Until Forever (Complete)

Chapter Thirty Four

“Ellie?” Elizabeth turned around just in time to find Gretchen making her way into Elizabeth's bedroom balcony. “Oh Ellie!” The smile on Gretchen's face widened as she enveloped her in a hug.

Elizabeth stiffened, feeling the bulge of Gretchen's growing stomach as her arms tightened around her.

“You should be in bed.” She finally managed to speak past the lump in her throat. “Father said you fell...”

Gretchen pulled away then, her eyes bright with excitement. Elizabeth's gaze moved down to Gretchen's stomach briefly, and a sudden feeling of jealousy washed over her; Ethan and Gretchen's family was growing and Elizabeth wasn't even sure if she belonged to a family. “I'm fine.” She said, before reaching forward and capturing Elizabeth's hand. “I'm so happy that you're back home!”

Afraid she'd break down in tears, Elizabeth turned around and leaned both her elbows on the railings of the balcony as her eyes focused on the darkness. Why had she come back? She thought, feeling the weight of her decision settle on her shoulders. Why had she returned, especially now that she was no longer needed? She had been so desperate to get away from the situation with Bailey and Frederick, she had been willing to return home with Ethan. It was the same desperation to leave home that had driven her into the arms of Frederick. She was being tossed back and forth from one bad situation to the other.

“Ellie, perhaps we need to talk.” She felt Gretchen come to stand beside her but she didn't turn to acknowledge her. “Eighteen years ago, I left America -my home, my family, my life- and I crossed the Atlantic to come to a country I knew nothing about. It was a dreadful journey, to say the least.” Gretchen sighed and from the corners of her eyes, she saw Gretchen lean heavily against the railing. “I didn't think twice about leaving America though. I had next to nothing left of a home or a family. I had just turned down a man's proposal for marriage and when that same man got married to someone else, I realized, however too late, that I had made a terrible decision. So I boarded the next available ship to London to take on a job in Sue's dress shop. ”

The mention of Sue made Elizabeth think briefly of Caitlin and her affair with Frederick.

“But I got to the shop and the job offer was already taken. I was devastated but Sue is such a wonderful person, she helped me get another job, here, in this castle, working as a nanny for the most adorable baby I have ever laid my eyes on. Needless to say, I immediately fell in love with that baby. I mean, of course she was difficult at first, but I felt like I had done so much wrong in the past, I wanted to do something right, which was why I stayed. Falling in love with your father wasn't really hard to do; I loved him the first time I saw him. Everything was perfect, Ellie. Everything was perfect! I had fallen in love again, I all of a sudden had a baby and I was getting married.”

Gretchen's hands settled on Elizabeth's shoulders and she turned her around until they were standing face to face. Elizabeth's gaze came to settle on Gretchen's teary eyes.

“You were that baby.” She said and Elizabeth could see the struggle in her eyes as she spoke. “Ethan's wife, Juliet ran off a few years ago and one morning, Ethan woke up to find a baby on the doorstep of the castle. He needed a nanny to care for that baby. He needed a nanny because...” Gretchen sighed loudly as her tears began making their way down her face. “Juliet, your mother, had abandoned you.”

A long pause followed, a silence that allowed Elizabeth the opportunity to comprehend Gretchen's words. Everything in her wanted to conclude that Gretchen was lying, she desperately wanted to believe that her mother hadn't abandoned her. Yet, one look into Gretchen's eyes and she knew it was true. She felt her tears break lose from the restraint she fought she desperately to keep them bound, and make their way, ever so slowly, down her face. She felt the warmth of her tears, creating a path down her face and leaving a trail for more tears to follow.