New chapter,

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xx,

...

Oakdale,

The day after the funeral, wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Lily, Cece and Richard left early that morning, they had to take the first train from Oakdale to New York City. Their meeting with the notary was at 11am so Lily could take the train after lunch and be at home before dinner. She left a list of to do to her daughters and Jenny. Cece also wrote few things that Lily did not understand, like laundry, restitch clothes and polish their shoes.

She did not know what her mother had in mind but obviously some people were going to visit soon... which was stressing her as she knew that her daughters had nothing wearable that could get the approval of the ladies from the New York society. A slip, a corset and a blouse with a skirt or a simple dress without frills and furbelows this is what she and her daughters have been wearing for years now.

On the train she did not speak , she was lost in her thoughts, looking for answers that she did not have...

...

New York City

When they arrived at Grand Central, Lily looked at her parents. It's been an eternity for her. The last time she came to New York City was for Howard Archibald funeral in August 1892, who died tragically on the Van Der Bilt boat with the wife of William Van Der Bilt and and the two sisters of William Van Der Bilt. A strong storm caused the disaster, only Anne Archibald and her father William Van Der Bilt survived. It happened only three months after Lily and William left New York City, since then not a single visit. Lily was too ashamed to come to New York City.

...

As they were walking, Richard informed Lily that they were going to meet the notary at the Waldorf hotel, where they were going to spend the night with Cece.

« We will have the meeting in our room, so nobody will see you. You don't have to worry Liliane, you are not alone and we know how important it is for you to keep your visit a secret so we believed that it was the best solution. »

« Thank you father and mother, I really appreciate your support. I am so sorry for all the troubles that William caused. »

Richard comforted his daughter.

« And don't worry to much because your mother has already the perfect plan to get you out of troubles. » smiled Richard

Cece smiled and nodded but did not say a word about her plan. Until she got what she wanted she would not say a word. Life taught her that sometimes you have to be patient.

...

At 11am, the notary Mr Spencer arrived at the hotel and the receptionist gave him the number of the room. He met Harold Waldorf, the nephew of Astor who was the co-founder of the hotel, the other co-founder was the father of Harold Waldorf.

« Mr Spencer, good morning. »

« Good morning Mr Waldorf. »

« What are you doing here. » asked Harold surprised to see Spencer here

Mr Spencer explained that he had to meet Liliane Van Der Woodsen as her husband just died. Harold Waldorf knew who were the Van Der Woodsen as he bought their townhouse when he and Eleanor and their daughter Blair moved to New York in 92.

« Well tell them I am sorry and see you soon. We haven't decided yet if we will make the announcement of Blair and Nathaniel engagement at Cotillion or for Nathaniel 22nd birthday on the 18th of December but we will see you very soon. Good bye. »

And Harold left Mr Spencer.

...

Room of the Rhodes

Meeting had been short, there was not much to say except that Lily had enough money to live for few weeks only. Mr Spencer said that he was sorry but at least William did not let debts even if it was a cold comfort for Lily.

« You should think about selling your house and to marry your daughters, Serena and Erica. We have really good matches in the city right now. Charles Bass, John Rockefeller, nephews of Macy's, John Chaloner who divorced in 95 and obviously nephews of William Van Der Bilt. »

At this name Cece frowned, she seemed annoyed and Lily looked at her mother confused. All those names were exactly the names that Cece should be looking for and as she did tell Lily that it was time to marry the girls, Lily could not understand why her mother looked suddenly so upset.

...

They finished the meeting a bit before 1pm, the notary left the room but before to leave he told Lily that even if it looked bad she was going to get out of this easily.

« I remember how beautiful your daughters were when they were younger. I can't imagine the beautiful women they must be now. Every man's dream is to marry Serena and Erica Van Der Woodsen, believe me. Show them, take them to a tour of New York City and in one hour they will be engaged. »

« Thanks Mr Spencer but we are poor, we have nothing to offer. Even if my daughters are pretty I don't think it is going to be enough.» replied Lily in a sigh

« Your husband was working hard, he was doing researches, you have a beautiful house and beautiful daughters, I think it should be enough. Plus you used to be a member of the club, your husband got money problem, not you. Goodbye Liliane. Celia and Richard, I am here for you if you need any help.»

Richard thanked him again and Mr Spencer finally left the room.

...

New York City

Ceec and Richard escorted Lily to Grand Central. They barely spoke about the situation. Cece told Lily to do not be scared.

« Go home Liliane and take care of your daughters, your father and I are going to work on the rest. We will be with you for Thanksgiving tomorrow. We love you, now it is time for you to leave.»

And this is what Lily did. When the train left she looked at her parents and sighed. She observed her mother, Cece looked determined. Lily sighed again, she knew that she would not be away from New York City for 7 years this time. Actually she was pretty sure that she would be back very soon.

