I did not want my ideas to go to waste, therefore, I bring you another update! Enjoy :D
Gone But Not Forgotten
Chapter Seven: Forgiveness, Maybe So
"I want that man to explain himself at once!"
"Father, you must calm down!" Elizabeth could sense her father was on the verge of cracking completely, which was not a good thing due to his failing health. His face was bright red, his hands were clenched tightly by his sides, and she swore she could see his teeth gritted. Elizabeth worried about Weatherby, for his health over the past year had not been good at all. The doctors that had visited all diagnosed a weak heart, and had warned her father not to get overly excited or tense, to stay calm, lest he have an attack of some sorts. And right now, Weatherby was anything but calm.
"I will not calm down, Elizabeth! Where is that man?" Weatherby walked deeper into the house, searching around the lounge before he walked into the kitchen to look.
Elizabeth sighed and shut the door behind her. It was then that a mixture of emotions escalated through her. Fear; for both her husband and her father, anger at her father's outburst, sadness at the whole situation. She knew that her father would not react kindly to Will's returning. After all, he had stretched the boundaries in the beginning to allow them to marry, and paid the price later on, what with society's harsh reaction. As much as Elizabeth loved Will, she could not help somewhat feeling guilty…
Elizabeth sat daintily on the plush sofa in the sitting room of the Swann mansion, idly sipping her cup of tea and chatting casually to Mrs. Mary Harding, the wife of one of Weatherby's associates. She was a plump woman, with steal gray hair pulled back into an intricate bun, wrinkles littering her ageing face, and eyes as cold as the depths of the ocean. She gently set down her teacup and turned to face Elizabeth, her piercing eyes narrowing.
"News around town is that you are engaged, my dear," Her face remained the same, lifeless and emotionless.
"That I am, Mrs. Harding, that I am," Elizabeth's heart fluttered with love and admiration for the man that was currently working hard in his shop, crafting swords and saving money so they could have a future.
"Surely gossip cannot be truthful about your fiancé?" Mary added condescendingly.
"That all depends on what the gossip is, Mrs. Harding," Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at the woman.
"So it is true, you are marrying Mr. Turner? The blacksmith?"
"Yes, for once the gossip is true," Elizabeth's insides burned with anger at the expression on Mrs. Harding's face. It was one of shock and utter disgust. If her father had not been seated across the room from them, Elizabeth would surely have slapped the old lady's face at once.
"But why? I cannot understand why you would want to marry that…scamp. It's positively indecent! Weatherby, how can you allow this?" She turned to Weatherby, who was going red from embarrassment. He finally spoke up, noticing the look of daggers on Elizabeth's face.
"Now Mary, you know as well as I do that nobody can inhibit true love. I trust Elizabeth's judgment; William is a fine match, I am sure," Elizabeth beamed inside at her father's kind words.
"Oh Weatherby, I do not think I could ever be as positive as you if one of my own married beneath them. You just wait; people will start talking, and before long, turn on you."
Weatherby ignored her statement, "Mary, I am quite sure they will all warm up to the idea once they see how faithful and loving William is. Once again, I trust my daughter's judgment."
Elizabeth's heart swelled with pride at her father's words, and she gave him a loving glance before sipping her tea.
"And to think, I actually believed the man would stay faithful to you, and stick by you!"
Elizabeth was shaken from her reverie once again from her father's booming voice. Her eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips indignantly, "Father! For one, I do not appreciate you bursting through my door so early in the morn, ranting and raving; Luke is still asleep! And you need to calm down; you heard what the doctor said! Do not work yourself up into a frenzy!"
Weatherby rubbed his aching forehead in dismay, "I cannot help it, darling. He left you for three years! He left you to raise a child all by yourself. I held you in my arms while you cried at such a thought. It broke my heart to see you so forlorn. I promised myself that if he ever returned, I would not tread lightly."
"Things have changed, father. I…I have forgiven him," At the look on Weatherby's upset face, she quickly added, "I know it may seem hard to believe, but I really do still love him. He knows he did wrong, I can see it in his eyes each time he looks at me. Nothing can ever take away all the pain I felt when he left. That is something that will always stick with me, and with him. We both know that. But ultimately, I do not wish to deprive Luke from his father any longer. He lost the first few years of his life without him, and I do not wish that to continue on. He needs his father, just like I need my husband. So please, please keep that in mind when you speak to him. Please, for me?"
Her beseeching eyes never failed to compel Weatherby to give into his daughter. He could never resist those eyes; they were just like his wife's when she was alive. He sighed and nodded, "All right, darling. I won't shout, but I cannot promise to go easy on him. He needs to hear what I have to say."
"Yes, I know. He is upstairs; I will go get him. But please try to be as quiet as possible," She turned on her heal and slowly walked up the stairs to their bedroom.
Will was vigorously pacing the floor of their room, having heard the commotion downstairs, "You were foolish to think that you could escape this, William Turner…" He mumbled to himself.
Elizabeth came bursting through the door, looking nervous, "Will-"
"I know, love. Where is he?"
