Lady Fleur sighed as she watched her daughter sleep. She’d sat by her daughter’s side as she napped. Selena had been sleeping on and off since Gerald had rescued her. It would take a few days for her to regain her strength, and until then, Fleur would be by her side.
“I should have taken better care of you,” she whispered, smoothing back Selena’s hair. “I should have known that he was an imposter from the beginning and had Ben go for help.”
“Maman?” Selena’s eyelids fluttered open.
“My darling girl. How are you feeling?”
“Better. It’s good to be home.”
“It’s good to have you home.”
“Maman, please don’t blame yourself.”
“You heard what I said? I thought you were still asleep.”
“Yes, I was just waking up and heard you. None of this was your fault. How were you to know? How were any of us to know that Vern was an imposter. But it’s over now and we can get on with our lives.”
“You are such a brave young woman,” her mother said, blinking back tears. “I’m so proud of you. So very proud.”
“OhMaman,I’m proud of you too. He tried to poison you and you survived. If it wasn’t for you insisting that I escape, I still might have stayed there. I guess we proved to ourselves how strong we truly are.”
“Now we’re both cryingmachérie,” she said, reaching for a handkerchief and gently wiping her daughter’s tears.
Selena shared with her everything that had happened from the moment she was in the stables to when Gerald and the others rescued her.
“I don’t remember much after that. I think I slept the entire way home.”
“Are you happy here, my darling? Are you happy to be with Gerald?”
“Oh,Maman, I love him so much. I can’t wait to marry him.”
“Good. That fills my heart with joy. I can see how much Gerald adores you too.”
Selena blushed as she beamed at her mother. “He’s everything that I hoped he’d be and more.”
“I’m so happy for you,chérie.”
“Thank you,Maman. Thank you for being such a wonderful mother to me.”
“It has been the greatest joy and privilege of my life, my dear daughter.”
They reminisced for a while sharing happy memories from Selena’s childhood when Phillip was alive and still a strong and vibrant man. Such happy memories.”
“Your papa loved you so much,chérie,”she said, caressing her daughter’s cheek.
“I knowMaman. I loved him too.”
“I remember when you were a little girl, you used to look at him like he’d hung the moon and stars.”
“He did,” she whispered. “For me, he did. He always will.”
“My darling, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Once you are feeling stronger, and once we have settled Paul and Kat into their new routine here, I’d like to go back to Rose Point to help Percival put the estate back in order. He expressly invited me to help. He said he doesn’t know the first thing about managing an estate and has asked for my assistance.” Fleur had felt pulled in several directions—should she live here or in London or move back to Rose Point. But Rose Point was her home, and with Selena now safe and in the care of her fiancé, she felt compelled to see to her own circumstances. Of all their properties, Rose Point had always been the onenearest and dearest to her heart. It was the place she and Phillip had claimed as their home. And it was where Selena had been born and raised. “How do you feel about that?”
“I want you to live with us, of course, but I know you will be able to help Cousin Percival, although from what I know of him thus far, I’m certain it would not take long for him to learn all that he needs to know. Then you can come back here and live with us.”
