Henrietta

Now or Never

~Chapter Twenty Two~

Three dreadful days had gone and the more Calvin procrastinated the longer Ettie remained imprisoned in her own body. He knew it was wrong of him to stray his hand from harming her, in a difficult warped way. In the days that passed, Calvin had much to think about and ponder. Henry had been sent off to stay with Calvin's mother until the problem could be resolved. He was well unaware that Henrietta was not herself, only that she was not well and needed her rest. Poor Henry would never know the truth, nor did Calvin ever plan to tell him.

It was best to keep him out of it, never wanting to traumatize his child with such things. At least Henry was his, and he was more of a son to Henrietta than Lydia. It did not matter that she had given birth to him, she had passed away, and in her place, Ettie had stayed and raised the child. She had all the right to be Henry's mother. For mother was not the one who bore the child, but the one who raised it.

He understood now that this young small petite woman meant more to him than his very own life. Henrietta made his world a bit chaotic and out of place but it was something Calvin had lacked. She had turned his world upside down in just a few days, and in the process, she managed to change so much in him.

The blasted little tot in wings had hit him right in the heart, only to scurry away and leave him in a huge dilemma. Why had he not come back and helped him resolve this situation, had he thought things through when he decided to target Calvin for his little sick love games. Lady Gades had come for a visit often and did her best to pry Lydia's mind for any recollection of Henrietta, but as it seemed she grew irritated.

Outside his door, he could hear hasty steps as they approached it, and so he stood to receive whoever knocked. The knock echoed through the large third floor chamber, and he shivered as he stood, feeling the chill of the night overcome him. Dragging his feet to the door he slowly opened it.

"Master Potent, Lady Henrietta request that you see her." Mrs. Sally said.

He was well aware of the gossip that was spreading about in his mansion; the maids did no effort to hide what they thought. They had ridiculous theories about the situation taking hand, but Calvin felt too weak and stressed to put a stop to any of it. He was crushed between fearing for Henrietta's life and losing her forever.

His reply was a nod as he walked past her closing the door securely behind him. With what little effort he had left Calvin made it to the second floor of his mansion and opened the door to his chamber bed without knocking. Lydia stood facing the window, her long hair know a golden glow. A shutter went through him as he took further steps inside and cleared his throat, she turned to face him. Her eyes glimmered as clear as the blue sky, her cheeks a pink glow. Even the tone of her jawline had changed.

"You called for me? He asked.

"Yes, Calvin...I want to apologize for...my little unpleasantness with your brother. Therefore, with my apology I want to depart, and find my family, I have been away from them so long it actually feels like I have not seen them in years. My son will come with me." She whispered.

Calvin could not reply the only thing he could register in his head, was that it was now or never. He would not allow Lydia to leave with his son and the woman he loved. She had, had her chance in life to put the wrong things right, death was too merciful to let people like her come back to life. He neared her and reached out to cup her chin in his hand. There had to be something left of Ettie to help him speak his mind. It was almost impossible to want to speak words of love as Lydia looked into his eyes. Calvin eyed her face determined to put an end to it although it crushed him. He reached to cup the other side of her face as well and stepped closer so that his chest touched hers. He closed his eyes and slowly rubbed his thumbs round and round, gently stroking her soft skin. Reaching his hand to her long hair, he envisioned strands of soft brown, he envisioned a pair of dark blue eyes shyly looking away. Ettie had never had the courage to fully look at him in the eyes and somehow it pleased Calvin that he made her feel uneasy, making her cheeks blush a sweet velvet.