~ Part VIII ~

~ The Hardest Part ~

1.

~ Fredrick died peacefully in his sleep one night not long after Eames' returned home. Maggie had found him in his sick bed that morning while the rest of the house was waking up. His skin pale and gray; his body still and his blind eyes now at peace.

His breathing had been terrible for the past few days and nothing could be done for him. He had been in horrible pain as his legs and arms swelled once more as he kept coughing up blood.

He had cried and complained for days. Begging Ariadne to look after Harold with his last breath. She dutifully promised to take care of the little boy, leaving her dying husband when she could no longer stand to see him this way. She would go to Eames, her lover chasing away all her terrors and guilt she felt for being with him.

Collectively, she and Eames had started to write again. But it wasn't the same. Eames' words lacked power and focus, and Ariadne couldn't seem to find a purpose to her stories. She was no longer interested in the hobby of writing.

When Maggie reported that Fredrick had died, Ariadne sat by his bedside. Fredrick's lifeless body awaiting the undertaker to collect him.

"Maggie?" she called to the pretty red haired maid.

"Yes?" Maggie said promptly.

Ariadne stood and handed a sealed envelope to her.

"I want you to deliver this telegram application to the phone hub and have it sent to Mr. Cobb in New York.

"Cobb?" Maggie questioned. "Lord Bradford's man?"

"Yes." Ariadne whispered.

Almost immediately, she had Maura pack her trunk for herself and the children.

"You're going back to America, Missus?" Maura questioned as her mistress made her pack in secret.

"No, Maura. We're going to America. You don't think I would leave you here in Blue Rivers alone? I need you too much. Mr. Cobb has kept asking me to come and see him and I think the time has come for Olivia to meet her grandparents." Ariadne told her.

"Will Mr. Eames be going with us?" Maura asked.

Ariadne felt her hands tighten on the leather strap to her steamer trunk. It was the same trunk she had traveled with on Mauritania with Arthur. The one he had riffled through that first night when she didn't have anything decent to wear.

"No, Maura. Mr. Eames will not be told about our plans to leave. We'll be taking the car directly from the church yard to the ship." Ariadne said.

~ Booking passage was easier said than done. The war was still on and Olivia and Harold were not Americans which made the process a little more complicated. Cobb had to wire paper work to the home office to have passports for her, the children and Maura. He even sent a note asking her to stay with him and Mal when she got there.

She would be leaving for America as soon as Fredrick was in the ground.

~ Harold took Fredrick's death hard. Ariadne told him about how his father was a hero and how he was with his real mother now.

The little boy sat in his step mother's lap as she ran her hands through his hair.
"So where will I go?" he asked as he finally calmed down after his crying fit.

"You'll stay with me, silly." Ariadne teased. "You'll be the man of the house. You have a lot of responsibilities to. You have to make certain Olivia stays out of trouble, and you have to make sure to put your jacket away like I taught you. You have to practice good table manners and set a good example." she told him.

Since Phillipa had gone away to school, and James started hanging around the older boys from the village, Harold was lonely with only Olivia for company. His younger step sister wanted little to do with him and preferred her own company.

"I can stay with you?" Harold asked as Ariadne cleaned his face with her handkerchief.

"I need you." Ariadne said as she gave him a hug and helped him dress in his mourning clothes.

~ Eames had stayed away after Fredrick died. He seemed to sense his presence was an intrusion and stayed in his own rooms until the day of the funereal. Lady Percy and Juniper, however, were front and center Preparing for the meal service at the wake, and writing all the necessary letters to friends and family.

"Of course you're too prostrate with grief to be trouble with this." Juniper said when Ariadne expressed displeasure at another woman writing about her husband's death to his friend and family.

"Juniper, I am perfectly capable of doing the necessary correspondence." Ariadne fumed.

"I've already started them. Why don't you go find Charles? I'm sure my son would be of great comfort to you. The both of you must have loads of plans to make now." she said.

Ariadne wanted to slap Juniper just then. But she went to her rooms and helped Maura with the packing. The sooner they were gone from this house, the better.

~ Fredrick's funeral was short, simple and populated mostly by the few friends and family he had in London. Ariadne buried him next to his beloved Amelia in the little church yard where Arthur's grave marker was placed.

People kept trying to talk to her about how grief stricken she must be. To lose two beloved husbands in just two years. It was more than should be allowed. Fredrick's bubbly Aunt and her neighbors wept openly. Olivia was fussy and Harold rested his head on Ariadne's lap during the service as Ariadne had to once more wear her hated widow's veil.

After he was properly buried, Juniper invited the mourners to Blue Rivers for lunch and there was a hasty exodus to the large estate house.

"Ariadne?" Eames whispered as the mourners all took their own cars and buggies to the house. "Are you coming?"
"Yes, I need a little while. I wanted to put flowers on Arthur's grave." she told him as Olivia and Harold chased each other in the graveyard. Careless of the sacred ground as the were delighted to be dressed in their best clothes and outside.

"I'll stay with you." he whispered, taking her hand.
"No." she said sharply. "No, I'll be alright. Maura will stay with me."

"I can take the kids back. They've had a long day." Eames said.

"I'll drive us all back when we're ready, Eames." Ariadne told him curtly.

Her new lover nodded and left her in peace.

Ariadne looked over Fredrick's grave for a long time. She was glad he was gone. He suffered so much. She was thankful she could bury him next to his first wife. His real wife. She was never his wife. Not in any sense of the word was she his wife.
"Fredrick, I'll promise. I'll look after Harold." she whispered.

His grave was silent. There was nothing left to say.

She wandered over to the prestigious Bradford section of the cemetery. Here, all the Bradfords were laid to rest. Lady Percy's parents, brothers, nieces and nephews. Phillipa's mother was here and there were markers for her father and brother who died on Titanic. Arthur's grave marker was here as well. No body was delivered to them. Ariadne had a fashionable head stone, full of ivy engravings around his name shipped in.
"Olivia, come here." Ariadne ordered as Harold chased his giggling little sister some more.

Olivia came to rest on her mother lap as Ariadne brushed the tears away from her face.

"Children,' she said. Clearing her throat. "We're not going back to the house. We're going to take a car trip to London and then a ship to America."
"When will we come back?" Harold asked as she spotted Maura in Arthur's car. Their belongings carefully and strategically packed away so no one would see.

"Not for a very long time." Ariadne said. "So, we need to say goodbye. Harold, you said goodbye to your mommy and daddy today, but Olivia, I want you to say goodbye to your daddy."

The little girl looked doubtful.

"Your daddy loved you very much and we won't be back for a long time." Ariadne whispered to her daughter.

Olivia shook her head and buried her face in her mother's chest.

"Missus, if you mean to be leaving, we best do it now. Before Mr. Eames comes back. He's like a blood hound for you." Maura said.

Ariadne nodded and picked up her little girl who was getting too heavy for her.

"Alright, children." she sighed. "It's time to go."

She gave her convenient husband's head stone one last look and whispered.
"Goodbye, Arthur."