Epilogue

Four Years Later

Alice and Eloise both left the orphanage at five o’clock in the afternoon, the usual time now that a new matron had been hired. The young woman was seventeen years old and had run away from her home up north. Joseph, the lovely man that he was, had given young Emmeline work.

Alice and Eloise both could no longer work into the nights as they were needed at home. Eloise and her husband had adopted the boy that she had been fond of, Edward, and he was now five years old and had begun lessons in a school close to her home. He was a gorgeous young boy and he was lucky to have Eloise as a mother.

After their son, Michael, had been born, Annie and Joseph had decided to forgo trying to have another child naturally, and had instead given two of the children from the orphanage a loving home. Both Christopher and Lydia had been adopted as newborns and were now three and one year old. Amy had adjusted to not receiving all the attention quite well, and she enjoyed being an older sister.

Kitty and William still had their four children, and Alice believed that they were very happy at that number. Any more and she was sure Kitty would go insane. Both Will and Millie were in the schoolroom and were just as impatient as their mother when it came to learning. Josie and Alexander were still too young, yet one could tell that their personalities stemmed directly from Kitty. They were lovely and endearing children though, and Alice loved to have them all around.

Little J and Harrison had had two more girls after Victoria. Georgiana and Clara came quickly after Victoria. They had hired a nanny to stay with the girls while they both worked and none could judge them for that after all Little J went through to become a doctor. She was now a trusted physician and had many patients who came from all over town just to see her. It was only Little J with whom Alice entrusted her children.

Henry was still a bachelor at five and twenty. He hadn’t courted a woman and he barely had the confidence to ask one to dance at balls. Emilia had once stressed to Alice over a glass of wine or four that she feared Henry would never marry. Alice assured her that when the right woman presented herself to him that he would snap her up. Henry was more concerned with work at that moment. As he was now a solicitor after graduating from Cambridge University, he had become the estate legal representative for Ethridge and served a crucial role in running the estate alongside James and Sebastian. The three worked well together, so well that the estate was more prosperous than ever.

Alice climbed into the waiting carriage and asked the driver to take her home. She wanted to be home earlier but she never felt like she could leave the orphanage. Once her children were old enough she would bring them with her on days that they were not in the schoolroom.

The carriage ride was quick thankfully and she arrived home within twenty minutes. Just as soon as she was in the door she said her usual greeting that would in return result in the sound of young feet running to see her.

“Bonsoir, mes enfants!” she called up the stairs.

Almost immediately she heard cries of glee. Jack appeared first at the top of the stairs with a huge grin on his little face. Although his Christian name was ‘Jacques’, only Alice called him that. He was three years old and the image of his father. With a mop of unruly dark hair, his sapphire blue eyes made him look devilishly cute.

Alice quickly climbed the stairs to avoid her son having to tackle them by himself. Just as soon as she reached the landing, she scooped Jack up into her arms and kissed him repeatedly.

“Bonsoir, maman,” Jack replied happily as he wrapped his little arms around Alice’s neck. There was no greater feeling then having one’s child cling to them. Alice never knew unconditional love until she held him for the first time. She now knew what was going through her own brother’s mind when he placed her in the wooden crate. Alice would give up her own life in a heartbeat to save any one of her family members from pain.

Alice had been teaching her children French as well as English. They called her ‘maman’ and knew many basic phrases. Jack, as the oldest, was the most advanced.

“Maman missed you today,” Alice said, kissing Jack’s soft forehead. “What did you do?” she asked as she produced a piece of hard candy for him to sick on.

Jack’s eyes widened with delight as he happily accepted the sweet. “Grandmamma took us to the park,” he replied.

“Where he jumped in a dirty puddle and ruined his lovely clothes.” Alice turned to see James coming down the hallway carrying their eighteen month old twin girls in each arm. Alice’s heart still skipped a beat when she saw him smiling at her, his handsomeness only increasing when he held their children.

“Did you now?” Alice said, displeased. But what could one expect from young children?

James joined Alice and Jack and promptly placed a loving kiss on her lips. “How was your day?” he asked.

“Long,” she sighed. “I’m glad to be home. I’ve missed you all.” She really missed being away from home but the children she cared for didn’t have anyone. Her children had a mother, father, grandparents, aunts and an uncle to care for them.

Her girls began cooing her name and reached out for her. Alice placed Jack back on the ground and accepted her girls from James. It was heavier carrying them both but she didn’t mind. She wanted a cuddle.

Juliette and Madeleine were identical, but Alice knew which was which. Both she and James could tell the difference between them. Their hair was very dark and in perfect spirals down to their shoulders. Their skin was pale and their eyes were the same pale blue as Alice’s. Emilia had tied ribbons on each of them. Pink for Juliette and yellow for Madeleine. The girls had specific colours to help the rest of the family know the difference between them.

Alice kissed both of their cheeks and murmured that she loved them in French.

“Let’s go down to the library, perhaps maman can read us all a story?” James suggested. He scooped Jack up easily into his arms and took Juliette from Alice so that she might properly hold Madeleine as they descended the staircase.

This was her favourite part of the day. Coming home to her family and spending time with them. Nothing gave her more pleasure than being a mother.

They made their way into the library and set the three children down on a red velvet settee. James selected the children’s favourite book from the shelf - Histoires ou contes du temps passé. He’d purchased the fairy tale book as a gift for Alice the Christmas of their wedding. Little did he know that her mother used to read to her and Jacques from the same book when they were young. It was one of her most treasured possessions.

Alice pulled an armchair in front of the settee and James sat down with Jack on his lap. All four of them were prepared to listen to a French fairy tale even though they would not know what she was saying. Emilia had once told her that a mother’s voice was the most soothing sound of all. Amongst chaos and anarchy, if one heard the voice of their mother then inner peace could be found.

