Chapter 12
Twelve
“Rose!” Violet called out to her sister. “Will you please be careful?”
“No,” Rose called back as she laughed and sprinted ahead. “I do not think that I will!”
Violet scrunched her face and folded her arms as she watched her sister hurrying across the garden and towards a tall oak tree. Behind her, trying to keep up, was Lucy. And because Rose was so much bigger and faster than Lucy, it meant that Lucy often tripped and nearly fell in a bid to keep pace.
More than once, Violet gasped and had to resist the urge to race ahead and take Lucy by the hand. That desire to keep the little girl safe and from harm.
Is this what it means to be a mother?
For so many years now, Violet had looked after both herself and Rose; she was the nominated matriarch of their little family of two.
But Rose had been fourteen when Violet took charge, so keeping her safe in that literal sense was never a worry.
It was always about making sure that she was clothed, that she had food to eat, a place to sleep.
With Lucy, things could not be more different.
What kept Violet from hurrying towards the little girl and saving her from Rose was how much fun Lucy seemed to be having.
They were in the back garden of the townhouse.
It was a sprawling landscape that stretched for over two hundred feet, and another fifty or so wide.
In that space were rows of hedges, colorful flowerbeds, patches of verdant grass, tall standing trees, and a large pond at the very center.
And where day one had been spent exploring the inside of the townhouse, day two was dedicated to exploring the garden.
Just then, Rose and Lucy reached the largest of the trees. There, Rose scooped Lucy up as if she meant to place her on one of the lower-hanging branches.
Violet sucked through her teeth…
“They are certainly getting along.” Standing beside her was Rhys, and he watched the scene unfold with a sense of curiosity, as if he did not fully understand what he was seeing.
“A little too well,” Violet said as she watched her sister and Lucy playing. Thankfully, Rose did not try and put Lucy onto the branch, she was only teasing the young girl.
And Lucy, so shy, so reserved and constantly worried, was enjoying herself. Really enjoying herself. She had seen how much Rose meant to Violet, had taken that as permission to think the same of her, and was treating Rose as if she had known her for her whole life.
It warmed Violet’s heart. However, just as she loved to see her sister and Lucy getting along, she sensed Rhys’ unease… as well as his jealousy.
“Rose is good with children,” she explained to him as he watched them together. “And it is often easier for young girls to bond with other women.”
“I know it,” Rhys said, pushing his lips together as if forcing himself to accept the fact. “I am just glad to see that Lucy is growing used to her new home… that she seems to like it.”
“Me too,” Violet said with a warm and assured smile.
She was just as pleased to see that Rhys had not given up.
Better still, he was doing exactly as she had instructed. Violet was a little worried that he might ignore her advice, and that he would again try to prove himself to Lucy. That was, after all, the way that men typically behaved.
At least it is in my experience.
She need not have worried.
From the moment that he joined them outside, he stayed back, he did not approach Lucy and was happy just to watch. As she told him, Lucy needed to see him as someone she could trust before she did, and the best way for that to happen was to be seen with Violet.
“You do not have to be so nervous either,” Violet said to Rhys, sure to smile as she did. He stood back a little, even from her, hands folded behind his back, looking like a man who might turn and flee at any moment.
“I am not nervous,” he said a little too quickly.
She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “I have seen you confident, I have seen you dismissive, and I have seen you on the verge of throwing a tantrum.”
“I have never thrown a tantrum—”
“But what I see here is obvious nerves,” she spoke over him, rather enjoying the way he fumed. “There is no need to worry so much about Lucy. You do not have to avoid her entirely.”
“You told me that I should,” he argued. “Is that not the entire point? That I ought to stay back and not impose myself?”
“Correct,” she agreed. “But not imposing yourself is not the same as avoiding being near her. She still needs to see you. As she needs to know that you are here for her.”
He clicked his tongue with obvious frustration. “Have you heard the expression, mixed messaging? You could not make things any more confusing if you tried. Just tell me what I need to do for her to trust me.”
Violet certainly found it amusing to see how frustrated Rhys was. It made her feel in control in ways that she rather liked, a further reminder that she was needed and still had purpose. However, she also found it endearing.
He wanted to do better. He wanted to prove himself. And most importantly, he wanted to do right by Lucy.
He really is different from what I expected, and certainly not like other men I have known.
“Here…” She waved for him to follow her. “Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
She rolled her eyes. “Just trust me.” She laughed to see how nervous he was, and she smiled to herself when she turned to walk across the garden, seeing him follow her out of the corner of her eye.
As they started across the garden together, Rose and Lucy made their way towards the pond. There, Lucy crouched down so that she could splash her hands in the water, while Rose saw them coming and waved before hurrying over.
“It is nice to see the two of you getting along,” Rose said with a smirk as she reached them.
Violet scoffed. “We get along very well, thank you.”
“How is she?” Rhys asked of Lucy. He watched her closely by the edge of the pond, not looking away for even a second.
“Oh, she is slowly starting to find confidence,” Rose said as she turned to watch Lucy also. “I thought she was shy, but that is not it at all. It is more that she does not trust easily… or she does not know who to trust.”
“You are doing well with her,” Violet agreed.
“It is not so hard,” Rose said. “At least not for me,” she added as she raised an eyebrow at Rhys.
