Chapter 9

"Come on, Annie, you promised me!"

"Yes, but I never thought I would have to do it all alone!"

"You won't be alone. I'll be waiting for you here."

"Archie, you are unbelievable. Why don't you go in and talk to Albert yourself?"

"Because if I do it, he will be suspicious; but if you do it, it will seem more natural. You just tell him you are worried about your friend, nothing else. Besides, you are a woman, and as such you have a charm we men lack..." he replied, winking at her.

"Really? And may I know what kind of charm this is? And I advise you to think very well about the answer." Annie looked at him seriously. She knew very well to what charm Archie was referring, and usually she didn't mind that kind of comments, but that moment she had to comply with the main part of the plan, and on her own at that, so she was willing to use all her weapons to contradict her husband.

"Come on, darling, please...We've already talked about this...Please... Will you do it?"

"Oh, all right! When you look at me with those puppy eyes, what can I tell you?"

"Good! So, we'll do it as he have planned, right? I'll wait for you here and I'll watch so that nobody interrupts you."

"Humph..." grumbled Annie, as she saw her husband hiding behind one of the parlor plants like a naughty child.

She took several deep breaths trying to gain her courage and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she heard a deep voice saying from inside the study.

"Hello, Albert...I'm sorry to disturb you but...Could I speak with you for a moment?"

"Certainly, Annie. Come in. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Yes, thank you."

Albert left the documents he had been reviewing and served her a cup of coffee. Then he took a seat on the small sofa that was in the room and offered Annie a seat next to him. Still timid and with the cup of coffee in her hands, she sat immediately.

"Well? What did you want to talk about, Annie?"

"About this..." she said, giving him the envelope she had in her hand.

"A letter? From Candy?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes...I could summarize what it is about, but I think it would be better if you read it yourself."

Albert opened the envelope with trembling hands and unfolded the letter that was inside. Something was telling him that it didn't contain good news. He would have liked to write to Candy but after several failed attempts he had given up on the idea. He told himself he would find a way to make peace with her.

He read each line of the letter over and over, several times. He couldn't believe its contents.

"When did it come?" he asked after a long silence, while he put the letter back into the envelope and returned it to Annie.

"This morning. I'm sure she must already be traveling right now."

"Incredible...Her mother has showed up..." Albert's gaze was lost somewhere in the room, while he was trying to assimilate what was happening.

"Yes...I can't believe it either...Albert...I'm worried about her..." said Annie, as he raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I know she must be in good hands since she has the permission of Miss Pony and Sister Lane but...She's traveling to a village she doesn't know, together with three unknown women, to meet a mother she has never seen in her life. I don't know; maybe I'm getting paranoiac but...I wouldn't like her to be alone at this moment...You see, meeting one's mother mustn't be easy, Albert...Honestly, I would like someone to be with her, someone she would trust..." Annie was looking steadily into his eyes, trying to make him understand something he already sensed.

"Annie..."

"Albert, I would go myself but..." Annie continued to talk while she left the coffee cup on a small table and got up from the sofa. She started walking around the room, moving her hands nervously. "With your engagement party, Aunt Elroy wants me to stay here and help them organize it. She says that the party has to be in the hands of the women of the family, and you know very well that I have never got along with her, so the fact that she has asked me to organize the party of your engagement means a lot to me. Maybe she's already accepting me. Do you understand? I would go there, but right now it's impossible for me..." Annie stopped right in front of him and looked at him imploringly. "Besides, I think it would be more convenient if you were the one to be by her side..."

"Annie, I..."

"Please, Albert; I wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't important. I really need you to go with her. In the letter there is her mother's address. I know the village is pretty far. It would take you several days to get there by train, but...This is for Candy, Albert...She needs you. Please..."

"Annie, the thing is...I want you to know there's nothing I want more than to do what you're asking me, but...Right now I can't. Just before you came I was reviewing some contracts because I have to travel to Chicago today. George called me urgently last night to notify me that some very important clients are in Chicago. And as they can't stay long, I have to leave this afternoon in order to meet them. Annie, I would love to go, really I would, but...Just now it's impossible..."

"Oh..."

Annie was surprised at Albert's refusal; she didn't expect it. She knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince him but she had never imagined that his work would be an obstacle. And now that she was thinking about it, she inwardly blamed Archie for not warning her. He, more than anyone, should have supposed that such a thing might happen. But of course, Archie had taken a holiday these last days and apparently that meant there were not many possibilities for a plan B...

Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind.

"And why don't you send Archie over? Surely he must already be well trained for these situations. Besides, he would be delighted if you entrusted to him something so important. I don't think there will be any problem. And if you are so worried, you can ask George to join him and advise him if necessary."

"I don't know...It's too risky. Archie has just finished his studies and he doesn't have enough experience. What I could do is take him with me. It's time for him to be present in this kind of meetings...Sending him in my place wouldn't seem to be the best way..."

Both stared at each other for a moment, as if each one were looking for a solution in the other's eyes. It wasn't long before Albert got up from the sofa and walked slowly towards the window. He placed his hands on the glass and stood for a moment with his gaze lost in that cold landscape.

"It's all so complicated, isn't it?" he said quietly, without turning his eyes away from the window. "I'm dying to be with her at this very moment. I don't even want to imagine how she must be feeling...The news that she has a mother who was always looking for her and who also is sick must have completely disoriented her...Candy...My little girl...You shouldn't go through all this alone..."

Annie was observing him silently. Seeing him like that, so thoughtful and worried, only encouraged more all of Archie's theories. Maybe her husband wasn't so wrong after all.

"Albert...I'm sorry, but I have to tell you something..."

Those words surprised him, suddenly interrupting his thoughts. He turned immediately to face Annie. Without taking his eyes off her, he made a gesture for her to continue.

"You should go...I don't know how, but if it's not now, you should go when you can. You have to be with her, even if it's only for a day. Would you do me this favor, Albert?"

Annie's gaze was insistently mysterious. As if she wanted to tell him something more than what she was saying...Something he had been suspecting himself for several days...

What was it that Annie knew and wasn't saying? Was it...? No, it wasn't time to think about these things...If he had more time he would surely ask her but he couldn't; he had to leave for Chicago immediately.

"All right, Annie; please write down the address of Candy's mother on that paper, and I promise to do everything I can to go there as soon as possible."

"Fine!" exclaimed Annie, giving a small bounce. But she instantly realized that it was not appropriate. Something told her that she was spending too much time with her husband, because she was already catching his enthusiasm.

Albert smiled at Annie's strange and playful reaction. He didn't know why, but the fact that the best friend of his little girl had insisted so much on that matter made him feel a little exhilaration.

After talking with Annie and planning his trip to Chicago with Archie, Albert could enjoy a few moments in solitude and silence...

He had only a thought on his mind: Candy's mother had showed up... He didn't expect that news, not even in a million years...

How are you, little girl? You must be feeling lost, sitting there on that train, traveling to a completely unknown place...Candy...

A feeling of anguish invaded his heart, and suddenly...He realized... Candy's mother had appeared! Her family had appeared!

Which inevitably meant that if Candy decided to accept her origins, and if everything went well, it was almost certain she would stop being an Ardlay and would be...What was the name of Candy's parents? Her mother was called Emily and...her father's name? He couldn't remember; he had completely forgotten it. Anyway, Candy would stop being an Ardlay and...Oh, no...Candy would stop being an Ardlay! And...Surely she would go and live with her mother, and maybe on her way she would meet her whole family, even end up getting along with them and...Maybe she wouldn't come back anymore...

Oh, good heavens! The fact that Candy's mother had showed up meant that he was going to lose her...He was going to lose her! His Candy! His sweet and tender Candy...

He still remembered that long discussion he had had with her in the mansion of the forest. He remembered very well her words...She had told him that when she would turn twenty-one, he would stop being her guardian...At that time he didn't even want to think about that possibility, but now...Now life showed him that what his ward had said was becoming a reality...Now he saw that soon he would stop being Candice White Ardlay's guardian...Now that all that was happening...That idea terrified him...Yes, because that meant he wouldn't be able to see her as long as he wanted, he wouldn't be able to control her movements, he wouldn't need to protect her any longer...Yes...It inevitably meant that he would no longer have any excuse to be with her...

But...What the hell was he thinking? No! He was never a selfish person and he didn't intend to start being that now. He shook his head violently as if he wanted to drive away those thoughts. What right did he have to want Candy just for himself? He was getting married...He was getting married! Meaningless ideas haunted his mind...For days he had been thinking about old feelings he believed he had forgotten...Those feelings he thought he didn't have any longer...

