Page 61 of Fortress of Snow

“Answer Sir Berenger,” Lady Bristow said. “He asked you a question.”

“No, sir.” The child cast her eyes down again.

“She is not allowed to go to the sea without my permission,” Lady Bristow said. “I don’t want anything to happen to her, and the sea is dangerous.”

“Then we shall go together tomorrow, if the weather is fine.” He couldn’t help feeling pity for the child. He’d seen beggar children who looked happier than she did.

“An outing to the sea.” Lady Bristow’s lips smiled, but there was something about her tone that made him wonder if she was sincere.

“I hope that is agreeable to you, Lady Bristow.”

“Of course. I always enjoy outings to the sea.” She turned to Juliana. “Say thank you to Sir Berenger for inviting you on an outing.”

The girl’s head sank lower. “Thank you” was her whispered reply.

“She is very shy, but I am sure all will be well.” Lady Bristow smiled cheerfully at Berenger.

Was something wrong with the child? He didn’t want to think ill of Lady Bristow, but he needed to entertain the possibility that she was unkind to Juliana. The poor child seemed very sad. He must pay attention to how Lady Bristow treated her. He could not marry a woman who did not love children. What kind of mother would she be?

During the meal, Lady Bristow did not criticize the food or the servants, but chattered in a cheerful way. She asked Juliana a few questions to try to draw her out, but she replied in the fewest words possible. Berenger had a little more success.

“Do you like to draw or paint?” he asked her.

Juliana nodded. She glanced up at him much more often than she looked at Lady Bristow.

“What are your favorite things to draw?”

“Flowers and trees,” the child said.

“You must have a favorite color.”

She did not answer, just held his gaze.

“What is your favorite color?”

“Red and violet and blue.”

“Oh, those are good colors.”

“And yellow.”

“I like yellow, too, especially the yellow sunlight in the sky.”

She stared at him, not responding, but she had lost the half-defiant, half-frightened look.

“I rather like a good storm,” Lady Bristow said. “A stormy sea, the fomenting waves. It’s quite a sight to behold, especially when the sky is dark.”

The child tucked her chin to her chest, looking down again.

Lady Bristow frowned and shook her head.

After the nurse came to get the child and take her to bed, Lady Bristow said, “You see how she behaves toward me. She refuses to talk to me. I cannot imagine why. She spoils her best dresses because she knows it displeases me. You do not know how I have suffered with the child screaming at me, out of anger and frustration that her own mother and father are dead. I am the one who has taken her in to feed and clothe her, and yet for that very reason, I think she despises me.” Lady Bristow sighed.

“That does sound very difficult. How did her parents die?”

She waved her hand and stared down at her food, picking off a bit of meat and putting it in her mouth. When she had swallowed, she said, “They caught a sickness and died within a week of each other. Very sad.” That was indeed very sad. What if marrying Lady Bristow was God’s plan to help this little girl?

He found himself looking forward to the next day’s trip to the sea with Juliana and Lady Bristow.