Well, the weather sucks at the place I'm staying at (it's raining, like we don't have enough of that in Holland already? Haha) So I had plenty of time to write something today. And then, I started writing and I couldn't stop. So, this is the longest chapter I have ever written, hope you don't mind…
And "Kate", thank you for your review of the last chapter. I am happy you are enjoying it.
Anyway, enjoy :)
The month May slowly turned into the month June, which happily brought its summer temperatures with it and spread them across England's Capital. The summer didn't leave its presence undetected. It mildly spread its hot temperatures through the streets and small alley's of London, while the sunshine made itself noticeable with its bright light shining on every object present in the everyday life of London's inhabitants.
Kitty took a sip from her tea before returning the cup to its saucer. She took a bite of her biscuit, letting it get crushed between her teeth. She tried to return her attention to the living room where she currently was occupying the couch. Flora had invited Rosalie to have some tea with them, probably trying to distract her from the one thing that had been taking over her thoughts the moment she had been reunited with Sylvie.
Elliot. The trail. Everything that had got any connections with these two words, had been hunting her. Not only in her thoughts during the day, but also during the night. They wouldn't leave her alone, when she was trying her hardest to catch up on her most needed sleep.
But the witnesses of the trail had been cross-examined. All she could do now was wait, wait for the jury to make their final decision about Sylvie's fate. Reach their verdict.
Suddenly she felt a hand touch her arm. "Kitty", it said vaguely. She blinked with her eyes and shook her head, trying to get rid of the all consuming thoughts about Sylvie and the trail. She turned her head and was met with two pair of eyes, who looked at her, concerned.
"Are you all right?" It was Rosalie who asked the question.
She tried her best to smile. It was her way of telling them that she was fine. "Yes, I'm fine. Really."
Flora looked at her, the concern still written on her face, like she didn't believe her. "Are you worried about the trail?", she asked.
In her time with Elliot she got away with it. Pretending. It was something she was really good at and everyone had believed her. Only this time she had forgotten that she worked almost three years with these woman side by side, sharing a tent with them, that she forgot that they would see right through her. Keep up appearances would be a waste of time and energy.
"Yes", Kitty said, folding her hands together, squeezing them. "I'm just afraid that they are going to sent her back to Elliot."
"But why would they? They have to see that it's best that Sylvie lives with you, not that stupid, evil Elliot." Flora put her right hand on her folded one's and said, the sincerity visible in her eyes. "It will be alright. Really."
"Yes, Kitty", Rosalie added. "It'll be alright. You should have some faith."
"And in her testimony Sylvie did say she wanted to live with you", Flora continued, putting her tea cup back to where it belonged, safely on its saucer. "They have to take that into consideration. They have to listen to what the child wants and Sylvie is hardly a young girl anymore. She is old enough to know what she wants."
"They would put a child into the care of a woman who couldn't stay faithful to her husband?" The question was spoken out loud before she could even properly think about it. It wasn't long ago that she told herself not to let Elliot control her, but now… Elliot had achieved exactly what he wanted when he was in the witness stand in court.
Not long ago had she warned Sylvie about those games Elliot had been playing, trying to protect her from it and she had thought she could withstand them without getting affected. But look at her now. Everything she thought she had build in those last years with Tom seemed to crumble down next to her, leaving no foundations to take courage from. The courage she needed to fight Elliot once and for all. She wanted nothing more that to finally become the winner of this game he had been playing all those years of her marriage.
"You didn't know what else to do", Rosalie said after a few moments of silence.
Rosalie paused for a moment. She breathed in, like she was trying to scrape up together the courage from every part of her body where she thought it to be found. "You know that I once believed you weren't a lady. When I read that article about your marriage to Elliot, I was very quick to judge."
"But I got to know you better after that. I was told the real story about what Elliot was like. After that I respected you more and more, because you kept going for so long. I know what's it like to be searching for love so desperately that you would do anything." Rosalie looked at her, the honesty was displayed in her eyes.
Rosalie was the one that changed so much during the war. In the beginning she was a fragile, young woman who wanted to escape the judging eyes of the London society. She was shocked at even the slightest thing, but now… Rosalie had accepted Kitty's past and the two of them formed a close bond.
