Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
Rhys sat on a chair by the window in the morning room; he was positioned so the mid-morning rays spread across his body in a way that was warm and comfortable. Also, its light made it easier for him to see the book that he read from.
Sitting at his feet was Lucy.
She had her toy horse clutched in her hands, as it was a favorite of hers and rarely did she go anywhere without it. But she did not sit on the floor because she was trying to avoid Rhys, rather, it was because she had seen something on the floor a moment ago that had caught her eye.
He had laughed as she waddled across the room, her focus set on whatever it was that she spotted. And he laughed further when she reached that wayward item, only to find out that it was nothing more than the sun’s reflection on the wooden floor.
She pouted in realization and looked at Rhys as if he might do something.
“Come on…” He waved her over. “Do you want me to finish the story?”
Her smile grew wide and she hurried back. When she reached his feet, she fell onto her bottom and giggled. Rhys thought to leave her there, but there was a throbbing on his right thigh where she had just been sitting, a sense that he was missing something.
“Do you want to come up?” he asked her.
She smiled further and lifted her arms for him. He smiled back, leaned forward, and scooped her onto his lap. There, she snuggled into him, getting comfortable. Then, she started to paw at the book he was holding.
“Are you reading or am I?” he laughed.
“You!” she said. “Start.”
Rhys smiled at the top of her head. Who would have thought that such joy could be found in something so simple as this? He had work to do. He had business meetings he needed to organize and attend. There were matters of the estate that could not continue until he ran his eyes over them. And yet…
All Rhys wanted to do at that moment was sit with Lucy, his daughter, and read to her.
It had been this way most of the week. Or rather, most of the week had been a slow and careful journey that ended with a moment that now felt natural and right, even if it had not always been that way.
Rhys had been careful that week not to force things.
He did not want to pressure Lucy into spending time with him, but wanted her to want it.
It started with breakfast on that first morning.
That was followed by time spent in the nursery as she played with her toys.
More than once she asked about Violet, and more than once she threatened to burst into tears.
But Rhys did not retreat. He did not give up. And he did not find himself questioning if he had what it took to do this. He committed, was what he did, determined to be there for Lucy no matter what.
Lucy was only three, but he believed that she understood what he was doing, as she recognized what it meant. She missed Violet, of that there was no doubt. But she must have known that Rhys was important to her.
The days wound on and each one saw them grow closer together to a point where Lucy was no longer his adopted child but his true daughter.
He found that he not only cared about her but loved her.
What was more, he was not doing it because it made him feel better. He did it because Lucy needed him to.
Is that what love is? Is this what I have been missing?
“Now, where were we…” Rhys turned his attention back to the book; it was a collection of children’s stories that he knew Lucy adored.
“Well, this is a rather pleasant sight.”
Rhys snapped his head up, and he started when he saw Rose standing in the doorway.
“Rose!” Lucy cried out with joy. She then tried to climb down from Rhys’ lap.
“Careful…” Rhys wrapped her in his arms and lifted her up, then he gently placed her on the ground. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Lucy scrambled across the morning room, her arms held wide.
“Oh, look who it is.” Rose bent down and lifted Lucy into the air. “My, oh my, you have gotten so big!”
Lucy giggled.
Rhys stayed where he was as he watched Rose hug Lucy, and as he watched Lucy adore Rose. The last time he had seen them together, it brought on feelings of jealousy because he wanted what they had. But now… well, he felt happy for Lucy, that she was able to feel such joy.
As for how he felt concerning Rose…
“What are you doing here, Rose?” he asked, not meaning to sound as if he was accusing her, even if it came out that way.
Rose tore her gaze from Lucy and looked at Rhys. “There were a few more items I needed to collect.”
“Is that so?” He scoffed.
Rhys felt mixed reactions upon seeing Rose.
He had spent all week doing his best not to think about Violet, which was easy to do because he was so focused on Lucy. Now that Rose was there, however, she brought to the fore emotions and feelings of loss that he could have done without.
