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Chapter 38: Dear Jane
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2022-04-01 11:47:36After a whole month and still no sign of Julien, I knew Albert wasn't lying, I was stuck with him. I decided to take my mind off escaping and rather focus on my health and baby. After a few days, my baby kicked, making me sure that he was okay and my initial fears subsided.
Albert made me sit with him at the dinner table each day like we were a couple and he'd often ask me how my baby was doing. I was bitter because I didn't want to be like that with him, I longed to hear Julien's voice again, I wanted him to ask me those questions. And Arthur... He must be so sad. I wanted to get back to my family, but I had no way of doing so.
I spent nearly every minute of everyday in Albert's library, reading different books as they helped me escape from my reality. When I wasn't reading and I wasn't sleeping, I was talking to Alexa; she was really sweet and kind and she treated me like a sister.
One of such evenings when we talked, she told me she would do anything fo
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I looked down at the box, it might have all the answers I need, I just had to read all the letters and check for clues; anything at all that could prove that Albert was William's son.I spent the rest of the night reading each letter carefully; you could tell how much William loved his Jane from the words he used. And if Janette kept the letters and always went to them when she was alive, then she must have loved him too. Why didn't they end up together? Was it because of the pregnancy? Somehow, I doubted that such a thing could destroy their love, it felt too strong.By the wee hours of the morning, I had just one letter left and so far none of the other letters mentioned a baby. All I could find out was that Jane never wanted a simple life, rather she wanted a comfortable and respectable life with status and wealth; that was enough reason to blackmail a Duke, but I couldn't jump to conclusions yet. I also found out that William was a gardener and he always sent her d
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I had more to say but I held my tongue as we approached a small shack, just next to the house. As we got closer, Albert's smile became bigger.Before we got reach the door, it opened to reveal an older man with rich black hair and a kind smile; his eyes were grey and soft."Who do we have here?" He asked, all smiles as all his attention was on Albert. You could see the love he had for Albert clearly in his eyes; father or not, William saw Albert as his son.Albert went forward to share a hearty hug with the older man, before he gestured for me to come closer, making William's eyes fall on me for the first time."Will, meet Gwendolyn...""You have a wife? And she is so heavily pregnant." William cut in, taking my hand and kissing the back of my palm. "Welcome, milady. Come in and I'll make tea for you." I smiled my thanks as I followed him into the shack. The interior wasn't at all as I imagined, it was warm and cozy, reminding me mama. I didn't kno
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"Albert!" I called, trying to catch up to him. "Wait, please! You know the truth now, denying it won't help anyone. Why don't you read the letter and find out what your mother wanted to say to you?" He didn't stop, he just kept walking towards the house. "Albert? You need..." I stopped as I felt uneasy suddenly, my body felt like... I looked down as I felt something wet roll down my thighs. Is the baby coming? "My baby! Albert..." I couldn't bring myself to move. Luckily for me, Albert stopped then and turned around with a frown which quickly changed to a look of surprise as he rushed to me. "Is the baby coming?" "I think so, my water just broke." He wasted no time in picking me up and taking me into the house, all the while shouting for the midwives. I was placed on my bed as the midwives got ready to deliver my baby, Alexa was at my side and Albert looked out of place, as he looked like he was wondering if he should leave or stay. "S
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Since the boy mentioned soup and I had a few ingredients to make Pease-soup, I did just that. I thought about waiting for Pa to get his permission, I mean, he would want the fireplace to be running as well but he didn't get home on time, even when the soup was ready. So, I put the Hallewell's portion of soup in a smaller different pot, wore my coat Gwen had given me and I made my way to the next house which the boy said was theirs. The house was rundown, like no one paid it any attention at all, it needed a lot of fixing. The roof over the porch was shaky, the porch stairs was missing two layers, the fence had a lot of holes in them and the lock was broken. You'd think a farmer would be bothered about keeping his property off limits to strangers. "There you are!" I heard the boy squeaked from inside the house as he threw open the doors and ran out to meet me. "Is that the food? What did you cook? Something smells so good." He tried reaching for the po
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"That would be me." I turned sharply to Christopher."You? You are Gideon?" He came closer and took the letter from me."Yes.""I... I don't understand. You're Chris...""My real name is Gideon." I suddenly began laughing."You're jesting. You can't be Gideon and be Christopher at the same time." He didn't smile, his eyes were sad."I am Gideon Griffiths, from...""No..." I said, shaking my head."Alexa, you have to listen...""No...""I'm not really a Hallewell, Mr Hallewell only took me in and called me his son. I know where I'm from and I've always known I will go back one day, that is why I never wanted to get close to anyone.""No, it's not true." My heart ached and my throat felt on fire. This was much worse than an ex-lover coming back, he was part of a whole different world."Alexa, it's all thanks to you. If I hadn't met you, I probably wouldn't have finished my last test. Meeting you, changing the way I look, marrying you, that's what helped me pass and now I can go home.""
