Duncan didn’t understand exactly what was going on, but he so rarely did that he wasn’t actually bothered by it anymore. What bothered him the most was that Emilia had left without saying anything to anyone past the servants who had helped her get ready and he had no idea when she’d be back. Normally when she went to Avalon City she’d take a few, if not all, of them with her and give him the warning of perhaps an hour before she left. This time he’d been awoken by a servant and by the time he’d rolled out of bed he’d only been in time to catch the back of her cloak as she rode through the gate leading out of Tretal Castle. When he’d asked if there was a reason he was shown a crumpled letter. It would seem that Emily Kavanagh, Emilia’s mother, had been caught in bed with someone other than her husband. A very specific someone. A redhead that Duncan knew, albeit in passing, to be Gia Ridell. A woman. He hadn’t known that was possible and he couldn’t imagine what Emilia was feeling to just leave like that. Thinking too much about it wouldn’t help and so he was glad that after a morning in the yards he’d been invited to have lunch with his mother and sister. Lunch with Tatum was something that could either be pleasant or a misery depending on the woman’s mood. If she’d heard about this little scandal in Avalon City and Emilia’s subsequent departure then Duncan would’ve put all the gold to his name that it’d be closer to a misery.
Alexander and Marten had been left out in the yards, always eager to continue their work, while Rose and Emlan were likely curled up in front of a fireplace somewhere reading stories. Emlan always liked his stories and ever since his aunt had become the Mouth of the Creator he’d been more eager for the stories of religion. Duncan still thought it’d be right to send him to the clergy, but Emilia wouldn’t hear talk of it. He was only six and too young, though if he remember right then her own sisters had been sent to the Church when they were far younger. The only child he didn’t know even the approximate location of was Lily, but that wasn’t new. She’d -- “Father!” Speaking of the girl, she’d just come running out of a door. There was dirt on her face and her feet were bare, but she was grinning with a handful of flowers dangling at her side. “Can I come? I picked some flowers for grandmother.”
Out of all of his children the one who Duncan least liked to take with him to his mother was actually Lily. It wasn’t because there was anything wrong with her or because he loved her less than the others. No, it was something completely beyond the girl’s control. Lily was a miniaturized version of her mother and Duncan knew, oh did he know, how much his mother didn’t like his wife. Had never liked her. Seeing as how all of his children, except Marten, had inherited very obvious traits from their mother it meant that having them with her was a reminder of the woman she didn’t like. But how could he tell that face no? “Okay, you can come give your flowers to your grandmother, but use your quiet voice.” Lily just grinned and nodded, skipping ahead of him to the room that they always used. It seemed that Nysa had already arrived, and next to her was her youngest, Owen. “Good afternoon, mother,” Duncan said, moving to kiss his mother on the cheek before moving to allow Lily to offer her the flowers she had picked, turning to nod at Nysa and Owen before he took a seat. “Nysa, Owen, good to see you today.”
"Why has he been crying?" Tatum's tone was sharp, almost accusatory as she posed the question to her daughter. Of the many things that came out of her mother's mouth, Nysa was not happy about the manner in which she addressed her youngest. Owen was a delicate child who happened to take interest in nothing that dealt with brute force. She saw nothing wrong with the fact that he preferred to play with his sister and his female cousins -- it was just a phase he would grow out of, right? -- but it seemed to bother Tatum that he was not out in the yards with Marten and Alexander; it was bad enough that Donagh couldn't be bothered half the time.
"He had a fight with Breena." Nysa said gently, lovingly stroking the blonde hair out of Owen's face. He needed a haircut; she shouldn't let him keep it so long, at least that was what Tatum had told her.
"She said I was an idiot who didn't know how to braid and she wouldn't ever let me touch her hair again." Owen rubbed his eyes, though there were no more tears falling from them. His voice had a whining tone that told her that more than anything all he wanted was to be hugged and told that none of those things were true.
