Cecilia bit her lip, her hand brushing absently against the curve of her waist as the thought settled over her.
What sort of weight does he carry?
Was he ill? Was it grief? Some burden she did not understand? She had been so wrapped in her own embarrassment that she hadn’t stopped to consider if he had been well at all. Perhaps she shouldn’t be avoiding him. Not entirely. At the very least, she ought to make certain he was alright.
No.
She halted the thought with a sharp inhale.
What nonsense. This was the same man who could barely look at her without some cryptic remark or some noble wall thrown up in between. Whatever trouble shadowed his gaze was none of her concern. They had an arrangement. Never to meddle. Never to concern themselves with the activities of the other.
She straightened her shoulders and pushed the door open, forcing her thoughts to quiet. He was likely just fine. He always was.
“But why does she only have one shoe?” Abigail asked, her small face scrunched in confusion as she nestled against Cecilia’s side.
Cecilia smiled. “Because she was poor, dearest. Very poor. But oftentimes, people with the least still manage to carry the most goodness in their hearts.”
Abigail's brow furrowed as she took in Cecilia’s words. “But if she was good, why didn’t anyone help her sooner?”
“A fair question, honestly,” Cecilia murmured, brushing a curl from Abigail’s forehead. “Sometimes the world does not reward goodness right away. But it always sees it, eventually, and whenit does, kindness tends to come back to you. That’s what this little book is trying to teach.”
“I still don’t understand why anyone didn’t give her another shoe, Cecilia. I would have given her another shoe,” Abigail asked, her small voice muffled against the sleeve of Cecilia’s nightdress.
Cecilia shook her head and giggled. “The shoes aren’t the most important aspect of the book, Abigail. Margery had to earn them,” she replied, glancing down at the open book between them. “Not because she wasn’t worthy before, but because life often makes us wait for good things.”
Abigail frowned, clearly unimpressed. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“No,” Cecilia said with a soft smile. “It isn’t always. But Margery didn’t stop being kind, even when things were unfair. She helped people, she worked hard, and she never let the unkindness of others change her.”
Abigail turned fully to look up at her. “Is that why she got two shoes in the end?”
“Yes, love. That’s why. When you show good behavior, there is always a reward. Goodness has a way of finding its way back to us…eventually.”
Cecilia smoothed the edge of the book. The rhythm of reading to Abigail had become oddly comforting, but tonight felt different.Abigail had listened so attentively, as though the story had spoken to something deep within her.
Cecilia found herself strangely moved.
It had been years since she had read the tale herself, and longer still since she’d believed in the promise that virtue would be rewarded simply because it deserved to be. But tonight, with Abigail tucked against her side, asking questions that seemed oddly mature for a six-year-old, she found she wanted to believe it again.
Perhaps goodness did return. Eventually.
Abigail had gone quiet again, her small fingers now playing with the edge of the bedsheet.
Cecilia watched her for a moment. “What are you thinking?” she asked.
Abigail looked up. “What if someone is good but people still don’t like them?”
A frown instantly knotted Cecilia’s eyebrow. She stopped to think, noting that the question felt a bit too difficult to answer. “Sometimes people speak unkindly because they don’t understand others the way they should be understood. But if someone is truly good, really good in their heart, that goodness has a way of shining through, no matter what others say.”
“But what if it doesn’t?” Abigail asked. “What if it just stays hidden?”
Cecilia hesitated, then leaned closer. “It still matters,” she said softly. “Even if no one claps or talks about it, or says 'thank you,' it still means something to be kind to people. I want you to be kind, Abigail, no matter what. Don’t let other people turn you into someone that you cannot be proud of. That’s why I wanted you to have this book that you learn that no matter what, you should be kind to yourself, and to other people. Because that is who you are. Are you kind, Abigail?”
Abigail giggled softly. “Yes.”
Cecilia arched a brow, pretending to study her face with deep suspicion. “Are you quite certain? Because I seem to remember a certain little girl pushing me into the bushes the very first day we met.”
Abigail let out a squeaky laugh and pulled the covers up to her nose. “I am sorry about that,” she mumbled. “That was because I didn’t like you yet. But I like you now.”
