Henry had seen most of the estate surrounding Stanford Hall with some familiarity. He had driven and hiked through most of it with his darling wife, but the storage shed had just kind of being a crumbling ruin to them. As he put on some rain covers and a slicker coat, he wondered what else could possibly be hidden away that he had overlooked. The duo walked together under one rather wide shared umbrella. The manager brandished a set of keys and unlocked the door. He quickly reached forward to yank on a small light. There was something covered in a white sheet which immediately drew his eyes. As Henry made his way inside he looked at the wide shape that was dominating a s.p.a.ce."Is that a car?" Henry said uncertainly as he touched the smooth bodywork. If it was a car, it was definitely quite an old one.
"Yes," Rightley nodded slowly. "That"s right on the mark. This is the Model T which was the lady"s father"s favorite. I was given it, after he died as well as this shed on the property. It"s nothing too grand, but I was touched. I get to keep a piece of him here with me on the estate."
"Does Ellie know about this?" Henry asked suddenly. He looked a bit nervous as he did not think his partner would want any more cars. The vehicle did give off a bit of a smell.
"I can see it in your face. No, no, no. I"m not giving a race car driver a clunker. She has plenty of speed in the bas.e.m.e.nt to suit her needs. No I kept them in the trunk, what I"m going to give you." Rightley opened the trunk and took out a sheaf of papers. His interest was instantly piqued so Henry walked over and saw that the papers were handwritten letters. It was written in a steady even hand while the one under it was written in block capital letters of someone who was slowly learning english. As he could make out some of the words, he realized there were little bits of Chinese muddled between as a love was unfolding. These papers were also yellowing with the right amount of age.
Henry held up a page to the light. "I can"t believe these survived. This would be so beautiful to me if this was the truth from my own parents instead of Ellie"s. I"m floored that you"re even letting me touch these, Rightley. But, how did you manage to hide these away for ten years without telling anybody? It must be some story to wind up in the trunk of this old car."
"These were actually papers which were kept locked in the bottom drawer of an antique desk the old master used for personal papers. It stayed locked for some time until the lock was forced open by a very curious Priscilla after she inherited. It was quite soon after her father died so she had some strong emotions upon finding that her father had never really loved her mother after all. It"s also probably one of the reasons her hatred of her step-mother probably grew. This was probably the stem of unkindness which forced that small helpless family to flee. They were handed to me by a maid to be shredded and burned. But we all knew, they would be valuable when enough time had pa.s.sed. My original intention was to have a book made in their memory with scans so other people could be warmed by their true affections. Their location here was merely convenience until I could find a better home, but you know my book couldn"t be made while those sisters were alive. This was one place they could not touch as it was mine to own. When they died, I had hopes, but who knew that the daughter would even have a good nostalgia of me."
"I know the person who was the most surprised by this turn of events was Ellie herself. She never did once mention to me that this was her past. To grow up in a castle is such a beautiful story if you blur the details." Henry clutched the letter to his heart as he hoped he could transfer some of the warmth in his own romantic endeavor. But he knew that he could not, he was no master at writing or even handy with a rhyming thesaurus. Any attempt at falsifying love was cold coming from an insincere source. This was beyond him, if he did not cheat with a hired helper. He scolded himself as he reminded himself that romancing a woman he was leaving was incredibly irresponsible. Henry Wong would leave her with only good times. This was that. "I know that Ellie will treasure these. She"s been pining after her parents for all the time I"ve been here. I know when they were alive they took excellent care of her. She really does miss them. It"s a wonder to me why you would not retire once your better master had pa.s.sed on. I would think it odious to be employed under the previous two Baronesses. Ellie"s told me some frankly abuse ridden stories about them."
"Abuse? Well, maybe as children play fighting can go a bit too far. I shall not disrespect the dead as I"d like to go to heaven someday. It"s simple to me sir. I know you run a large company where turnover I imagine must be high. Your New York is also br.i.m.m.i.n.g with companies and compet.i.tors. In theory, yes, if I did my job well I should have others who wish my services. But you can see from the shambles of Lutterworth that it is not the case. I had two children in boarding schools whom the Brayes have paid the full tuition, room and board for. This I am always grateful. Even a janitor must do think he doesn"t like to make sure he has a well fed table and a happy wife at home. It"s considered by others to be odious, but it"s actually quite a well-paid profession. I kept my mouth shut as long as I got my wages. At this point, I just hope the person I"m serving doesn"t vomit on my own shoes. Liking an employer in my opinion is therefore irrelevant."
"You seem happy now in the employee of the new Baroness. Or is this one too not to your liking?"