"I told you she did not mean it darling." Nysa turned her loving gaze from her son to her mother, giving the older woman an apologetic glance. She hoped it would be enough to keep Tatum from starting in on Owen. The last thing the boy needed was a speech from his grandmother about how he should be tough like his cousins, like his uncle. Nysa loved her mother, she really did, but that didn't make spending a lot of time with her easy. Making her mother happy ranked at the top of her concerns, but it was difficult to keep a smile when Tatum spoke so harshly about her son -- or Emilia. It was almost all her mother ever spoke about; for a woman who claimed to hate the brunette so much, she certainly was painfully aware of her behavior. Nysa imagined it couldn't have been much easier for Duncan -- Emilia was his wife after all.
And today Tatum had plenty to rant about. Nysa had seen Emilia briefly this morning. She had been on her way out to travel back to Avalon City, but had stopped long enough to tell her that she would be leaving. There was no telling when she would be back, but Nysa trusted that Emilia would return once all was settled. She always came back; Nysa counted on it. She was worried for her friend, however. It was hard enough to hear word that your mother had had an affair, but with a woman no less. Not that Nysa judged. The idea of that the wife of the High Priest had a relationship with another women intrigued her. There are others that have these feelings. To hear Tatum tell the story, it only explained Emilia -- if the mother was capable of such disgrace, the daughter couldn't be that far off. Her mother was just about to open her mouth again when Duncan entered the room with Lily trailing close behind. Nysa instantly felt her mood lift. "And you Duncan. Owen, say good day to your uncle and cousin."
"Good day, Uncle Duncan." The boy had a powerful pout that caused Nysa to chuckle only slightly; now the boy was just begging for sympathy. "Lily." It wasn't a rude greeting, Owen just didn't think he needed to offer any kind of formal greeting to his cousin.
"How has your day been brother?" Nysa intentionally spoke up before her mother; she was anxious to discus anything that wouldn't make her feel horrible.
For her credit, and Duncan always tried his best to try and find something to his mother’s credit when they had these little meals, Tatum smiled at Lily when the girl presented her bouquet of flowers and even motioned for a servant to fetch a vase of water to put them in. “It’s always good to get something from the gardens.” Lily didn’t see anything wrong with that statement and turned to wave at her cousin before all-but bouncing over to give her aunt a hug before stealing the chair next to her, feet swinging above the floor as she settled in. Duncan focused on that instead of the slightest edge that had colored his mother’s words. The gardens were Emilia’s place, well Emilia’s and Nysa’s. But whether or not his sister was included didn’t change the fact that Duncan himself most definitely wasn’t. Tatum didn’t see why the man of the castle shouldn’t go wherever he pleased whenever he pleased and had made that fact very known. “Aunt Nysa, will you come outside with me later? Mother was going to help me trim the rosebush we planted last year, but she’s gone and Rose is busy with Emlan. I’m not allowed to have the shears by myself.” Thank the Creator. Then, still before Duncan could answer Nysa’s question, Lily’s attention went to her cousin. “What’s wrong with you? Did Marten hit you on the head again? He’s a bully.”
“He’s a very exuberant boy,” Tatum corrected with a fond smile. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“No, I meant that he’s-”
“It’s a good day, Nysa,” Duncan interrupted his daughter because he’d seen the way his mother’s smile faded. Being corrected by a seven-year-old who looked exactly like the woman she despised regarding the grandson who fit all of her desired characteristics perfectly wasn’t the best of ideas. “I spent the morning in the yards with Alexander and Marten and now I’m here. Though I must admit that I’m worried about the state of Emilia’s family with this recent upset and I wish she wouldn’t have gone alone. If it’s as stressful as it sounds she may well have a fit.” What he didn’t know was that Emilia hadn’t ever had a single fit outside of Mistryl.
