RESTORATION

It is with open arms, but a considerably heavier heart that I would welcome back one who has been missing from the inner folds of this city for far too long. The identity of this lone traveller I have been forbidden to announce, but rest assured I will not be alone in anticipating her arrival – FROM THE "GAMESOME GALLANT" COLUMN IN THE NEW YORK IMPERIAL, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 1911

Diana stepped from the platform of the boat which had taken her away from Paris and onto the sturdy surface of the pier, which she had once promised herself never to return to unless it was absolutely necessary. She held in her right hand the very same small suitcase which had been her companion on the journey away from America's shores eleven years before. It held inside the letter which had been the cause of her return.

At twenty eight years of age Diana had seen more of the world than anyone who might consider themselves her social peer, and yet only her shimmering brown eyes would seem to betray that knowledge to them. Her complexion was pale with a hint of tan and there were small laughter lines around her eyes but to the casual onlooker she would not seem to have lost too much of her youth. She usually allowed her chestnut brown locks, now lighter from the combination of sun and ocean which she had enjoyed in the seaside chateaus of France, to grow long and free until they touched the end of her shoulder blades. However, in honour of the bright day which New York had greeted her with, she had pinned her hair back as much as possible to restrict it from sticking to the white cotton of her shirt.

Mindful of the time but needing a moment to consider the life she had left behind, Diana took a deep breath of the musky air and coughed when she had inhaled too much. She looked back once at the steamship which was now accepting passengers for a return journey to Paris, and considered boarding, before smoothing down the long black skirt which she had purchased before departure and heading toward the vast city. Suitcase in hand she was now more mindful of the gait which she knew was uncommon for the society she now returned to.

"SHE'S HERE!" The boy could have been no older than four, and yet his lungs seemed to be even more surprising than the force he had used to swing open the front door of the Cutting's home. He had bright grey eyes and ruffled ash blonde hair and he stared up at Diana with a bold confidence which she knew had been taken from the less obvious side of her sister's personality.

"John, what have I told you about shouting?" Elizabeth scolded delicately, and came from behind her son to blink at the sight of her younger sister. "Oh, you really are here this time," she said delightedly and moved past her son to embrace Diana in a grip which the latter hadn't been expecting. "It's wonderful to see you."

Diana was pushed back to be observed from arm's length. Elizabeth's arms had a strength to them which had not existed eleven years ago and though Diana had greeted her in Paris several times since then, she couldn't help but compare her thirty year old sister to the eighteen year old debutante she had once been.

Her waist may have been a little larger after the four children she had carried but the yellow sleeved dress with a square neckline and a layered effect to the waist made her look as elegant as ever. There were a few lines around her eyes which showed her happiness and her skin now held a pinker colour which suddenly paled. Elizabeth now wore a concerned expression as she took in the recent change in shape of Diana's body but then concealed it masterfully when the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall behind her.

"Diana." Teddy Cutting greeted as he scooped John into his arms. The boy giggled and squirmed as he pushed a hand into the light brown stubble which grew around his father's bold jawline, but Teddy continued talking whilst his mouth was being squashed to one side, "come inside, dinner is almost ready."

Diana smiled, grateful to be away from the questions she knew would be asked later and entered her sister's home.

"I'll have the maid take your suitcase to your room," Elizabeth smiled at her sister and then moved to close the door. Diana could only manage a nod and was once again thankful that Teddy was not in the habit of pressing for information, even though she had noted his eyes passing over her stomach.

The hallway was light and generous with a staircase sweeping from the right and leading up to the next floor. Diana fought the temptation to run up the stairs and retire to the room which Elizabeth had set for her, but the smell of food coming from a room along the hall told her that dinner had been scheduled in time for her arrival. No doubt the trip around Gramercy Park had been arranged so that they could eat as soon as she arrived, a consideration which brought her eyes to unexpectedly well up. John wriggled out of his father's arms and went to play with the ribbons on Diana's case; his father ignored him and smiled grimly at his sister in law.

"Oh Di," Teddy pulled Diana into his arms without saying another word. This had been an unexpected move on his part and only caused Diana to cry even more into his shoulder. There was a comforting silence about him which allowed her to stop her tears as Elizabeth came back into the room. Her sister looked sympathetic and seeing the looks exchanged between husband and wife, Diana understood that a lot of things had been discussed before her arrival. She moved away from Teddy and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief which Liz had offered to her.

