Chapter 15 #2
“Well, Victor, of course, asked for his clothes to be changed, or it would be more accurate to say he demanded it. But there were no clothes. He was told that he would just have to deal with it for the time being until they returned home. I will never forget the look on your face, Victor. You had the most serious expression.”
Theodore straightened his back and adopted a haughty tone.
“I cannot remain in this condition, you said, and then you just stripped off the rest of your clothes as though there was nothing to it. You would rather have been as bare as the day you were born than wear a dirty shirt.” Theodore laughed, and Lydia joined in. Victor turned as red as a beetroot.
“I think you have had enough port, Uncle. There’s no need to tell stories that are designed to humiliate me,” Victor said.
Theodore sighed. “Nobody is humiliating you Victor, and they are the same stories your father would tell if he were still here. I know I am a poor substitute, but I shall try my hardest to fill his shoes. Now then… what other stories are there…” he said.
He started to slur his words, and a haze came upon his eyes.
“Perhaps we should retire,” Victor suggested.
“I don’t think it’s time for that yet,” Lydia argued.
Victor then turned to her and arched an eyebrow. “Then perhaps you would like to regale us with some stories from your childhood. Or do I have to wait until your family visit?”
“You will be waiting a long time. I never did anything embarrassing,” Lydia teased, lifting her nose. Victor wore a disbelieving look.
“Ah yes, the Hartley’s. A fine family. I knew your parents fleetingly.
What a shame their passing was. Too many good people leave this world to soon, and the rest of us…
well… we are left trying to ensure that we make the most of the time we have, but in the end, we end up carrying a lot of regrets with us,” Theodore said, his voice softening to a melancholy tone.
Lydia’s head dropped at the mention of her parents.
The jovial mood quickly dissipated, and a heavy sorrow clung to her heart.
It had been easy to feel close to them while living in Stonewood Manor as everything reminded her of them, but in Nightford, there was nothing of them other than what she carried with her, and somehow that did not seem like enough.
“What do you regret?” she asked quietly.
A wry smile crossed Theodore’s face. “It’s funny you should mention that, Lydia. I regret never finding happiness with the love of my life.”
“Who was she?” Lydia asked. Victor continued eating, seemingly uninterested in the current course of conversation.
“Your grandmother. Agatha,” Theodore answered. He spoke Agatha’s name with reverence. His eyes sparkled. He looked as though he was speaking about a goddess. Lydia leaned forward, curious, as she had been unaware of the link between their families.
“Grandmother? I did not realize you knew each other. Victor, were you aware of this?” Lydia asked.
“Certainly not,” Victor muttered with the kind of tone that suggested it was the kind of thing he shouldn’t be bothered with even if he had been informed.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Theodore said, a forlorn look coming upon his face.
He turned his glass around slowly, watching the movements, although Lydia had the sense that he was wading through his memories.
“I was but a tiny speck of paint in her life while she was a masterpiece to me. I loved her. I courted her. I lost her,” he said. He sighed again.
His voice was tremulous with emotion, and he seemed to embody a deep-rooted sorrow, as though it was a companion he had carried with him for all his life.
In those few brief sentences, he conveyed a tragedy, and Lydia found her heart moved by his plight.
He had lived a long life, and yet what stayed with him was regret.
Would she feel that way when she was his age?
“I’m sorry, Uncle Theodore,” Lydia said earnestly.
“You don’t have to apologize, my dear. What’s past is past. I just wish things had been different,” he said.
“May I ask what happened?”
“She chose another life. That is all that matters. From what I understand, she was happy, and I’m glad for it.
” There was no bitterness in Theodore’s tone, just regret.
His gaze settled on Lydia and Victor. “If one ever finds the love of their life, they must do all they can to hold onto that other person. I understand why you took a swift route to marriage. It’s best not to waste time,” Theodore said.
It wasn’t long after this that Theodore departed. While Lydia was eager to check on John, she was also intrigued by a few things that had been mentioned over the course of dinner. Victor had his valet fetch his jacket, intending to escort his uncle home.
“Does he always get like that?” Lydia asked.
“Sometimes, but not often,” Victor replied. “I wouldn’t pay much attention to him. He has always been the romantic sort.”
“Perhaps I should ask Grandmother to come for a visit. They could be reunited,” Lydia suggested, filled with dreams of a happy ending to a love story that spanned decades. However, Victor poured cold water on that idea immediately.
“And have her break his heart again? I think once in a lifetime is enough,” he said. He was about to leave, but Lydia made him pause.
“Victor, what did he mean about Lord Harry?”
Victor pressed his lips together and spoke quickly.
“It is not something that I am keen to talk about, but in the interest of equal partnership, I shall tell you although you must keep it a secret. My brother fell in love with someone he shouldn’t have.
She was merely a commoner.” It looked as though he had to force himself to say the word, and he practically shuddered, as if it caused him great pain to do so.
“Thankfully, he saw sense, and the affair ended. He had dreams of romance as well, but such a thing would have torn down this family. He is upset with me, and that is why he remained in London. But that matter is behind us, and we need speak of it no longer. Now, I must make sure Uncle gets home without trouble. He cannot hold his port as well as he used to.”
Victor left, and Lydia thought about what he’d said. Lord Harry loved someone beneath his station. Theodore had an unrequited love.
What about Victor? Had his life truly been devoid of romance, or was there something lurking in the shadows?
Lydia went upstairs and crept into John’s chamber.
He was sleeping soundly, and she was careful not to disturb him.
She turned her head, looking at him from different angles to see if she could spot any resemblance to Victor.
There were moments when she thought she could, but she might have been tricking herself.
However, it did make her think about things differently. So far, they had been preoccupied with finding John’s mother. But what about his father? He had to have one of those as well.
Was it Victor, or was there some man walking around London without any idea that he had a child?