“You’d have done the same.” It was, I realised with shock, the first real smile I’d seen on her face. A smile of fierce, hard-won joy. What a strange thing to smile about, I thought. And then I knew why she did it. She was comforting me. I had thought to comfort her, but she was comforting me. Humble yourself, Father had said. “So, there’s to be no more talk of leaving, do you understand?” I said rather sharply, to cover the emotion in my voice. I had cried all over Janushek already, and it would hardly do to cry on all the servants in turn. We didn’t pay them nearly enough for that.