“And I’d thought that the Lady Kavanagh was such a proper, good example of what a lady should be.” Tatum gave a heavy sigh, as though she’d been personally offended, and sipped at her tea. “One cannot be surprised that such a woman raised Emilia.”
Duncan hadn’t ever been good at defending people, thinking it better to just sit back and let it go. He’d brought the wrong child for that. She may have only been seven, but Lily didn’t know how to keep quiet even when she should. “Are you talking about grandma Emily?” Lily’s brows knit in confusion and she turned her head to look up at Nysa, then her father and back to Tatum. A moment longer and she brightened. “It does make sense, grandma Emily is very nice.”
Nysa adored each one of her nephews and nieces as much as her own children, but there was something about Lily that always amused her. It could have been the fact that she was incredibly precocious, or the fact that she looked so much like her mother. The girl always spoke her mind, with little regard for the consequences; it was a trait that Tatum, however, did not appreciate. When she was younger, the garden never felt like a taboo subject. Of course then she did not share it with a woman that her mother had no care for. When she could help it, Nysa never brought the garden or Emilia in to conversation, but with Lily there, it was hard to avoid either topic. "Of course darling. We shall go out aft--"
"No! It was Breena. She's worse than Marten." Owen blurted out the words before Nysa could finish her sentence. She had been trying to quickly move attention away from both Lily and Owen, while at the same time conversing on anything that wouldn't have caused something spiteful to cross her mother's lips, but the children were making it much difficult than it would have been on it's own.
"Owen, that's enough. Don't speak of your sister that way." Nysa's tone could be stern when she needed it to be, but never did it match the natural cadence with which her mother spoke. Despite the seriousness in her eyes when she looked at her son, she could see that even as she was speaking, his mouth was about to open again for another comment. Thankfully, Duncan's pointed statement toward her was much more successful than anything Nysa could have said. She was well aware that he struggled to keep Tatum's words at bay as well. She offered her brother a knowing and comforting smile. Just as she was worried for Emilia, so was he -- she was his wife after all. "I agree, but I am sure that her family will care for her should anything happen." Not like I could. Nysa chastised herself the second the thought came to mind. It was not her place to be the only one who could calm Emilia during a fit, but it certainly felt that way.
It was years of practice that silenced Nysa's tongue. Neither was it her place to defend Emilia, or her mother; that responsibility lay on Duncan's shoulders and she knew that he would never stand up against Tatum any sooner than she would herself. Even if Nysa condemned Emilia's mother for her actions, she would have never judged a daughter for the actions of the mother; where would that leave her when compared to Tatum. A small part of her was happy when Lily piped up, despite the larger part that wished she would have remained silent like her father. "You are right sweetheart, your grandmother Emily isvery nice and so is your mother."
Nysa turned her attention to her mother; Lily's comments had given her a moments worth of nerve to speak up. "Mother, there is nothing wrong with the way Emilia was raised." She lowered her voice, hoping that the children would no longer be paying attention. "You know she can not help the fits she has."
"Grandmother Tatum is my only grandmother and she is nice!" Owen smiled proudly over to Lily and then to Tatum, though the expression on the face of the later caused his enthusiasm to fade ever so slightly.
"The fits are questionable at best. It is her behavior when she is not locked away in her room that concerns me, Nysa. The apple does not fall far from the tree. Is that not the saying? Why else would people say it if it were not true." Nysa hated when her mother said her name like that. In one word Tatum could validate her point as fact with no question to the contrary. And then in a way that was all to common, her mother turned her head to the young Anders. "And thank you Owen, that was very kind of you to say." It was this flip between harsh and pleasant that had been so confusing to Nysa as a child. She sent a begging glance over to Duncan, hoping that he would have something to say that would save them once again.
