Love & Second Chances

Chapter Four - Garrett's POV

Lightning pierced the dark sky outside as I sat at my desk, staring down at the pile of sheet music I had recently composed. Something about them just did not feel right. The amount of sheet music I had scattered around the study and music room was enough to tell you that I had been struggling in my attempt to create something that truly spoke to me for some time. I could not understand what I was doing wrong, but they all seemed to be missing something. What could it be? It was supposed to reflect the anguish of a young boy whose life had suddenly fallen apart before his eyes. In other words, it was supposed to reflect me.

It had always been my dream to one day become a famous musician or composer. Music had been a passion of mine for as long as I could remember. I had managed to sell a couple of scores in London, and the locals seemed to enjoy them well enough. However, that was a year ago. Nothing I composed after that had managed to please me. At least not in the same way.

This melody was befitting of the theme I had in mind, yet it still felt incomplete. Was the composition meant to be longer than it was? Even I had to admit that it seemed a bit short. Perhaps the issue was that it did not have the correct ending. How was it supposed to end? Since I had based it on my own life, maybe I needed to wait to find the ending for my own silenced sorrow. Yet, how could I possibly fill the void inside me that had been caused by all that had been lost?

I shook my head free of such questions. It seemed that I was constantly surrounded by questions lately. If it was not my own, there was always someone else who had questions. Sometimes I just wished that people would keep their noses out of the private matters of others. Fortunately, the Stanford's were among the sparse few who were considerate enough to leave the matter of my family's mysterious disappearance well enough alone. The story of what had happened was just too horrible to tell the world.

For the most part, people had accepted me back with nothing but warm hospitality. However, I feared that if they knew about my parents, I would be cast out of society. Although I typically did not care about what others thought of me, this was a matter that could ruin the family name, which would, in turn, affect any of my remaining family members. I was not so selfish that I would condemn them to suffer because of me.

All of a sudden, there came a knock on the door. "Come in," I called.

The butler, Mr. Newton, opened the door and slipped his head into the room. "I am sorry for the disturbance, but I have come to notify you that the renovations to the billiard room have just been completed," he informed me.

I let out a sigh of relief and moved to get up from my chair. "Thank Heaven," I said. "A game of billiard is just hat I need to clear my mind."

"Before you do that," Mr. Newton began, slipping further into the room to reveal that he was holding two sealed envelopes in his hand, "you should probably look over these."

Taking them from him, I nodded my head in thanks, notifying him that he could take his leave now. As soon as I was once more alone, I pried open the first envelope, which I noticed bore the seal of my uncle in London. Not knowing why he would be writing to me after only one month, I unfolded the paper and scanned over the content of the letter carefully.

My Dearest Nephew

How are you faring in my brother's old estate by yourself? I do hope that it has not re-awoken too many memories. Although I suppose that a majority of what took place did not occur there. How are the renovations coming along? As little as I recall of the estate, I do recall that the architect and workers did a splendid job of building it. However, after six years of being empty, any building is sure to be in need of repairs.

With my wife and children going to Bath for a month, I will without a doubt find myself bored beyond belief. Believe it or not, I have grown to enjoy the constant excitement of having the children running about in such a disorderly fashion. If you do not mind, I should like to join you for some time. It has been far too long since I have been to Manchester. Besides, it only makes sense that you repay me the favor of letting you stay with me for so many years.

Your uncle,

Walter Blackbourne

I rolled my eyes at his evident concern for my well being. Yes, the house did hold a few stray bad memories for me, but he should have known that I would manage just fine. I was twenty-one years old. No longer was I the boy he had taken in. While I did appreciate all that he had done for me and did miss having him and his family around, facing the ghosts of my past was something that needed to be done.

Once I was finished reading it, I set it off to the side and pried open the second. This one was written in more elegant handwriting, leading me to believe that it was a reply to the letter I sent to Mr. Stanford just a few days ago. Curious to hear what had been done concerning the issue he had presented before me, I began to read.

Mr. Blackbourne,

I beg that you would forgive us if you have been offended by my wife's lack of trust in your character. For what it is worth, you should know that you have my unwavering trust. Elizabeth and Alice have explained that they lost track of time in the pleasure of your company. I do not blame any of you for that. Unfortunately, Millicent will not be swayed from her decision to punish the girls for their tardiness.

However, I was able to convince her to allow them to return.

Alice constantly boasts that you are one of the greatest music instructors she has ever had. So long as Elizabeth agrees to continue accompanying her, as I am quite certain she will, I have no objections to entrusting them into your care once a week. I do believe that such an outing is good for them.

Respectfully yours,

Kenneth Stanford

As expected, Mrs. Stanford had forbidden her daughters from attending further lessons, and keeping true to my word, I wrote to Mr. Stanford to apologize for causing his daughters to be late, and to convince him to overrule his wife's decision. While I was not pleased to hear that they were being made to suffer when they had done nothing wrong, it did relieve me to hear that they would be allowed to return.

I had enjoyed my time with them. Especially the time spent with Elizabeth. My fondness of her had not diminished what-so-ever despite the years we had been separated from one another. It might have even grown to an extent, considering how we had talked for approximately two hours, losing track of time. It was rather odd, but I had found myself wrapped up in her. I was overtaken by this desire to learn whatever I could about her. Never before had I felt such things.

The week had been rather boring and generally uneventful without Elizabeth and her sister. I did have a few other students, but they did not grab my interest, even though a couple of my female students had been trying to do so. Alice was so cheerful and had a way of making life look so wonderful, and Elizabeth ... She had this charm about her that seemed to draw me in. For all I knew, she could have always had it and I never even noticed. Children were naturally more concerned with having fun.

Regardless, I was looking forward to seeing both of the Stanford girls again. Folding up Mr. Stanford's letter and placing it with the one from my uncle, I went to take advantage of my new billiard room. My mind had cleared considerably since reading the letters, but I did not feel like returning to work yet, knowing that it might ruin my newly uplifted mood. James Howell's could not have been more right in his proverb. All work and no play made a person dull, and I for one did not want to be dull.