Mina and Molly

Having tidied the nursery suite and put Varick to bed, Molly waits, pondering the note and the coded letter in the Eldreich file. Having quickly dashed off a message in a different code to her beloved husband, she packs away the file and finished statement far from the eyes of her anticipated guest. 
She barely talked to the beautiful Mina Hapsburg,  Lady of Graben, at the wedding. Her usual keenness on making new friends was a little tempered by the knowledge that her now-husband once held an affection for the blonde-haired, brown-eyed woman. It would have been a far more suitable match, Molly thinks whilst frowning. However, Mina's preference for Morgan's brother instead would have prevented that. 

It is that preference and the revelation to Mina that her choice of brother was responsible for Morgan losing his first wife and child to an assassin's fire that is the reason Molly has invited Mina to dine, and to unburden the pain she must now be feeling.

Mina is announced, and arrives somewhat perplexed in the nursery suite. After the briefest of formalities, food, drink and candlelight sets the scene for the two women to talk at the dinner table. Briefly, Molly explains the reason for her imprisonment in the rooms, the poisoning attempt, and that she hasn't eaten for a full day and night. Mina graciously waits, picking at her food although her stomach feels so knotted she wonders if she'll ever want to eat again. Turmoil has been her only companion since she discovered the man she has loved for almost six years had his sister-in-law and niece executed. Molly eats quickly, keen to refuel her body before the inevitable drain that will occur once the subject is broached. It's a tough, painful subject. Without Edwards actions, Molly would never have met the man she loves. But having watched her husband grieve and heal whilst they were first stumbling through their romantic attraction for each other, anything to do with rehashing his pain makes her feel deeply possessive and protective, even jealous at times. Once the food is removed by the servants, Molly encourages Mina to the couch, carrying glasses and the Eisenfurst's special brandy.

Mina hesitantly takes a glass. "I do not usually drink spirits" Molly nods as she pours good measures into each, smiling slightly. "Nor did I, til I started spending time with Eisen men!" 
Mina smiles, then sips the deep amber liquid, grimacing a little at the burning sensation. Molly watches her with a flicker of amusement before recalling how painful the conversation is likely to get. She downs the brandy, exhaling through the burn. Mina looks a little shocked, then does the same. Molly nods, refilling. 

"I want to be frank with you, Mina. I want you to trust me to help you, to trust me and to let me in. I know how hard that is"
Mina nods "It is hard. I do not have any confidantes"
Molly watches her, feeling older than her 20 years "Let me be your confidante,  Mina. Let me be your friend. I can keep your counsel" she sips the brandy and Mina does likewise. After a moment of thinking, Mina nods
"You will keep my counsel, even from your husband?"
Molly inhales deeply, nodding slowly "Even from my husband, if that is the way it must be" Molly feels a twinge of guilt. Keeping things from Morgan goes against every principle she has, but on balance she decides he would want Mina helped.
"That is what I want. I want to be able to trust you"
Molly watches her,  voice quiet "You can trust me, Mina. I swear it"
Mina nods, searching Molly's face whilst clinging to her brandy glass "How much do you know about what Edward did?"
"Everything" Molly says, solemnly. She watches the tears fill up in Mina's eyes, and sets her glass down.
"How… How could he do it?!" Mina wails. Her mind fills with the pain she's felt since Morgan told her a few hours ago. Molly quickly removes and puts down Mina's glass,  replacing it with her own hands, providing an anchor. She isn't Edward's biggest fan herself, holding much resentment for and wariness of him. Still, this is not about helping Edward, it's about helping Mina, she reminds herself.
"He regrets it. He told Morgan that he regrets it"
"But that doesn't change that he had them murdered!" Mina begins to cry. Molly squeezes her eyes shut, attempting to contain her own tears.
"I know" Molly nods sadly. Her chest hurts with the compassion she feels. 
"It is so wrong. It's so dishonourable" Tears flow down Mina's cheeks.
"He was trying to help save Sudlachenburg. He made the wrong choice" Molly adds, though her dislike of him threatens to rear its head.
Mina sobs "They were just innocent commoners"
Molly bows her head. This comment cuts her deeply. They weren't commoners, though Dietlinde had been born a commoner. But she died a Veisgrafin,  just as Molly now is, chosen and wedded by Sudlachenburg's Veisgraf. And Jana was the heir of a Veisgraf, containing blood that could be traced more than five hundred years, a noble daughter. Molly herself was nearly born in her father's barn, a commoner until her father's official recognition in his community as a gentleman. But there's something about this statement of Mina's that bothers her, and she files it away to think on later. She brings her focus back to the woman sobbing next to her.
"They deserved better. They shouldn't have died like that. But that is what happened, and we all have to live with the consequences" Molly says sadly. The tone draws Mina's attention. 
"I am sorry,  this can't be easy for you" Mina takes on the burden of compassion now.
Molly sighs "It's… it's never been easy. But love isn't always easy. Love is something that remains throughout the pain, throughout the sadness."
Mina watches her, squeezing her hands "Could you still accept Morgan, had it been the other way around?"
Molly squeezes her hands, watching her frankly "Yes. Yes, I could. We would talk about it, about why he did it, and how he feels, and his regrets"
Mina thinks this through "Do you believe Edward  regrets it?"
Molly nods "Definitely. I have seen it in his face when he talks about Dietlinde and Jana".
Mina closes her eyes "I haven't seen his face for three years" her voice breaks on a sob, and she suddenly loses all control over her feelings. Though she'd cried at the inn for two hours, this is different. Molly pulls her close, no longer two noble women, just two women loving the men with a complicated history and having to deal with the fall out of an action that should never have occurred. Mina cries hard in Molly's arms for several minutes, taking strength and solace. Molly cries too, quietly. She cries for Mina's pain, and for her husband's loss, and for her own heart. She cries for Dietlinde and Jana, and the conflicted feelings of being the second wife when everyone is lamenting the decisions that have led to her marriage. She allows Mina to sob it out, and holds her firmly. Slowly, Mina's tears subside, and she draws away. From her sleeve she removes a handkerchief, one which Molly has seen similar of. The initials EK are as neat and perfect as the ones MK on her husband's monogrammed hankies,  ones Molly knows Dietlinde made as the family's seamstress. She closes her eyes a moment, stung by the irony. Mina offers it to Molly, who waves her off whilst retrieving her own, navy blue with embroidered forget-me-nots similar to the flowers her husband recently left her with, and the ones she carried on their wedding day.

