Page 99 of The Daughter of the House
‘Then I am glad you are going to bring attention to it, although I think it would be better for the family if you used a pseudonym.’
Evelyn smiled. ‘I have used a pseudonym, Mother, but I cannot promise that it will always be so.’ Evelyn felt this might just be the beginning of a long campaign to highlight the medicalisation and mistreatment of women who rebelled against society’s rules. However, she did not feel it was the right time to share her plans with her mother. Bridges were being made, but they were too fragile to support such news for the moment. Her mother, however, had other ideas.
‘For my part, I will not use him again and I intend to advise my acquaintances and friends to do the same. It won’t be long before he is treated as a pariah by the society he so craves. Let him be forced to take his methods elsewhere, although I believe you are right when you say that no one will receive him once word spreads.’ She offered Evie a shaky smile. ‘You see, I am trying to make amends.’
‘And what about Drake? Will he be welcome in Carrack House one day?’
‘I will work on your father and send word. Your father blames him for the breakup of your marriage, but I will do my best to persuade him otherwise. When he sees that Mawgan is content with the outcome and Nicholas is happy, he may relax his stance on the matter.’
Her mother tucked a stray curl behind Evelyn’s ear. It was a gentle gesture, given by a mother to her child. Evelyn suppressed a smile when her mother, realising what she had done, turned stiffly away to look at the view.
‘I think his opinion may relax a little sooner when he remembers that his future son-in-law has an expertise in horticulture. You know what your father is like about his gardens. They are a powerful bargaining tool. I have used them many times in the past.’
Evelyn raised her eyebrows at her mother. ‘You surprise me.’
‘Do I? Good. It has been a long time since I surprised anyone by my behaviour. Perhaps I should follow your lead and find the courage to do it a little more often.’
* * *
Evelyn looked up at the canopy of leaves above her head. The heavily laden branches swayed gently above her, dipping and rustling, as if they were waving her goodbye.
Her mother had turned back some moments before, leaving Evelyn to walk the remainder of the drive alone. Evelyn breathed in deeply and let it escape in a joyful sigh. She felt happy. Her mother’s candid confession bode well for a better relationship with her in the future and they had parted on good terms. The heavy burden of telling her parents of her plans was now lifted from her shoulders and lightened her steps. She felt like dancing, but instead reached up to her hair and began to removethe pins and combs that held it. She raked her fingers through her locks until they lay untidily about her shoulders and enjoyed the feeling of freedom it gave her. Soon the end of the drive was in sight where she could see Drake and Nicholas waiting patiently in a trap, their heads bowed as if in deep conversation. Nicholas was the first to see her. She waved back at him. They were her future and what a glorious future she was going to have.
* * *
‘Is that Mother?’ asked Nicholas.
Drake followed his son’s gaze. ‘Yes,’ he replied fondly when he saw Evelyn coming towards them.
‘What has she done to her hair?’
Evelyn had taken it down so her fair hair lay loosely about her shoulders. Her hair shone like liquid gold in the sunshine and lifted gently in the breeze behind her.
Drake smiled. ‘She has unpinned it.’
A slight crease formed on Nicholas’s brow. ‘What is she doing?’
Drake’s smile broadened. ‘She appears to be dancing.’
‘Why?’
Drake thought for a moment. She was a woman whose spirit had been caged, but now she felt free. Her heart had the power to love deeply, yet it was a love she had had to deny. She had endured so much. Drake understood. He had watched her grow behind her gilded cage. He had loved her for so long that he also felt the joy of being free to declare it. But how could one explain all this to a child who has yet to experience such a deep emotion? He watched Evelyn dancing along the drive and heard the joy in her laughter. Suddenly he knew how to answer him.
‘She is dancing, Nicholas, because she can.’
Drake stepped down from the trap and went to meet her. Her meandering, dancing steps were forgotten as she walkedinto his embrace. Her soft yielding body pressed against his as he kissed the top of her head and deeply inhaled the fragrance of rose water which drifted up to meet him.
He tilted her chin to see her face. There was a youthful sparkle in her eyes that confirmed that she had told her parents. It hinted at hope and excitement for the future and showed him the happiness filling her heart. He did not need to press her to know how her parents had reacted. It did not matter. She was going to live her life how she wanted to live it and her family’s opinion, or the strict rules that were placed on women by society, would not prevent her. He wondered if she saw the same sparkle in his eyes for he felt the same emotions as she — hope and excitement for their future and the feeling of pure joy from loving and being loved.
THE END
