The prince and the orphan

Chapter 6

"Good afternoon Madame Elroy, I came as you requested."

"Good afternoon Candice, sit down, and please call me aunt."

The girl curtsied slightly and sat on the chair in front of me. I could see she was trying to control her nervousness and I could also read in her face a hint of melancholy.

"I was told you arrived more than half an hour ago."

"Yes, that's correct eh... aunt Elroy, I wanted to come before our meeting so I could speak with Alber... with, eh... uncle William about an important matter."

"Ah..."

"I wanted to ask him for his authorization for returning to Pony's Home. I would like to be able to help my teachers by taking care of the health of the children at the orphanage."

"I see... And what was William's answer?"

"He approved."

"Mmhh... When would you be leaving?"

"If possible tomorrow, or the day after. That of course if you also agree."

"Candice, you have never asked for my approval, I cannot see why that should be any different now. If William said yes there is nothing I can do about it, just like there was nothing I could do when he had the idea to make you his adoptive daughter."

Candice bowed her head and blinked faster than usual, by her expression I could see that the term 'adoptive daughter' didn't make her happy. So far we were succeeding...

"I'm sorry aunt Elroy, I know it was very difficult for you to accept uncle William's decision regarding my adoption, and maybe it still is. I'm truly very grateful to him for everything he has done for me and given me, and I'm aware that I will never be able to repay him all his goodness."

"Is that why you decided to take care of him when you found him with amnesia?"

Confused she answered:

"Ah, no, that was not the reason... Well, yes, uncle William had done a lot for me, but when he arrived at the hospital suffering from amnesia, I was not aware of who he truly was. For me he was only Albert, the person who had saved my life and a very good friend, nothing else. I didn't have any idea that him and uncle William were the same person. It was just a few days ago that I was made aware of this."

"I understand... Well, I asked you to come see me, first of all to apologize for tricking you into an engagement with Neal, telling you that it had been William who ordered it, he obviously was not aware of it. And I also want to thank you for taking care of my nephew when he most needed it."

"I accept your apologies but you have nothing to thank me for, I took care of Albert gladly, because I owe him my life and because I wanted to repay him somehow. I could not leave him alone when he most needed help."

"Right, and is it also because like you say, you owed him your life, that you didn't mind losing your reputation by letting people know that you lived with a man in sin?"

"Aunt Elroy!... I did not... We did not... Whatever people say, none of it is true! Albert and I lived together, yes, but pretending to be siblings, it was not how you think. He is a gentleman and I would've never..."

"It's alright Candice, that doesn't really matter anymore, William is back and thanks to you he is well recovered. He has finally assumed his role in this family as its sole heir and patriarch and God willing soon, he will be able to marry an elegant lady and give our family the heir we so much need and hope for."

After hearing these words, I could see how Candice bowed her head again, swallowed hard and contained her tears. She didn't say a thing, but it was obvious that she was not happy with what she had just heard.

"Candice, I can imagine that you and William, or Albert as you call him, became good friends during the time you lived together, am I right?"

"I would like to think so, aunt Elroy."

"And that is precisely the other reason why I wanted to see you. I'm inclined to believe that in these past years, there is no one else that has known my nephew as good as you..." I could see Candice's face turning pinker by the second. "So, I would like to ask for your help. If I'm not mistaken, you were in a long distance relationship with a young Broadway actor, am I right?... And I would think that during that time my nephew also dated some girls, and maybe you were able to become acquainted with his taste.

I would like to ask as a favor that, before you leave for Pony's Home, you help me with something: William will need to attend multiple social events, charity functions, etcetera, and of course he cannot attend alone... I don't want to lose precious time by introducing him to young ladies that, to begin with, he might not fancy. I have a list here, and some pictures of young single ladies, of marriageable age and excellent family background, and I was thinking, who better than you to help?!, you who know him so well, who are his friend and of course, his adoptive daughter!... If we are lucky maybe he can even marry one of these ladies! William is definitely of age to start a family, don't you agree Candice?"

During my speech I didn't take my eyes off her... This girl hadn't changed at all, and as much as she tried to hide her feelings, she wore her heart on her sleeve; it was impossible not to read her like an open book.

Candice's expressions went from shock when I mentioned her relationship with the actor, to surprise when I mentioned my nephew; her colors went up and down. I could see how she became nervous, bit her lips, held back her tears and finally squeezed her dress with her hands while she lowered her head. I was convinced, she also had strong feelings for William... The question now was, how to make her confess to them?

And so it was that while Candice fought in vain to keep her feelings bottled, I took the pile of pictures I had so carefully prepared of the "young single ladies of marriageable age and impeccable family background" and placed them in front of her, on top of the table. Candice saw the pile and lifted up her eyes to see me... It looked as if she was begging me to please spare her that torture, but I did not bend!, I needed to hear her say it as clearly as possible!

William was in the adjacent room, and since he couldn't see the obvious signals written allover Candice's face, he needed to be able to hear her one way or another, the torture by which I was making her go through had to bear fruit!

Candice finally took the pictures on her hand and started passing them one by one, barely registering the back of them where the names, ages and multiple talents of these ladies were written... I could see her hands and lips tremble, I saw how she stopped without seeing them all, placed them carefully on top of the table and when she finally could lift up her wet eyes, hear her say with a broken but audible voice:

"I am sorry aunt Elroy, I cannot do this... Please don't ask me to do this..."

"Why ever not, Candice? What is the problem? I am sure you know William very well and you can help me, that is precisely why I'm asking you to. Besides, you should consider this a great opportunity for you too... What daughter wouldn't want to help his father find the best woman for him to marry, and the best mother for herself? Just imagine!... You could finally have a father and mother, a proper family, like I'm sure you've always wanted! 

To be continued...

Thank you so much for reading and for your reviews and comments, I hope you are enjoying this short story, we are almost near the end :)