Despair clawed rents in Alice's soul while Rose reached for her, hugging Alice against her chest. "We're all at fault," she said. "Not just you, Greatmama." Rose leaned back, looking down into Alice's eyes. "Our two families have been tied together for generations, cher. We have tried and tried to reach Grace, first when her father forced Greatmama to leave, then when Harold died. But Grace was lost to us, closed off. It wasn't until you arrived we knew it was time to return to Blunt House."
The two women in the doorway, mother and daughter, nodded slowly, hugging each other.
"You are my responsibility," Rose said. "I was meant to guide and protect you. But I have failed." Pain wreathed her beautiful face. "Though the doll's initial intention was pure, protective, it's changed."
Alice c
