Leonor was the first to drink the mixed herbal tea with a faintly reddish brown color that stood out from the white porcelain cup. She placed the cup down silently, a practiced move so her father wouldn't ridicule her lack of manners.
"How would you know whether or not what I tell you is a secret?" Leonor asked quietly, putting off answering his request for the time being.
"In the brief time I've gotten to know you, you aren't gifted in lying," Valerio admitted with a grin.
Despite what he had just said, he casually took his turn sipping tea. Leonor thought he did it daintily for someone who worked in stables as if he was well-trained for nobility.
Leonor's eyes widened at the combination of his words and actions. Her face blushed at his comment.
"That's what I mean!" he exclaimed, then turned to the door, hoping no one heard his outburst. "You have such an honest face. Even if you don't want to tell the truth, it won't lie for you."
"Now you're just teasing me," Leonor uttered. "I get in trouble a lot since I'm not well-gifted in lying. My sister on the other hand…" She trailed off and her eyes fell to her hands resting in her lap. "Not worth complaining about."
Valerio watched her mannerisms. He had it under good authority that it wasn't only her father who mistreated her but her sister as well. That much was obvious from what he saw from the armoire when she dropped books on someone badly injured.
"You don't have to tell me a secret–"
Leonor perked back up and her eyes were met with rubies when she looked at her present company.
"I haven't visited the southern garden since my mother passed away," Leonor explained in a quiet voice, but her eyes left Valerio again. "Lilacs were her favorite flower as well as mine. After my mother passed, the Count stopped caring for them." She sighed. "Despite the lack of care, the bushes grow new flowers every spring. They've entirely taken over that garden at this point, but I can't bear seeing something my mother valued so much in such disarray like that. Even if it's hot weather, I'll shut my window so I don't have to smell them."
Her admittance made a lump form in her throat and she tried to hold in the emotions threatening to spill over. She had never told that to anyone, not even Francia.
Countess Jara was buried with lilacs all around her upon her request. Their spicy sweet smell only reminded Leonor of the loss of her mother. It was the most beautiful scent she had ever experienced yet somehow the most bitter. The first time she smelled lilacs coming into her bedroom window after her mother's death, she cried the entire night. She wanted to love them like before but they tortured her.
"Thank you for sharing that with me, Leonor," Valerio uttered quietly. "I feel privileged knowing about someone you hold so dearly."
When Leonor lifted her head to look at him, Valerio was horrified seeing that tears had escaped her eyes. He immediately stood and went forward to the lady.
For once, he didn't ask for permission as he crouched next to her chair and hugged her, being mindful of her injured leg. He felt Leonor lean into him and he smiled sadly. He was used to comforting others in the orphanage because he didn't realize how much he overwhelmed her at that moment.
Leonor wondered when the last time someone hugged her was. Francia touched her occasionally when she needed help but the hugs were rare. Perhaps it was when her mother died that Francia hugged her.
Compared to the hug she was receiving at that moment, all others paled in comparison. The fire in the fireplace didn't feel as warm as Valerio trying to comfort her because her admittance made her sad.
However, her heart ached because he was an orphan. He likely had people he missed but he was almost always smiling.
"I'm okay," she admitted. "I just miss her."
Their hug lasted only shortly before Valerio pulled back and looked at Leonor's flushed face. He wouldn't tease her again for how honest her face was, but he stored the knowledge in his mind in case he ever needed it.
He smiled sadly at her.
"The Countess must have been beautiful," Valerio observed. "You don't look like the Count very much."
The compliment flew right over Leonor's head. It would be a realization she would have later that would make her unable to sleep.
"I look just like my mother," Leonor admitted. "Although I don't know where I got blue eyes from. Her eyes were grey."
Seeing that the lady was no longer crying, Valerio stood up and went back to the seat he was in before. He couldn't remember whose turn it was to have the tea so he decided to take a sip, knowing it would get cold after too long.
"Traits work in mysterious ways," Valerio decided.
Leonor nodded and drank some more tea as well. After her sip, she poured more into the cup to warm it.
Valerio noticed she was biting inside her lip in thought as she poured more tea. He hoped she would let him be privy to more but he didn't want to push her. She had already told him so much.
It was hard for Leonor to function when someone so handsome was giving her undivided attention. It made her want to spill her guts. She thought she just might.
"I have a happier secret," Leonor admitted. "If you would like to hear it..."
"I would love to."
Leonor pulled her cold hands away from the table and she squeezed them as she prepared to reveal another secret. They wouldn't be cold for much longer anyway.
The lady held her hands chest level with her palms facing the ceiling. Soon after, a faint blue light overtook her palms and a smile appeared on her face. Valerio noted that it was the happiest smile he had ever seen her wear.