Rhys either did not hear her or did not bother with a response. His stare stayed trained on Lucy, a look in his eyes as if she was the center of the world. He did not smile. He did not look upset or nervous. It was more that she was the only thing that mattered to him.
Violet watched him closely, unable to help but smile. Again, it was a reminder of how wrong she was about him. What was more, it made her want to help so that she might see their relationship grow.
“What shall we do after this?” Rose asked. “Something that involves sitting, I think. Lucy has so much energy, and I am thoroughly worn—”
“Lucy!” Rhys cried suddenly.
It happened quickly. Violet started at his sudden exclamation. She turned, thinking to find Rhys beside her. But he was gone from that spot, sprinting across the garden and straight for the pond.
She was barely able to keep up with him, and she certainly did not realize what he was doing until he did it. But it was as he reached the edge of the pond, skirting around it to where Lucy knelt, that she saw what was happening.
Lucy had her eyes on a lily pad that floated across the water. On her knees, she reached out in an effort to snatch it. But it moved away from her, forcing her to reach further… further… just enough that she soon lost her balance and tumbled right into the pond.
At least she would have done, if Rhys had not been there to catch her.
He swept in behind the little girl, scooping her up under the arm pits just as she tumbled forward. He saved her, is what he did, lifting her into the air and then placing her squarely and safely on her feet.
Violet gasped in fright. She thought to rush across and check on Lucy. Guilt swarmed her, because she could not believe that she had been so careless.
“Wait a moment…” Rose touched her on the shoulder to stop her from rushing to Lucy. “Let us see what happens.”
It was good advice, and although Violet wanted nothing more than to check on Lucy, she stayed put and watched an interaction that just one day ago would have been impossible to imagine.
It was Rhys, down on one knee, saying something to Lucy.
Not in anger, but with concern and worry.
Lucy looked more embarrassed than upset, but she did not shy away, and she did not run.
In fact, after a few seconds of speaking, she hugged Rhys around the neck.
“Look at that,” Rose said. “I would have never…”
Violet watched the moment with a look of disbelief.
And then a smile. And then she felt something in her chest that was not painful but was not exactly comfortable.
It was a tightness, as if her heart had literally doubled in size, just as her throat swelled too, forcing her to choke back tears that nearly fell.
When Lucy pulled away, Rhys looked at Violet with a huge smile, unabashedly proud of himself. Violet returned the smile, still fighting back tears.
I really was wrong about him…
Pride was what Violet felt. Some of that was for Lucy, so happy that the young girl was growing in confidence. But much of it was for Rhys, because she knew how much it meant to him. And in her mind, nobody deserved it more.
“Did you see that?” he asked her a few minutes later when he walked back to her. Lucy was with Rose again, walking ahead, pointing out the various flowers that she found pretty.
“I saw it,” Violet said with laughter. They fell in just behind Lucy and Rose, following the garden path which wound back towards the house. “A good thing that I did, or I might not have believed it.”
Rhys chuckled along. “I still do not believe it.”
“You did well today,” Violet said. “You ought to be proud.”
“Thanks to you, I did,” Rhys said seriously. “Without you…” He shook his head and then he was sure to look at her. “I owe you, Violet. Truly, this is all because of you.”
He walked right beside her, and he looked at her in a way that had Violet’s cheeks flushing.
It was a look of gratitude that he offered her.
It was a look of respect. But there was something else there too…
the way he smiled… how it found his eyes…
and how they were happy for the first time since she had met him.
What was more, there was a sense that he knew it was thanks to her.
He held her in that look, and Violet felt it wash over her. She liked how it made her feel, and not just because she wanted the best for Lucy. As she looked down at her and smiled, as they walked together, Violet felt something pass between her and Rhys that she could not have expected. It was—
“Oh!” Her foot caught a piece of the pathway, and she fell forward.
“Violet!” Rhys swept towards her, catching her just before she fell.
One arm wrapped around her back, the other on her waist. She was suspended in mid-air, held in place by his powerful arms, and when he caught her, Rhys looked down at her with eyes that were mere inches from her face…
“I… that was…” she stammered, hardly able to speak, a little too aware of his arms around her.
“I seem to have a knack for saving people today,” he said, his voice a soft purr as if he wanted only her to hear it.
“Y—yes,” she stammered awkwardly. She tried to look away from the deepness of his eyes, but she was trapped by them. And his hands, still holding her, felt a little too safe. “You do.”
He held her for another moment. He looked at her as if to make certain that she was fine. He seemed to want her to know that he was there for her, to protect her, to keep her safe, and that so long as he was, nothing could go wrong…
And then he quickly lifted her back up and planted her on her feet.
“That was close,” he said with a chuckle. “Best watch where you are going.”
“I…” Her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was heavy. She looked away, embarrassed and unsure of her own thoughts. “Yes, I should.”
She did not know what else to say, so she said nothing. Down the pathway, Rose and Lucy still walked, so she hurried to catch them. And as she did, she felt Rhys watching her. He was worried, and he wanted to make sure that she was safe.
For so long, it had always been Violet who looked after others, so to have someone else that might finally do the same for her…
It is not nearly as bad a feeling as I thought. Not even a little bit…