Alice flipped to her favourite fairy tale – Peau d’Ane. In English it meant ‘donkeyskin’. It was a tale about a princess whose mother tragically passed away and on her deathbed, instructed her father to select a wife that surpassed her in beauty. The only woman in the kingdom was indeed the princess. The princess was advised by a fairy to ask for impossible gifts in return for her hand in marriage. First she asked for a dress the colour of the sun, and then the moon and finally she requested the skin of her father’s beloved donkey. When she received the skin she saw no other way out but to run away with the skin on her back. Eventually finding solace on a farm, the princess worked hard to pay board and every so often she would open the trunk she’d brought with her and don a beautiful gown to look like a princess again. One day a prince sees the princess, now known as ‘Donkeyskin’ through a window and he demands to see her. The princess makes him a cake and he immediately falls in love with her. Some time later the prince falls ill and declares that he will only heal if he receive a cake made by Donkeyskin. When he eats the cake he recovers but inside the cake is Donkeyskin’s ring. He sets out looking for the woman whose finger fits the ring. Just like a fairy tale should, it ends with the prince and princess marrying, and the princess making peace with her father.

“La fin,” she said, concluding the story, closing it and running her hands over the embossed cover. Looking up she saw that Jack looked completely engrossed and the girls were falling asleep. Looking at the clock on the mantle, she saw it was nearly half past six. “‘ave they eaten?” Alice asked James.

He nodded. “It is time for bed, I think,” he announced. Jack frowned and began to complain but James covered his mouth. “Shh,” he hushed. “Don’t wake the girls.”

Alice placed the book down on a table and lifted Jack up into her arms. James carefully juggled the twins in his arms, trying to accommodate their sleeping figures. They carried the children upstairs and into the bedchamber that was next to James and Alice’s. There was a door connecting the room that allowed the young parents to check on the children frequently. Alice turned up the lamp on the wall as soon as they entered so the room had a yellow glow.

The room had been completely redesigned for children. The far wall contained two wooden cots that had been painted pink and yellow. They did not match very well together but if ever James or Alice wasn’t around to determine which girl was which, there needed to be something to aid whoever it was that was caring for them. Surrounding the cots was a rocking chair as well as a trunk filled with beautiful toys. The other half of the room had been given to Jack. As he was old enough for a bed, Sebastian and James had constructed a miniature bed for him. It was low to the ground so there was no risk of injury if he fell out. Alice frowned when she saw his collections of nutcrackers on the floor.

“You know you ‘ave to put your things away when you leave them, Jacques,” Alice scolded as she lowered him into his bed. She quickly gathered up the nutcrackers and put them beside his bed so he could put them away in the morning.

“Sorry, maman,” he apologised as he sat atop the blankets. Alice fetched his nightclothes from the wardrobe and handed James the nightdresses for the twins. She undressed Jack and helped him into the floor length night shirt. She rolled up his sleeves and helped him get underneath the covers. She tucked him in tightly and kissed him on his forehead.

“Bonne nuit,” Alice whispered. “I love you.”

Jack’s sapphire eyes fluttered as he settled into the warmth of his bed. “I love you, too, maman.” He then closed his eyes.

Alice stood up and she and James traded places so that she could wish the twins a good night. She kissed each sleeping girl on the forehead and watched them breathe for a few minutes. She liked doing that. It was peaceful.

“Come on,” James whispered in her ear as he pressed his lips to her temple. “Let’s go and get some food into you. I’ve missed you all day.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Alice breathed. With their fingers entwined, the two walked downstairs where the scents of dinner enticed them. “Where is everyone?” she asked, realising she hadn’t seen another Alcott aside from her own family.

“Mama and papa are spending the evening at Kitty and William’s home and Henry is at the opera,” James replied.

“Again?” Alice raised her eyebrows. Henry had been to the opera at least four times in the last fortnight. Surely the productions had not changed to quickly.

“I know.” James chuckled. “I think I know why. She’s all they talk about at the men’s club. Stunning young soprano, apparently. Breathtaking.”

Alice glared at James and he knew he was in trouble.

“And by stunning I men awfully ugly. The woman could blend in with pigs …” James started ranting but Alice silenced him with a kiss.

Alice giggled. “Relax. You are allowed to find other women attractive, so long as I am the one you come ‘ome to at night.” She didn’t really mean that as she didn’t want James looking at other women, but she didn’t have to worry. His eyes never strayed.

“I have eyes for only one,” he replied seductively as he led her into the dining room. “And I am lucky enough to call her my wife.”

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I can't believe another story is finished :O Only one more to go! First chapter of Freeing Ebony will most likely be up Monday-ish as I have to work all this weekend.

FRENCH -

Bonsoir mes enfants - Good evening my children

Histoires ou contes du temps passé - Stories and tales of the past

La fin - the end

Bonne nuit - Good night

'The Donkey Skin' is my favourite fairy tale. I have an ancient fairy tale book that has all the original stories in it (like the real little mermaid where she dies in the end) and I fell in love with 'The Donkey Skin' :) If you ever get a chance to read it, do :)

AND THE WINNER OF THE WORST DATE GOES TO..... DanielleLangston :) I laughed so hard!! Having the worst date and having it end with him trying to kiss you in front of his mum and your dad :P Seriously though, some of those sounded absolutely awful (particularly the one where the guy informed you he was engaged on the date hmm!!) The guy I went out with texted me as if he thought the date went well. Yeah, bud, sure it did ;)

Hope you enjoyed this story, I truly loved writing it for you :) I nearly have 5000 votes on this story which is incredible - thank you all so much! You will never know how much your support means to me xx