Lothar changed into sleeping attire and tried to sleep. His mind seemed to have more energy than his body did, wanting to stay awake. His thoughts went from Henny and feeling guilty for not thinking of her as much as he used to, to thinking of Gemma and her happy smile. She was everything Henny was not, and the mere fact that he was drawn to her said quite a bit.
When he drifted off into sleep, his thoughts were still on Gemma and how he could convince her to be his.
The next morning brought him unexpected courage. He would go see Henny and announce that he was to wed another.
It will be the very thing that drives her into my arms! I hope so at least, Lothar thought as he dressed to go out. He called the footman in the hall to prepare a carriage.
“Your Grace?” The footman asked.
“Good morning. I would like a carriage prepared. I would like it ready after breakfast,” Lothar said in a respectful yet firm manner.
He enjoyed the first meal of the day with his mother and then was swiftly on his way. His mother would not be content with where he was going, as she thought he was on his way to the Castwell residence. He felt a sense of duty towards Henny. He did not want her to find out about his intentions from another source. Not only that, but he arrived at her estate and was led to her. She sat in the tearoom reading a book.
“Good day, Lothar. What brings you here?” Henny said smugly.
“I have come to tell you, that is, I feel I should tell you… that I plan to wed another.” It came out far more easily than he had anticipated.
“Oh? Who is the lucky woman?” Henny said with a touch of sarcasm, he only now seemed to notice. It was the first time something she said had so easily put him off.
“Miss Gemma Castwell,” Lothar said with pride only to have Henny burst into laughter.
“Really? Well, I suppose it makes sense that the two biggest people I have ever seen would get married. Well, congratulations are in order, I suppose,” Henny replied in a flat tone.
“Is that all that you have to say on this?” Lothar asked as he felt the last part of his heart crack like glass and shatter. He would have abandoned the entire idea of Gemma if Henny had only said that she loved him and wanted to be with him. He had expected Henny to at least be jealous or a little upset that he had wanted to marry another woman.
She could not care less! She really will never love me!Lothar thought as he looked at Henny one last time. He waited to see if there were even the slightest signs that she wanted him.
She could not be more bored!Lothar thought with despair. He could barely sleep at night. His dreams had tormented him with the life he had wanted with her for years. She, on the other hand, could not even bother to spare his feelings.
“Well, that’s that. Please excuse me, I have a pressing matter to attend to,” Lothar said and walked away from her without waiting for her answer.
He marched to his carriage and told the driver to take him to the Castwell estate. He would meet with Gemma’s father man to man and convince him to give his blessing. Subsequently, he would ask for his assistance in convincing his daughter to give him a chance.
Iwill not stop until Gemma Castwell is mine.Lothar thought as he leaned from the window to ask the driver to go as fast as was safe to do so.
Chapter 5
Gemma sat outside in the shade of the old silver oak tree. She had gone to their new tenants and offered the children an outing. Gemma had heard of the children in the village who had recently lost their parents.
As the other tenants that stayed on their land had been there all their lives, the children—who had been there for only a year—were considered new. Gemma thought back to the day she had been told about the children. She had set out to the village the moment she had been informed.
Gemma had approached the policeman who had been put in charge of the children, until the people from the orphanage came to get them, and she had asked if anyone from the village had inquired about fostering or adopting a child. Gemma had thought that the families of the village would have helped immediately.
“Not one of them, ma’am,” the policeman had said, shaking his head. It turned out that not one family was willing to help these unfortunate young children. Some families she could understand were unable to carry the financial burden of another mouth to feed. The people she found difficult to understand were those fully capable of helping, yet chose not to.
Gemma had then gone to the orphanage herself and asked permission to house the children in one of the smaller houses on their property. Gemma then set about employing two full-time nannies, who treated all six children as if they were their own. After a year, they started to adjust to their new lives. They had settled into a routine and showed signs of adjusting well to their new home.
They loved the house they were given and the nannies who lived with them. Gemma had missed playing with the children and wanted to see how they were. So, today, she set most of her tasks aside to go and see them.
“Gemma!” Tess, the youngest child, yelled when she saw Gemma coming towards them. The other children came running from where they had been playing to greet her. They all spoke together in their excitement.
“One at a time,” Gemma said and laughed. The children had all tried to hug Gemma instead of waiting their turn. Before Gemma could avoid it, they had toppled her over. They laughed as Gemma pretended to be mad just to catch them to make them pay with tickles.
Gemma surrendered when they banded together and tried to tickle her. They celebrated their victory and went on with their games. Gemma went over to one of the nannies, Simone, who watched nearby. Simone almost always smiled and had a seemly endless amount of patience.
Her blonde hair was pleated into a different style every day. She had a warm, round face and clear, green eyes. She wore a floral dress with no shoes. Not only that, but she had told Gemma that it gave her moving speed when running after the children. Gemma suspect though that she simply did not enjoy wearing shoes.
“Good morning,” Gemma said cheerfully.