Lily made a bit of a face at Owen when he interrupted her aunt, and then shrugged. “I don’t think Breena’s worse than Marten. She doesn’t pull my hair and tease me for being a girl.” Marten did. Marten seemed to think that his sisters weren’t as good as his brothers, and that opinion seemed to carry over to Owen on occasion because he never played with him and Alexander, and sometimes he looked oddly at Donagh. Duncan couldn’t say anything because he knew that if he’d grown up with male cousins who never wanted to train in the yards then he’d have been every bit as confused as his son was. Lily shifted slightly and ducked her head down, thinking that’d save her from the sight of the adults, to mouth at Owen, ‘But Breena is a brat sometimes.’ Duncan didn’t see, and if he had then he wouldn’t have known what to say. He was more than glad to listen to what Nysa said and try to respond to that instead. His sister’s words were always nicer than their mother’s.
“I’m not sure they’ve ever dealt with her during a fit.” Duncan couldn’t remember it being mentioned. Not by Emilia, nor her family the little he saw of them, and not by the children. He could’ve just forgotten about it, true, but he didn’t think that he had. He tried to remember things that dealt with Emilia. “You’ve always been the only one she lets in.” A fond smile. Duncan was grateful for that. Yet another reason to be glad that Nysa had accepted his invitation to return to Tretal when her husband passed.
Brightening when Nysa agreed with her, Lily’s smile lasted a moment before confusion took over. “You haven’t met grandma Emily, have you? You’ve never come with us to Avalon City. You should! You’d like her and aunt Gia and grandfather.” Though Lily sometimes thought that Neil was a little too stiff, but she wouldn’t say that. Her mother didn’t like it when she did. “I like having two grandmother’s, they can both be nice.”
Duncan squeezed his eyes shut and just hoped that his mother wouldn’t latch onto the mention of Emily and Gia. Because, truth be told, if there was anyone that Emily’d been caught with then it’d have to be Gia. The two practically went together and anyone who knew just one of them knew that. Duncan knew that and he wasn’t close to either of them; but Emilia was. She had very rarely mentioned one without the other coming up as well. ‘The apple does not fall far from the tree.’ What was that supposed to mean? Duncan very rarely got a look on his face that could be called hard, but it was there now when he looked at his mother. “Mother, please watch what you say about my wife. If Emilia were like her mother in this then do you not think that we would know? Her hysteria is not the same.” Duncan didn’t understand it, he couldn’t claim to even grasp it, but he didn’t think that it was the same as what had happened with Emily. “Though speaking of apples, I think that we’ll have a good crop this year.
Tatum kept a tight expression on her face as she looked at her son. “I am sure that is what the High Priest thought.” She really would say anything about Emilia so long as it painted her in a negative light. Duncan wished to know what exactly she’d done to Tatum to bring about such a focused dislike. No one else in the family shared it. “I should like it if we had enough apples soon for the servants to make a pie. It is my favorite.” Anything to keep you happy, mother.
Nysa's eyes caught sight of the mouthed words, despite Lily's best efforts to keep them hidden. The comment amused her more than anything. She loved her daughter, truly, but Lily was not so far off in her statement. For his own part, Owen seemed to be happy enough with Lily's assessment. He didn't disagree that Marten was a bully. It was that fact that often kept him out of the yard and away from his cousin. He would take the hurtful things Breena had to say any day if it meant not getting made fun of or pushed around the way Marten liked to do.
When it came to Emilia's fits -- oh, how she hated that phrase -- Nysa was completely in the dark, aside from what Duncan told her. The two women never spoke of them once they had passed. Emilia did not wish to dwell on them, nor did Nysa have the heart to bring them up and cause the other woman to become upset again. She knew nothing about their frequency before she arrived at Tretal, nor if they had existed before Emilia was married to Duncan. She returned her brother's smile, indulging herself once again in the fact that she was the only one that seemed to be able to help Emilia through one of her bad days. "Even if they have not, I am confident that they would know what to do. They have known her for longer than you or I." That fact bothered Nysa more than she cared to admit. Knowing Emilia longer suggested that they knew her better, and she liked to think that she knew Emilia better than anyone else in the Realm. Quieting the thoughts that she should not have had in the first place, Nysa reached out to her brother, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "Emilia will make it through this, I am sure, but if it makes you feel any better, you are not alone in your worry."
