Esmé nodded. “Father adored him.” She bit reflectively at the cuticle of her thumb. “He looks very much like my mother—Charles, I mean. I look exactly like my father.” She went on biting at her cuticle. “My mother was quite a passionate woman. She was an extrovert. Father was an introvert. They were quite well mated, though, in a superficial way. To be quite candid, Father really needed more of an intellectual companion than Mother was. He was an extremely gifted genius.” I waited, receptively, for further information, but none came. I looked down at Charles, who was now resting the side of
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