Page 22 of The Pureblood Daughter
The spilled ink seeps into the floorboards, spreading like pigment in an oil. The glass, now shattered, winks in the moonlight streaming through the window.
Still trembling, Adelina looks upon the mess she’s made with tears welling in her eyes.
“What have I—”
Footsteps sound in the hall outside her door, and Adelina scrambles to slip the viscount’s letter into the top drawer of her desk. She’s just closed the drawer when her door creaks open and her mother appears in the doorway, her brow creased with worry.
“Adelina?” she whispers.
“I’m sorry, Mama.” Adelina turns away from her, clutching her defiant hands to her chest. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Lady Gray slips into the moonlit room and lets out a barely audible gasp when she comes around the side of the bed. “Oh, dear.”
Her surprise brings tears to Adelina’s eyes, and they glide unbidden down her cheeks.
“Why am I like this?” Adelina whispers, holding her trembling hands up for her mother to see. “I detest it.”
She begins to weep, and Lady Gray is quick to wrap her in an embrace. She rocks gently, the way she did when Adelina was a girl, shushing her in hushed tones.
Adelina allows herself to be held, cherishes the warmth of her mother’s embrace. Tears continue down her cheeks, soaking Lady Gray’s night shawl, and Adelina holds a hand up to the silver light.
“Why, Mama?” she whispers.
Lady Gray takes Adelina’s hand in both of hers and sinks onto the bed. She draws Adelina’s hand to her lips and kisses her knuckles tenderly.
“I don’t know, dearest,” she whispers, her voice at once strong and broken. “But you shan’t detest anything about yourself.” She grips Adelina’s hand firmly and presses it against her cheek. “You are perfect just the way you are.”
“I’m no—”
“Youare,” Lady Gray says firmly, brown eyes narrowing in the low light. Her golden hair hangs in a loose plait, and tendrils frame her cheekbones. “You are everything I could ever have wished for in a daughter. You’re brilliant, Adelina. You’re kind, and beautiful, andloved.” She kisses Adelina’s knuckles again. “Please don’t say such things. You were the answer to our prayers, my dear. And to see you so upset...” Lady Gray draws a shuddering breath. “It breaks my heart.”
Her mother’s words are a balm to the pain and anger sweeping through her, and she wraps her arms around Lady Gray’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” Adelina whispers as her mother’s warm tears fall into her hair. “I didn’t mean to burden you.”
Lady Gray laughs and wraps her arms more firmly about Adelina. “A child’s pain is a mother’s pain. You’ll know this one day.”
Her words, spoken with such assurance, lift Adelina’s spirits, and she pulls away, wiping her tears before they can drip off her chin.
“The maids will clean this tomorrow,” Lady Gray says, glancing down at the ink spilled on the floor. “Don’t worry yourself. Come now, to bed with you.”
Adelina allows her mother to tuck her in as if she were a child, cherishing the kiss Lady Gray presses to her temple.
“Good night, dearest,” Lady Gray whispers before moving toward the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
The door clicks closed gently, and Adelina sighs into her pillows. It’s only then she notices Celeste’s feathers on her desk, limned in silver moonlight, the only reminder she was ever there at all.
Chapter Ten
“Miss Gray!”
The voice rouses Adelina from her slumber, and she blinks awake slowly.
Golden sunlight fills the room, and the draperies billow in a muggy breeze. Her gaze goes to the desk under the window, but Celeste’s feathers are no longer there. Did the draft carry them away?
“I really mustinsistyou rise now. I’ve come in here three times, miss.” Rose looms over her, a stern crease in her brow and a flush upon her cheeks.
“What time is it?” Adelina asks groggily, then covers her mouth as she yawns.
