Mrs. Ainsworth shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just from not sleeping well these past few nights."
She took Nora's hand and said gravely, "Nora, I've muddled through my whole life. I don't want you to follow in my footsteps. You have to marry Leon in grand style. Only then can I rest easy."
"But I don't have any feelings for him—"
"Feelings can be nurtured. A woman must never put love first, or she'll suffer a great deal. You'll understand my intentions one day."
Nora wanted to argue that the kind of feelings one could nurture weren't love, but kinship.
But she chose to remain silent.
'Sometimes, elders can see farther than the young.'
After just a short while, Mrs. Ainsworth said she wanted to go upstairs for a nap. Nora followed her into her mother's bedroom.
The room was spotless, as always.
A short distance away was a wedding photo of her stepfather and mother.
She looked away, and as she was about to turn, she noticed her mother had already fallen asleep.
