Chapter six

I took a cab to Elizabeth Street and asked the driver where the ANZAC Memorial Building was. It was easy enough to find. I was twenty minutes early so I decided to walk a little in the welcoming park. By walking across the gardens I could see some of the surrounding buildings. Their features somewhat reminded me of London, except that the local flora included more than just pigeons. I was also surprised by the contrast of the architecture with the local environment.

The temperature was high, but not like Phoenix's dry heat. It was humid and light and sunny and full of life. I could feel that life growing on me. It felt heavenly to breathe. Maybe feeling good was directly proportional to the miles between you and the place your mind makes an association with being "problem-related". Sydney was definitely going to be care- and problem-free as soon as I could get Emmett and Renée talking. I made a mental note to devise a plan to achieve that goal when I noticed that it was almost eleven thirty. I returned to the Memorial Building and found Mr. More already there waiting for me. He smiled and waved ever so slightly when he saw me approaching.

"Right on time Miss Swan. 11:29. I'm impressed," he gently held my hand between his own and kissed it lightly without lingering. I wasn't accustomed to such pleasantries, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by his gentlemanlike manners.

"Well thank you, Mr. More. How do you do today?"

He didn't reply my question instantaneously; instead, he stared at me long enough to make me uncomfortable. I eyed him inquisitively but he stood frozen in front of me. He raised his hand instinctively, almost touching my neck, but I pulled away. My movement broke his stare and forced him to look away.

"You have a very lovely piece of jewelry," he eventually said with a very disturbed look upon his face. "It suits you."

I didn't respond right away. Bizarre wasn't a strong enough word to categorize that instant.

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. I don't know why I was so surprised to see you wearing it. It's nothing but fair for you to keep it."

What is he talking about? Why did he look so upset?

"I'm afraid you're not making much sense to me."

" I'm afraid I'm not, I apologize for that. Come Bella, I believe we have a lot to discuss."

I was baffled. He started walking but I had no intention of moving. Through my hazed vision I noticed four rather bulky men shift slightly in their places when Mr. More started to move. He saw me looking at the men, as two of them kept their positions a few meters behind him and the other two circled us and then fell into step at his side. He sensed I was fearful of him and held his hand slightly in the air, the movement almost imperceptible, and they backed away a little.

"I'm sorry, don't feel like you're trapped here. You're free to go if you please. These men are my security guards. Behind us there is Damian and Sean, next to you there is Patrick and this one on my left is John. Right there, by the fountain is my chief of security staff, Mathew Parker," he said, without raising his eyes from mine. Then he abruptly changed topic. "There is an H and an M engraved in that little heart you're wearing today."

How did he know that? I wasn't wearing it on the airplane.

"I know because I met your grandmother Marie when we were younger. It's unsettling for me how much you look like her. It's almost like going back in time…"

Oh my God. I stared at him disbelievingly. Every little piece of the puzzle started fitting together in my head as I recalled our conversation in the airplane. Was my grandmother the one he cheated on his wife with? Why was that the first question on my mind? They loved each other?

"I don't know what to say, I'm perplexed!"

"Bella, please have lunch with me. I promise to explain everything."

I wasn't happy about the situation. I was too aware of the men following us, but curiosity took me over and I needed to know everything. There were so many questions filling my mind at the time that needed to be answered. Questions that until then I never thought that I needed to ask. But now that they existed, I wouldn't be able to fight the urge in me to seek answers.

I followed him in silence. We walked for about fifteen minutes and I could see that his breathing was labored and his skin was moistened with sweat. There was no color on his cheeks even after the exercise; he was still pale and his thinned complexion made him look older and breakable.

Soon, we reached our destination: a private dining room reserved in a five star hotel where I suppose he was staying. We were already seated, facing each other, when he finally broke the heavy silence in the room.

"Do you want me to order for you?"

What?

"Sure," I wasn't very hungry anyway. I didn't pay much attention to what he ordered for me.

"Bella, I have to be honest with you. There is so much to tell you, but I have no idea of how to begin. You have to let me tell you my whole story. Please promise you will listen to me. I know we are barely acquainted, but believe me when I say that I have the utmost respect for you and I worry about what you might think of me."