She was really happy that Rosalie finally found someone she could spent her whole life with. She couldn't be more happy when Rosalie finally told her about the man she fell in love with. The first man she dared to see naked, the soldier who's glasses she fixed. Now she was married to him with two beautiful children.
"I was trying so hard to find someone, marry him so I could stop disappointing my family. I just wanted what my sisters had; a loving husband." Rosalie turned to look at her properly before she continued: "You just wanted someone to love you. Elliot never once cared for you, so you went looking for it somewhere else. Really, Kitty. No-one can blame you for that."
It must have been the longest thing Rosalie ever had said. She wasn't a person who would say a lot in conversations. She would rather let Flora do all the talking and since Flora didn't mind at all, Rosalie would mostly listen. Rosalie was the mature one of her two friends most of the time and she was glad she opened her heart to this woman.
Slowly, almost without noticing it by herself, she felt her eyes become watery. She swallowed and blinked at the same time,
"Oh, thank you so much. Both of you." She didn't have the power to stop them now. They had decided for themselves to show them to the outside world. A few tears streamed down her face. She quickly wiped them away, but not before she felt the hands of Flora and Rosalie squeezing her. One in her arm, the other on her shoulder.
"I am so glad I met you two", Kitty said after she had a moment to compose herself.
"We are very happy you came to France", Flora said, not daring herself to let go of Kitty. "We are very privileged to call you our friend." Rosalie nodded, endorsing on the words Flora just said.
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Tom took one step forward. After his conversation with Kitty a few weeks ago he had made his decision. He was not going to let Kitty get hurt again by the cruel man who called himself Elliot Vincent. The hatred he felt for this man could not even describe what was really going through his head. It was time Elliot Vincent stopped playing games with everyone and everything around him.
The grey gravel from the entranceway crunched under the soles of his dark shoes. He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat before he lifted the door handle. Not a few moments later a young woman with short blonde hair, fully dressed in a maid's outfit, opened the door. "I would like to talk to Mr. Vincent", he said before the maid had time to great him properly.
"I'm not-"
He quickly interrupted her. "It doesn't matter. I want to speak to him. Now."
The maid bowed her head, the blush on her cheeks got redder. "Please, come in", she said. She opened the door and gestured for him to come in.
"I will see if he has got time now, Sir." She didn't wait for him to respond, since she walked quickly to the stairs. He could slap himself for being so rude to the housemaid. It wasn't her fault that she was working for such a manipulative man.
He took a seat in one of the chairs that the beautiful decorated hallway could provide. So this was the house Kitty had lived in when she was married. This was where Sylvie was being raised. Despite the fact that the decorations and paintings couldn't be more beautiful, it had a different atmosphere. It was almost cold, but maybe that had got something to do with its owner.
While he was looking at the paintings on the wall, he saw in the corner of his eyes that Elliot was descending from the stairs, them being covered by a bright red carpet. "What can I do for you, Thomas Gillan?"
He stood up, making his physical presence known to Elliot. "I thought we could talk." He folded his arms, before he continued: "Gentleman to gentleman, right?"
Elliot sniffled. "What could you possibly be wanting to talk about?"
"I want you to agree on a settlement. Sign the custody of Sylvie over to Kitty." He was letting his Scottish brogue do the job for him. His words sounded harsh, but that didn't bother him. He was going to use everything he's got to make sure Elliot was signing over the custody rights, even if that meant blackmailing him.
"And why would I do that?"
"Because", he said. "No jury would allow a young woman to live with someone who could be capable of psychical abuse. Look at all the practice you had."
Elliot snickered. "You have no witnesses."
It was Thomas' time to smile. He would never let that opportunity go. "Really?", he said, raising his dark eyebrows. "You are forgetting about my esteemed colleague, Miles. Although he went by the name of Captain Hesketh-Thorne at the time."
The smile on Elliot's face, the smile he always had on his face, slowly started to fade away. The anger was more than willing to take the vacant space the smile left behind, making itself know to Thomas. "And what is your great plan than, Mr. Gillan? Rat me out in court, making the jury decide in your favor?"
He shakes his head. "No, I am giving you a choice. Sign the custody over to Kitty or I will tell the court. I think Mr. Hesketh-Thorne will be happy to testify on Kitty's behalf."
