Chapter 27

"People don't always get what they deserve in this world." Lemony Snickett, The Blank Book

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Chapter Twenty – Seven

"Obviously Mrs Cassidy will need to rest when she arrives home," Doctor Whitney informed Luke. "She must not exert herself. It is of my professional opinion that she is out of medical danger, however, what with her memory loss, emotional trauma is still a real possibility."

"Emotional trauma?" repeated Luke.

Doctor Whitney stood up from behind his desk and walked around to face Luke. "It has only been a short time since she has awoken, and she had needed sedation to calm her."

Luke decided not to mention the fainting and the need for smelling salts when Isabella had learned she was a mother.

"I do not think there will be a need for sedation again," Luke replied. "I sincerely believe the initial shock has passed and she is learning to accept her reality. Honestly, it astounds me how well she is doing." Luke immediately thought of the beautiful moment that was occurring upstairs. A mother cradling her son. It was natural. "She is upstairs with our son."

Doctor Whitney smiled. "Well, that is good news. But you must still tread carefully. You will be introducing Mrs Cassidy to an entirely new environment. She will be easily overwhelmed. Just a little bit at a time."

Luke understood. Cassidy House was filled with people who knew Isabella. She was in a little protected cocoon in the hospital. There was every chance that this move could impact her negatively. "What do I do in the event that she does get overwhelmed?" he asked.

"What you need to do as soon as you arrive home is to establish a safe space for Mrs Cassidy. Somewhere she can close the door, be alone, and breathe."

Luke nodded. He would absolutely do that. Their bedroom was the obvious choice. He then stopped himself. Their bedroom. Where had Isabella been sleeping when he had been keeping to their room? Would he have to do the same? She would not want a virtual stranger sleeping next to her, would she?

"Just be observant, Captain. Look after her. Do not pressure her. Progress will come in due course."

Progress. One could only hope. "Do you think her memories will ever return?" Luke asked hopefully.

"I could not say," Doctor Whitney replied honestly. "Possibly. Possibly not. I would not pin all my hopes on it. Start afresh. This could be a blessing in disguise."

It was hard to believe that anything terrible happening to Isabella was a blessing, but he would not carry on by hoping that she would wake up and miraculously remember everything. "Thank you for your advice, Doctor," Luke said appreciatively.

"If you have any questions, please do write," Doctor Whitney replied sincerely.

Luke left Doctor Whitney's office feeling quite optimistic. Isabella was allowed to go home. It could only be positive that she return to some semblance of her former life. Even if she did never regain her memories, she would create new ones.

Once Luke had told Isabella the happy news, he would arrange for their departure immediately.

He climbed the stairs swiftly and marched down the hallway with a skip in his step. A grin was plastered on his face. He had been waiting such a long time to finally live as a family.

As soon as he opened Isabella's door, the view just about melted his heart. Jamie was still sleeping, his head resting on his mother's chest. When Isabella looked up at him, with her warm brown eyes, it was as if nothing had changed. She looked just the same as she always had.

Luke prayed that he would always retain this image in his mind. He never did want to forget it.

"What did he say?" she asked quietly. "Am I allowed to leave?"

"Yes, you are," Luke choked out, his words catching in his throat.

Isabella smiled, elated. "I am glad to hear that."

Luke noticed that her breakfast tray was untouched. She had not eaten, probably because she had a heavy sack of potatoes dribbling on her nightgown. "Did you want me to take him so you can eat?" he asked.

Isabella shook her head. "I am content," she replied peacefully.

Luke sat down carefully on the bed beside her. He noticed that her hair had been brushed out, as it hung smoothly down her back. He reached out to run his fingers through it without thinking. Just as he pulled his hand away and was about to apologise, he noticed a shiver run down Isabella's spine.

"Do you think I ought to meet everyone properly before we go?" asked Isabella softly.

Luke knew she was referring to half of the Cassidy household who were currently residing on Royal Crescent. "Would you be up to that? Doctor Whitney warned me not to overwhelm you."

"I think I am going to be overwhelmed no matter what," replied Isabella honestly. "These people know me. They love me, I hope. They are my family."

"They do love you. You cannot fathom how much," Luke told her. You cannot fathom how much I love you, he thought.

Isabella was quiet for a minute before she said, "Tell me about them."

Luke thought that was a good sign that she wanted to know about their family. "Well, Annaliese you have met," he began. Luke thought back to when he first met Annaliese. An image of a drowned rabbit entered his mind. He laughed lightly. "I first met your sister on the night of a dreadful storm. I was on leave from the navy and I was travelling home, and I came across Annaliese and Georgiana. Georgiana is Annaliese's step-daughter," he clarified. Isabella nodded along. "Georgiana used to be quite the little madam. She gave Annaliese quite the run around when she and Matthew first married. Anyway, Georgiana had run out into this storm and Annaliese had gone out after her. They were both sopping wet, but I still thought Annaliese was one of the prettiest women I had ever seen."

Luke was immensely glad that Isabella cocked an eyebrow at that comment.

"That was until I met you," he clarified, winking. "But I could tell my brother loved her. She is a good woman, your sister. She cares about anyone and everyone." Luke sighed. "My family was a little broken before she came to us. I was away. My brother was a widower. His children were motherless. My mother was at her wit's end."

"It seems I am lucky to have her as my sister," realised Isabella.

Luke nodded. "You are. Annaliese has looked after you and Eleanor, your other sister, all your lives." Luke could not remember if Isabella had met Eleanor in and amongst the sedation. "Despite how she tries to redeem herself, your mother was very cruel to you girls. Annaliese in particular. The best thing that Annaliese could have done was to take you and Eleanor out of their care." Luke grinned. "Had she not done so, we would probably not have had the opportunity to get married."

