AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know you think I doubted you,” Robert says gently. “But I had to ensure that you were marrying for love, not convenience. I always knew how young Amelia felt about you...I just wasn’t so sure about your thoughts. You tend to keep your cards close to your chest. But the way you acted the day you came to see me, I knew you loved her for sure.”
I narrow my eyes at Robert. “You were one of dad’s spies. Making sure I fulfilled the clause.”
Robert blushes. “Well, yes. I had no choice. I had to ensure the clause was fulfilled. It’s my job. And it’s also my job to give you something. Your father told me to give it to you on the morning of your wedding, assuming you went through with it. Well, I know you’re not going to back out of today so I figured you could have it now.”
I frown as Robert hands me a letter. He smiles awkwardly at me.
“I’ll leave you in peace to read it. And I’ll see you at the ceremony. Good luck and best wishes.”
As Robert leaves, I shut the door behind him and tear open the letter before I can change my mind. Is this another trick of my dad’s, another trap to fall into? Surely not on my wedding day?
But as my eyes fall on my father’s handwriting, I feel a rush of emotion move through me. This isn’t a trick. It really is from him.
To my only son,
I know that today is the morning of your wedding, and I know that you are reading this letter. I always knew you’d make it this far. I know you must be angry with me, or at least a little irritated. I always did know how to wind you up. But I did this for you with good intentions.
You might be surprised to learn that I know exactly who you’re marrying today. I’ve seen the way you look at Amelia. I knew that when I instructed you to marry for love, to marry someone you’d never want to be apart from, that you’d choose her. You spent so many years following the rules...you thought she was off-limits, didn’t you? You thought that because she was younger than you that you could never be together.
But love is a funny thing. It manifests in the strangest places. And I saw the way that Amelia gazed at you every day. I know why a talented young girl like her spent so long working as a maid, and it wasn’t because she enjoyed the work. It’s because she fell in love with you. I’m sure you can see that now.
When I realized my life was coming to an end, I knew I had to step in and try to get the pair of you together. You only ever needed a little push, and by putting everything on the line, I forced your hand. I am sorry about that. But I think you’ll agree that while I might be a difficult pill to swallow, I’ve got you exactly where you want to be.
The inheritance is yours, but that’s not what today is really about. Today is about true love. It’s about taking a leap of faith. It’s about going against the grain and having the life you’ve always wanted. I hope you have the best day of your life. I’m sorry that I can’t be there to see it. I wish you a lifetime of happiness, son.
All my love,
Dad.
I have to take a deep breath to compose myself as I finish reading the letter. So he knew. He knew all along. He read me like a book and he put all of this in place to ensure that I ended up happy. All this time, I thought he was trying to mess with me, with my life, to play one last prank on his son from beyond the grave.
But now I see what I lost sight of. My dad loved me more than anything in the world. And he was always looking out for me, whether I knew it or not.
And now so many things make sense. As I look back he did take a shine to Amelia, treated her differently from the rest of the staff. He spoke of her often when he was with me, praising her work, but now I know it was about more than that. He was trying to tell me that it was okay in his own way. That I could be with her, that he approved. And now, my heart aches knowing that even though he’s the puppeteer that made today happen, pulling a million strings into place, he’s the one person who won’t be here to see it.
I have to sit down for a minute. I stare at his words on the page for a long time, feeling the sting of each of them. I wish I’d understood earlier what he was trying to do. I’ve spent far too much time being angry at him, but now I’m angry with myself. I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did. He was an even better person than I gave him credit for.