He seemed so sincere. All I could see then, looking straight at him, was a fragile old man clinging to life, so I allowed him to continue with his story and suppressed the urge to fill him with questions. He took my silence as a sign for him to tell me everything I so much needed to know. At this point my fear had almost disappeared and he seemed to be the frightened one. "You have to know," he finally started, "before I tell you more, that I loved your grandmother Marie very much, and that's why I came looking for you…" He paused.

"Go on", I pressed.

"We met in England, in 1954. She came to my house to help in the kitchen. She was sixteen at the time and I was 24, the same as you are now, right?"

"Yes," I said.

"I felt instantly attracted to her but our first encounter was so embarrassing." He chuckled. "I remember it clearly even 40 years later. I think she had been working in our house for about a week , and I was home for the summer after my last semester at Oxford. I had invited a couple of friends over and we had been celebrating the night before. I had had too much to drink and woke up to the most terrible hangover ever. I never drank again after that…

"Anyway, I was feeling really nauseated and thirsty when I woke up in the morning, so I decided to go to the kitchen to get myself a glass of water. When I got there all I could smell was the eggs and bacon that sickened my stomach. I vomited all over her because she was standing in the way of the sink… Can you believe she actually thought that it was somehow her fault? She helped me and placed a wet cloth on my forehead. That's when I looked into her big brown eyes; they were almost like yours, and I was lost."

He looked at me intently, gauging my reaction. I was expecting him to continue, so when he didn't I asked him, "So you fell in love with her… that doesn't explain what you're doing here, with me."

"I'm dying, Bella."

How could I respond to that? "How do you know that?"

"I have pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, it's inoperable. I don't have much time left," he said in a barely audible voice. "You know the prognosis, you're a doctor."

"I'm sorry," I nearly whispered. Nice going Bella…you're sorry?! I didn't know what to say to him so I tried to get him to continue his story.

"Why did you come to find me? The airplane ticket exchange wasn't a coincidence, was it?"

"No, Bella, it wasn't, and I'm sorry for that. But I really wanted to meet you. Not having much time left really changed my perspective on many things. I never ceased worrying and questioning myself about how your grandmother was doing. My wife made me promise I wouldn't go after her, but after she died five years ago I started planning to find Marie. I never did it until now because I was afraid… I don't know what scared me the most: finding her happy or finding her miserable. So I postponed it."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked him.

"Because I need you to know how much I loved her and how much I regretted every day choosing status over the love of my life. When the detective I hired to find your grandmother told me that she was gone I couldn't believe that I was denied the chance to ask for her forgiveness, to tell her that I was the weak one. And then I saw your photograph and I just knew… I just felt that I had to meet you. The resemblance is astonishing. I almost collapsed earlier when I saw that necklace around your neck. I was the one who gave it to her when I promised to love her forever. I gave her my heart symbolically, hence the HM engraved in the back of it." He sighed loudly before continuing. " I need to know all about her, about her life, and I need you to be the one to tell me."

I was lost for words. How come I never knew he existed?

"I'm surprised. If not for this necklace there wouldn't be any proof that you were ever together!"

There was something burning my throat that I needed to ask, even though I could only imagine how much it might hurt him. "So why didn't you stay together?"

"Oh, I was afraid you were going to ask that, but it makes sense… Well, Bella… I was a fool and let other people's judgment lead my own."

"What do you mean?"

"I´m afraid you're going to be very disappointed when I tell you why we broke up, so to speak."

"I'll try to keep an open mind," I reassured him. But could I?

"I'm a duke, Bella. I was engaged to be married already when I met your grandmother," he said with sad eyes. "And she worked at our house… I was weak and afraid of what people might say. My mother convinced me that I was dishonoring my ancestors with my behavior. Remember our conversation in the airplane?"

"So you felt that she wasn't good enough for you?" I asked, trying not to raise my voice. It still sounded harsh.

"I'm the one who could never live up to her expectations. I wasn't the man she saw. She only saw the best in me, Bella, and I felt good seen through her innocent eyes. But then I really thought she would eventually hate me. Our worlds collided and every time I thought things couldn't go worse… well, they did, and one day she was gone." His eyes glistened with unshed tears and I didn't know what to say… so I said what came to my mind first: "So should I address you as Your Grace?"

