Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
When she’s settled back on the patio with me, Renault lapping at his water, I ask Sylvie, “Did you do all of his training?”
She nods. “Esteban helped teach me, but yes… I’m the one who worked with him. He’s very good inside, so can he stay inside with us? Can he stay in my room?”
“Of course,” I reply, actually not having even considered that far. We’ve had dogs on the farm before but never one in the house as a pet. “Does that mean he will want to get on the furniture?”
Sylvie looks scandalized. “He only is allowed on my bed. Like your house, our chateau had very old, very expensive furniture, so he wasn’t permitted. He won’t be a bother.”
“I expect he won’t,” I say, my eyes drifting over to the dog who now has his chin resting on his front paws, eyes pinned to Sylvie in complete adoration.
“If the Mardraggons and the Blackburns hate each other, why did you and my mom have sex?”
I suck in air so hard I choke. Sylvie merely watches me with eyes that match mine. I cough and shake my head. “I’m not really sure you should—”
“Were you drunk?” she asks. “Because that’s the only reason I can understand.”
“Jesus,” I mutter in defeat, scraping my fingers through my hair. “Yeah… both of us were drunk.”
“My mother told me about you before she died.” Her tone is somber and I forget about the embarrassing sex question. “It was the last conversation we had before she… well, you know.”
Throat dry, I manage to ask, “What did she say?”
“That you were my father and that she wanted me to live with you. That the families hated each other but that she trusted you to raise me right. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know what any of this means because no one will tell me the truth of why everyone hates each other.”
The father in me doesn’t want to burden her with any of this, but I recognize the need for knowledge so she has some semblance of control. So, I tell her the story of Elizabeth Blackburn and Henry Mardraggon, of their ill-fated love and untimely deaths, and the blame that went along with it. I don’t dive deep into details but skim over the decades when the families continued to battle, each trying to ruin the other.
“In these modern times, there isn’t much the Blackburns could do to the Mardraggons and vice versa. Both families are too rich and powerful, so we just quietly hate and try to avoid each other.”
“Until you and my mom,” she says.
“Until me and your mom,” I agree. “You know I didn’t know about you, right? If I had, things would’ve been different.”
Sylvie nods. “I don’t think you would have let me stay in France with my mom.”
“Not true,” I rush to assure her. “I would have let you stay, but I would have visited you and had you come here to visit. But I want to be the best parent I can. I want to be as good as your mom was for you.”
She nods again, as if she expected nothing different from me. “Lionel and Rosemund would never tell me why I should hate you. Only that I should. They would say things like the Blackburns are liars and cheats and they will only try to use me and hurt me. I believed them too.”
“I expect you would since they were the closest thing to your mom you had,” I muse.
“Uncle Gabe never did, though. He just didn’t talk about you at all.”
Interesting. “They would like to spend time with you,” I tell her. Her eyes, locked on Renault, come to me. “They’ve each asked me individually, most recently your uncle Gabe. My first inclination was to say no because of the poison they were trying to feed you about my family. But you’re a smart girl and I trust you to make your own judgments, so if you want to see them, I’ll let you spend one night a week over there. Is that something you’d like?”
I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be but I’m not prepared for the long pause while she considers the option. Eventually, though, she nods. “I like spending time with Uncle Gabe. But they won’t let me bring Renault. Can you watch him when I go there?”
“Be glad to,” I reply easily, my gut churning slightly that I’ve just given my daughter permission to go into enemy territory. But I remind myself that she won’t fall prey to their poison because she’s seen things in a different light since being here. And she doesn’t seem to care all that much for Rosemund and Lionel. I might be a little jealous that she has a bond with Gabe, but I can’t deny her access to someone who was close to her mother.