Page 52 of Hearts of Briarwall

“Indeed.” Violet remained placidly observant. “How a person could associate one feeling with the other is unfathomable.”

Lydia narrowed her gaze at Violet, who barely hid a smile.

“This is no laughing matter, Vi. I am mortified.”

Violet sobered. “Forgive me. I’m trying to understand. What was this offer you made to him?”

Lydia stopped pacing, then sat back down next to Violet. She explained the bicycle ride, the picnic, Spencer’s proposal, and her offer. Then, with her hand back over her eyes, she shared the resulting fall and exchange that led to her leaving Spencer on the hill with nary a glance backward and fury coursing through her from head to toe. The retelling left her flushed and breathless again, and she stood again to pace out her frustration.

“Well,” Violet said, “obviously, you’re both in an uncomfortable spot. Perhaps Mr. Hayes needs some time to consider your offer.”

“Yes, and I need to discuss it with Andrew, but Violet, that does nothing to give me any courage to leave this room and play hostess tonight. How does one recover from such a foible? He is our guest, and despite my foolish assumptions of him, I still need to perform my duties and see that he is comfortable in our home. Yet all the while, I want to snort and paw at the ground, ready to charge at him. Perhaps that would knock some sense into the man.”

“It would knock something into him, to be sure.”

Lydia knelt at her friend’s knees and took her hands. “What do I do?”

Violet thought a moment, her lips pursed, her pale green eyes unfocused. “Have you changed your mind about your investment offer?”

“No. I believe his plan a brilliant and sensible one.” Lydia considered her reasons for her decision. “I want to be a part of it. I want to be part of the future of the motorcar industry. I don’t want to watch from the sidelines.” She frowned.

“Andrew remembers everything about our parents’ accident. About the brakes giving out down Box Hill, and the bluff at the turn. He wasn’t there, of course, but I believe he imagines it as if he had been. His pain remains sharp, and he is still unable to speak of it. My knowledge of the accident comes from questioning Warren and Mrs. Parks.

“Perhaps if Andrew had shared it with me when I was younger, I would feel more as he does. But while I feel the loss of my parents, the loss is disconnected to blame. Just as I wouldn’t blame the whole orchard for one bad apple, neither will I blame all of the motorcar industry for a faulty pair of brakes. Arnold Motorcarriage accepted their part in the accident and settled an appropriate amount for our loss. For a future without our parents. And who knows, but that my small part will go toward safer cars? A well-maintained car is a safer car.” She took a deep breath and blew it out with a nod. “Yes. That is precisely how I’ll approach Andrew with it. I want to invest in a future of safer cars.”

“That is perfectly noble of you. And Mr. Hayes?”

Her shoulders slumped again. “I have no idea.”

Violet took her hand and drew her gaze. “Howdoyou feel about him, Lydia? How would you have answered that question before this morning’s incident?”

Lydia lifted her brow. “I admire him. He is interesting. I had hoped we were becoming ... friends. I suppose that was exciting to me because none of Andrew’s other friends treat me as an equal.”

“And then this morning, Mr. Hayes made you feel less than that.”

“Yes.”

“How disappointing.”

Disappointed. Yes, that certainly described how Lydia had felt on the hill.

“I suppose we all disappoint people at times,” Violet said.

She shrugged. “I’m surprised Andrew doesn’t introduce me as ‘My little sister, Disappointment Wooding.’” She huffed a laugh.

Violet smiled compassionately. “I suppose it’s too much of a mouthful,” she said. “And not nearly as pretty.”

Lydia nodded, gazing outside once more.

Violet leaned back against the window. “Isn’t it a good thing we’re given chances to prove ourselves better?”

The truth stung, but as it settled into her soul, Lydia sensed a rekindled determination—something more familiar to her than this unnerving humiliation. She nodded. “I must give Mr. Hayes time and space. He’ll not forget my offer soon.”

Violet’s lips quirked. “Indeed, he won’t.”

“In the meantime, I’ll speak to Andrew. I don’t need his permission, but I see the wisdom in confiding in him. I found the courage to approach a veritable stranger with my idea. I can summon the courage to take it to my brother. Correct?”

“Correct.”

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