She was not controlling the situation and she hoped that her daughters would not get mad at her. Hopefully her mother was thinking about young men for her granddaughters and not divorced or widowed men.

...

Cece and Richard looked at the train that was leaving. Cece looked at her husband.

« Come on let's go, we have to hurry up. »

« And may I know where we are going Darling.»

« To the 640th fifth Avenue, we are going to visit William Van Der Bilt. And we have to be there before 4pm as guests without invitation are not accepted after 4pm. »

Richard did not even bother to ask why. He knew his wife very well and he noticed that her face changed when Mr Spencer spoke about the Van Der Bilt nephews that could marry Serena and Erica. The Van Der Bilt were the richest people of the country and as Cece wanted the best of the best, no doubt that she wanted Van Der Bilt for her granddaughters.

...

They arrived in front of Le Petit Chateau at 3:30pm.

Just on time thought Cece as the maid was escorting them to William's office.

« Mrs, Mr Rhodes should I announce your presence first. » asked the maid as they were standing in front of William's apartment

« It is not necessary, William is not expecting us that's true but I am always welcome in this house. »smiled Cece and with her hand she pushed the maid away and opened the door.

...

As the door opened, 6 pairs of eyes looked at Cece and Richard

« Celia and Richard Rhodes. What a surprise. » said William Van Der Bilt with a smile

« Good afternoon William. I am sorry for the interruption but we will be brief, we just need to talk to you. » She said as she observed the people in the room.

...

The room was big, usually separated in two rooms but today doors were opened. William's office and a living room with a billiard. Cece recognized Nathaniel and William III, Tripp for his family and closest friends but she did not know who was the other young man with them. A mysterious dark brown man who was wearing a very elegant suit.

...

« Well, my door is always opened for you. You do remember my son William Jr, his son William III and Nathaniel of course but let me introduce you to Mr Batholomew Bass and his son Charles. They moved to NYC in 92 so I am not sure that you actually met them. »

« Gentlemen, Celia and Richard Rhodes, Celia is one of my oldest friend. » said William

...

After finishing with the formal presentation, William asked if the rumors were true.

« They are, William is dead. He got really sick after falling into the river about 2 weeks ago, high fever, nausea, his heart collapsed few days ago. » explained Richard

« Well I am really sorry, You should have inform us. I heard rumors as Harold Waldorf said that they got a reservation from the Rhodes-Van Der Woodsen and he was surprised as since he bought Liliane and William's house, he never heard about you. »

« Yes, we decided to stay at the Waldorf hotel but I had no idea that you were so closed to Mr Waldorf. » replied an upset Cece again

« We are and you actually just missed him. When you opened the door I first thought that it was him, he could have forget something. »

William then explained that soon Harold's daughter Blair will be engaged to his grandson Nathaniel. Cece looked at Nathaniel and smiled. She was trying to hide her deception. She was looking at the young man and so was he. When William finished his sentence Nathaniel looked down, Cece frowned and got an idea.

« Well Miss Waldorf is lucky, Nathaniel is gorgeous. I am sure it had not been easy to find the right young lady for him. I hope you picked the right one for him » she said very serious, looking into William's eyes.

William raised an eyebrow and wondered what were the real motives behind Cece and Richard's visit.

« We can't complain my dear but let's talk about you. Tell me to what do I owe your visit. »

Cece said that they would like to talk to him in private but William replied that this was not necessary. He added that everybody in this room had no secret for him, so they were all truthful.

Richard and Cece looked at each other before to look at William and the others.

« Well as you can remember William was a very good doctor and he was working hard on some vaccines but after the bankruptcy episode in New York it did not get any better. Now that he is dead we can say that Liliane is, well she has money problems. And I think that you could help us. » started Richard

« Hum I am sorry to hear that. But you can count on me. What do you have in mind, I will do my best to help and also Bartolome could help as well and my son too, of course. » and William was sincere, he would do everything to save Cece's daughter and granddaughters.

« As far as I can remember you had a big interest on our property in Oakdale which is now Liliane's property. We are thinking about selling the house and the acres around. And as Richard said our dear William was working hard, he has books full of notes. He wanted to go to New York in January to expose his progress in his researches. »

« Was he really working on something important. » interrupted William as he could imagine now what Cece and Richard had in mind.

« He believed it, we could get an arrangement and you could come to Oakdale get the books and see our beautiful granddaughters, Olivia is too young but Serena is 20 and Erica is 16 years old, they are beautiful and pure» smiled Cece

« Well, well it looks like we are going back to the engagement talk. » smirked Charles which made Tripp laughed. Nathaniel who was still looking down, raised his head and looked at his friend and cousin.

«Charles, this is not funny. Sorry Mrs Rhodes. » apologized Bartholomew, he rebuked his son.

William looked at his grandsons and Charles.

« To the other side gentlemen, now. » ordered William

He closed the doors that were separating his office from his private living room, locking Nathaniel, Charles and Tripp inside.

