Chapter 26 – Led by Dreams

"Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Isabella stopped in front of the church that had once been her safe-haven and gaped at the state of it. It was a bigger mess that it had been when she had last seen it but, she supposed, that had been at the end of the 1600's while it was now 20 years into the 1800s It looked as though it had barely been touched over all the time but she had promised herself when she was human that she would fix the place up and she would finally get around to doing it. No one in London would know her now, it was completely safe; she could make up some story about being the distant relative of the family that used to own it (her own) and no one would wonder, hopefully.

It was sad watching to young children running around the house that used to be her own, that used to be hers and Alec's, but taking a deep breath and telling herself she was stronger than she used to be, she set her shoulders and walked toward the church. It was boarded up and the wood was rotting. She spun on her heel heading towards the place she knew would give her permission to fix the church up.

Convincing the person in charge was easy enough, using her mother's maiden name to state the relation, she simply had to charm him into it. The person in charge was a man and a stereotypical one at that, she heard his heart speed up the second she entered his office.

'Thou must be Miss Isabelle Silvertongue,' he stood and bowed to her, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it. 'I hear thy is interested in the Cullen church.'

A shook went through her while she curtsied to know that people still referred to it as Cullen since it hadn't been Cullen since her grandfather died it went to Silvertongue/Cullen and then to Carmichael.

'It's a pleasure to make thy acquaintance,' Isabella smiled her most beautiful smile, the one she found could get her almost anything, and tried not to let it falter as the man's heart stuttered slightly. 'And, yes, I am. I understand that it went to my family after Christopher Cullen died before going to the Carmichaels, is that what the records say?'

'Please, take a seat, my dear lady,' he ushered her to the one on the other side of the desk from where he had been sat. He then went over to another desk and she assumed he was trying to find out if her information was correct. He sat back down. 'That's right, an Isabella Cullen-Carmichael inherited it from her paternal family of the Cullens but after that it was never used again.'

A sharp knock went through Isabella and her curious gaze feel to her lap, 'Forgive me, but my research of history that side suggests she had children - did one of them not take over the church after her death?'

It was weird referring to herself in third person and talking in such a vague way trying to imagine how much information she should know. However, she could barely focus on that as she wondered how Callen couldn't have inherited the church responsibilities and if he had taken over Gavin's business why Theresa hadn't done it instead with him helping.

'Thy is very educated in thy history,' the man's eyes brows rose and Isabella flashed her smile again.

'My family has strong believers in heritage,' she told him sweetly. 'I came to see the church and … it's in such a state of disrepair. So what happened to Isabella's children?'

'Yes, well,' he cleared his throat awkwardly and Isabella stared at him imploringly. 'They died before either was old enough to take over.'

Before she could sink in her shock and sadness which she could feel taking over her, Isabella quickly got to the point putting her fake smile back on, feeling her reaction lapping at her heart.

'So the church,' she said, looking up at him through her eye lashes, 'would it be too much trouble to let me repair it? I'll be no trouble at all, I promise.'

'Well,' he seemed apprehensive.

'I know I'm bias,' she shrugged, 'but it's such a beautiful building and it seems such a shame to let history fall to the ground.' (He still hesitated and Isabella lent forward, staring into his eyes and waiting until his heart sped up)'Please.'

He hesitated for only half a beat longer still trapped in her burning golden eyes, she knew it was mean to tease him in such away but she had to get that church back.

'Very well, Miss Silvertongue,' he said clearly eager to please her. 'I shall make it happen. If thou could come back tomorrow?'

That was all it took to convince him to let her have control over the restoration of the church though the happiness for that had to wait for the soul crushing pain that she was suffering on the information of her two darling twins. She had gone straight back to the church and into the graveyard. She found that she felt as though she could work quicker than she thought she would, forcing the new information to the back of her mind and squaring her shoulders. She had known they were already dead and it was still hard to hear so impersonally but she had a job to do.

Repairing the church to its former glory took several years, longer than Isabella expected but she couldn't easily work in the sun of August, and she was extremely proud of her work. With the stain glass windows replaced so you could actually tell what they were without already having to know, the most rotted beams replaced and the engraving's marked back in them, the pew's polished and everything cleaned, which was a nice past activity which used to be her contribution to the church when her grandfather ran it. She had even gotten interest from a little village's priest second youngest to run it and Isabella agreed readily because as much as she'd like to stay and make sure it kept well, it wasn't possible since she had stopped aging.