Nysa knew very little to nothing about Emilia's family. She knew their names and their relation to her, but beyond that, Emilia spoke of them in instances few and far between. Nysa knew that Emilia missed Avalon City and, even despite their friendship, that she would rather have lived there instead of Tretal; she had always assumed that speaking of her family made her homesick and so she never pressed Emilia to say more than she was willing. It was also for this reason that Nysa had never insisted on joining Emilia for her trips to visit her parents. That time was meant for family and she would never take that away from Emilia. "You are right, I have not, Lily. I would so much like to meet them. Perhaps one day I will join you and your mother." Her words were a bit distracted as her attention was stolen by the reaction of her brother. Was it something Lily had said? She ran the girl's words back in her mind. Lily had only mentioned her meeting Emily and Gia and -- oh. Suddenly the upset over the affair (with a woman) made a little more sense to Nysa than it had before.
She was glad that Duncan had managed to find the words to defend Emilia. Just from looking at him, she could see that their mother's words struck a nerve. He cared for Emilia, loved her, and to hear Tatum speak that way upset him. Unfortunately, Nysa could not allow her face to display the same emotions. Duncan was right; Emilia was not like her mother and if anyone would know that, it would be her husband. But why did that bother her so much? Her mind suddenly entertained a world in which Emilia was like her mother and that she might be able to love -- no, no,no. Nysa would not allow her thoughts to go any further.
Nysa couldn't help but chuckle at her brother's comment about apples. Whether he intended to be clever or not, she couldn't say for certain, but Nysa would always give Duncan the benefit of the doubt. Tatum on the other hand did not seem to be so amused at her son's statement; in fact her mother seemed to be lost in her own metaphor. What was this about pie all of a sudden? Nysa wondered if her brother noticed the way their mother would sometimes slip out of a conversation to talk about something completely unrelated, that sometimes she seemed lost in her own home, or, worse of them all, would sometimes forget that their father had passed. They were brief moments and certainly never things that Tatum acknowledged, if she even remembered them. It was always times like these when Nysa forgot what her mother had said to make her upset and felt instant sympathy for her; of course, it was harder to manage with those things she said centered around Emilia.
"Why are we talking about pies? I thought we were talking about Aunt Emilia. Does she like pies?" Nysa took a deep sigh as she looked over to Owen, who had suddenly decided to chime in. Children; they were rather good at bringing up up topics that should be left unmentioned.
Now if Duncan and Nysa were to actually discuss it instead of skirting around the topic as seemed the right thing to do, then it’d probably come to light that out of the two of them it was Nysa who knew more of the fits. Duncan hadn’t ever been allowed to comfort Emilia during one, she threw things at his head if he tried to enter her room, and whenever she started in his presence she was either quick to leave or get him gone. And really? He didn’t want to think about it. Neil Kavanagh hadn’t ever said that his daughter had fits and he’d described her very well. If he thought about it, if he was capable of putting those many things together to get the answer, then he’d have realized that the fits hadn’t started until Emilia left Avalon City. They hadn’t started until she was married to him and the only time they’d vanished in truth had been those times when she was pregnant. When Duncan didn’t touch her. The squeeze of Nysa’s hand came by surprise, and Duncan smiled gratefully. “Thank you. They do know her well, hopefully she’ll be fine.” It’d be difficult with all the upheaval in the family, but he’d hope.
“I’d like that!” Lily exclaimed, brightening and bouncing a little in her seat. “Maybe you’d be able to meet my other aunts too, though aunt Arwen is always really busy and aunt Aoife’s in the mountains and...” She paused and Duncan saw her frown. She’d not actually known her aunt Ava so she couldn’t say anything about it, but it felt weird to not say anything. “Rose likes aunt Aoife best, I think, because she’s different. Did you know that my aunt’s the Mouth of the Creator herself?” Lily was very proud of that. Her grandfather was the High Priest of Avalon and her aunt was the Mouth; in the world of religion she was practically royalty and she well knew it.
