One bright and lovely Autumn morning Alastor and Charlotte decided to take a walk together and they brought little Caroline with them. She sat up in her pram, wearingthe Sunday bonnet her great Aunt Rosie had knitted for her, and playing with her silver bell rattle. Completely oblivious to the conversation her parents were having about her.
"She'll only be attending the best schools in this entire state." Her father said. "Her education will be the finest that money can buy. She'll be taught reading, writing, arithmetic. My daughter won't just be the prettiest girlin this county, she'll be the smartest as well."
"Our daughter." Charlotte corrected with a teasing smile. "Don't forget that I'm the one who actually had the baby, and for fourteen hours no less."
"Yes and I'll be forever grateful to you for going through all that to bring Caroline into our world."
He leaned over and kissed the baby on top of her head.
"Do you suppose we could teach her music and dance?" Charlotte suggested.
"Of course and when she reaches the proper age I'll teach her how to use a rifle."
"A rifle? But Alastor she's a young lady."
"So?"
"So, a young lady doesn't use a firearm."
"Who says? Both my mother and my aunt knew how to use a rifle and a musket. That's how they kept gophers and crows out of the crops."
"Is that so? Then I guess I have no objection to it. But how old would she be when you would start teaching her?"
"Well I was eight when my father put a rifle in my hands for the first time."
"Absolutely not. She will at least be at an age with two digit numbers before she even lays a finger on a weapon."
"Fair enough."
They continued on down a dirt road and all was peaceful until suddenly Caroline started to become fussy.
"Oh what's the matter sweetie?" Charlotte picked up Caroline and lightly bounced her to soothe her cries. That was when she noticed that Caroline had dropped her rattle and that is what caused her to cry. "Dear, it would seem that Caroline has dropped her rattle during the walk."
"I'll look for it."
Alastor began scanning the dirt road for his daughter's toy but did not see it.
"Is this what you're looking for?" A voice asked.
Alastor looked up from the road and saw that the voice belonged to an older man who was lingering on the road, seemingly confused and lost. But in his weak hand he held the little sliver bell rattle.
"Oh yes thank you my good man." Alastor said taking the toy from him. "Thank you very much."
Alastor returned the rattle to his daughter which brought a smile back the babe's face. As Alastor was putting Caroline back into her pram, Charlotte glanced over at the man who had retrieved her child's toy and she was instantly shocked.
Had he been just an old friend or neighbor she probably would not have recognized him. For the last time she had seen him, he stood proud and strong but now he hobbled all frail and feeble. Yet despite the drastic change, Charlotte would know him anywhere. This poor pitiful man was her father Lucifer Magne.
She rushed to his side and said.
"Good sir, do you know who I am?"
The man squinted his eyes and stared at her but he did not recognize his daughter.
"I hope you are a kind lady who will spare a little bread and meat from your table." He said.
Charlotte was deeply grieved that her own father did not recognize her.
"My dear, do you know this man?" Her husband asked.
Instead of answering the question she simply replied,
"Alastor may we please allow this poor man to spend the night dinning with us in our household? He looks so hungry and weak."
"I don't see why not."
She turned back to Lucifer.
"Good sir you are welcome in our house."
"Thank you." He said almost crumbling to his knees. "That woman I met on the way here told me that if I stuck to this path I would meet good people, willing to help me. But I wasn't sure if she was right."
"What woman?" Charlotte asked.
"She was dark skinned but dressed so elegantly in red. Never thought that I would see anything like that."
Once again Rosie had helped Charlotte with what troubled her but she only helped her in matters of aspects that the blonde could not control. Now the rest was up to her.
She and her husband helped Lucifer back to their house where they had Niffty make up a guest room for him and set out a plate for him at the table. However Charlotte had two instructs for her servants. Number one that they do not address her by her first name in Lucifer's presence and number two that only an apple be served to him at dinner. The servants were puzzled by her request as was her husband, but they did as they were told.
"Sweetheart I don't understand." He said to her as they were dressing for dinner that night. "Who is this old man and why are you giving our staff such peculiar orders?"
Before answering, Charlotte checked to see if anyone was within range to hear what she was about to say. When she saw that no one was close enough she finally decided to come clean about everything. On the morning after she had helped him recover from his illness, she had told Alastor her real name and that she was kitchen servant but she had mentioned nothing of her family or where she was from. So in that moment she reviled to him that the old beggar man was in fact her father and how she had ended up at Alastor's plantation in the first place. When his wife told him the whole story he became furious.
"I shall have him thrown out immediately." He declared.
"No don't." She pleaded.
"You are his daughter. His child. He should have spent his entire life treasuring you but instead he threw you away like common trash! And for what? All because you told him how much you loved him?"
"He misunderstood what my words meant."
"Then he must not have truly loved you at all! I knew what your words meant the very instant you spoke them to me and hearing them made me the happiest man in all the world! How is it that I could see the love behind your words when he could not and he's known you so much longer than I have?"
"I've been asking myself the same question since the very moment I saw your reaction to my words. I do not know why he could not understand and it breaks my heart that he couldn't. But I will not hate him for it."
"I cannot forgive him for what he has done to you."
"You must. For my sake. I have forgiven him."
"How? How can you forgive a father who would discard you as one would discard a pet they've grown bored with?"
"Because I love him and if you really love me then you will try to forgive him too."
Alastor went silent for a moment. Then he took his wife into his arms and held her close to his chest.
"Oh Charlotte. You really are one of a kind." He brushed his forehead against hers. "I love you so much. I just can't stand the idea of anyone hurting. It angers me especially when the person is your own father. Someone who as supposed to love you and take care of you til his dying day. I can't even imagine myself just disowning Caroline like that."
"I know. Me either." Her eyes filled with tears. "Every time I look at her I can't help but wonder why anyone just never want to see their child again. If Caroline was to somehow disappear from our lives I know I couldn't go on."
Alastor gently pulled away from his wife and then grabbed a handkerchief from his jacket which he used to wipe her tears away.
"Smile my dear." He said. "You know you're never fully dressed without one."
She giggled at his words and her smile only became stronger when Alastor waltzed over to the bassinet across from their bed where Caroline had been taking her afternoon nap. She had just started rubbing her eyes and yawning when her father picked her up and placed two little kisses on her rosy cheeks.
"Come on, sleepy head. It's almost dinner time and it is most improper to let a hot meal get cold." He said to his daughter.
"Speaking of meals, were they able to buy the barrel of apples I requested last week?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes indeedy." He replied.
"Good." She said gently grasping his arm with her hands. "In that case let us be going."
With that said they proceeded downstairs and toward the dinning room.