A Ghost Love Story

Chapter 8: A Ghost Story; Real or Not??

"It was long long ago, I'm not quite sure what year it was though. But it was surely those times where women wore long, balloon-like dresses to the evening balls & men would wear ravishing suits & canes on their hands. And Mr. Jefferson Eldridge was said to be one of the richest man on England. And he had the fortune of falling in love with one of the most prestigious woman in England back then, Amelia Ingram. But his mother, Victoria gravely disagreed about it. Victoria thought that there was something odd about Amelia, & she did everything to stop them both from falling in love with each other."

"So what does this have to do with the ghost?"

"Grace, were not even half way through the story!" – Chelsea beamed.

"Fine, fine...carry on then" – I motioned both of my hands for Madeleine to continue.

"Though Amelia was one of the most beautiful & rich lady at their time, she was an orphan. The Ingram house was known as the best silk makers in England & their industry was prosperous. And Mr. & Mrs. Ingram were known to be very kind. But Lady Ingram could not bore a child. So they adopted a child during their trip in Virginia. In simple words, Amelia was simply a homeless orphan before she was adopted into the Ingram household. And in Victoria's eyes, she was nothing but a lowly commoner, for she was sure of that Amelia originally came from a poor family. And Victoria did not want a lowly orphan to benefit from her son Jefferson."

"So it's the same old jealousy theory that caused the ghost story??" – I asked them all. Madeleine simply nodded her head & continued.

"Jefferson wasn't the only child of the Eldridge household. They were actually two & he was the youngest son. The eldest was named Adamson."

"Yup! And he's basically the bad guy in this story" – Chelsea chuckled quite loudly wherein she gathered a lot of "shush" from us...

"But the brothers were completely not alike." –Madeleine continued. "Jefferson was more regal looking & was also smarter than his older brother. He was said to be more sporty & kind, while his brother had always been the mischievous one. Jefferson had always been the business-minded one even though he was still a kid. While all Adamson did was to shame the Eldridge family. Their father, along with many more people obviously favored Jefferson more than Adamson. And this sparked Adamson's dark heart. His mother Victoria seemed to be the only one who showed love & care for Adamson. And when the Eldridge house held a ball to choose for their son's betrothal, both fell in love with Amelia. But Amelia chose Jefferson & their wedding was soon arranged. It was said that Adamson planned on killing his own brother in order to get Amelia for himself. But before he could lay a finger on his brother while he was asleep, a maid saw his proposed act & quickly reported his evil doings. Their father of course was deeply in rage but decided to have it investigated. Victoria deeply insisted that Adamson could not have done such a scheme, but all the investigators found Adamson guilty. He even once planted a poison onto his father's drink! And so Adamson was banished from the Eldridge house & sworn to never step foot again. This started Victoria's deep hatred towards Amelia. But Amelia & Jefferson were both wedded happily despite her objections."

"So who's the ghost?" – I ask impatiently. "Is it Mr. Adamson?"

"No!" – They all shouted at me in unison.

"Just let Madeleine finish the story" – Kayla spoke. I admit I'm a bit of an impatient person, but nevertheless motioned Madeleine to continue.

"Mr. Jefferson & Lady Amelia spent most of their lives as a wedded couple happily. Victoria continued to secretly gather information about Amelia's past. She found Amelia quite odd. Amelia was indeed beautiful, & her every move showed grace and poise. But her skin was disturbingly pale. But it seemed to only compliment her beauty even more. The couple was blessed with 7 beautiful children. Their first born were fraternal twins. One boy & one girl, whose names were Scarlett & Summer. Then came 2 more girls named Amber, and the next Hermione. And a few more years came a boy, and another boy. They decided to name their 5th child Hendrickson, and the 6th one Lewis. And last was another girl named Iris. Life in the Eldridge house was jolly with all the children. And the businesses of Jefferson were becoming more & more successful. It was then when Lady Amelia was found to be carrying their 8th child that the Eldridge house seemed somewhat sober."