"Symbolic of what?"
"That medallion has been passed between members of the family for years as a sign of an unbreakable bond. After receiving it from his father, my husband gave it to me in gratitude for the first son I bore him. I gave it to Alec when he was sixteen, to mark his coming of age. When Alec gave the medallion to you, he marked you as his. It was not a trifling gesture… and this I know about my son: he will never allow it to stray far from his reach."Agitatedly Mira plucked at the gleaming medallion around her neck. "I must give it back to him."
"I gather he has proposed to you."
"Yes…"
"And you refused him?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Lady Falkner… I would feel very uncomfortable complaining about your elder son to your face."
"I am perfectly aware that he has faults, child, and I would not consider your complaints an aspersion on my capabilities as a mother. I have been quite proficient as a parent. His faults are not due to anything I may or may not have done, but are derived from the Falkner side of the family. So tell me, if you please, why you refused him."
"I feel that… that he is interested in me despite what he knows is best for himself. I am well aware of his family and his heritage… I am also aware that there is a certain kind of woman who would better suit him as a wife than I would. He would not choose to want me—frankly, he has made that clear to me—and I know that marriage between us would be a mistake. I would not want him ever to regret having made me his wife… but I'm afraid that someday he would."
"If my son's behavior has been what I expect it has," Juliana said, "then it is fortunate for you that I am here to explain it to you. He is a Falkner, through and through, and Falkner men are jealous, brutish creatures—"
"I wouldn't put it that way." "Don't contradict me, child. I know what I am talking about. I married one, and raised two, and have been surrounded by the rest of the pack for years. Alec is the one most in need of reforming. But he has endured and thrived under special circumstances. You must be aware that his father died when Alec was not yet a man?""Yes."
"My son was forced to be a man too soon, and that has made him unique, and very hard, and inclined to demand too much, not only from himself but also from others. He is at once excessively cynical and excessively idealistic. I will tell you the reason why he is still unmarried: he has always wanted the perfect woman while believing in his heart that she does not exist. Of course, that is not so unusual, my dear… every man dreams of marrying a golden-haired angel, and in his folly, my Alec was no different. And then he met you. You are neither golden-haired nor, I suspect, an angel… and the discovery that he wants you has bitten deeply into his former convictions. It goes against the grain, it upsets his sense of Tightness and order."
"I understand that." Mira's smile was strange and bewildered. "But, my lady, I do not understand why you are… why you have…"
"Why my allegiance is with you? Because my son wants and needs you… and I want what is best for him. I do not mind the rumors I hear about you… not because I don't believe them, mind you. After having become acquainted with you, I am certain that there are many more scandals you have been involved in that have not yet been discovered. I do not condemn you, however, because at your age I was far more of a hoyden than you could ever be. Do you think that I was born with lily-white hands or that I was sheltered and petted all of my life? Think again! There is a likeness between you and me… except that there is a softness about you that I was fortunate enough to lose long ago, while you will probably never lose it. Yes, there is a likeness… though at your age I was made of tougher material, and while my face was not so comely as yours, my figure was better. Has this blasted mixture soaked into my eyes long enough?"Jarred by the abrupt change of subject, Mira remained stupefied and silent until Juliana repeated the question. "Yes… yes," she said, jumping up and going to the elderly woman. "Keep your eyes closed for a moment—they will be sensitive to the light. They are watering, but that is good." Slowly she lifted off the handkerchief and took it to the pier table, setting it down on the silver tray. Giving Juliana a dry square of clean linen, Mira sat down on the sofa with her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Very gradually the paper-thin eyelids lifted, and Mira found herself staring into a pair of eyes that approached the silvery shade of Alec's. They were reddened slightly from the acid of the plants, but much clearer and brighter than before.