Page 50 of Miss Hawthorne’s Unlikely Husband (The Troublemakers Trilogy #3)
“You take after her more than you realize. She was bold and clever like you. She loved color and music and learning. Marrying her was… it made me happy, we were happy, but it made it difficult for us to do more for those on the plantation. We did what we could. Stopped some of the whippings, most of the sales, but we didn’t own them, so we couldn’t free them.
We couldn’t stop it. It took parliament for that in eighteen thirty-three, and even then the actual emancipation was delayed for another six years.
They wanted them to serve as apprentices in the interim.
In Trinidad, there were protests at the government buildings the next year and we went with them. ”
“We?” she asked, dropping a trimmed daffodil into the vase.
“Yes, we took you and all, you were strapped to her front. We went to every one. They still ended up waiting, but in the end, they managed to expedite the abolition of the apprenticeship ruling by two years. Your mother was part of that. She was free, but she never forgot the truth of her life and she fought until every last one of them were free. It was my privilege to stand by her side and use everything at my disposal to help her and make sure they got everything they were owed.”
Elodia smiled at the recollection, thinking of the sketches of her mother she’d found. Yes, that sounded like the woman he’d drawn. “She sounds wonderful.”
“She was. Her stubbornness could be heartwarming or terrifying, just like yours. Her moral compass was implacable just like yours. You are a credit to her in so many ways. When she died with your brother, I nearly didn’t survive it.
She had been the center of my entire world for so many years at that point and the space she left behind… I didn’t know how to fill it.”
“I remember when she died, I didn’t see you for two weeks.” She paused in her task as bitter memories came to mind.
He set down the garden shears and watched her with somber eyes.
“I’m sorry for that. My grief was like a dark pit pulling me in deeper.
I couldn’t pull myself out. Then your grandfather died and there was something to do.
Finally it was all mine. I could finally run that estate the way I’d always wanted, the way she wanted.
When that was done, there was you. I didn’t want to leave our home there.
I wanted to stay in the land that gave me your mother, that gave me you.
In the end, your grandfather got the last word.
” His smile was wry and lacking humor. “Perhaps that was why I found it so difficult to agree to you marrying Thornfield. I saw what it was like with your mother. They couldn’t attack her exactly when she was my wife, but no one accepted her.
I was her only protection for so long, just as I was yours.
The idea of you living without it is terrifying. ”
She put down the shears and began arranging the flowers into the two vases. “Was it difficult for her?”
“Not exactly. She didn’t care to be around the society groups, knowing what they were.
It drove them mad that she wouldn’t bend over backwards to fit in with them, that she wouldn’t attend their parties even if they invited her.
But it bothered me. It bothered me that I couldn’t make them treat her with respect. ”
“You did it for me.”
“Did I? You were correct in everything you said about me. I failed you and her. I was so certain of myself that I forgot who I was. Or rather the sinister side of what I am. I am a white member of the peerage, which meant that I could offer you more protection than anyone else. But it is precisely that which made me blind to what was so obvious to you and your Mr. Thornfield. I am ashamed of myself, Ellie.”
“Father,” she reached out and took his hand.
“I am so sorry that I didn’t do better protecting you and her memory.
I should have come with the papers proving your legitimacy and hers.
I should have known that they would assume the worst. I should have known that my father would do everything to protect his reputation.
I should have done better. I’m sorry that I made you think you couldn’t stay in your own home. ”
She nodded in acceptance, squeezing his hand before releasing it. “You are forgiven,”
“The idea of you being whisked away so quickly and to someone without that protection for you… I thought it was taking you away from me and my name just as your grandfather wanted. It felt like he was winning, and I couldn’t handle it.”
“Richard protects my heart.”
“I know. He’s a good man. A formidable man.”
It meant more than she could express to hear him admit it to her face. “Do you love Lady Tremaine?”
“No.” The answer was swift and uncompromising. “I could never love someone like her.”
“Do you at least like her?”
He shook his head. “Not particularly.”
“Why are you marrying her then?”
He gave her an impatient look over his spectacles and sighed. “I already explained this to you. I need to marry this year and she is the most eager candidate. She’s within a reasonable age range, she is the correct race and nationality to suit your grandfather’s terms.”
“I don’t want you giving up your happiness to give me something I don’t even need.”
“It is not just about you, darling. I have a duty to my staff and my tenants. The same duty your Mr. Thornfield has to his tenants and his workers. Your mother was my first love and my only love.”
“But that was years ago, Father,”
“It was, but most don’t even get that. I already had my happy ending. Now I need to make certain you have yours, and that those still under my protection are secure.”
It made sense, but she still didn’t approve of it. “I don’t like the idea of you being unhappy.”
He chuckled, but there was a weariness there. “How could I be unhappy with you in my life?”
“How could that be enough?”
“How could it not? You and that gentleman will give me grandchildren to dote upon; I will have a son, God willing. Worst case, I shall see about leaving things to your first born. That would really send the old man spinning in his grave.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re just as troublesome as I am.”
He laughed and shook his head. “As your mother used to say, ‘dogs don’t make cats’.”