Page 74 of Silver Tears

She nods her head, smiling as she continues studying me. “Come here, Grace, let me see you better?” She beckons me forward with her hand. I notice the large, expensive, ruby ring on her wedding finger.

I come up beside Seb and lean down. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Collings.”

“You can call me Mildred. After all, you are my daughter-in-law.” I nod and smile, humouring her. “Thank you. I will call you Mildred.”

She pats my cheek softly. “Thank you for loving my dear boy. He needed the love of a good woman.”

“Well, he’s been a good husband to me too,” I tell her, and this makes her smile widen. She’s beautiful even now in her eighties. I imagine when she was younger, she broke many hearts. I recognise Seb in her. He and Vee have her eyes.

She blinks and looks back at Seb again. “Ah, my grandsons here! Sebastian. Come, give your grandma a kiss.” She beckons him closer, and he kisses her cheeks again.

“Hi Grandma, have you missed me?”

She bats away his comment. “Of course I have. Where is Verity?” she asks, looking behind me for her.

“She couldn’t come today, Gran, but she asked me to tell you she’ll be here on Monday after school.”

This seems to appease her, and she smiles. “Who is this lovely young lady?” She asks him, looking at me. She’s completely forgotten that she met me just moments ago.

“This is Milly. Milly is my girlfriend.” He clears his throat and I glance at him, not missing that my relationship status has changed since the first introduction.

“Girlfriend? My sweet boy has finally caught a girl!” She claps her hands together in delight. “Oh, this is wonderful. It’s about time you let someone capture that big heart of yours, my darling boy.” She looks at him with such adoration and love, and it’s just the sweetest thing. “I can’t stay for long,” she tells us both. “Reginald will be home from the office soon and we always sit together for our evening meal.”

“That’s fine, grandma. How have you been?”

She ponders his question. “Busy. We’re decorating the house, you know? Reginald’s been away working in London.”

Seb nods, giving her his undivided attention. “He works hard, doesn’t he?”

Mildred nods her head, proudly. “He’s always worked hard for the family. The society wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for him and Edward.” Her attention turns back to me. “Oh my, the young lady has pink hair!”

Seb and I both laugh. “She does, grandma. Do you like it?”

She studies me. “It’s different.” She reaches out and grips Seb’s hand. “You need to convince your brother to marry the girl. Rupert’s stubborn, but he must make a good match.”

“Rupert’s already married, grandma. I’m your grandson.”

She looks confused. “Sebastian! Oh, it’s lovely to see you. Is Verity with you?”

He smiles warmly at her and distracts her, asking her what she’s having for tea. Mildred tells him she’s asked the chef to cook steak tonight. Reginald likes to have steak on Saturdays. He’s so good with her. He strokes her hand as he listens to her ramblings as she moves from the past to the present. It’s clear he adores her.

Mildred asks him to get the photo album out beside her, and she shows us the pictures inside. She smiles when she shows us a photo of a blond-haired boy sitting under a Christmas tree. “This is Sebastian. He’s my grandson. Do you know him?”

“We do,” Seb tells her. “And we know he loves you very much.”

She nods her head. “He’s a good boy.”

We spend the next ten minutes going through more of the photos. Her eyes light up when she talks about Reg, her husband. “I didn’t love him when we first married, you know,” she tells me, reaching for my hand. “I thought he was arrogant and selfish. When my daddy said I was to marry him, I tried to run away. But I adore him now. He is my world.” She kisses the photo of her deceased husband. “What time is it? Is it four yet? I’m sorry, but you’ll need to leave soon. He’ll be home from the office and want his dinner.”

“We’ll go now, grandma. You say hi to Reginald for us,” Seb tells her, placing the leather album back on her coffee table. He leans down and kisses her cheek.

“Such a nice young man. You remind me of my grandson. Grace, come and kiss me goodbye.” She beckons me over, holding her arms out to embrace me. “Look after Rupert for me.”

“I will, Mildred. You enjoy your meal with Reginald.” She pats my hand and tells me she’ll see me next week for the baby's christening. We leave her singing happily to herself and looking out the window.

* * *

We don’t speak until we both climb into the car. Seb taps at the steering wheel.

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