Her mother looked down at them. “I did.”
“I have not seen you wear shoes since that snowstorm this winter past.”
“Well, I reckoned you could buy your own shoes now.”
Violet tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
Her mother set her cup down gingerly. “You needed them more than me. Could not have you called Mad Violet on top of everything else.”
Violet put her face in her hands. Her mother moved her chair closer and put an arm around her daughter. “Everything is good now. We have you to thank.” She kissed her daughter’s head.
“How is the duke?” Lady Thornwick asked.
Violet sat upright and wiped her face. “He is well. I think.”
Her mother waited a moment. “What is the matter? Is it truly that terrible between you two?”
“He is still in love with his first wife.”
Her mother sat in silence for a beat. “You are falling for him.”
Violet looked at the garden and found she could not disagree.
“Is it foolish? He could be… He might have…”
“But you do not believe that. If you thought he was guilty, you would not be falling for him. You must feel deep down that he is innocent.”
“I do, Mama.”
“Then you have work to do.”
Her mother refilled both cups and added ample sugar and milk to them.
“Do you need anything else, Mama? The duke asked when I told him I would be visiting.”
Her mother’s hand stilled on the teacup.
“His Grace sounds… like a man trying.”
“He is not unkind,” Violet said. “He is not easy and he keeps himself very close. But he is not unkind.”
Her mother’s throat moved.
“I want you to hire someone,” Violet said. “To replace Kit around the house. Two servants.”
Her mother drew breath to object.
Violet held up her hand. “Mama, please. Let yourself be looked after.”
The baroness drank her tea for a minute then reached over to hug her daughter. Violet melted into her mother’s embrace.
Chapter twenty-two
In All Her Glory
Violet
The Duchess of Cranbrook arrived on a Monday, without warning, in the manner of weather.