Page 73 of Halstead House

“Please, Mother,” I pled, “let’s drop this and finish our work here. You and I can talk later when we’ve settled down.”

“There’s nothing to discuss. If you won’t come home, and Mr. Halstead has asked me to leave his home, what else is there to say?” She raised her chin a notch. “It hasn’t been easy spending my life protecting you from your stubborn and difficult ways, but now you’ll have to live with the consequences.”

“I’ve always done my best to please you,” I replied.

I was surprised to feel stung again. I should have been horrified past feeling. Yet instead of feeling the heat of anger, I felt so wooden in that moment that I may as well have grown roots out of my feet. I opened my mouth to say more, defend myself, but words were trapped. My hair tickled my chin and I almost laughed. I had a small glimpse into what Mother must be seeing. My short hair, my shorts and button-free shirt, my sandals, my nearly makeup free face. She thought that all she’d molded was coming undone. If I’d been in a more forgiving state I may have felt sorry for her. As things stood, though, I couldn’t.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” I managed at last.

“Then come with me! None of this is real life, Grace. None of it!” Mother’s voice raised a notch. “This is all an illusion. Our life in Providence, that’s real. My love for you, that’s real.”

Her words caused a conflicting swirl of emotion. I knew that she loved me, but her love was hard to bear and difficult to understand. It wasn’t the kind of love that bred trust and closeness. It was a suffocating, devastating love, and I couldn’t go back to that frigid place quite yet.

When I did nothing but blink a few times, Lucas gave my side a squeeze and stepped in. “Mrs. Burke, no one is saying you don’t love your daughter, or that you’re wrong to want to keep her safe. However, this conversation is going nowhere, and she is working right now. Perhaps you really should leave.” Lucas’s voice, no matter how firm and controlled, no matter how reasonable and polite his words, left nothing to the imagination as far as what he felt for Mother.

I turned agonized eyes to him as humiliation washed over me. How embarrassing to have this family meltdown in front of him. He had promised I wouldn’t have to face my mother alone, and I was torn between gratitude for him keeping his word and horror over the airing of our private business in front of someone I was coming to care about. Things had spiraled so far out of control that I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

“I just need a second to think,” I pleaded with them both.

Lucas’s nostrils flared as he sucked in a big breath, but he kept his mouth closed and gave a succinct nod. I pulled my lower lip under my teeth and looked back at Mother. I was completely unprepared for this situation. I had no idea what to say or how to deal with it.

“Well?” Mother said through a clenched jaw.

“I think you should leave the ballroom, but...” Before I could tell her I meant for her to return to my room and I’d meet her there to discuss things, she cut me off. Again.

“Are you truly going to send your own mother away?”

“No, but I might.” A new voice joined us from the doorway and we all swung around.

It was Eliza, and she looked like an avenging angel. Her eyes were alight with something I’d never seen as she walked over to our battling trio.

“Hello, Eliza.” Mother’s entire body language changed into polite warmth. It was an astonishing transformation.

“Lillian,” Eliza returned.

My heart rate slogged back to life. “You’ve met?” I blurted out. The two women nodded.

“Years ago,” Mother replied.

“Yes, it’s been quite a while,” Eliza agreed. She turned to Lucas and me, her eyes not missing the fact that his arm was wrapped around me. “I expected to come home to the happy house I left, but I see that’s not the case. Nonetheless, I’m so glad to see you both.”

She came to Lucas and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He released me as he hugged his aunt, and I felt the loss. Next she came to me with a brief kiss and hug as well. She said nothing, but the comfort flowed into me anyhow.

She stepped away from Lucas and me and turned to take all three of us in. “I’d ask what’s going on, but I think I heard enough from the doorway to guess. Lillian, it sounds to me like your daughter would like to stay on here for the rest of her sabbatical. Let me ease your mind by telling you we’d love to have her. Grace plays an important role here and has fit in seamlessly. You can take comfort in knowing you’ve raised a very capable, friendly, and kind daughter. She’s been my right hand these past months, and whenshedecides to return home she’ll be missed.”

“This trip was never discussed with me,” Mother couldn’t help but interject.

“As Grace is twenty-five, I never thought to ask if she’d received her mother’s permission,” Eliza responded. Lucas coughed, and for the first time in a few days I felt like smiling myself.

Mother’s eyes narrowed. “I believe this is something Grace and I should discuss in private.”

Lucas’s demeanor went back to cold and commanding. “You expect us to just let you take her off somewhere to... “

Before he could say any more, I tugged on his arm. “Lucas, you have to let me handle this,” I said softly.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me a few steps away. “She’s... well... she’s the worst and I don’t want you to have to be alone with her,” he replied with an intensity I’d never experienced from him before.

He was bossy, flustered, and stubborn, and he made my head feel like it was disconnecting from my body. I was seriously twitterpated with Lucas Halstead. The thought caused a corner of my mouth to tug up.

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