The Secret Path to a Lady’s Heart – Extended Epilogue

Eleanor leaned back into the chair that she found most comfortable. The past six months had treated her well and pregnancy was something she found she had enjoyed, until these recent aches and pains.

But they were fairly minor compared to some of the ladies she had known who had given birth.

“I do love what you’ve done with the mantle,” Hazel commented, looking around at the upgrades that had been made to the parlour.

With some of the money that they had managed to keep, Eleanor and Michael had tried to fix aspects of the home that had been falling apart. Although she had never complained about the mantle, Eleanor had been glad that her husband had noted how the wood was rotting and replaced it.

“Thank you. I am glad that we’ve completed all the work. I do not think I could bear to be stuck outside of this room anymore. It has the most comfortable chair in the whole house,” Eleanor affirmed.

“Is it really so bad?” Hazel asked, nervously.

“Not in the least.” Eleanor smiled. “I am one of the fortunate ones. My back is sore at times, but I still feel quite strong, healthy—all of those things that a woman might wish for. This little one is growing awfully strong, as well. I get kicked at least five or six times a day. That’s not to mention the other motions.”

“It must feel amazing,” mused Hazel. “Knowing that a human is growing inside of you, a life all its own.”

“Yes, it is remarkable. Although there are women who struggle through pregnancy, I rather love it and wish that I could feel this all the time,” Eleanor said.

“I worry that I shall end up one of those who struggle. It sounds like it could be quite an ordeal for many women.”

“Yes, but it should never stop one from bringing a child into the world,” Eleanor countered.

“And is your husband looking forward to fatherhood?” Hazel enquired.

Eleanor grew quiet at that. She hadn’t wanted to share about Michael’s actions of late, but perhaps now was the time to voice her concerns. Hazel had always been there for a listening ear. This was as good a time as any.

“Well… I think so. At least, he was. I’m not entirely sure. Something seems to have changed in him of late and I cannot quite put my finger on it. He has been acting strange,” she confessed.

“How so?” Hazel prompted.

“Oh, I don’t know. Just different. Busy, I suppose,” Eleanor allowed. “A little bit anxious.”

“I am certain he is just nervous about the baby coming. What man would not be anxious for fatherhood?” asked Hazel.

“I know. You are probably right. But I cannot help but wonder. He is just so different from normal. I have seen him find the strangest excuses to leave the house at times,” Eleanor noted.

“Are you suspicious of him?”

Eleanor thought about that for a moment. There was no reason that she should be. And yet, she was embarrassed to confess that a small part of her might wonder about her husband’s actions.

But Hazel continued in her own line of thought.

“I really do think that he is probably just nervous in all of his preparations. You ought not be too worried,” she said

“Yes, I think you must be right,” Eleanor replied, trying to take her friend’s words to heart.

Later that evening, after Hazel had departed, Eleanor met her husband for dinner.

“My darling, I have missed you today,” he said.

“You have been gone. I should have liked to have known that you would not be around,” she told him.

“I was rather busy with Daniel. We had much work to do,” he explained.

“You have often said that, but Hazel told me that he is not working so much as you are,” Eleanor pointed out.

“Daniel already knows how to do this work. You know that I have been learning. It takes effort. I should like to make sure that I am up to the task before the baby comes,” he replied.

It was a reasonable enough thought, and Eleanor was irritated with herself for being suspicious of her husband. He had given her no reason not to trust him. Quite the opposite, actually. He had always been honest with her, good to her.

“All right then, sorry for pushing,” she said.

“There is no reason to apologise, my dear,” he replied light-heartedly. It was clear that he did not understand that she was frustrated, and Eleanor sought to keep it that way. For now.

But things did not sit well with Eleanor when, immediately after dinner, Michael stood to leave.

“Forgive me, my darling, but I must make one more visit this evening. I have to speak with someone,” he announced.

“Who?” she asked.

“Oh, just a client. Nothing much,” he replied, vaguely.

Eleanor was furious, but she tried to hide her emotions. And yet, as she contemplated the matter while Michael departed the room, she decided that she could not sit idly by while he went gallivanting around town with no thought as to her loneliness.

She struggled to stand from the chair, her belly nearly weighing her back down. But soon, she found her footing and followed Michael out of the dining room.

“You have been leaving nearly every night for several weeks. What is this about? Why have you been acting so strangely?” she demanded, pushing into his office.

Michael looked up from the desk in shock, shuffling the mounds of papers that were upon it. As if trying to hide them from her, he opened a drawer and tried to shove them all inside.