"I am sure that is an interesting story," mused Isabella. "Luke ... should I be cautious around my parents? I do not know them, but my mother seemed ... concerned."

"Your mother did us a great service in returning Jamie," replied Luke. "But she was not a kind woman in the past, and Annaliese has every right to be angry with her. But I want you to have exactly the kind of relationship that you would like with your mother. It is your decision."

Isabella nodded. "I will think about it," she replied. "So I have a niece, Georgiana?" she asked, changing the subject.

"You have three of them, actually," said Luke. "Georgiana, Eva, and Julianna, and a nephew, William."

"Oh, that is good," breathed Isabella. "I am glad Jamie has other children to play with."

Maybe one day Jamie would have a sibling. Luke could only hope.

"Oh, the nurse left a note for you," Isabella suddenly said. "She was adamant that you read it. I think it is about my care."

Luke furrowed his brow and rose from the bed. Was there something that Doctor Whitney had forgotten?

There was a fresh piece of parchment on top of the table with only a few words of script. Luke picked it up and read the words:

Please forgive me. Mary.

Luke read it once, twice, three times just to make sure he had not hallucinated.

His body began to shake as white rage flowed through him. The parchment disintegrated in his hands as he tore it apart in a cry of anger. He spun around and shouted, "Where did she go?" It was not until his eyes re-focussed on Isabella that he noticed she looked frightened and Jamie had woken up and was restless. "Isabella, where did she go?" he demanded to know, his voice still loud and tense.

That woman had been in the same room as his wife and his son.

Luke had walked right past her. Bile rose in his throat. Now he knew why she was behaving so strangely. That woman had been the one to nearly kill his wife, and to kidnap his son and bring him to the brink of death.

"It was Mary, Isabella!" exclaimed Luke. "That was her. She was in here with you! And I let her walk right past me because I had never seen her face." Luke balled his hands into fists and fought the urge to punch a wall.

Jamie started to grizzle, a grumpy, morning grizzle that was only adding to Luke's ire.

"Stop it!" cried Isabella as she tried to calm Jamie.

"Isabella, don't you understand? Mary was in this room with you! And she wants forgiveness?" scoffed Luke irately. "I need to find her. I am going to kill her for coming near you again." Luke could not hear himself think over Jamie crying and his heart pounding, but he knew that he needed to hunt Mary down.

"Luke, stop!" shouted Isabella, her tone firm, and eerily familiar.

Luke took a deep breath, but it did nothing to calm him down. He met Isabella's eyes, and that stare was one he recognised.

"You are right, I did not know that it was Mary. She told me her name was May and she seemed genuinely caring, and by the sounds of that note, she wanted forgiveness," snapped Isabella.

"I cannot forgive her!" retorted Luke. "She needs to pay for what she has done! I need to find her."

"No, you do not," replied Isabella calmly.

"What?" he snapped.

"You do not have to go after that woman."

Luke exhaled in disbelief. "You are aware that Mary was just mere inches from our son, are you not?" he growled. "I cannot live with the injustice!"

"Injustices happen all the time. And good, decent people have to live with them!" exclaimed Isabella. "You have a choice, Luke. You have the choice to let your hatred of Mary fester in your heart, to let it consume you and ruin what you still have. Or you can choose to see the good. Live for the good, and the people you have around you." Isabella hushed Jamie and he wrapped his arms around Isabella's neck. "He is the good." Isabella looked up at him. "I am the good. I know this because you are good, and you would not choose a wife who was not so. I am allowed to go home today, and so this is a good day."

Luke sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Was Isabella right? He did feel such hatred for Mary! How could he ever forgive her for what she had done? But not five minutes ago, he had gone from reminiscing with his beloved wife, and celebrating her being allowed to return home, to being prepared to leave her in pursuit of someone he might never find.

He was choosing hatred over his family. He was letting the hatred fester in his heart. Isabella was right.

How could he make that choice? He did not want to make that choice.

On his knees before his wife, Luke put his heart on his sleeve. "I choose you, Isabella. I will always choose you."

---

I was read this article the other day about this family who had just been served the biggest injustice. Their son, a police officer, had been murdered, and his killer was being let off on a court technicality. I couldn't believe it. Cop killers go to prison for life and this guy wasn't. And then I realised that injustices happen every day to good people.

Bad things happen and there is nothing we can do about it. Sometimes karma isn't on our side. I'm still waiting for karma to work its magic on some people who have done me wrong, but it hasn't happened, and it might never happen, and I have to live with that.

The only thing we can do, when life serves us up the biggest pile of crap, is to live in spite of it. Sometimes we have to accept the crap and move on. Because it does fester in your heart and it can affect your future choices.

And even though a HUGE pile of crap has flown my way during my life, I'm okay. Not perfect, but okay.

Apologies for getting heavy, but I think it's an important message.

I had a plan for Mary's demise. A big nasty plan. But then I read this article, and I realised that people in books needed to deal with injustice too. And it was important for my characters to let go of the hatred for want of a better life. Sometimes the bad guy gets away, and you have to deal with it.

Maybe karma will catch up with Mary, but what's important is that my character's are choosing to focus on the good.

Anyway, I hope this turn of events makes sense. I think it's important, and in a way, it's sort of my way of making that family I read about have some semblance of a happy ending. Even though terrible things happen, there is light and laughter still in the world.

Deep breath. Big sign. Only a few chapters left.

I have to go. My cat has fallen asleep across my foot and I now have pins and needles.

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