Duncan chose to ignore that his mother didn’t take to the change of conversation well. Sometimes she was like that and though it pained him it didn’t do any good to mention it. Sometimes that actually made it worse. Still, he didn’t want - “She looks enough like her mother,” Tatum declared, refilling her cup of tea before motioning at a servant to fetch a fresh pot. “And was the only one raised in full by her, wasn’t she?”
“And by her father, the Bishop and then High Priest,” Duncan reminded her.
“And an unmarried woman with her head in the clouds who clearly-” Duncan cleared his throat loudly to drown out whatever was said next. Lily and Owen really didn’t need to hear that. “I think that she does like pies, Owen, perhaps you and the others could see that a fresh one is waiting for her when she returns.” That might make her happier to be back. Emilia hadn’t ever smiled when she saw him upon her return. But she had smiled at Nysa quite a few times. There wasn’t any harm in that, women liked to see their friends. “I’m sure it’d make her very happy.”
Nysa was happy for the distraction that Lily offered from thinking about Emilia and the possibility of her having a fit while away from home. No doubt she would be worried sick by the time she found herself in bed, alone with her thoughts, but for now it was nice to think about happier things -- like meeting Emilia's family. Nysa had known that Emilia had, until recently, three sisters. Like many other things regarding Emilia's family, she knew enough to know the third had been Ava and that she had passed away leaving only her son. Nysa had no idea how close the two of them had been, but she had understandably not pressed the other woman in talking about her loss; if Emilia ever did feel like talking, Nysa would be there like always. She admired Emilia for holding up as well as she had; had it been Duncan that Nysa had lost, she would have become a shell of a person. Those thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind and she turned her smile toward Lily again. "Yes, sweetheart, I knew she was the Mouth. Your aunts sound absolutely wonderful."
"Does that mean my aunt is the Mouth of the Creator too?" Owen looked genuinely confused.
"No, Emilia is your only aunt. But I'm sure Arwen wouldn't mind if you wanted to think of her that way." Nysa raised a hand to run her fingers through her son's fine blonde hair. Though she was overjoyed at the fact that her children could grow up with Duncan's, she wished that the three of them had more adult family members in their lives. Aside from Nysa, their mother, Emilia and Duncan, their aunt and uncle, and Tatum, their grandmother, her children had no other family -- at least none that would have anything to do with them.
Despite the temporary derailment of Tatum's thoughts, the woman managed to find her way back to the subject of Emilia. Nysa was not surprised and it showed on her face. She stared at her mother, trying to keep her face as blank as she could. Had she been capable of speaking up against her mother, she would have made note that she looked remarkably like Tatum and had been raised fully by her, and still had turned out to -- no, she couldn't say that to her mother; she couldn't even think it. She chose instead to join in with Duncan's choice of topic. "We will make her several. Each of you can help." It was a great idea, and she smiled brightly at Duncan to express that she thought so. He was truly a kind and considerate man and it was for this reason that Nysa could not for the life of her understand why Emilia seemed resistant to any gesture that Duncan offered her. She didn't dwell on the subject, because she truly couldn't bear the thought that anyone wouldn't feel incredibly lucky to be married to her brother.
"If there aren't jewels baked into them, I doubt that you'd manage to see her crack even the slightest of smiles." Tatum arched an eyebrow as she stared intently at her son, sipping her tea.
"Mother, please!" Nysa's voice rang out suddenly. Her eyes grew wide in shock at herself, as did her mother's. She took a deep breath and her eyes fell to the floor. When she spoke again, her voice was just above a whisper. "I just think that it would be better if we chose a topic that would make all of us happy." Nysa knew that she would remain at the table until Tatum had finished her meal, no matter what the woman said, and she hated that fact; she should have gotten up, carrying Owen with her, the second the older woman began speaking of Emilia that way, but she had lived for thirty-three years under her mother's scrutiny and old habits were hard to change.