He laughed humorlessly and answered, "Please, don't. To you I'm Henry. Never should someone with your eyes know me in any other way than as Henry." He paused. "You barely touched your food; please eat."

I tried to swallow a bite but it didn't taste like anything in particular. "Did she love you back?" I eventually asked.

"Yes," was his only answer.

I took a deep breath, realizing that all of a sudden the woman who had sculpted my personality, my female role model, was a stranger to me. Knowing the origin of the necklace was a little puzzle solved but that just left me with a new pile of questions in my mind. I tried to breathe in and out slowly while assimilating these facts. She was not a stranger, there's just this part of her life that you didn't know about. All of a sudden I felt the urge to know more. I needed to know more…

"What happened with you? If you loved her so much that you decided to look for her over forty years later, why did you let her go?"

"I understand that you need more answers and I'll answer every question, but for now I don't think I can manage to tell you everything, and I'm not sure if I should since she probably didn't want to tell anyone. Will you give me time to ponder this?"

"Yes, of course. But will you be honest with me? Will you tell me everything you can?"

"You have my word."

And with that he grabbed my hand gently and kissed the back of it.

"Now that we have cleared a few things between us that might make you question my sudden interest in getting to know you, will you be so kind to provide me with some company this afternoon? I'm afraid I can't bear to be parted from your pretty eyes today. I need their comfort."

"I know that what I'm going to ask you is going to hurt you, but I have to..."

"Of course, anything."

"Did you come to find me because you regretted your choice?"

"Yes, but I guess in a way telling you this is kind of an atonement for me. I live now to regret the fact that I didn't have children with the woman I loved. Seeing that pink little blush in your cheeks makes me regret it even more, for I was not blessed with a child and I didn't have the pleasure of you calling me Grandpa Henry during your childhood. We could have had a beautiful family together… But she did it, even without me. You're perfect! That is my punishment, my Bella."

That undid me. With all the money, the security guards and the noble title he was dying alone. My grandmother loved him and the proof of it was the necklace that she kept for all those years and that now rested around my own neck, that somehow brought me to him. She loved him. Maybe she always had.

I pulled his right hand and held it between my own. "I will be here for you, Henry, but you need to tell me everything. Can you do that?"

"I can, and I will…"

We finished our meal in silence. It was almost 2 p.m. when he asked me, "What do you want to do today, Bella?"

And then I had the craziest idea. "How do you feel about speed boating?"

"I'm afraid I've never done it before, but I'm willing to give it a try."

"Great!"

It was so much fun, he even wore the red cloak and hood. We forgot about the tense conversation we had had over lunch and talked about everything other than that. I was surprised to find out how much we seemed to have in common: we were both Kant's disciples. He talked about some books I hadn't read before, and I made a mental note to buy some of them.

At around 6:30, we arrived back at his huge suite. I was admiring the view over the Opera House when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi Bella, where have you been? I just called home and Renée said you've been out all day. What have you been up to?" Rosalie asked.

"Not much, really…"

"Okay…" Rosalie decided not to push so she continued, "Emmett and I were thinking about taking you and Renée out to dinner."

"Where to?"

"Darling Harbor. There's this restaurant that serves Emmett's favorite ribs and he's been asking me to go with him for weeks now. I thought this would be a good chance for us to go out and hopefully get him and Renée in a neutral environment. It might actually do some good for their relationship..."

"Sure, sounds good to me."

"Okay. I made dinner reservations for 8:00. Is that okay for you?"

"Sure, but I'm not going to come home first because I'm already near Hyde Park."

"Really? Why don't you come and meet me at work and we can both go together. Your mom and Emmett can meet us at the restaurant."

"Okay."

"I´ll text you the address. Meet me in one hour?"

"I'll be there. See you soon, Rosalie."

I looked over at Henry, who had moved away to give me some privacy during my phone call, and said, "My sister just called me to invite me to attend a family dinner. She made reservations at a restaurant in Darling Harbor. Would you like to come? I have to meet her an hour by her office."

"Thank you for the invitation, but I feel like I took too much of your time already." He smiled at me, and for the first time today it touched his eyes.

"You're welcome."

"Bella, why don't you freshen up a little for your dinner?"

