Restoration in the River

The End

"Your Excellency?" Gracie said timidly from the door to the master suite.

"Yes... oh Gracie darling, you don't have to call me that!" She smiled, going over to give her daughter a kiss.

Gracie backed away from her Mother.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" She asked, seeing something was terribly wrong, the little girl looked upset and scared of her. 

"I think it's best if I refer to you as Governor, Ma'am," Gracie said, her eyes filling with tears. "And perhaps it would also be best if you and Julian took me back to St Mary's Orphanage, it's just not working out..."

When Emmaline went to reassure the girl she just held up her little hand.  

"You are first and foremost Queensland's Governor, Ma'am, and you have a duty, to Her Majesty and to Queensland, trying to squeeze a child in just isn't working, is it? And Julian is so busy as well it's not even funny, he never stops with the foundation, with his photography and with his music." She said to her mother, who by now had to sit down on their bed, due to the fact she was feeling faint.  

A ten-year-old was speaking so much maturity it scared Emmaline.

There was no more Mum and Dad, it was like she had grown up and was an adult, and was cutting them off.

It was like they had blown it and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with them ever again.

"Gracie, darling... I" she began.

"You hurt me, Ma'am!" Gracie continued "I was happy having breakfast with the two people I thought loved me and would protect me. How could you even think to discuss something so dire in front of me like it was nothing? Two women had been shot dead in their jail cells and you think it's okay to just casually discuss that in front of me, Your Excellency? And then you scold me and smack me for interrupting Clayton!"

Emmaline herself was close to tears, perhaps the Gordon women just weren't mean to be Mothers, was the Lord trying to tell her that?

Her mother died in childbirth, her aunt died in childbirth and now she couldn't even protect a little girl, instead, she scolded her and humiliated her for being right. 

"What can Julian and I do, to fix this Gracie?" She asked.

"Call Sally, I want to go home to Liverpool, I don't belong here in Australia" Came Gracie's cold answer, and she left the master suite before  Emmaline could utter a single sound.

"Julian?? JULIAN!!" She called, rushing down the stairs.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He appeared and caught her as she slammed into him, sobbing uncontrollably "What's happened, Sweetness? Calm down and take a deep breath!" 

"Gracie doesn't want to live with us anymore, she wants to go back home to St Mary's" she cried, hugging him.

"What? Why???" He asked, alarmed.

"The way I treated her at breakfast this morning, over Clayton coming and telling me about Tilly and Amelia, maybe she's right Julian? Maybe we just can't try and squeeze a child in between my duties and your work with the foundation, photography and music..."

"I was thinking about that, that's why I've been talking to Clayton, from now on, anything to do with your duty as Governor, he tells you in private in your study," Julian said. "Especially mature content like what he said this morning over breakfast, Emmaline, we should have known better!"

"But maybe I'm not just cut out to be a Mum!" 

"What? Because your Mum and Aunt died in childbirth? Rubbish!" He said, "yes, we're new to it and yes we have a lot on our plates, but marriage and adoption is not a short term deal, we are in this for the long haul!"