Chapter 14
Wandering soul
Tanyah put on her gloves and carefully opened the
envelope to start reading what was inside. The envelope
itself was so crumpled up that it seems whoever received the
letter didn't like it at all. Luckily what was inside didn't get
as damaged as she expected. It was worse than the envelope
but at least it wasn't torn to pieces and she could clearly read
it.
As she was reading it she frowned at what was inside.
This wasn't a threat or anonymous letter like the one Victor
received. This was actually a pretty friendly letter to the
Sinclair estate. Usually such letters were read by the house
representative or the estate head.
I am more than glad to hear that you are well. It's unfortunate
I wasn't present to welcome you however, I wish you the utmost
best in your future endeavors. Dear Charles would have been
happy to see you...~
So, this letter was for Nicholas and this person clearly
knew both Nicholas and Charles. She didn't finish reading
the other details as
she quickly went to the bottom of the letter to see who sent
the letter.
It was a person called Beth Cinders.
She went back to the top of the letter and she saw there
was an address. The place was here in Kelsus but she didn't
know exactly where. She still didn't know about anything
outside the confinements of this mansion and estate. If she
were to attempt to find the location of this place she
wouldn't know where to start.
Folding the letter, Tanyah placed it back in the envelope
and closed it so that she could put it away somewhere safely.
When she closed the flap of the envelope she noticed
something so important that it switched a light on in her
head. A family seal was on the top of the envelope flap. She
wondered how she could have missed it when she was
looking through the envelope.
This only solidified the fact that whoever is sending
these letters was from a prominent family in Kelsus. Without
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wasting time, she began her search on the family seal and
where it belongs to.
It didn't take time to reveal the name Amare, and not
only that but an old picture which had the family seal on full
display. She immediately thought back to her conversation
with Louis at the outskirts of the Estate.
The pictures Louis gave her were an exact match of the
seal she was seeing right now. Tanyah put the letter down
and looked at the envelope again. Yes, this was it. The same
envelope that Victor received, no doubt about that. If she
was to find out who this person is, this could be the
breakthrough she might actually need.
…I doubt it would really be appropriate for you to visit here,
but I would love to walk through the gardens of Ellora, the gardens
were Charles' favourite place of comfort and resonance~
The next morning Tanyah went to the mansion to meet
Nicholas, he said he had something important to tell her and
she should be there in the morning.
She entered the mansion using the courtyard entrance
where she saw Nicholas sited by the entrance with a glass in
his hand. She modestly greeted him and kept a distance.
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After what happened yesterday she didn't know if he was
upset with her or something else.
Nicholas was standing in Charles's office next to the
large desk that was opposite the large window which
showed the outside view of the yard. As he was looking
outside, caught up in his thoughts, there was a knock on the
door and his assistant came in.
The first thing he did was to apologize for the way he
acted the previous day and that she didn't deserve such a
response from him about something she didn't know about.
As soon as he apologized the atmosphere between them
became lighter and breathable than last time. He left her
questioning her words and actions thinking that she had
said something wrong to anger him. She actually thought
their next meeting would be her finally getting fired.
After clearing the air, Nicholas covered a small distance
between them to get close to her and noted his agenda for
the day.
"I want to go for a walk outside the estate. I heard there
is a moor nearby, it might be a good place to refresh and
clear my mind for a bit. Unfortunately, the butler isn't here
so I need you to accompany me."
"Of course," Tanyah said, relieved that she would keep
her job for another day.
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Ever since their meeting in the study, Nicholas has been
a mess. Many times, he thought of calling Victor and telling
him that he was throwing in the towel and he was going
away for an actual holiday.
His mind has been wandering all over, he still couldn't
understand why he came here and how he managed to
convince himself everything was going to be ok. He thought
maybe things would change, but it felt worse and he really
wanted to run away from all this. It wasn't his fault or
problem after all. If he just left all this behind, lived a happy
life, and forgot those people ever existed, will it all be
alright?