Mina is the first to speak "I do not know what to do now"
"Oh?"
"I still love him. But I feel like I don't know him any more. I never believed he could do this"
Molly nods slowly "It is difficult, I know. Some mistakes have such deep and dire consequences that it changes lives forever. All it takes is a moment of decision or indecision. And in that moment, everything changes."
"My father, Morgan, Edward, they've known this for three years. They have come to terms with what was done. To me it is all fresh and raw" Mina wipes her tears.
Molly's brow furrows, and she swallows hard "It's still raw, Mina. Sometimes it's so raw I worry it'll hurt so deeply forever." Mina takes her hands.
"I feel guilty. I feel that making a happy future with Edward would be wrong when he took away Morgan's happy future. In time, I think the nobility would have come to terms with his marriage". Molly tilts her head back, squeezing her eyes shut briefly. She speaks from this position, pain in her voice.
"Morgan has a happy future now. Not as happy, perhaps, because this is so much to bear, and because he knows more of the pain that he may face if he loses Varick and I. But I will make this future as happy for him as I can, every single chance I get." She pauses a moment, looking at Mina. She did not anticipate this conversation being as much of a trust exercise for herself as her companion. "I adore him. I as close to worship him as I can without breaking the tenets of my faith. I would do things for him that are beyond reason, acceptability, and sense. I will love him every single moment that I exist, regardless of his choices, his mistakes, and his failings. I suspect that is also how he feels for me. And how Edward feels for you." 

Mina looks surprised at the vehemence of Molly's speech. Molly squeezes her hands. 
"It won't be easy, but if you truly love him, you'll move to a place in your heart once the shock has passed where you can forgive him for his role in their deaths. He will always have to live with the pain of his choices, they all will. None of us can turn back the time. But we can be there, and we can love them, just as they are. You and I can make this unhappy past into a happy future. But you need to be sure."

Mina nods, taking back her brandy and downing it. With a mock toast, Molly does likewise, welcoming the warmth and the hit of alcohol. 
"I love him." Mina simply says.
"I know" Molly replies. "If you didn't,  you wouldn't be so upset."
Mina nods, refilling their glasses. "Last one."
Molly smiles at her, wondering whether the woman sat in front of her loves her brother-in-law enough to overcome this. "The last one… for tonight."
Mina sips it, relaxing into her seat a little. "Thank you for letting me confide in you. I needed it more than I knew"
Molly smiles softly "I suspected you would. _I_ would have needed it to." 
Mina looks at the mantle clock as it strikes eight o'clock. "I need to get back to the Inn. My father will go spare if I'm too late." With a smile, they both down the brandy and laugh. Molly smiles "If you need to talk, just come here. Do not worry about calling cards, or visiting times. Night or day, I will be here if you want someone to talk to, alright?" Mina nods, thanking her. Molly shows Mina out, and slowly they resume the courtly formalities they had set aside for a few hours. Molly watches her go, and gives the key to Claudia to lock from the outside. She pauses at the table where the small vase of forget-me-nots sits, and gently touches them. "And that is all I can do" she tells the flowers "what happens now is out of my hands. It is what it is". She smiles a little, pinching her lip, and heads into the bed chamber she hopes her husband may make it back this evening to join her in. With brandy softening her senses, she decides a brief lie down for a minute would be nice.