Eleanor was more suspicious and upset than ever. Why would he be trying to hide something from her like this? What could he possibly have been doing that he did not want her to know about?

Michael stood and smiled, as if everything was normal. But he could not hide the panic that was masked underneath it all.

“What are you working on?” she pressed.

“It is nothing at all, my dear,” he replied.

“The papers?” Eleanor challenged.

He laughed lightly, as if she was entirely mistaken. “They are mere papers, my dear. Nothing more. I do not understand why you are so upset right now.”

“Do you not?”

“No, would you care to enlighten me?” he offered.

“I would love to. I cannot comprehend what it is that you are doing right now. Why are you going out at all hours? Why are you hiding papers from me?” she asked, feeling teary-eyed.

All of her questions sounded foolish to her now that they were vocalised, and she began to wonder if her emotions were related to her pregnancy. And yet, she could not shake the feeling that Michael was hiding something from her. No matter how upset she might be feeling, no matter how he tried to brush it off, was it possible that he really was doing something she would disapprove of?

Eleanor felt certain that the answer to her question was a resounding yes. All she wanted to know was whether or not her husband was being genuine.

“I am sorry that I have concerned you, Eleanor. I promise you,” he said, coming close to her. “There is nothing to worry about. Everything is fine.”

With a kiss to her hand, Michael all but shooed her away.

Eleanor’s jaw dropped in annoyance, but Michael turned away from her and finished clearing the documents on his desk.

With that, she stormed out of the office and up to their room. Falling asleep alone that night, Eleanor was determined that she would find out what it was that Michael was hiding.

The next morning, she heard his voice as he left the house.

“Have a wonderful day, my dear,” he called, loud enough for her to hear from the parlour.

Eleanor did not reply, hoping that he would simply think she had not heard him.

It had been made very clear to Michael that she had no desire to spend time with him that morning. She had not gone to breakfast and was hiding out to avoid him at all costs.

He had known that she was upset and Eleanor knew that she was, once more, throwing a bit of a tantrum. However much she disapproved of her own response, this was not all right. Michael had to be more forthcoming or she would never be able to trust him again.

Once he was gone, she decided to find out the truth for herself.

Eleanor made her way, quietly, to his office. After sneaking in, she unearthed the papers that he had put into the drawers, determined to find out what he was hiding.

To Eleanor’s great dismay, she saw the truth.

Michael had been moving money around. The purpose was not before her, but she knew what he was hiding.

Like his brother before him, Michael had begun gambling. Perhaps it had grown to the same level of addiction that it had been for Luke. She didn’t know yet. But the fact that he had been hiding financial changes from her told her instantly that Michael must be ashamed of whatever it was that he had been doing.

The money had been shifted for reasons she should have been told. But with such an insidious addiction as gambling, she knew why he had remained so vague on the matter. Of course, he would not wish for her to know the truth about this.

She had trusted him and wanted to maintain that trust. The only way Eleanor felt she could do that was to confront Michael when he returned home. She would show him the evidence that she’d found and give him a chance to confess. Once he had admitted to it, they would be able to deal with it and move on.

Yes, they could overcome this, just as they had overcome so many other things.

Eleanor spent the day trying to distract herself. She stitched little doilies and practiced her pianoforte, but none of it was enough to keep her thoughts from what she would say to her husband that evening.

By the time Michael arrived home, Eleanor was ready for him, ready to discuss the issue at hand and how they might deal with it.

“My darling,” he greeted in a teasingly frightened voice.

“You needn’t mock me,” she answered, showing the concern in her eyes.

“No, perhaps not. But I should very much like to know if you are going to calm down and trust me.”

“Well, I am glad you mention that. For the moment, my trust is… well, there is something we need to discuss,” Eleanor told him.

“By all means, my love,” Michael allowed, leading the way to the parlour.

Once he was seated, Eleanor stood before him.

“I know what you have been doing when you leave at night,” she announced.

“You do?” he asked, an eyebrow cocked. She saw in his face that he did not believe her to be correct in her assumptions.

“I should hate to think that, after all we have come through, you feel the need to hide this from me. We can work it out, Michael. We can overcome this,” she insisted.

He laughed. “What exactly do you think we need to overcome?”

“Your gambling addiction,” Eleanor cried, stifling her tears as she addressed it.

Michael looked at her as if she must be mad. Eleanor waited for him to respond but saw in his eyes that he was far too surprised and… some other emotion underneath it all.

“What have you to say?” she asked.

“That you are a fool for thinking I have any sort of gambling addiction. I would never go near such a den when I am well aware of the consequences,” he assured her.

