Kathryn looked slightly taken aback by the sudden confession -- or, perhaps, her reaction was only because of her own personal experiences as a wife and a mother embittered her to Valia's plight... Whatever the case, her expression soon became sympathetic, and she pulled her younger sister into a hug.
"Valia, there's nothing to be ashamed of. But Gabriel loves you, I think. The way he looks at you..." There had been a time when she had tortured herself, agonizingly memorizing every stolen glance, smile and touch...and wondering why her own husband was so very different. What followed was every emotion from self-pity to blaming her own shortcomings to loathing her husband...and, finally, a cool, protective level of disdainful self-involvement that had made her utterly ignorant to the problems the Coleridges were experiencing... She felt guilty for that. Even if she and Valia had not been close for many years, she still felt as though she should have known. "He's a good man. I think, if you told him..."
Well, he would surely understand...
Pulling back from her sister, she reached for a handkerchief and dab gently at the younger woman's cheeks. "And, anyway, there are...things...you could try. At least, that's what I've heard."