Rhys still missed Violet. Oh, how he wished that he did not. How easy it might have been if he had moved on. But if this last week had taught him anything, it was that he was capable of love. What was more, it taught him that he need not fear feeling that way.
Did she miss him too? Is that why Rose was there? To ask about Violet… to pretend that he did not care either way? Rhys knew not what to do, and he hoped that Rose might provide some answer for him.
Rose grinned. “Well… to be truthful, I did have another motive for coming to visit you.”
“I suspected as much.” Rhys’ chest grew tight with anticipation.
“How are things here?” Rose started as she put Lucy back on the ground. To Rhys’ delight, Lucy waddled towards him and he scooped her up as if he needed to prove something to Rose.
“They are going very well,” he said simply.
Rose’s smile was honest. “I can see that. I had worried that I might find this place in disarray but now I see…” Her smile grew as she watched Lucy snuggle into Rhys’ chest. “Now I see that I was wrong to think that. You really have taken to fatherhood.”
“I have,” Rhys said.
She watched him and Lucy together for a moment longer; her brow furrowed in thought and Rhys braced for what he knew was coming.
“I think that you should pay a visit to Violet and me sometime soon,” she said.
Rhys withheld the urge to wince. “And why would I do that?”
“Many reasons,” Rose said. “And I am not going to guess at how you’re feeling but I know that Violet wants to see you. And before you say anything else, I am not suggesting that she wishes to return, or that you want such a thing.” She raised an eyebrow as if for an answer.
Rhys hesitated…
Did he want Violet back? He knew that he did. While things had been so good between him and Lucy this past week, he knew that they would be even better with Violet here.
What he did not want was to beg her… to force her to return.
He had changed so much, and he knew that if she saw him now, she would realize that.
But he did not want that to be the reason that she came back, as if she was only doing it because she thought that they could finally get along.
He wanted her to want to return to him and Lucy, to understand that it was not an obligation but something that she needed.
“Does Violet wish to return?” he asked carefully.
Rose shrugged. “She has not said as much.”
“Then why would you assume?”
Rose exhaled as if she was tired. “Whether she returns or not is irrelevant and not my business. The reason that I think you ought to see her is that there are things the two of you need to discuss.”
“What things?”
“I cannot say,” Rose said. “But they are important and while she does not know I am asking this, I know that she would agree. Please, think about it, Rhys. And when you are feeling ready, come and see her. You will be glad that you did.”
Would he be? Or would seeing Violet only make things worse?
Rhys had come so far this week, but if he saw Violet and remembered how he felt about her, only for her to turn him away, what would happen to him? Would he regress? Or would he understand it was for the best?
What he did know was that as good as this week had been, it was missing one thing, and that one thing would not change unless he did something about it.
“You what?” Violet exclaimed when Rose explained to her where she had just come from. “Rose, how could you?”
Rose stood patiently in the middle of the kitchen. While Violet rushed to and fro as she tried to prepare supper for them both, Rose stayed patient and calm.
It frustrated Violet to no end that Rose would go behind her back like this, and seemingly not care—that she likely thought that she had done the right thing!
Oh, she can be so frustrating at times!
“Well?” Violet turned on her sister as she put her hands on her hips. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“You will not make me feel guilty, Violet,” Rose said without blinking. “I did as you would not do—as I know that you want to do. You ought to be thanking me.”
“Really? Do you really believe that?”
“I do,” Rose said with a righteous nod.
“I do not want—”
“Oh, will you stop with the lies!” Rose cut her off, her voice finally pitching high and harshly.
“And will you stop pretending that you are fine! You can lie to yourself, Violet. You can spend each day keeping busy, running about like a chicken with its head cut off, just so that you do not have time to stop and think about how you truly feel. But please, do not lie to me. I know you far too well for that.”
Violet opened her mouth to rebuke the claims… but her words came out in a pathetic whimper. And to make matters worse, that saw Rose cock a knowing eyebrow, proof that she was right, and that she had done the right thing.
“I…” Violet shrank back. “I do not need you to fight my battles for me, Rose. I never did.”