“Michael, please do not lie to me. I know the truth. I found all the evidence that I need. You don’t have to hide this from me anymore. We can deal with it. We can make everything right,” she insisted.

“You have no evidence, because it is not true,” argued Michael.

Eleanor sighed, frustrated that he would lie to her. She had hoped that she would not have to call him out on lies, but rather that he would openly, willingly be honest with her.

“If you need to see the evidence for yourself then I shall bring it out,” she declared, a burst of anger beginning in her veins.

Not only had he been hiding all of this, Michael was now lying about it. He was trying to fool her, thinking she was not clever enough to see past it.

Eleanor opened the trunk where she had been keeping the papers and pulled them out, leaving them on the table before her husband.

“Tell me, then. What of all of this? Where has all this money gone? For what purpose have you shifted about and spent so much of what we have? Tell me again that you are not lying when I have all the proof I need right here. Michael, we have to be honest with one another, to work together. You do not need to follow the same path as your brother,” she finished, voice cracking with emotion.

Michael pursed his lips together after a brief moment of shock. But he said nothing.

His silence was it. The admission that Eleanor had needed.

“We will get through this. Together. I love you more than anything and because of that, I forgive you for putting us in this situation. I shall try to be understanding. I know that sometimes these vices run in families. But we must handle it,” she said.

“You are a good man. You would never put our life into jeopardy unless you simply could not help it. So, please, let me help you. We must overcome this. I know that I can be of assistance, my love. Just let me,” she begged.

The speech had been filled with emotion and angst. Eleanor’s spirit was breaking for her husband. To know that he had been trying to get through all of this alone saddened her. She would have hoped he would come to her, but here they were. Having to work through it now, together.

“Are you finished, my love?” he asked, quietly.

“Yes,” Eleanor replied in a soft tone of her own.

With a tender smile, Michael stood and crossed the room to embrace Eleanor.

“I love you,” he whispered as his arms enshrouded her.

This was all that she needed to hear. His love for her would lead him to handle this wisely, would lead him to do what needed to be done to be finished with all of this.

“I love you, but you must know that you are gravely mistaken,” he added with greater clarity.

Eleanor pulled back ever so slightly, surprised by this turn of events. So he was not confessing? What was it all about, then?

“I am no gambler, my dear. Quite the contrary, I am even more opposed than I was even before events with my brother’s debt proved so grave. It is true that I have been hiding something, but I have not racked up any debts. I have not done anything so irresponsible and I would never put you in that sort of jeopardy,” he assured her.

Eleanor was quiet, looking at him with fierce desperation. She had to know what it was all about, then. Why would he try to hide something from her? What was he doing with that money?

“Eleanor, we have a child on the way. You know that our home is not quite prepared for another life. It is difficult enough even for us living here. And after the attempts that we made to bring it into better condition, I realised that it was no longer the home for us,” Michael explained.

“Therefore, I have been in talks with your father. He is helping to secure a larger estate for us. A beautiful new home where we might raise our family. The money that I was moving around was through the help of your father.

“You see, he recommended that we organise our finances differently if I am to properly care for you and our child. So, as I have been working to secure the new estate, to set money aside for our children, to ensure that you and I have enough for our daily lives, I have had to move around quite a lot,” he went on.

Eleanor was shocked. She had not thought that Michael was working so hard in this matter. To know that he had been thinking so far in advance only caused her to grow in her respect of him.

Her mouth dropped in the realisation that she had been such a fool.

“I found the perfect estate for us to live out the rest of our days. It is large and extremely beautiful. We will be close to Daniel and Mrs. Wolfe, which I think you shall enjoy. And once they have children, they might be friends with ours,” he dreamed.

“It is also close to the sea. And as my father and brother rest there, and shall forevermore, I wished to choose this estate which is everything we shall ever need,” he finished.

Embarrassed, Eleanor gave a small laugh. She knew not what else to do. She had been so determined that Michael was hiding something horrible that she had never considered he might be doing something which would benefit them.

“I promise to always take care of you. Perhaps it was not such a good idea to keep this plan from you. I am sorry that I worried you; I meant only to give you a grand surprise,” he said.

“I ought not to have allowed my imagination to carry me away like that,” she confessed. “I was such a fool. Forgive me for thinking the worst.”

“Perhaps we should continue being straightforward with one another.” Michael laughed.

“Yes, that would be wise,” she agreed with a sheepish grin.

“I shall not hide things from you, and you shall not be suspicious of me,” he confirmed.

With those words spoken and their gazes locked on one another, the two shared a kiss that was sweet and pure, loving and honest.

A kiss that was freely given.

THE END

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