Page 67 of A Damsel for the Wounded Earl
“She said that she was sorry,” Felicity said, slowly. “That they were wrong to put me in the situation I was in, but that of course it’s too late to change it all. She hopes that I won’t forget them, that I’ll think kindly of them.”
He nodded. “I thought she might say that. And how do you feel?”
“I know I should forgive them.”
“That’s not what I asked. How do youfeel?”
Felicity was silent for a long moment. She slipped her arm around Arthur’s neck, fingers weaving through his dishevelled hair in a slow, soothing rhythm.
“I think that when – if – we have children,” she said, thoughtfully, “I’ll be a very different kind of mother. But in the meantime, I think that I want to forgive them. Mama, especially, acted badly towards me. She hurt me, and my life could have ended very, very differently. But she truly believed that it was the best thing to do. So, I have another choice before. I can hold onto bitterness, hold a grudge, and leave them behind. But I don’t… I don’t think that will make me happy. Truly, I don’t.”
“I agree,” Arthur said, after a moment of silence. “But it’s your decision, Felicity. You’re my wife. My partner, not my property.”
She leaned down and kissed him. “I love you, Arthur Langley.”
The End
