Author's note: I'm glad to see that everyone is enjoying the story.
- TheChosenOne3 and MissMeganJane
Come on you two, deep down inside we always knew Marguerite was royalty, I mean she certainly did. :)
- Kat 183
No Roxton Floozies here! =)
- Spirita, Keys 3303, and Zeus Fluff (interesting name by the way)
Here's more...
Silence followed this statement, asserted with such confidence. No one knew what to say. Marguerite had searched for so long to find her past, her heritage, with always no results. Now in the space of seconds she had not just a name but a fortune and a title to go with it.
Hesitantly she pulled her hand out of Karla's and asked softly, "Are you sure?... Are you sure its me?.... Are you positive that, that person you just named is me?
"I'd stake my very soul on it." she said, staring Marguerite boldly in the face. "I am not mistaken." she added after a moment.
"Prove it." Roxton said, eyeing her suspiciously. Marguerite was 6 months pregnant and this kind of emotional overload wasn't a good thing in his mind but at least if it was going to happen, he was going to make sure that it was valid and not the ramblings of a senile woman.
Karla looked to him and there was approval written all over her face. Then turned back to Marguerite, "My dear" she said softly "You had a very sad childhood, very lonely. Never in one place for very long, always moving about. You never knew either of your parents or any guardian. Money you never lacked, affection you never had. With you, you always carried a gold chain with a heart shaped locket on it. It was engraved with the words, To our darling Marguerite, forever in our hearts."
She paused here and her eyes once again filled with tears, "He.. your father.. he gave one to you and one to your mother. Hers said, To my wife, my heart, my soul, Our love binds us eternally. They were very much in love. You... you look very much like your mother." On the last words tears spilled out of her eyes and Marguerite felt the world tip.
Roxton reached out to steady her. She slumped against him weakly, her eyes sliding shut. Carefully, lovingly he scooped her into his arms, shooting a glare in Karla's direction.
Marguerite buried her face in Roxton's chest as the wave of dizziness swept over her. She was clutching his shirt tightly and didn't care. A lot had happened to her in the past years. They'd been on the plateau for 7 years now and in that time she'd become a completely different person than the one that had sold Veronica six months into the expedition. She'd changed.
She was a daughter now - Challenger's. A sister - Ned and Veronica's. A mentor - Finn's. A wife - Roxton's. But most importantly she was a mother now - three year William napped peaceably in his bed. Each and every role she had acquired had changed her, shaped her into the woman she was today. A woman who was hard to truly anger, who was considerate in a subtle way, who was loyal to a fault and who would sacrifice anything for those she loved.
She was happy. She had stopped searching for the past and looked forward to the future. She didn't need this now, didn't want this now.
"Marguerite?... baby...." Roxton said as he laid her on the sofa.
She whimpered and snuggled closer to him, rejecting the softness of the couch, preferring his warmth.
"Come on honey, open up, let me see those eyes...."
"No... This can't be happening... John, make it go away..... not now... I don't want this now...." she murmured tearfully into his shirt.
"hey, hey look at me.." he tilted her chin up with his hand. Her eyes were tear filled and had the look of a doe caught in the headlights - fear, shock, curiosity all mixing and swirling in there.
"What this woman has to say, it changes nothing. It gives you a past but your present, your future is here with me; with us." He told her lovingly.
"John this woman knows who I am.... she knows me.... John..... I don't even know me...." the tears fell.
"What do you mean you don't know you?" He said frowning slightly
"I know you." He added as he gazed into her eyes. Determined to drive out the fear.
"Your my wife. Your Lady Marguerite Roxton... a wonderful, caring, loving, some-what-temperamental woman who is an exceptional mother; a loyal friend; and a brilliant scholar." He paused and added with a slight smile "And that's just the beginning."
"This woman and her knowledge of your past - because my dear it is your past and nothing more - doesn't change any of that."
"I'm... John... I'm afraid.... I'm afraid of what she has to say. What she knows, I have this feeling.... that.... I'm going to cry.... that this knowledge is going to bring pain.... and it scares me." she whispered
He smiled softly, "It shouldn't. Nothing she says can change who you are Marguerite. Only you can do that. And I'm here, we're all here, we're your family. You don't even have to listen to her if you don't want to."
She looked down again and he let her explore her thoughts for a moment.
"Of course I want to." she said after a moment. A determined glint in her eyes.
He smiled. they all smiled, that was their Marguerite - never backing down from a challenge.
Karla sensing the ease in tension approached the couple on the couch.
"I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to upset you. I just... I'm.... I'm beyond shocked to find you here. How did you get here? When did you get here?"
Marguerite shook her head wiping at her tears. She sat up. "No, I'll ask the questions." she took a breath as Karla nodded accepting her decree, then she said in a hard voice that said she was ready for anything "If my parents were so much in love then why'd they give up their kid?"