« Sorry, we won't get any interruption now. Cece my dear please go ahead. » smiled William who was very curious to know what she had in mind regarding her granddaughters.

...

On the other side of the room after William closed the doors

« Brilliant Charles, how are we going to listen now. » complained Tripp

« Why do you even care, you are engaged to Maureen and your wedding is before New Year eve. » replied Charles

« Oh I am not talking about me. » replied Tripp laughing as he was looking at his cousin, Nathaniel who seemed to be muted

« Nathaniel. » called Charles and Tripp

« What. » asked an upset Nathaniel

Chuch laughed and asked Nathaniel if he was ok.

« You look like you have seen a ghost. »

Tripp laughed louder

« Kind of, just the ghost of his perfect girl. »joked Tripp

Charles raised an eyebrow and asked for an explanation

« You arrived when they were gone already but Serena Van Der Woodsen, Mrs Rhodes granddaughter, well Nathaniel was in love with her when we were kids. They left because they were ruined the summer before you moved to New York City and Nathaniel got his heart broken. »

« Oh the famous Serena Van Der Woodsen, that's why you were so sad when I met you Nathaniel. I remember guys talking about the fabulous blonde at school. Well I am the only one who is not engaged yet in this room and even if I like to take care of the soon to be engaged ladies, I think I will pay a visit to Oakdale. » replied Charles with a smile

Charles and Tripp joked about the situation waiting for Nathaniel's comment but Nathaniel was not paying attention. Serena Van Der Woodsen, he thought he would never see again. When Cece pronounced Serena's name, his heart started to beat faster and the image of the blonde girl was now stuck in his head.

Finally the voice of his cousin dragged him back to reality.

« And she was too young at that time but gosh the little Erica Van Der Woodsen was amazing. Wild and carefree, blue eyes but chestnut curly hair not a blondie like Serena. I would love to see her again, she had a crush on me when she was a little girl» laughed Tripp

« Well, well too bad I can't marry both but I am going to tell my father that we have to go to Oakdale this weekend, too bad it is thanksgiving tomorrow and my aunt is coming because if it would be for me I would go there tomorrow, no wait tomorrow no, right now. » smirked Charles

« I remember one day, like 10 years ago. My mother and my aunt were with Mrs Van Der Woodsen, having tea and as usual in the meantime Nathaniel and Serena were having the perfect family time. They were using Erica and Olivia, the youngest sister, as their daughters but Erica who was about 7 years old said that she was tired of it, so she asked me to play with them. She said be my husband William please. I was reading but she asked with such a smile that I could not say no. Then she started to argue with Serena about who was going to be the richest and stuff. Erica was telling Serena that as I was older than Nathaniel, we should be the richest and Serena replied that she did not care to be rich or not, she said that she and Nate, because she never called him Nathaniel, would go to Cuba or some other island with his boat and live naked by the beach. So Erica said that we will go there too and live naked aswell. » remembered Tripp

« Oh my god, I love those ladies already. Nathaniel can't believe you kept that sceret. They are queens and I can't wait to meet them. And I can't wait to have them in New York, all the girls are going to hate them. Beautiful and wild and after so many years spent in the countryside wow they must be real goddesses. Nathaniel tell me you won't get jealous if I get the girl of your dreams even if Erica looks like a very good option aswell »

« We were kids that's all. And Tripp might be thinking that this is funny but having seconds thoughts about a 7 years old girl was gross. » replied coldly Nathaniel

« Oh come on Nate, I am joking and don't play the shy virgin, everytime that Serena was pronouncing the word naked your faced was redder than a tomato. » revealed Tripp

« As I said we were kids. And I am sorry I am not into your game. I let you two having fun. Fantasies are not for me. » said Nathaniel as he was leaving the room

It was already hard enough for him to have to deal with the image of Serena, the taste of her lips, the smell of hair her, he did not need to listen Tripp and Charles fantasies, he has his own fantasies...

...

In the meantime

Cece and Richard were leaving, William was escorting them. He promised to do his best to help his friends.

« William, you did not understand me. I said I want the best for my girls. I want Nathaniel. »

« And as I said I will do my best and Nathaniel is taken. »

«Oh that's funny you know because as I was waiting for Mr Spencer this morning, I heard the cleaning ladies talking about Harold Waldorf and his particular taste. I guess we all know why he only has one daughter with Eleanor. »

« Is that a threat Cece. »asked William who knew what Cece could do

« Obviously no, I am just warning you. I want Nathaniel. I think I just gave you a very good motive to end up the relationship between Blair and Nathaniel. »

« Cece, you can't do this.»

« William, I know everything remember and I am not talking about Harold Waldorf's taste. Nathaniel used to like Serena, it should not be complicated. Goodbye William. »

And they left letting William Van Der Bilt alone in the hallway. He had no other option now, he just lost.

This was definitely going to be a lively end of the year...