William sat on the edge of the bed with Lucy for a long while, with neither of them saying a single word. William held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze once in a while. When he was little, his mother often squeezed his hand this way when they were in public. As a message, it said, “I love you,” and, “You are safe.”
Lucy rested her head on his shoulder and he allowed it, and he ran his fingers through her hair.
When the maid came with the food, it looked absolutely delicious. She put it on the table, smiled at Lucy, and said, “I hope you enjoy this.”
Once the maid was gone, William passed a fork and knife to Lucy and told her to eat. Lucy looked at him and said, “I will only eat if you believe what I have told you about the vase and that I was in no way at fault for Vivian or Jenny’
