Jacqueline and Eglantine walked in silence for a moment, the rain falling upon them like a soft mist. Its touch soothed Jacqueline’s fears, though she watched her mother carefully, seeking some hint of her thoughts.
A rare frown pulled Eglantine’s fair brows together. “I admit that matters might have been resolved differently had your father Robert lived to this day, or had Theobald not done as he did. But the truth in this is inescapable.” Eglantine paused. “Do you know what happened fourteen summers past?”
“I was born?”
Her mother smiled in reminiscence. “That you were.” She touched Jacqueline’s cheek with a fingertip, marvel in her eyes. “My first child, and the light of all my days and nights thereafter. Never a greater gift could there have been. You have blossomed into beauty this
