Daniel had been putting off this moment for so long... returning to England, to his old life. It was something he had not really planned on doing.
After Isabella's death, the home he had grown up in, that once had been his haven, had become his hell; a constant reminder of how his foolish reckless affair with Gwen had ruined his life. It lost him something precious he had not come to appreciate until it was too late. Which was why he had bought himself a captaincy in one of the British regiments to go and fight against the French dictator Napoleon.
In the beginning his father had not been happy on finding out about Daniel's plan to go of to fight in the war in Europe, With his own health failing he argued indignantly that he needed Daniel on English soil, to care of the business in the Mill and the estate It was his duty as the only son and heir
But Daniel had no interest in the business or his family home, he just wanted to escape, and insisted that his uncle Henry who was his fathers brother-in-law could take on the responsibility whilst he was away
Whenever the chance to go into battle with his regiment, part of him had hoped that some Frenchie would put a bullet through him, and end his miserable existence. But that was not to be. He was doomed to continue living, despite his reckless attempts that he felt sure would end his life.
In the end, all he had managed to do was to get badly injured whilst caught in some cannon fire, when he and his men had been attacking a holding that belonged to their enemy the French.
Ironically he was hailed a hero for his boldness in battle and leading his men to victory. It had been the end of his fighting career which had left him with a bad limp in his right leg, and a nasty scar on the right side of his face just at his temple bone. He remained in Spain and then Portugal, reluctant to return home.
But now the war was over, and his father and his family insisted he return to take care of the family business, As his father's illness made it impossible for him to cope without him.
Despite his reluctance, in the end, it was only Daniel's strong sense of duty to his father as his only son and heir, that finally made him return and do as his family bid. Still, he found himself cursing the fact he was the only child, before his mother died, when he had just turned sixteen,
During his time on the continent fighting in the war, he had found some solace in alcohol, which helped him forget the bitterness in his heart. He was beginning to realise he would probably be relying on it even more for facing what lay ahead of him
His first port of call had been to see his father and aunt and uncle in York, where he found his father was indeed a lot frailer since the last time he set eyes on him, although he was fit enough to gripe about Daniels reluctance to return, but he then seemed genuinely relieved and pleased to have him back. Pointedly reminding, Daniel how his grandfather had built the family fortune and it was up to Daniel to now maintain it for future generations of the Somerton family,
In the end it just deepened the sense of guilt Daniel felt about how his life had turned out, knowing he had neglected everything because he needed to run away and escape from his unhappy memories and the death of his wife which he felt he was solely to blame. Then there was the only surviving member to remind him of Isabella, and that was his daughter Clara.
When he had decided to go off to fight in the war, he had left Clara in the care of Isabella's parents, knowing she would be probably well cared for in a way he felt he never could give her now.
It only felt right when he had basically robbed his daughter of her mother, as well as her parents of their daughter, now he was on his way to their family home be reunited with his daughter after five long years He had received a letters from his in-laws keeping him updated about the progress of his daughter, but he had found it hard to write back more than a few times in return.
He was not really looking forward to this reunion, and deep down the only reason he realised why he found himself going in the first place was not out of the joy of seeing his daughter again, but to avoid the inevitable of having to return to the family estate and Somerton Manor, where he would be expected to put things in order. and this visit to his in-laws and to see Clara meant he could stall that particular hurdle he was most dreading for another week or so.
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"Clara Louise Somerton, will you sit still!" Cassie Jackson admonished her ward in annoyance, "If you don't stop moving around in that chair, I will never get your hair looking proper"
Clara looked suitably chastised, " I am sorry Cassie," she apologised to her grandmother's maid, "I am just excited that Papa is finally coming to see me. You can't blame me really for not sitting still, wouldn't you be excited too, if you were seeing your Papa for the first time after almost five years?" she then queried, turning her head to look round at her with wide blue eyes.
Cassie sighed, "Yes I suppose I would," she relented, "But I would want to look my prettiest too, and have my hair looking nice," she finished meaningfully, then with a hint of impatience she used her hands to swivel Clara's face back towards the dresser mirror, as she once more she attempted to brush her long dark hair.
Thankfully for Cassie, Clara remained still as she stared into the mirror at her reflection, But she wasn't really focusing on her image, instead her mind had drifted off thinking about her father.
She had just turned six years old when her father became an officer and joined the army to go over and fight in Spain against Napoleon. Now he was returning.