"I didn't expect to get a letter from you both so soon after you had left France," Diana spoke truthfully; even though it had been three months since Elizabeth and Teddy had finished their visit, she hadn't been anticipating a letter.

Elizabeth's eyes cast downwards for a moment before she could meet Diana's eyes again. "In truth we were expecting to write but… we didn't think that things would change so quickly." Teddy moved to hold his wife's hand in a subtle gesture which both sisters knew meant that it was not the time or the place to have this conversation.

"Dinner," John said simply, and grabbed Diana's hand to pull her towards the door at the end of the hall.

The room where the Cuttings ate and entertained dinner guests was large enough to fit in a dining table which could have seated twelve and several rich wooden furnishings which went around the edge of the room. A French window pane stretched almost from the ceiling to the floor and when opened allowed access to the garden. It was open now and Teddy moved through and outside onto the stone platform to call his children. Keller and Mary came running up the length of the grass lawn and up the stone steps to fly into the dining room and fling themselves into their seats.

"Steady," Elizabeth scolded but again she was smiling.

It made Diana smile to see that her sister was so happy. She wondered how Elizabeth could bear to look at Keller, with his bright blue eyes and dark mid-length hair he looked the ten year old version of her first love. He wore a white collared shirt and dark trousers with boots which made him look like a rogue, and the thought crossed Diana's mind that he may have been trying to look like this on purpose. She remembered how outgoing he had been in France and how eager he had been to go cliff diving into the sea with the local boys – something which Elizabeth had refused to allow – and wondered if he took after her. After all, at that age she too had become obsessed with the idea of pirates and vagabonds.

His sister Mary sat next to him, and if he was Will's duplicate then Mary was Elizabeth's. The eight year olds ash blonde hair hung freely around her shoulders and her face was delicate and angelic, as Liz's had been at that age. She wore a blue dress with a square neckline like her mother's but hers had puffy sleeves and was decorated around the collar with pretty white beading – Diana was certain that Elizabeth had owned a dress which had been similar at that age. Mary took a sip from her cup daintily and Diana agreed with herself silently. Mary was most definitely Elizabeth's daughter.

Once everybody was seated at the table the food was served by the same maid who had replaced Claire all of those years ago. The full significance of this caused Diana to look down at her lap for a moment. When she looked up she caught Elizabeth's eye, and realised that she had left her sister to bear the weight of this sad truth on her own.

"I guessed that you were the one who told the driver to pass the house," Diana said, to stop a silence from building between the adults.

"Yes, I hope that didn't upset you too much?" Elizabeth's forehead creased slightly as she began to worry.

"It was… nice." Diana tried to make her smile seem earnest even though passing the house had made her want to leave New York again. The shadows which had fallen over Gramercy Park before her departure hadn't changed and the memories of the events there had only come back more strongly than before. "Who did Aunt Edith sell the house to?"

"I think that they were old friends of hers from before she moved in with us," Elizabeth looked at Teddy as if to confirm this. He nodded and then pretended to be distracted by Keller, who hadn't touched his food.

"I'm not hungry," Keller said after questioning.

"How can that be when you didn't eat anything for lunch?" Elizabeth tried to add a laugh to her voice to disguise her concern. Keller simply frowned at her.

"Eat some of the chicken. That's your favourite isn't it?" Teddy gestured towards Keller's plate.

Keller shoved the plate away. "Please may I leave? I'm not hungry."

"But your Aunt has come all of this way to see you. Keller the least you can do is talk to her?" Elizabeth stressed. It became clear to Diana that this was not a first time occurrence.

"Aunt Diana, please may I leave? I'm not hungry," Keller said, politely enough.

"Keller that was rude."

Keller pulled a face at his father and ran out of the room and into the hallway. Elizabeth stood to go after him but the maid who had served their dinner came to talk to her. "Mrs Cutting," the maid seemed to be struggling to find words to speak, "I went upstairs to check and…" Her eyes drifted over the heads of the children and she lowered her voice so that Diana, who sat furthest away from her sister, could barely catch her words, "and I'm afraid that Mrs Holland is no longer with us."

Elizabeth's reaction to this news was clearer than the maid's words could ever have been.