Page 51 of Legacy of Thorns
Lorne shook his head. “Far from it. We can make choices about how we react to the influences in our life. And sometimes we can do things to change those influences. But sometimes we can’t control them—and then our choice is to accept that reality or not. In those cases, we can only wield our influence upon ourselves. You cannot escape pressure, Daphne, but you can choose whether or not it turns you into a diamond.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “If I was a diamond, would I pretend to fall asleep to avoid awkward situations?”
“Oh, but that’s the very best time to fall asleep!” Lorne winked at her. “I would know.”
Daphne’s laugh grew more natural. “Does it work for you, too?”
“Quite disrupts the flow of conversation,” he assured her. “And see! You’re already finding ways to use those naps to your advantage. The napping is just another part of who you are, Daphne. And maybe one day the naps will stop—if you dislike them so much, I hope they do—but the effects of bearing them all these years will linger. They are a part of you now—for good or ill—and your history with them will always be a part of whoyou are, even as you become a new Daphne. We’re all of us constantly growing and changing. Or we should be. The other option is to calcify, and I’ve never seen the fun in that.”
Daphne smiled at him. “No one could accuse you of standing still.”
He smiled back but fell silent, giving her space to sit with his words. She let them sink deep into her mind. Hadn’t she told Finley something similar? Hadn’t she told him that even though his father had wronged him, he had still helped shape who Fin became? If she would never say to Finley that his true self could only be uncovered if he’d never known his father, why was she saying the same thing to herself? But could she accept that her naps weren’t obscuring her true self but rather were part of her, as difficult as they were?
She and Fin had promised each other that they would try to see their pasts differently, and she had to at least try. She drew a deep breath, her shoulders straightening and her face relaxing.
“Thank you, Lorne. I should probably have worked that out for myself, but maybe I needed to hear it from someone who had walked the path before me.”
“It usually helps, child.” He glanced at where Fin still kept watch. “But now, I think we must both tell the other what brings us here, and perhaps we will each know more than we do now.”
“You should start,” Daphne said, “because I think my story will be longer. How is your son? Is he recovered?”
“He is back to full strength, I’m happy to say.”
“What a relief that must be for you!” She beamed at him.
“In fact, he has been out of danger since the early days after the accident, which is why I sent for my housekeeper to relieve me in the nursing duties. You can imagine my dismay when she told me about meeting you on my doorstep and abandoning you there! I returned to Ethelson immediately to find you and waseven more dismayed to find no trace of you at all. I’ve been searching for you ever since.”
“You’ve been searching for me all these weeks? On your own?” Daphne’s heart sank. Despite his love for travel, Lorne was growing too old to be jolting all over the kingdom looking for her.
“Not on my own, no.” His eyes twinkled. “Some dear friends have been assisting me. But I couldn’t do nothing. How could I write to your parents and tell them I lost my goddaughter?”
Daphne relaxed a little, relieved to hear he hadn’t been alone.
“I stopped in to see Lord Castlerey,” he added, “who is an old acquaintance. And since he was soon to host a ball, he suggested I stay a little longer than planned. And then I turn around and here you are.”
“Here I am,” Daphne murmured, shaking her head as she thought of what had brought her there. “Compared to your story, my tale may be a little hard to believe. But I swear it’s all true.” She proceeded to tell him everything that had happened since she had broken into his house and found Finley there.
When she finished, Lorne turned for another look at Fin. When he turned back, his eyes were twinkling.
“I’m extremely fond of all my grandchildren,” he said, “but I’m afraid none of them have such rakish good looks.”
Daphne blushed. “If only I’d known that at the start of the spring.”
“Or perhaps,” Lorne murmured, “it’s a good thing you didn’t know.”
“Yes,” Daphne whispered back, her eyes on Fin’s profile. “Perhaps it is.”
Chapter 17
Finley
Lorne stood and raised his voice. “Young man!”
Finley swung around, fighting down a flash of fear as he settled into his familiar, charming smile. He offered his hand to Lorne who shook it warmly.
“I understand you’re Finley. And I believe you might have something of mine.”
Finley’s eyes widened, and he glanced at Daphne. So Lorne had told her then? She knew Finley had stolen from her old friend?