He massaged his forehead as he deeply sighed. He
watched as Tanyah walked in the moor. He really wanted to
join, but he decided against it so that he could clear his
mind.
Diana Harris.
A name he never thought he would never hear ever
again, but now it was all he could think of. What did he
expect? It was only a matter of time since the past would
catch up to him.
He wished she wasn't his mother. He thought back to
the day of the little teapot. Why did he feel the need to save
it? He remembered how she always kept those miniature
things and how she loved them. It seems she also sent some
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to Charles, and he treasured them since they were a gift
from his sister.
The woman whom he was supposed to love and cherish,
was the woman he really hated and wanted to forget.
What kind of a mother abandons her child just so she
could elope with a married man? What kind of a mother
leaves her child in an empty house, with nothing at all to
survive. He was only six years old back then, but it still hurts
as if it was still his reality. His father denied him before he
was even born, and his mother didn't care for him till her
last breath.
He would sometimes wonder if his mother thought of
him every now and then, but somehow, he knew she didn't.
She married the man she eloped with and they had a son. He
knew she loved him because she stayed with him, she often
took him to meet her family in Kelsus.
Apparently, he was just a lost soul, just wandering by till
he also meets his end. He felt sick as he remembered he was
in the land of the people who abandoned him. He really felt
sick.
The whole drive from the mansion was quiet and
sombre. Nicholas was totally in his thoughts as he focused
his eyes on the road. Tanyah took a few glances at him here
and then every chance she got.
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The next time she focused on the road, the surroundings
had totally changed. In front of her now was a beautiful vast
green land and it seemed that there was no end to it as it
went for quite a distance. Nicholas slowly drove to the other
side and parked the car.
Once the car stopped he asked her if she wanted to go
and walk in the moor. Her eyes glowed with excitement as
she looked at the land overhead. However, it all disappeared
when she learned that Nicholas was staying here and she
was walking alone.
"Make sure not to go far away. Once you are done we
can return to the mansion."
Was he really treating her like a sad and depressed
patient when he was the one looking like a sad and
depressed patient? He was the one who needed fresh air and
a walk, not her. As she was about to protest, she decided to
abide by his words.
Tanyah got out of the car and started her little walk in
the beautiful grasslands. She felt the cool air in her face and
the smell of the grass just made want to roll in it for as long
as she could. But that would really be funny if Nicholas saw
her rolling all over the grass. As that thought was in her
mind she turned back and looked at him.
What was beyond the fence, Nicholas thought. When he
met Tanyah's eyes, he saw something. Her beautiful brown
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eyes were calling to him as a small smile was on face. He
wanted to join her, but he couldn't. He never could. The
barricades around him were too great to even look at that
possibility. But at the same time, he wondered. What was
beyond the fence and walls he put himself behind.
What is beyond the fence?
While Tanyah was walking in the moor, she saw part of
the fence and hedge that separated the moor torn away
poorly replaced. She wondered if it was possible to cut open
the fence and try to work your way through the hedge. If so,
where would the person end up?
The gardens.
The small gate in the garden led to the moor, the place
she had been trying to get to all this time. As she was about
to walk away she noticed something. It was a trail coming
from inside the gate, all the way ahead into the moor. She
carefully stepped away from the place, trying not to draw
any suspicion.
She wanted it to look like she was just admiring the
hedge and now she was continuing her walk. As she took
small steps away from the hedge, she saw something very
far away. Even if she pretended to have a walk in that
direction she couldn't reach that place any time soon. But all
she was sure of was that it was a fence.
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She couldn't help but wonder what was all the way
beyond the beautiful grasslands and if it had something to
do with the little gate on the other side. But whatever it was,
it certainly went through the small gate, into Ellora garden
and has something to do with Charles' death. Her train of
thought was interrupted by Nicholas who had surprisingly
come to join her.
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