Page 77 of A Lady’s Fairytale Come True
“What my father had not anticipated was that the dressmaker, the same that his mother used, would inform his mother about the young woman he had brought into the shop. He was young and foolish for not considering this. But he failed to think it through. And when he went outside to present his beloved with the gown, he did not realise that he had been followed,” he said, downcast.
Miss Digby gasped, knowing that this was not a good thing to have happened. “Oh dear, they were caught? What happened to your father and the poor woman?” she asked, desperately.
He looked up at her beautiful eyes, saw the way they shone in the light. He still hadn’t told her the most pressing piece of the puzzle, but it was better that he wait. No, first she needed to hear to the end of the story.
“When my grandmother and grandfather revealed their presence, the whole affair was ruined. They told the young woman to leave and never return. My father was forced inside the home where they yelled and screamed and warned him of the consequences of being caught with a young woman of ill-repute.
“My grandmother said that the threats landed idly. He didn’t seem to care about them. He loved her and wanted to marry her regardless. The consequences didn’t matter to him in the slightest.
“But then they began to threaten the reputation of the young woman. My grandmother said that with those she knew, it would be easy to find her and trace her whereabouts. They would destroy her reputation, tell society how she had been trying to seduce their son and he was a victim of her games.
“Of course, when my grandmother confessed all of this to me, she did so with great shame. But back on that day when it came to pass, she was so angered by my father that she believed every word she spoke.
“He was forced by his parents to cease in his communications with her, although my grandmother said she saw how it pained him. They immediately arranged another marriage for him and within the year, he was wed. The young woman had been cast aside, but for my father’s part it had been in an attempt to protect her.
“My grandmother told me that when my father passed away not long ago, followed my mother, she realised that her beliefs had been misguided. She had followed the rules of society that demanded that one must marry according to their own class and that it could never be strayed from.
“But she had finally realised that it had led my father to living a life he did not want. He did his best with my mother, but as I have told you, they never loved one another. My grandmother conceded to that fact even though she felt the guilt and shame of it.
“He never loved again as he had that young woman. And it was at his deathbed that she made a decision. She would never again force someone she loved to marry for the sake of convenience or status. She would ensure that I was able to marry for love rather than society.
“But as you know, my grandmother chose you to be the one that I discovered in the search for love. She hoped that you and I might find one another to be agreeable and that we should love one another as my father had loved that young woman.
“This set her on a quest…”
“She wanted to find a young woman who was poor so that she could marry you?” Miss Digby asked, interjecting for the first time.
Nathaniel smiled slightly. “In a manner of speaking, yes. But there was more to it than that, Miss Digby. There were still details to be uncovered and things I have yet to tell you. But I do promise that we are nearing the end. Have I tried your patience too far?” he asked.
“Not in the slightest. You have intrigued me beyond expression. Surely you know by now that I love a good story,” she replied.
“And this is quite a splendid one,” Nathaniel nodded.
“So what is it? What happened next?” Miss Digby asked him. Nathaniel inhaled and continued speaking.
“In the months that followed my father’s death, she did her research to find the young woman. My grandmother wished to find a way, any way possible, to make it up to her. She wanted to amend for what she had done, you see,” he said.
Miss Digby nodded, still seeming thoroughly invested in the story. It was evident that she wanted to know more, she wanted to learn how this might come to end in a fairytale.
“Eventually she learnt the woman’s identity and her whereabouts. She had remembered her name from all those years ago, but the young woman had since married and taken on a new surname. So she asked around until she learned who she had married.
“And once she learned the name, it was not long before she found the family that the young woman had gone on to have. You see, the young woman had passed away already. There was no chance to ever make it up to her. There was nothing at all she could do to apologise or beg the woman’s forgiveness.
“She did, however, learn that the young woman had given birth to three daughters. The eldest, of which, was of marrying age…”
Nathaniel let the words hang in the air. He knew he could conclude the thought, he could finish it for the sake of the story. But he didn’t have to. Realisation came upon Miss Digby’s face as he knew it would. She had figured it out.
“My…my mother…” she whispered.
“Your mother…” he confirmed.
Nathaniel gave her a moment to process it as tears came to her eyes. He knew that she would have to consider the fulness of it, the thing that bound them together and the fact that all of this had come about in such a strange way.
But after a few moments, he felt that it was time for him to continue, although the rest of the tale was not nearly so shocking as the first had been. He could tell her about the smaller things now.
“My grandmother said that when she saw you that first day, you quite shocked her. You looked the image of your mother and you had worn the gown that my father had made for her for their wedding. She wondered, even, if perhaps you knew. If perhaps you had worn the gown in order to taunt her for her mistakes.
“When she realised that you had worn the gown in innocence, not having known the details of it all, she was shocked and amazed. You left her at quite a loss,” he said with a gentle laugh.
