Clara Spencer

Chapter 3

The first thing Clara saw as she peered inside the first cabinet was a bright red envelope. Turning it around she saw her Mama's familiar penmanship writing out the words "For Clara." Not wanting to lose her courage, Clara grabbed a letter opener from the study and proceeded to read it.

Mi Querida Clara,

If you are reading this letter then that must mean your Papa and I didn't make it to your 18th Birthday. And for that I am truly sorry. Know though, that we will always be watching over you. I hope you were still able to celebrate it to the best of your ability though.

It's not every day that a girl reaches the age of adulthood and becomes a woman. As I sit and write this letter from the patio table, I can see you sitting next to your dear Papa, both deeply invested into your own books. I smile at the sight. While I still see you as a little girl, I can only imagine the young woman you've become. A kind-hearted, cheerful, gentle, and smart young lady. And most importantly one I would be proud of. It's because of that, that makes me confident that you will be able to handle what I'm about to tell you.

While we told you about your adoption, we all agreed to tell you the rest when you were of age. When we first told you you were adopted, we also told you we didn't know who your biological parents were. However, that's not necessarily true. We don't know who your biological father is but we do know of your mother. I've been struggling for weeks trying to find a way to say it, but no matter which way I say it, it'll sound crazy to you. So, I'm just going to be blunt. Your mother was Diana, Princess of Wales. Now, before you stop reading this letter and think we've gone insane, listen to our story.

Before you came, you knew you're Papa and I had struggled with infertility for several years already. We were actually in the process of being approved for adoption. At the time, your Papa and I were working at a private clinic with one of his colleagues. Both of us working as Gynecologists.

A few weeks before you were born, the clinic received a peculiar call. The head physician had a colleague in England that was treating a high profile pregnant patient. He was calling to see if she could transfer to our clinic since she was planning to give birth in Paris. We saw no reason to say no, so we took her in. Unlike our regular patients, the whole process was very mysterious. Only her doctors would know who exactly the patient was, she was only to be treated when there were no other patients in the clinic, and we were all made to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Your Papa and I weren't her doctors so I only found out who she was when they needed a consultation and second opinion. While I was a gynecologist I had also been studying fetal medicine, which at the time wasn't as technologically advanced as it is today. They called me in after detecting an abnormality in the ultrasounds.

I went in trying to mentally prepare myself for who it could be, but it honestly did nothing as I did a double take on who the patient was. I never in a million years expected Diana, Princess of Wales to be lying down on that exam table with a round bump. To this day, I don't recall how I was able to keep my cool and not make a fool of myself. Diana was very kind to me as I checked her. She had a warm smile on her face and was pleasant to talk to. However, I could tell she seemed anxious and wanted to know what was going on.

I checked the ultrasound and was extremely disturbed by what I saw. I didn't want to distress her so I tried not to let her see how worried I was. We all agreed that we needed to perform an emergency delivery and go to the hospital. I don't know how or who did it, but somehow we were able to enter the nearest hospital discretely and had the word of the chief of surgery that no one would find out that she was here. He gave us our own O.R. and even some nurses that I later found out were also made to sign the non-disclosure agreement.