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She nodded with utmost seriousness. “But when I talk to him, it always makes things better.” She pursed her lips and pouted. “Saying sorry can be really hard, though.”

“Do you always have to say sorry?”

She shook her head. “Not always. Sometimes, he does, too. But saying sorry makes it all better, even if it is hard.”

“I suppose it does.”

“I do not want to not be friends with Johnny,” she told him with wide eyes. “Saying sorry is easier than losing a friend. Mrs. Thomas always said so.”

“Yes!” the other children chorused in agreement.

Why the hell am I getting advice from a bunch of children?

Daniel inwardly shook his head, even though he found himself thoroughly amused.

Evie would have loved to see this.She would probably take their side, too…

His smile faltered when he thought of her, and then he looked at the little girl before him.

Bright eyes and a toothy smile that saw all the goodness in the world.

If he and Evie had a child, they would probably look just like this little girl before him, with innocence shining in their eyes.

What if we do have a child?

Unlike all the other women he had lain with in the past, he had always made sure to stay in control. That no child would ever come out of such a union.

With Evie, there was none of that.

Suddenly, the thought of her round with his child did not seem so bad. Having children with Evie and raising them with her. Growing old with her…

It sounded like heaven on earth.

He did not think of his father or his petty revenge on a man who had been dead and buried in the ground for years.

All he thought of was Evie, and how wonderful it would be to have a family with her.

She could be carrying his child at that very moment.

And I had turned her away. I cast her out just like my father threw my mother out.

Remorse and a deep self-loathing filled him.

How could he dothatto Evie, when he swore that he would never be like his own father?

“I… I need to go,” he muttered, standing up so quickly that he almost threw the little girl off balance. “Need to take care of something.”

“Are you going to say sorry to your friend?” she asked him curiously.

For the first time since Evie left, Daniel smiled.

“Yes… yes, I am.”

The children burst into cheers as he rushed out of the playground. He ran past Ms. Morgan, who was carrying the basket of food that Mrs. Thomas had promised him.

“You are leaving, Your Grace?” the spinster asked him in surprise.

He nodded. “Yes, Ms. Morgan. And please, relay my thanks to Mrs. Thomas as well. Tell her that I am happy with how you have all taught the children.”