She had heard he had been injured, in battle where he had bravely led his troops against the French, which made him a hero, and an even more fascinating figure in her young eyes.
She could only vaguely recall what he looked like.
Clara had only been five years old when her Mama had died, and her last memory of her father was of him standing in the driveway when her grandparents came to take her to live with them.
It had been a very strange time, one moment her Mama had been there smiling and talking to her, the next she was gone,
Five year old Clara had not understood how her Mama could be gone just like that, and why she would be unable to see her anymore. She remembered asking her Nanny why Mama had gone away, and she knew it was a sad thing, because Nanny had kept crying, and hugging her.
Clara's next recollection had been of her Nanny informing her that they would be going to stay with her Mama's parents, who were going to take care of her.
Now she was a little older, Clara understood what had happened. Her mother had fallen down the stairs in a tragic accident, and died. It was something that was not mentioned very much because it upset her Grandparents.
Her father had been unable to look after her, so Grandpa and Grandma Winston had taken responsibility for her.
And although she had been cosseted and loved by her Grandparents, lately, Clara had often thought about her father.
Curious about him and what he was really like. After all, he was her father yet she could only barely remember him.
She understood fully he had been unable to come and see her when he was across the sea in France, fighting against Napoleon. Her grandparents would get the odd communication from him, but he had never really mentioned her in them.
Clara's governess, Miss Carter, had agreed to let her write letters to him when she was old enough to grasp her letters and words to write sentences.
But Clara was a little disappointed that her father had never actually replied to her short missives. She began wondering in dismay if he had even received them
Miss Carter soothed her that he was probably unable to, as he was too busy with his military matters, and didn't have the time. But he still had probably enjoyed getting her letters. So Clara had contented herself with that.
But now he was back in England for good, and coming to visit her.
He might even want to take her home with him.. She could not help but be excited, She was doing her best not to fidget when Cassie was fixing her hair.
She did want to look pretty for her Papa coming, but just thinking about the fact he was coming to see her, and would be arriving in a few hours, made her smile, and she just wanted to jump about.
It was really difficult staying still, when one was that excited, she lamented.
Down stairs, Clara's grandmother Annette Winston was having mixed feelings about Daniel Somerton's visit to their home.
The last time she had spoken to her son-in-law had been when she and her husband had come to attend their daughter's funeral, and it had been arranged that they would take care of Clara.
Daniel had seemed to have withdrawn into his own little world after Isabella's death.He had not wanted to see or speak with anyone, or seem to care about what was going on around him... Including the welfare of his small daughter.
In fact, he had seemed relieved when Annette suggested that Clara should stay with them, until Daniel recovered from his loss. The next time they heard from him, he wrote to inform them he had taken an officer's commission and was heading out to Spain to join his new regiment. And he would appreciate it if they could continue caring for Clara in his absence.
Something in his letter gave Annette the impression that Daniel didn't plan on coming back alive.
Annette always felt there was something more to her daughter's death than a simple accident that made her feel uneasy. There had been murmurings, rumours she had chosen to ignore at the time, because she was too upset to want to hear such things.
When she received the letter from him to inform them he would be paying them a call now he had returned to England, it had stirred up all those unsettling memories.
Annette wasn't quite sure what to make of her Son-in-law.
He and Isabella had seemed happily married, and after Isabella's death he was a man haunted in his grief, so much so, he seemed unable to face them, or the rest of the world.
When he had left to join the war, his letters had been few and far between,
He had just informed them he was still alive, and to make sure they received money for looking after Clara. The letters were stiff, formal and short. They had been written out of a sense of duty rather than concern.
Lately Clara had been asking many questions about her father.
Now that she was a little older, her curiosity about her parents was coming to the fore.
They answered their questions as best they could. But it still pained Annette to talk of Isabella, only to remember her youngest daughter was lying cold in a grave along with her unborn child.
She imagined seeing Daniel again was going to have its difficulties. But at least, it seemed he was interested in seeing Clara, which was good.
Clara had been so happy when she learned her father was coming, she had never seen her granddaughter so excited. It had been difficult to get her to go to sleep the night before.
Annette wasn't sure exactly what Daniel's plans were for his daughter now he returned back to England. Perhaps today they would find out. Would he want Clara to be part of his life?
Annette hoped so with all her heart, for the child's sake, getting the feeling that Clara would be deeply disappointed if she was not.