"Thank you, I think this will have to do, I don't have any fresh clothes anyway."

"That can be arranged. I'll have my assistant get something for you."

"Really, it's not necessary…"

"I insist. I have to get ready for a business dinner of my own. She'll be here anyway to help me get dressed, so it won't be a problem at all."

"I couldn't…" I was interrupted by a timid knock on the door and a woman in her thirties came in.

"Bella, meet Greta, my personal assistant," she held her hand out to me to shake it. "So Greta, Bella is going to need something to wear today for a casual dinner. Can you help her get ready within the hour?"

"Of course, Your Grace. I'll ask Anne to get me some things from the hotel store."

Do they have one?

"Why don't you take a shower and I'll get you clean clothes to wear in fifteen minutes. What's your favorite color?"

"Blue," I said.

"So blue it is."

I took a quick shower, barely noticing the luxury of the bathroom and the suite itself. I felt like I really shouldn't be there couldn't help but feel that I was somehow taking advantage of Mr. More's kindness. When I got out of the shower, Greta helped me with my makeup and gave me a long, silky midnight blue dress to wear. It tied behind my neck and left over half of my back and shoulders bare. It narrowed at the waist and then flowed freely and loosely to the floor. I was amazed that it somehow fit me perfectly.

"You look lovely, my dear," Henry said when I stepped outside to the balcony.

"Isn't this a little too much? I believe I'm abusing your kindness…"

"Never, sweet Bella. Would you deprive this old man of dressing up and appraising a lovely lady?"

I blushed and he smiled. "She used to blush just like that…Well, go now, Bella. Have a nice dinner. Mathew is going to take you to your meeting point. He´s already waiting for you by the door for your instructions. I hope I'll see you again, my dear. But I will leave that to you. If you choose to do so, please call me. I haven't had such a wonderful time in a really long time."

"Thank you," I said, and hugged him a little awkwardly.

-//-

"I'm here to meet Rosalie Hale…I mean, Rosalie Swan."

"Sure. Isabella, right?" The blonde woman who I believed to be the Agency's receptionist asked.

"Yes, I believe she's waiting for me." I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was already 7:35. Oops, I was late. Suddenly I heard Rosalie's voice behind me and turned around instinctively in the direction of the sound. Instead of Rosalie, however, I looked up into the most beautiful emerald eyes I had ever seen, staring back at me. Oh my God! I breathed in slowly, completely filling my lungs, but I wasn't able to breathe out. I was completely unable to speak.

"Bella, you're here. I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, but I was discussing some final details about our new campaign for Cullen industries," Rosalie said, gesturing to the man in front of me. I forced myself to look away from his gaze, knowing that I was surely blushing. Why did I have to stare at him for so long?

"No, I just got here," I said, still feeling his eyes burning into my skin.

"Aren't you just gorgeous today? Now I'm underdressed," Rosalie chuckled. The man took his eyes from me and looked questioningly at Rosalie, giving me a chance to look at something other than his captivating eyes. He was the most handsome man I'd ever seen, for sure. He had strong, manly face features with a perfectly chiseled jaw, but the only adjective that came to mind was beautiful. I had never been rendered speechless by someone's good looks before, even though I'd seen my share of handsome men. He was perfect, even with the bronze messy hair that screamed, "I just jumped out of bed. Don't you wish you were the one who messed it up like this?!" Breathe Bella, act normal… you'll probably never see this guy again anyway…

"I'm sorry I didn't introduce you," Rosalie apologized. "Isabella, this is Lord Edward Cullen, my new client."

"Please, call me Edward," he said in a smooth velvet voice with the sexiest British accent, then kissed the back of my right hand.

What is it with me and British accents?!

AN:

Thank you to my wonderful Beta Scooterstale for editing another chapter and to everyone who review my story, trust me when I say that you make my day… Your reviews are really my own personal brand of heroin…

Medical trivia: Pancreatic cancer truly has a poor prognosis, The relative 1-year survival is only 24% and the overall 5-year survival rate for this disease is less than 5%. n patients able to undergo a successful curative resection (only about 20% of patients), median survival time ranges from 12-19 months, and the 5-year survival rate is 15-20%

Disclaimer: Twilight doesn't belong to me…