Alexandra

Epilogue

The orphanage was dilapidated and in need of care, but it still appeared a happy place. Its bright yellow shutters were broken, the white paint was peeling, the door looked as if it was going to fall off its hinges any moment and a window had been broken by a cricket ball. However, peals of childish laughter filled the air and the scents of fresh bread, a Christmas roast and fresh-cut leaves were discernable even before entering.

Richard, who had taken Allie's arm, whispered softly as they entered, "This place is much nicer than the one I grew up in."

There was a hint of sadness in her husband's tone, and there were a hundred different things that she wished to say to him so that she might alleviate even a fraction of his pain, but they were quickly ambushed by a horde of excited children.

"Hello!" Allie greeted, looking over her shoulder at the driver and nodding to tell him to bring out the Christmas presents they'd purchased for the children.

The excitement of the children only grew as they led Allie and Richard further into the home, and Allie's heart sang at the sight of Richard bending to speak softly to a little girl.

"My name is Allie." She said, to the children around her. They were all rather little, and none of them could have been over six years old. Hopefully all the others had gone to good homes. "What are your names?"

In return, a chorus of names fell onto her ears, and she was barely able to register half of them. The children, however, were soon preoccupied with opening their presents while the matron who ran the orphanage, a Mrs. Mallory, thanked them profusely. Allie had made sure to buy a few baby things, too, for which Mrs. Mallory was grateful as there was a little baby boy who'd been left with the orphanage a week before. Her wish that the couple would adopt the boy was evident in her tone. Allie's heart ached for the child and she wished she could do something, but she knew her husband would rather adopt a child a little older, and she did agree with him.

After the children had oohed and aahed over their chosen presents, some of the girls having already adorned themselves with the hair ribbons and clips Allie had brought, Allie was drawn by two girls, Mary and Susan, into a clapping game she vaguely remembered playing as a girl. Richard, on the other hand, had squatted beside a boy who'd chosen a model train.

"Would you like to hear a story?" She asked, unsure of what to do next. Her suggestion was, fortunately, met with approval from all five of the children still with her and a storybook was promptly brought by one little girl and was proclaimed a favourite of all of theirs.

It was a fairy tale about a princess and a white knight who saved her from an evil sorceress. The book itself was falling apart, but it appeared to be a first edition and one that Allie herself had at home. Nate had bought it for her in London when she was a child. She recognised the story very well and it had been one of her favourites. She had made either Nate or Cassandra read it to her before bed every night until she was, perhaps, fourteen. Even Richard stopped to hear her read, and the smarmy amused smirk on his face made her want to stick her tongue out at him but she didn't because of her audience. If one of these children was to be her own, she'd rather not have them see her behave so immaturely.

After the story had ended, Richard and Allie had a long conversation with Mrs. Mallory about the children, and Allie made up her mind that she and her husband would certainly be benefactors to the orphanage. Times were difficult, and they required all the help that they could receive.

Just as Mrs. Mallory finished pointing out all of the children who she thought might be the right fit for their household— all prettily behaved and rather young, she noted— Allie noticed another boy, a little older, standing by the banister of the rickety staircase. His arms were crossed and he was surveying the scene before him contemptuously, as if he had no appreciation for the goings on. He had dark hair and the conflicted grey eyes, the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen before. He looked to be about nine or ten years old, but she could already tell that he would be a handsome man when he grew.

"Who is that boy there?" Allie asked curiously, resisting the urge to point him out to the matron. Richard's eyes followed the direction of her own, and she saw him smile briefly. He had probably been just like that boy all those years before.

"Oh, him." Mrs. Mallory said, dismissive and apologetic at the same time. "You mustn't mind him, Your Grace. He has been most sullen and rude ever since he first arrived when he was five. Sent here by his rich father he was when his father had a legitimate son who could inherit. He is suspicious of all and no amount of kindness has been able to convince him to think otherwise. I apologise on his behalf if his nonparticipation in the festivities has offended Your Graces in any way."

"Oh, no, no!" Allie exclaimed hastily, feeling her husband tense beside her. Her heart instantly clenched painfully for the boy, hating that any child should be abandoned. "I did not mean it that way at all. I only wished to ask what his name was."

Mrs. Mallory, however, barely heard Alexandra's response for she was soon overcome by a number of her wards tugging at her skirts and asking for something or the other.

When Allie turned to Richard, however, she found that his attention had been captured by the boy. Feeling her gaze on him, he turned to meet it, and in her eyes found a silent question to be answered, Shall we?

With a small smile, he nodded in understanding and they walked the short distance to where the boy was standing, his scowl deepening and his suspicion growing as they approached him.

"Hello," Allie said gently, fully aware from the moment she'd caught sight of him that he might be the newest member of her family, "My name is Alexandra and this is my husband, Richard. What is your name?"

The boy simply turned away, his stormy eyes only becoming murkier as they clouded with conflicting emotions while he attempted to choose between responding to the maternal kindness Allie was attempting to exhibit or his own doubts.

"I'm not interested in your sympathy." He said finally, his voice firm. He sounded like a Londoner, and Alexandra briefly wondered how his refined accent had remained after all these years.

"I was standing in your shoes exactly sixteen years ago." Richard confessed softly, and Allie's eyes widened in surprise for she had not expected him to begin by speaking of that. Even the boy appeared to be taken aback, but he righted himself almost immediately. "I was just as disbelieving and untrusting as you, and I know you have reason to be. I made a choice, however, to trust a man who took a chance on me and chose me and that choice was the best I have ever made for it led to many wonderful things."

Her husband's words were sudden and shocking, but they appeared to be exactly what the boy needed. He swallowed, a childish, skittish apprehension entering his eyes. She felt a surge of affection for this boy, and hoped immediately that he would allow himself to be vulnerable. Despite the suddenness of Richard's impromptu declaration, it appeared to be exactly what the boy needed to hear.

"My name is George." He admitted cautiously. If there was any need for them to be further convinced that he was perfect for them, this was exactly what was required. If she'd been a sillier girl, she'd have claimed it was destiny, although she was still not entirely convinced that it wasn't.

"Welcome to the family, then, George." Allie said warmly, looking to her husband and catching sight of the emotions swirling in his eyes. She placed a hand on her stomach, where the baby Richard still had no idea about grew, and looked between her husband and the boy who was to be her son.

They would be blissful, and she would make sure of it.