"Downstairs," She put a comforting hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek, "I told him to-"
"No, I don't deserve it. I'll take whatever he gives me," Will looked at Elizabeth before walking from the room, heading downstairs where his father-in-law waited in the lounge room.
"Lovely of you to join us, William. And after such a long time, too," Weatherby gritted his teeth, forcing himself to remain composed; for Elizabeth.
"Governor Swann, sir. You must accept my deepest apologies and regrets for leaving. I truly had no intention of being gone so long, but alas, circumstances prevented my immediate return to Elizabeth's side. If I had known she was with child, I would have returned sooner, or rather, never left in the first place," He hung his head in shame, eyes clouding over.
"You do realise the damage you caused, not only to Elizabeth herself, but to her honor and reputation?"
"I do."
"She was absolutely distraught. When she woke up and found your note, she ran straight to my home and into my arms. She cried for hours, days even. She could not bear to go back to the house until she found out she was with child. That seemed to ease the pain. I insisted she forget about you and remarry, but she would have none of that. She bravely returned back here and remained here until the last few days of her pregnancy. She had Luke back in her old room. She was screaming for you, William, and you weren't there. That just broke my heart, and hers."
"Please, enough," Will's heart ached at such a thought.
Weatherby continued, ignoring Will's protests, "She couldn't take Luke out into town without people stopping and staring, without them whispering nasty things about you or why you left. It broke Elizabeth's heart, because she still believed you were a good person. So she just stopped going out, and spent most of her time either at home, or with me. Not that I complained, of course, I was ecstatic to spend so much time with my daughter and grandson. But I knew deep down it was not healthy for her to shut herself off from the world. She needed to get out and embrace life, but she said she couldn't. Not without you by her side."
"I'll never forgive myself for everything that I put her through, sir, you must believe me," Will stared earnestly at Weatherby, "I know nothing can take away all the pain she felt over the past three years, but I promise you, with God as my witness, that I will never, ever leave her side again. I will always be there for her and Luke from this moment on."
"It'll take a lot more than that to prove to me your devotion to Elizabeth, but consider it a start. Despite Elizabeth saying she forgives you, I just cannot bring myself to, not just yet. You left her, William. You pledged never to leave her in the vows you exchanged on the day of your wedding, yet you still left her. I cannot forgive you yet, I just…cannot, " Weatherby sighed, staring and Will sternly.
"I understand, sir, I do. If I could take back the last three years of my absence, I would. But I can't. So I will try my best to make it up to her."
"See that you do."
Weatherby spied Elizabeth walking down the stairs, a little cautiously. She had eavesdropped on the talk, relieved that her father had re-told everything accurately. She didn't want him to go off into fabrication.
Weatherby walked up to her and cupped her cheeks, "Do not fret, I did not lose my temper. But he needed to hear what I had to say."
Elizabeth looked past her father to Will, who had his back turned, staring down at the fireplace, "I know. But I think we can work things out now. Things seem…brighter."
"I should take my leave, darling. Take care-"
He was interrupted by the sound of Luke hurrying down the stairs, almost running into Elizabeth in his haste, "Gwandpa!"
Will turned and watched as his Weatherby scooped up the boy, twirling him slightly in the air before bestowing his cheeks with kisses, "Lukey! My, you are getting big! I can barely carry you!"
Luke giggled as he set him down. He clinged onto Weatherby's coat and looked up at him in admiration. Weatherby was the closest thing he had to a father figure while growing up, therefore he looked up to him. Will was left standing off to the side, unable to stop the feelings of jealousy and regret shooting through his body at the realization of the bond Weatherby had with Luke. He didn't know why he felt jealous, he just did.
"Unfortunately, Luke, I must return home now," He cupped the boy's cheek, bending down to kiss him on the top of his head, "But I will visit soon."
"Gwandpa, look, I have a father!" Luke squealed, bounding over to Will and hugging his leg. Will's frown turned into a broad grin as he bent down and picked Luke up, holding him on his hip. Luke looked over at Weatherby, pointing to Will excitedly.
"I know, Lukey," He smiled at the pair before turning to Elizabeth, "I shall see you soon." Kissing his daughter's cheek, he waved to Luke before walking out the door, shutting it softly behind him.
"Bye Gwandpa!" Luke waved at the door before wriggling from Will and trotting into the kitchen, wanting his breakfast. Elizabeth followed him in, where she cooked him some porridge.
In the lounge, Will sat down on the sofa, going over the events of the morning in his head. He could tell Weatherby was angry, and hurt as well, but he swore he detected something else in his eyes…relief. He knew Weatherby well enough, that all he wanted was Elizabeth to be happy. And apparently, she was happy now that Will had come home. At least, he thought, I can take comfort in that.
Elizabeth poked her head out from the kitchen, spying him sitting rigidly on the sofa, "Will, darling, let me make you some porridge."
Will snapped his head up to meet her gaze, "I'm sorry."
Elizabeth frowned, "For what?"
"For everything."
I firmly believe Weatherby would secretly be happy to see Will xP He is such a softy, despite his pompousness. Plus, I like making Weatherby nice in fanfictions :P