Lily rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, but Nysa beat her to it. Which Duncan was grateful for because he knew that his youngest daughter had a way of just saying things without thinking about whether or not they’d bother whoever she was saying them to. He was sure that she didn’t mean to be hurtful, just like her mother didn’t mean to be to him, but it still happened and he knew she’d regret it if she knew. But no one would tell her and if they did she might not believe them so really, better that Nysa answer and Lily remain silent on the matter for a time. “Arwen likes children so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you called her that. You can always ask and find out next time she visits,” Duncan offered. He’d met Emilia’s sisters a few times more than Nysa, as was only appropriate, and he knew that Arwen was a kind soul who wouldn’t refuse a child something so simple. Besides, they all three had a woman they called ‘aunt’ who wasn’t actually such. For the better as it seemed, because that’d just make everything so much worse.
“I’ve never helped make a pie,” Lily admitted. “I’ve tried but the staff always shoos me away to lessons like they’re more important or something.” Another roll of her eyes said what she thought about that. And then her mouth drew into a line and she looked at her grandmother with something very much like hurt in her eyes. Eyes that looked like they were getting wetter. Oh Creator, if Tatum made Lily cry because of the things that she was saying about Emilia then Duncan didn’t know what he’d do. He was one matter because he knew how to take care of himself, but Lily? She was only just a child. “Mother smiles without jewels.” There it was, the tremble in her voice and she’d turned her eyes down to hands that were clasped in her lap.
“Not for your father.” It seemed that Tatum wasn’t listening to what Nysa had said, though it was such a rarity for her to raise her voice that even Duncan had looked at his sister with surprise in his eyes. “So if you want the smile make sure he’s gone or there’s gems present. And stop sniffling, Lily, there’s no reason to cry.”
Lily drew in a deep breath and looked at her father. “You may go, Lily.” It didn’t even take a second after that declaration for the girl to go running out of the room without another word. Duncan rubbed at his eyes before direction a weary look at Tatum. “Mother, if you absolutely must speak of these things in this way then I ask you, again, to not do it in front of the children. Look how you’ve upset Lily.” Duncan didn’t know how to fix that and he didn’t know what to say to Tatum. He just wished that Owen wasn’t there either, because really, the children didn’t need to see any of this.
Nysa supposed that there many good reasons why Lily was kept out of the kitchens, and her lessons were a tiny one. The young girl enjoyed getting into things and if a mess was made in the pursuit of her creation, then so be it. Nysa would make sure that Lily got her chance to make a pie of her very own with little help and if the staff needed help cleaning afterward, she would help where she could. Of course she would have done the same before, but after Lily's reaction to her mother's words, Nysa felt more inclined to give the girl special treatment. It stabbed at her heart to see the little girl's spirits drop so suddenly. Just as it hurt her to see Emilia upset, a miniature version was just as painful. Her mother ignored the outburst completely; Nysa wasn't sure if that made her happy or if it infuriated her to be ignored like she was nothing more than one of the other children.
Anyone with an ounce of common sense could see that Emilia was less than thrilled the moment Duncan entered a room. Of course the children didn't realize that because Emilia and Duncan were their parents, and it was unfortunately so easy to explain away certain obvious facts. It wasn't Nysa's place to point out that her mother's words were true, anymore than it was her mother's place to state them in the first place. Not to speak of how it must have made Duncan feel to hear that his wife only smiled when he gifted her with things. As for herself, she had never had to try hard to make Emilia smile. Sometimes she could just walking into a room and Emilia would already be looking at her with a smile on her face. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind as soon as it arrived. It didn't matter how the other woman reacted to her presence; it shouldn't matter to her.