Candy...

"No, that's enough! I shouldn't think about all this. Enough!" he repeated again and again, as he walked to and fro in his study with clenched fists.

He knew better than anyone that he had no time for all those things. Yes, he was William Albert Ardlay, a businessman, engaged to be married...Engaged to Josephine Peterson! Yes, he was a businessman who was about to be married...

And so, taking a deep breath, while repeating those words over and over, he grabbed his suitcase and came out of the study, leaving for Chicago, totally confused.

…

"Did you say goodbye to him?" asked Jane Peterson when she saw her daughter enter the room.

"Yes, I did...He just left with his nephew..."answered Josephine, looking steadily at her mother who was sitting in one of the armchairs of the room. The young woman's honey-colored eyes transmitted anything but kindness and affection at that moment.

"What's the matter, dear? Why do you look at me like that?"

"Nothing, mother, nothing..." Josephine turned her eyes away and walked towards the windows that overlooked the courtyard of the mansion.

"Come on, darling, you can't fool me. What's the matter?" insisted her mother, getting up from the armchair and going behind her.

When she came close to her, she put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around gently. Josephine's gaze was fixed on the floor. Jane lifted her chin very quietly and discovered a few tears in her dear daughter's eyes.

"My little girl..." she said, embracing her tenderly. "You don't have to be so sad...He just left for a few days. There's no need to fill those beautiful eyes with tears..."

"No, mother...It's not that..."

"Then why are there tears on your pretty face? Tell me, darling..."

"Mother...It's Candice, mother! It's Candice!" Josephine burst into tears, clinging to her mother as if she were a lifesaver.

"Candice? William's ward? What has Candice got to do with all this, dear?"

"It's...it's..." Josephine tried to speak while making an effort to wipe the tears that inevitably were flowing from her eyes.

"Now, my sweet little girl, let's take a deep breath...Yes, that's it...Are you feeling calmer?" asked Jane, seeing her daughter inhale and exhale deeply. "Well, now tell me what happened, what brought you to this state..."

"Mother...I believe William feels something more for Candice... Something more than friendship or a brotherly..."

"What?" What a crazy thing to say, Josephine! Please, stop talking such foolishness!"

"It's not foolishness, mother! I wish it was! I've read it...Yesterday, when I wanted to surprise William in his study, I found him writing something. I thought it was something about business, but actually he was writing a letter to Candice, mother...And in that letter he said that he missed her and didn't stop thinking about her...Oh, mother...What am I going to do if he leaves me for Candice?"

"Leave you for Candice, you say?" Jane's loud laughter rumbled throughout the room. "You are crazy! How can you think that such a thing might ever occur? Leave you for Candice? It's the craziest thing I've heard in my life."

"Maybe it's crazy, but it's not impossible, mother..."

"It is crazy and impossible too, Josephine! You are the only one thinking that something like this could happen. Tell me, how can you think that the great multimillionaire William Albert Ardlay, the most coveted bachelor in the country, could leave you for that...that...For that orphan!"

"Mother!"

"Forgive me for the words I've used, my girl, but it is the truth! Listen to me. That can never happen because Candice is nothing more than an orphan with no breeding. Do you understand? Have you ever seen her at any party accompanying William?"

"No, never..."

"Exactly! Because she doesn't belong to William's world, dear...She doesn't belong to our world...She could never behave like a lady at any social event; she wouldn't know what to talk about in a business meeting, or when to be silent or how to dance...She is not the perfect woman for William, dear...On the other hand, you are that...And I want you to keep in mind that she couldn't hold a candle to you, do you understand? She will never be at our level and that is why you should never worry. We know very well that a lady is born, and Candice...Well, unfortunately the saying 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear' fits her perfectly..."

Josephine kept silent for a few moments with her eyes fixed on the floor. Then she looked up and saw a wide smile on her mother's face.

"That girl can never reach your level or William's. I can assure you about that, dear."

"You are right, mother...Thank you," said Josephine, hugging her tight.

"And now that we have calmed down...how about going downstairs and having our tea? Elroy is waiting for us. Besides, we have to inform Archibald's wife about the engagement party; she will also help us in organizing it."

"Of course, mother. Let's go."

So, mother and daughter left the room in silence, with their heads held high and a smile on their lips, completely convinced that their world was the only decent world there was and that nobody and nothing could ever touch them.