and was about to leave when Alexander caught her wrist.
“When will I see you again?” he asked. His voice was a mere whisper that left her nerves wrecked and shaken. “I am leavingfor Wiltshire in three days to see Rosalind. I do not know how long I will be gone.”
Theodora looked up at him. “I will… I will write to you. When things are calmer. When I have spoken to my mother.”
He studied her face for a long time, then shook his head. “I am not ready to watch you walk out that door alone.”
“Alexander—”
“I will go with you,” he said firmly. “At least as far as your street. I will wait in the carriage around the corner and make sure you get inside safely. If there is any shouting, if there is trouble—Iwillbe there.”
She opened her mouth to argue about propriety, scandal, and the risk of being seen but the look in his eyes stopped her. She had seen that look before; it was the same stubborn protectiveness he displayed when it came to Rosalind.
She exhaled. “All right.”
* * *
The carriage hit a small bump on the road and Alexander felt his heart stutter with it. He could not keep his hands off Theodora for the entire ride, and she clasped onto him as well.