Nysa kept her eyes pointed at her mother, unfortunately tightened into a glare. When Duncan dismissed Lily, she turned her head to face Owen, who was looking incredibly confused. "Owen dear, go make sure that your cousin is okay. Give her a big hug from both of us." Her son nodded slowly before turning to chase after Lily. She was in agreement with Duncan that the children did not need to listen to their grandmother when she was in this kind of mood.
"Duncan is right, mother, what are the children supposed to think when their grandmother is talking about their mother -- their aunt -- this way?" Nysa's tone was still pleasant, despite her desire for it to have much more bite to it. "She shouldn't even say them at all." Her last words were spoken in Duncan's direction under her breath.
"I will not apologize for my opinions." Tatum pursed her lips at her children's statements, obviously displeased. Nysa didn't understand why her mother felt the need to be so judgemental. Sure she had been bad when she was younger, but her father had always served as a wonderful buffer for her mother's harsh words. For this reason, among so many others, Nysa missed her father.
Duncan was glad to see Nysa send Owen off after Lily. The girl likely needed someone to hug her and her cousin would be good for that since neither of her parents were available. And again, better that the children weren’t there while Tatum was in a mood to just carry on like this without seemingly a thought for how it would affect them. He’d always known that she was a little less warm to Lily because she looked so very much like her mother, but still. Nothing was a good enough excuse to make a child cry. Especially not a child who happened to be your own granddaughter who likely just wanted to be loved and approved of.
“We were not asking you to apologize, mother, only saying that we wish you wouldn’t speak in such ways when the children are present. You’ve hurt Lily’s feelings and I don’t think she’ll wish to lunch with you again for some time because of it.” Duncan wished that he didn’t have to say such things, but he couldn’t help it. Lily was a sweet girl who never did anything wrong to anyone and she didn’t deserve be hurt by things like that.
Tatum merely shrugged and returned her attention to her meal. “If I wasn’t given reasons to say these things then I wouldn’t. But your wife gives me all of the reasons that I could ever need, Duncan. I still don’t understand why you’ve put up with her behavior.”
“Mother,” Duncan’s tone was weary. “I truly don’t want to continue talking about this. Can we just finish our meal?” He turned slightly towards Nysa. “Are you enjoying the weather, sister?” Sometimes the best way to get Tatum off topic was to talk about something, anything, else.
It saddened Nysa that their lunch had taken such a turn. Her mother could be pleasant; it wasn't impossible for Tatum to be enjoyable. She thought perhaps that her mother seemed worse simply because her mind was preoccupied with worry for Emilia. It would be easy for her to quiet the voices troubling her if she were not constantly thinking of the other woman; add to the fact that Tatum couldn't stop bringing Emilia up in the worst way possible, and Nysa was slowly beginning to slip into a horrible, distressed mood. She wished that she could be excused from the table – from her mother's presence – as Lily and Owen had been, but even if she could, Nysa would never dream of leaving Duncan alone with her. What she wouldn't give to know what was going through her brother's mind so that she could help him feel better.
Tatum knew why Duncan had endured this long with Emilia, just as Nysa did. He loved her. He had always loved her. It was obvious in the way that he made so many concessions; it was why he was always showering her with gifts, just to catch a glimpse of her pleasant nature. As much as it made her heart flutter to see Emilia in good spirits, it pained her heart that she was not more giving with them toward her brother. Had he not earned them? Never mind the fact that she loved that they were so often for her and the children alone – it was a selfish thought, one that she wouldn't entertain.
When her mother returned to her food, Nysa bowed her head and did much the same. “Quite,” she said, looking up again when Duncan addressed her. “It is the perfect weather to enjoy being outside. I was hoping to take a walk later this afternoon, if you'd care to join me.” Yes, she pointedly did not invite her mother, not that the other woman noticed of course. The day would be salvaged. Nysa would make sure of it.