grace studied her for a long moment across the cramped office, fingers still wrapped around a teacup that had long since gone cold. there was something about the way della said it that made grace pause. certainty was a rare thing these days. she’d spent years watching men like thomas and polly make decisions with absolute conviction, only for the world to tear those plans apart anyway. yet della sat there with that same quiet confidence that had once filled theatres and picture houses across the country, as though the scandal, the whispers, and the years spent hiding behind a secretary’s desk hadn’t managed to extinguish it completely. grace couldn’t help but admire that. “ you know, ” she said softly, a faint smile touching her lips, “ I think that’s the first time i’ve heard anyone say they’re certain of anything in years. ” her gaze drifted briefly to the papers scattered across della’s desk before returning to her. “ they took your stage, your name from the posters, and half of london’s goodwill with it. ” there was no pity in her voice, only honesty. “ but every time someone mentions adele sinclair, they still lower their voice like they’re talking about someone important. ”
grace tilted her head slightly. “ that doesn’t sound like a woman who’s been forgotten to me. ” for a moment, she held della’s gaze, seeing not the secretary everyone else saw, but the actress who had survived war, grief, scandal, and loss. “ so if you’re certain there’s still more waiting for you than this office, ” she said quietly, “ then i’d be inclined to believe you … and I’ll do anything I can to help. ”
