1934

Eleanor had been told that she had a visitor at the castle. The young man who let the visitor in was new and didn't get his name. Ella and Henry decided to go with her to be safe. When a staff member opened the door, Eleanor was stunned, "George?"

"Hello, Eleanor," the man said.

"But, you're dead."

"No, I was kidnapped..." before he could finish, Eleanor fainted.

"Mother!" Ella rushed to her side while Henry sent for the doctor. "Daddy, what happened?"

"Let's make sure Eleanor is alright. Then I'll explain." It wasn't long before the woman regained consciousness. She was then helped to the couch where she was now seated between Henry and Ella. Eleanor told her husband that she wanted an explanation and wanted it right then and there. "I felt a lot of pressure to make sure that my wife and daughters would never want for anything. It was different when I married Ella's mother. We came from the same economic class. Eleanor had been poor her entire life and I had taken her girls in as my own. I made a few financial decisions that cost me. I owed people money that I never should have borrowed from. They made me fake my death and go with them to work off my debt. I was released earlier today and dumped at the chateau."

"You faked your death?" Ella asked.

"I didn't want to, but they had threatened my family."

"Ella, Henry, would you mind if I spoke to George in private?"

"Not at all," Ella said. She hugged her father, "I'm so glad you're okay." Ella and Henry left Eleanor and George alone.

George could tell by the look on his wife's face that she wasn't happy with him. "How long had you planned to disappear?"

"It wasn't really planned. I knew they would be coming to the house that night. I was told if I didn't have the money that they would take me with them. If I didn't go then they'd kill my family."

"That's why you never yelled for help? You went willingly?"

"I had to."

"The blood?"

"I don't know whose blood that was and I didn't ask. May I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said.

"How could you treat Ella so terribly?"

Eleanor looked like a deer in the headlights, "what?"

"I've heard things about the way you treated her. I thought you loved her?"

"I did, I do, but losing you was very hard."

"That's no excuse."

"I knew that one day Ella would have a loving husband and wonderful family. She's smart, kind, and beautiful inside and out. Anastasia and Drizella were another story. I just let their behavior get to a point where I needed to focus on getting them married off."

"Did you let them destroy her mother's dress?"

"Yes, I did," she whispered.

"I'm not the only one who will have to work on being trusted again."

"Ella has forgiven me."

"But I haven't. You were supposed to take care of her. I asked her to take care of you."

"I know and I feel terrible, but I can't go back and change things. If I could then I would have, but I don't think Ella would be with Henry if I had been nicer to her."

"I can't even look at you right now." George turned and left his wife alone in the room. She sat on the couch and started to cry. Her husband was back, but she didn't have him. Maybe she never would.

George was in the bedroom Ella and Henry had put him up in. He had seen Drizella and met her husband and his grandchildren. George looked out the window and saw his wife with their granddaughters. He smiled at the sight. Then he saw Eleanor place a hand on her left hip and limp to a nearby bench. He left the room and went downstairs. Outside, he walked up to Eleanor, "are you alright?"

Eleanor looked up and was surprised to see her husband, "what?"

"I saw you from my window. How bad is the pain?"

"It's not too bad, yet."

"Papa, will you play with us?" Charlotte asked.

"Go," Eleanor said, "I'll be fine here."

George played with the girls for a while. Eventually, the girls had to go get ready for dinner. George helped his wife get to her feet, but held onto her. "How does it feel now?"

"About the same."

"Just take it easy. Don't rush," he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm sorry for scolding you earlier."

"You had every right to."

"I'm sorry for all the hurt I've caused."

"I know," Eleanor hissed in pain, "it's getting worse."

"Where's your cane?"

"It's in my closet."

George lifted his wife into his arms and carried her to her room. He retrieved the cane and sat it against the nightstand. "Do you need anything else?"

"Will you move in here with me?"

"Are you sure?"

"We've lost so much time. I don't want to lose anymore."

"I'll get my things. Would you like me to tell them that we'll be having our dinner here?"

"Yes, please."

George went to his room to retrieve his things. He called the staff to tell them that he and Eleanor would be dining in Eleanor's suite and requested a bed tray. Eleanor had some wine with dinner and got a bit carried away. She woke up the next day with a terrible pain in her hip, but she didn't care. She finally had her husband and her happiness back.

A month and a half after George returned, Eleanor was in bed, sick, for the third day in a row. She finally consented to be examined by a doctor. When the doctor was finished, he left and had George return to his wife, "is everything alright? The doctor said you wanted to talk to me and didn't tell me anything."

"I'm pregnant," she said softly.

"Really?" George was in shock. He didn't think that Eleanor would get pregnant at forty-five.

"Yes," she answered, "but I might not carry to term because of my age. I also may not make it through delivery."

"I believe you will."

"Why?"

"You're a survivor."

"How am I going to tell the girls?"

"I guess you could wait until the baby arrives. Although you're so thin they'd probably notice the weight is the result of pregnancy and not food."

"Pregnancy has never been easy for me."

"Okay," George shrugged.

"That's it? That's your response?"

"There's nothing we can do to stop it so we'll have to adapt to it."

"I love you."

"I love you too," George bent down to kiss his wife. She stopped him and shook her head. Eleanor then threw the covers off and ran to the bathroom. George followed and held her hair back. "It's a good thing I know you're pregnant. Otherwise, I'd take this personally." George ended up having to carry Eleanor back to bed. He sat in bed holding her as she fell asleep. The man was absolutely thrilled to have another baby on the way. He just hoped that everything would be alright.