But the truth remained stuck in her throat and her mind went blank as a familiar numbness crept inside of her chest.
Her mother’s expression softened. “Theo?”
Theodora avoided looking into her mother’s kind, green eyes that were so similar to hers.
Lady Dowell rose and crossed the room, taking her daughter’s hands gently. “My darling, what is wrong?”
She shook her head.
I should be comforting her.
“It was wrong of me to ask you such things. I should know my own husband by now.” Her mother squeezed her hands. “I am worried about you.”
“I told you I am fine, Mother. I am not a little girl anymore, so you do not have to worry about me.” She squeezed her hands back.
“I know but I am your mother and I notice everything about you and Eva. And lately…I have seen you drifting.” Lady Dowell spoke softly. “You usually always have something smart to say but you have been quiet at the dinner table, especially when your father is around...”
Theodora’s eyes burned with unshed tears. She looked away but her mother cupped her cheek.
“What are you hiding from me, my dear child?”
“May I speak about it when I am ready?” she said slowly.
Her mother hesitated, then asked in a whisper, “Is it that man you were dancing with tonight?”
Theodora’s heart lurched.
Alexander.
“I would rather burn my books than care for any man… especiallythatman.”
Lady Dowell let out a startling laugh. The sound filled the room and eased the growing tension in Theo. She smiled as she watched her mother light up unexpectedly.
“Now, that is the Theo I know.” She placed a kiss on Theo’s forehead and stepped away, still holding her hands tightly. “But if someone is interested in courting you, you will let me know?”
Theodora shook her head. “Of course I will.”
Lady Dowell pulled her into an embrace, stroking her hair. “My darling girl… please remember that you do not have to carry everything alone.”
Theodora closed her eyes as she breathed in her mother’s familiar scent, but she still could not speak the truth.
Not a word.She could not say anything about her father’s transgressions against the one woman who had loved him all her life.
A single tear escaped Theo’s eye, and she quickly wiped it away before it fell upon her mother’s shoulder.
CHAPTER 12
“Your Grace, a visitor for Lady Rosalind has arrived.”
Alexander did not need his butler to announce Theodora’s arrival because he had already spotted her the moment she got out of her carriage.
“Good morning, Your Grace.” Theodora stepped into his study with a tray balanced in her hands.
Her curls caught the sunlight and looked more beautiful than any sunrise. The scent of lemon cakes drifted from her and mingled with her own sweetness. For a moment he forgot that they were not alone.
He straightened, unable to stop the smile tugging at his mouth. “Miss Dowell,” he said. “If that is what I think it is, you may enter my estate whenever you please.”
She laughed and the sound was light, warm, and entirely disarming but the laughter did not reach her eyes.
