know, Mina. I do. And it’s not that I…” He paused, his head dropping once more.
Nudging his chin upwards, Mina held his eyes, imbuing her gaze with all the certainty she felt. “The mistakes of the past do not need to be resurrected, Simon. Nor need you be burdened by those long-ago actions. You behaved carelessly back then, but you have proven yourself worthy of my trust time and time again. I do not doubt you.”
There was a hint of a question in his gaze as though he hardly believed it himself. Taking his hand in hers, Mina held it close to her heart.
“You do know that, don’t you?” asked Mina. “Whatever else I’ve been struggling with, not a bit of it has to do with doubting you or our marriage. I trust in us.”
Lifting her hand to his lips, Simon pressed a kiss to her palm, the light in his eyes confirming that he’d needed her words. The bonds of marriage connected them as tightly as any two could be bound, and Mina felt his unspoken love flowing through it and filling her to bursting. And she gave back with equal measure.
“I do apologize, Mina. But with that woman here, I feel as though I’ve been transported back to those awful days, and I cannot seem to think straight.”
Mina grabbed him up in an embrace, holding tight to him for his sake as much as hers. “I feel the same, Simon. I am not the trembling, timid thing she knew back then, yet when she looks at me, I feel all my hard-earned composure evaporate.”
“Perhaps we should reconsider a trip,” murmured Simon, his voice muffled as his face buried into her neck.
“Do you think Oliver is likely to join us? I cannot stand the thought of leaving him in their clutches—”
“Ridiculous!”
The couple both jerked, flying apart as they turned to see their daughter stepping clear of her high-backed armchair, which had been turned away from Mina and Simon.
“How long have you been hiding there?” asked Simon.
Lily straightened and her lips pinched together in prim disapproval. “I wasn’t hiding. You didn’t notice I was there when you entered, and I chose not to make myself known, but I cannot stay silent when you are making a grave mistake.”
Mina opened her mouth, but Lily did not allow them a chance to speak.
“I shan’t stand idly by and allow you to speak so cruelly of Sophie. She is my friend!” Those last words wobbled as Lily’s expression fell, and though she attempted to curtail the gathering tears, they were clear for Mina to see. “Perhaps one of the truest I’ve ever had.”
And with that, her breaths became jagged. Lily bit on her lips, but it would not stop the tears. Having been born with a tender soul apt to feel everything deeply, Lily was quick to empathize, but this reaction was more than sympathy for Sophia Banfield. True pain shone in her eyes, and Mina rushed to her daughter’s side, leading her to a sofa as Simon sat opposite, watching the pair with a worried pull of his brow.
With a little prodding, Mina drew out the story from Lily, though it came through broken breaths. Mina’s own heart ached at the pain her daughter had suffered at the hands of she who claimed to be Lily’s friend, drawing forth sympathetic tears from Mina’s eyes. Meeting Simon’s gaze, she saw the same concern, though mixed with a fair bit of righteous anger on Lily’s behalf.
“You are not a bore,” said Mina, rocking her daughter while cursing that wretched Hettie Nelson and Charles Dosett. As much as she hoped Lily would trust in that reassurance, Mina knew too well the power behind poisonous words.
“That is not the point,” said Lily. “Sophie has been nothing but kind to me. Even while others think me a tedious burden, she enjoys my company. She is sweet-tempered and simply wonderful, Mama. If you only gave her a chance, you would see it for yourself.”
Mina sorted through her arguments, picking her words with great care. “I know it may seem that way to you, Lily, but her mother is an expert at manipulating others. I have no doubt her daughter—”
Lily leaned away, wiping at her cheeks. “It is not fair of you to judge her for her mother’s actions. I feel uneasy around Mrs. Banfield—even when she is being cordial—but I do not feel so around Sophie. Quite the opposite.”
“You do not understand what you are asking of us,”