The smile that had left Elliot's face to only a few moments returned to its original place. "So", he started, slowly moving towards where he was standing. "Katherine's new husband does know the rules of the game. He knows what it'll take to get what he wants. I wonder how that develops in the master bedroom." His last words were followed by laugh, something he hadn't heard in his life before. Not even Yelland laughed at him like that, even though that make could make his blood boil as well.
It took all of his will power not to lose his temper in the presence of this awful man. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. He would stand firm, taking in all the insults Elliot would throw at him. He would not destroy any hope he had for Sylvie to come home with them.
He would not respond to Elliot's insult. Instead he said: "Sylvie is useless to you."
"And as the perfect husband you pretend to be you would love her like she was your own?" Elliot looked at him with his brown eyes, the emotions buried deep under the surface. "I doubt that."
"Yes, of course I would love her. She is an important part of Kitty's life. But apparently you don't know what it's like to put someone else's needs before your own."
Now it was Tom's turn to take one step forward to the man still standing in the hallway. "Give her up, Elliot. Let her be happy." He took in one deep breath before he uttered the last words. "Agree to the settlement, sign the custody over to Kitty."
"What do I get in return?"
"Nothing", Tom said. "This isn't some business deal. Sylvie is a human being and above all your child. Not something or someone who can benefit you by owning her. It doesn't work that way anymore." Tom took one last step forward, the last step it would take to make Elliot sign the papers. "Give her up."
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Kitty sat herself down on the wooden bench she found in the park. She decided she needed some fresh air before she would go back to the room she was occupying now at Flora's house. Flora was needed back at the primary school she taught at, so she decided she needed some fresh air. It was a beautiful day and she wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. Halfway through her journey she got tired. She had felt more tired this day. She didn't whether that was the custody case that worried her or something else.
She breathed in the fresh air the park provided, letting her body get its rest, while she closed her eyes. During her talk with Flora and Rosalie it made her realize she was being played those last couple of weeks. She let herself being played by Elliot Vincent. When she decided to take the train to London, she had made a promise to herself not to get played. But look at her now. She was weak when she was supposed to be strong.
Suddenly a hand squeezed her shoulder. She rose up from the park bench, ready to fight of whoever had the courage to startle her like that, when she saw it was Sylvie. "Sylvie", she said, breathing heavily. "You startled me."
Sylvie smiled. "Sorry, that wasn't my intention." She gestured to the wooden bench she had been sitting on only moments ago. "Should we sit back down?" Kitty simply nodded and both of them sat down.
"So how are you?", Kitty asked.
"I am fine", Sylvie said, a somewhat reassuring smile on her face, probably trying to say she really was fine.
"Even after everything that has been said in court?"
"It's something that has to be done, unfortunately. But I'll live." She must have had a look on her face that meant she didn't believe every word her daughter was saying. "Really, I am fine. I have been through worse."
Kitty's expression on her face softened. "I wasn't hoping you would say that."
Sylvie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it's the truth."
It was silent. The wind blew its fresh air through the tree, while the leaves moved simultaneously. She water of the fountain, which positioned in the middle of the park, pouring its fresh water downwards like rains sometimes poured out of the sky, like it would never stop.
All of a sudden Kitty felt a indescribable pain settle in her stomach. Her hand flew to her belly while she bowed her head forward, breathing in and out. She felt Sylvie's hand on her back and her voice was full of worry: "What's wrong?"
It wasn't the first time she had felt this kind of pain. It wasn't a pain that was caused by Elliot when he would hit her. No, this kind of pain she only felt three times in her life. "Sylvie, darling", she said while looking up at her daughter. "You need to bring me to the hospital. I think I am in labor."
The worry displayed on Sylvie's face only got worse. Her mouth was slightly opened and panic was suddenly taking over. "The hospital, Sylvie", she said. "Now!"
She didn't mean to yell, but the pain was almost impossible to endure. She needed to get to the hospital so she could properly give birth to her next child. Oh, Tom, she thought. Tom, where are you?
Sylvie helped her stand up from the bench and they both started to walk towards the road. "Taxi", she heard Sylvie yell, the panic not only taking over her body but also her voice.
"I need a taxi", she practically screamed while she raised one hand to call for the taxi and the other to support Kitty. "Taxi!"
So, what do you guys think? I hope you liked it all and it would be really, really great if you all could leave a review. It would really make my day! Thank you..