The image looked nothing like the polished illustrations inside noble books. The proportions were imperfect in places. Still, it looked real enough that heat slowly crept into her cheeks.
An unexpected sound jolted her back to her senses.
Edith started, dropping the charcoal against the edge of the parchment as she twisted around.
“Violet,” she gasped, straightening in her seat. “I didnae hear ye come in.”
Violet smiled easily as she stepped further into the library. “I kent ye’d be here,” she said softly. “Ye always come here when ye miss her.”
Edith’s throat tightened. She had not realized anyone noticed that about her.
She picked up the piece of charcoal that had smudged the corner of the parchment and tucked it with the rest, before wiping her stained fingers on a piece of cloth.
“Do ye draw often?” Violet asked, her eyes lighting up as she approached the table. “I thought ye’d be reading. Ye and Lady Scarlett used to read together.”
Edith glanced briefly toward the empty stool beside the table. “Aye,” she said quietly. “We did.”
The silence lingered briefly before she looked back down at the parchment.
“I practiced while she was gone,” she admitted after a moment. “It makes me feel as though she is still here somehow.”
Violet’s smile softened. “She always will be,” she whispered, crossing the remaining distance between them.
She placed a folded stack of parchment on the table beside Edith, along with a small bottle of fresh ink.
“I brought these for ye,” she said gently, “so ye may write to her.”
Edith looked up at her. Violet was nineteen, three years younger than her, but already an incredibly kind woman.
Her throat tightened painfully at the unexpected gesture.
“Thank ye, Violet,” she whispered.
Violet reached for her hand, squeezing it gently before finally letting go. “Ye’re welcome, me Lady.”
Edith winced at the title, then laughed softly under her breath. Her gaze drifted down to the sketch.
“Can I see it?” Violet asked.
Edith’s entire body stiffened. Heat rushed fiercely into her cheeks as she realized exactly what sat on the table before them.
“Nay,” she blurted out, snatching up the parchment and flipping it face down against the wood.
But Violet had already seen enough. Her eyes widened slightly, before a grin slowly spread across her face.
Och, heavens.
Edith wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
“’Tis beautiful,” Violet whispered, sounding genuinely awed.
Edith pressed the parchment tighter against the table. “It is nothing,” she muttered.
But Violet’s smile only grew wider.
“Ye shouldnae hide sketches of yer beloved,” she teased lightly. “In fact, ye should show them to him.”
Edith nearly choked on her breath.
