A/N: Now the rest of the Destler brood is coming!!! Big family reunion! Thank you to everyone who has been reading and to my beta Halley. Please don't forget to review and enjoy!

Chapter 25: All in the Family

The next several days were a whirlwind of activity. With the expectation of the arriving children and their families, Christine had too much on her plate that Stephanie stepped in to help. Preparing rooms, shopping, and the upcoming Masquerade Ball took up her mind. Since the talk with Christine, Stephanie never had the chance to be alone with Etienne, except their lessons but that was strictly professional and usually Jeanette would come as soon as the time ended. Though, lately, Jeanette stopped calling and with Christine needing her help, Stephanie really hadn't the time to speak to Etienne.

She was in love with him, she knew. And hopefully there was a chance for her and Etienne. For now, she only thought of the different possibilities in approaching him.

This was the hardest obstacle Stephanie ever faced. With Dan it was internal but eventually all she had to do was go to him, say the words, and it was done. Yet Etienne was different. He was a stubborn nature so her usual way of handling it wouldn't work. So she decided to wait it out until the opportune moment arises. Then… then she would tell him her feelings.

xxXXxx

Etienne sat at the piano, plucking the keys out of boredom. Today his siblings were to be here. They received a post not a half hour ago from Maddy, simply stating their train had arrived and everyone would be at the estate in due time.

The last time he saw his brother and sisters had been at Charles's wedding, and since then there been plenty of changes.

Stephanie Larson was the main one.

He felt like a defeated man with no purpose left to live. Courting Jeanette publicly for Stephanie to see was a rash and a good idea at the time. Now, he regretted it most fervently.

He had hurt Stephanie. He had spurred on another's hopes. The former also wounded him, for wanting to hurt her hurt him too. The latter… an inexcusable method to further Jeanette's wishes and her love for him if even an emotion existed such. Both consequences were not in his favor.

But how could he do a cruel deed?

Etienne imagined it was Stephanie with him the whole time, instead of Jeanette. Everything he did… he only saw the future woman.

The charade had to end soon. If Jeanette continues to believe he loved her, rumors will spark of an engagement. What else could it lead with the time they spent with one another?

The very notion sickened Etienne. He, by no means, wanted to be attached to that woman for the rest of his life. He wouldn't be able to make her happy nor will she for him. They would be a miserable couple there was no doubt.

But how to pull out without being scathed by a woman's scorn? Such delicate matters were foreign to him. Etienne needed the advice of someone who would know of such ways. Someone he could rely on most indefinitely.

Not his parents, oh no, but—

"Etienne Fitzwilliam Destler!"

A smile, the first real one in weeks, broke out on his features. "Maddy!"

He was up in time as his dear beloved sister crushed him in an embrace. Only a year apart but Madeleine could be considered the eldest. She always had been far more mature for her age and wiser, meaning less inclined to do something rather stupid, than Etienne. In a sense, Maddy was the female version of the great Erik Destler.

Sleek, straight raven hair and bright azure eyes with a golden tint, and ivory skin accompanied the six foot even woman. Maddy, from the moment she was born, was unlike any girl brought up in their world. She had a temper vicious than Etienne's, which their squabbles as children ended up being more primitive than a shouting match; but the older she became the more she was able to control herself, an ability Etienne had yet to achieve. She could loathe and love with a passion and never one to forget a grudge. And her vast knowledge of different fields suppressed that of an expert, even her own father.

When it came to courting, Maddy had her own criteria of how her companion should be. If he couldn't keep up with her, then it was a no show. Only Johannes Dietrich broke through and won her heart. He was a scientist, the brightest in Germany and a candidate for the Nobel Prize. They had two children—Isaac Erik and Christina Belle—both little geniuses like their parents.

Etienne respected his sister and knew she wouldn't disappoint him if he sought her help.

"How was your journey? Pleasant I hope," Etienne said.

"It was up until Isaac and Christina got into a serious debate over the nature of physics again. Sometimes I rather have those two quarrel the way we did. It would be less messy," she laughed, shaking her head. "But what I want to know is why you're courting Jeanette all of a sudden? I thought you wanted nothing to do with her."

Etienne stared at her. "How… how did you know?"

"Ah, my dear brother." Maddy patted his arm and winked. "Maman told me as soon as she had me alone. Knowing how your feelings were before, I knew something was amiss for you to seek her in a manner. And if my assumptions are correct then I can also assume, in retrospect, to talk you out of it."

"Normally, I would agree if I truly had designs of that particular nature. Alas, my feelings are the same as it were when I told you I never wanted her as my wife."

"Then why are you implying that you want to?" Maddy pursed her lips in a tight frown. "This doesn't sound like you Etienne. Leading an innocent girl on? I mean, Jeanette has her faults, who doesn't? But she's a human being."

He groaned, running his hand through his dark brown hair. "I know. I know. But it was a spur of the moment action and—"

"Does it involve another girl, perhaps?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, and nodded. Maddy let out a little "aha!" and ushered for him to sit down and explain it to her. Etienne didn't need much convincing to do as she wished.

"Now… who is she? Do I know her?"

"Sort of—"

"That doesn't give me much."

Etienne sighed. "It's complicated Maddy."

She thought for a moment and said aloud, "Well… seeing how you're using Jeanette I can venture a guess this 'girl' doesn't have favorable affections towards you and it was an attempt to make her jealous."

"Yes. I dare say it hadn't worked as I hoped."

"She didn't come running into your arms, words of love spewing from her mouth?" Maddy interrupted.

When he didn't reply, she shook her head. "Etienne, you should know that won't happen in that fashion."

"Yes but…uhh!" he growled out of frustration. "Why can't this be easy for me like it was for you, Lizzie, and Charles?"

"Simple. We're not all completely thick-headed like you," she jested. "But more the reason for you to prove your undying devotion, correct?"

"Most likely."

"There you have it. This girl must be really worth the effort for you to go to such lengths. Almost like how Papa had to do for Maman. That's very romantic."

"It would be if she wasn't so damn obstinate. In a way, she's just like you Maddy."

That really perked her up. "Really? Hmm… I like her already. Which brings me back to my original question if I know her?"

"No, not exactly. Father knows."

"Father?" Maddy repeated, her mind conjuring a candidate. "Well, it must be a dancer or singer at the Populaire. With the all time you and father spend there a romance must have sparked."

"No she's not a dancer or singer," Etienne answered. Should I tell her? It doesn't matter… word is bound to be out once Stephanie is greeted to them if Maman and Father haven't done so already.

"Maddy," he began. "Do you remember Papa's stories? About the Modern-Day Angel?"

"Of course I do. We begged him practically every night. What does that have to do with your mysterious love?"

"Everything," Etienne admitted. Looking her dead in the eye, he said. "Madeleine, the Angel—Stephanie Larson--- is here in this very home and I'm in love with her."

TBC…