REMEMBRANCE (35 page)

“But what will happen now that she remains in the past?”

“They will live out their lives to the fullest and be happy, which is what I had wished for.”

 “And Richard—what of him?”

“Ahh. If only she had returned when her mother had died, as I had hoped, then she would have been spared it all. Yet again, if she had not experienced life with another, she would never have had the courage to embark on her affair with Thomas. For that, I am grateful to Richard—not that I will rejoice in her ever knowing the likes of him. Insufferable man; he did not deserve her.”

“So, we have one thing to thank him for?”

“As much as I hate to say it, yes Margaret, we do.”

Bertie touched a hand to the handsome couple that stared out at her from the paper. It was Thomas and Maria’s wedding picture.

“Thank you Maria, for you have righted what went wrong. You have given me that second chance. I have waited all these years so that you could go back and fulfil your destiny. You saved my son from a death that I have felt was my doing, for forcing you apart and making him engage in a loveless marriage. It is something that I have never been able to forgive myself for, for almost 200 years. I have had to endure the suffering from my mistake until this day.”

“Oh Bertie,” Margaret cried.

“In changing their past, she also helped to change mine, Margaret, as you know. She helped me to see things more clearly; it opened old wounds that I thought had long healed. Sir John and I never really got the chance to show each other our true feelings. However, the accident finally opened our eyes, for it brought to our attention what we had both been hiding and we began to talk of our love again. Then, there were Alfred Grainger and Lucy Cartland, whose lives were also changed for the better.”

“I know, Bertie.”

“Oh Margaret, I have so much to be thankful for; my children are at last together and I… and I have what I always thought was impossible.”

Margaret smiled in her direction, “And you gave me your friendship throughout all these years. Still, as I said before, Lady Bradley, you must not lose sight of the real reason you were able to send her back.”

“And I never did, Margaret. It was for my children. Whatever else came from their survival was a bonus. It has made everything that you and I have suffered over the last few years, as we planned and put together this once-in-a-lifetime chance to make everything right, seem worth it.”

“Oh Bertie,” Margaret said, with tears in her eyes.

“I want to thank you, Margaret, for staying by my side throughout and you will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Margaret placed her hand upon Bertie’s shoulder, as the sound of children’s voices filled the warm autumn air outside the window. They both turned towards the sound, a gentle smile on their lips.

“I shall finally rest in peace, knowing that the Bradley name shall continue through their children and their children’s children,” Bertie said, as tears began to fall freely.

“Then it is finished?” Margaret whispered.

“Yes, Margaret—finally—it is finished.”

The last thought they had was how happy the two young boys looked, as they played upon the freshly cut grass.

Then Lady Bradley and Mrs Webster’s ghostly images faded away.