Pardon the Interruption, Part XIII by flyrchld
"He won't understand! He wouldn't believe me. Nobody
does!", cried Lily, "They all think I'm just a dumb, little
kid."
"Explain it to me then." said Anna,and gave the little girl
her brightest, most encouraging smile.
Lily didn't know what to think, but she knew she was trapped, she'd
never get the pin now that the lady had it, and knew she wanted it.
She seemed nice enough, though, with her goofy smile, and not too many grown-ups had been
nice to Lily in her short life.
Lily decided to tell Ms. Montoya about what she'd found.
"They say that Rose had forgotten her beloved John, but that
ain't so. She had kept hoping that he would somehow rescue her.
Kinda like those knights in shining armor they're always telling us
about in those silly fairy tales.
Well, he did, sort of."
Lily sat down on the floor and started rummaging through her
backpack. As she did this, she looked up at Anna and
said,"Ma'am? You got anything to eat? I'm starvin'."
"Well, I haven't done much shopping yet, but I think I can find
something. I'm pretty hungry myself. Bring your things and follow me
to the kitchen."
Once they were seated at the kitchen table with their peanut butter
and apple jelly sandwiches and two big glasses of chocolate milk,
Lily brought out several neat little stacks of what appeared to be
letters. She laid them on the table in front of Anna, taking care,
lest they get dirty.
"My mom said her father, who, as far as I can figure, is Rose's
son, gave them to her when she married, so that she would know the
truth, and maybe someday, the murder could be solved. My mom didn't
pay him no mind, but kept them anyway, because they were so
romantic."
Lily swallowed the last bite of her sandwich and took a large gulp
of chocolate milk, then settled in to tell her story.
"John came looking for Rose immediately, you see. Rose's daddy had threatened to kill him, but he couldn't stay away, he loved her too much.
Rose had always talked about her little brother, Nathan, and so John
sought him out to send notes to Rose. Nathan and Rose were closer
than two peas in a pod, Nathan loved his sister dearly and knew how
much she loved John.
He happily agreed to help them out. At first, it was just letters,
but within days, he was helpin' em to secretly ro-, rand-,
ronday-voos... They were meeting up.
Clyde never knew what was going on right under his nose, he wasn't
too bright, I guess.
I always feel sorry for Clyde, he loved Rose with all his heart, it
wasn't his fault that she loved someone else, and their parents had
married them. He thought that Rose had been given to him because
she'd been spoilt, that the boy she'd tried to run after had
abandoned her.
His father had agreed to the marriage, to cover her family's
embarrassment, in return for financial backing of his suffering
business. Rose had always been the prettiest girl in the whole
county, and Clyde was proud to have her.
He gave her the pendant on their wedding night because her father told him it was
special to her and would remind her how lucky she was to have such an
understanding husband in Clyde.
Soon after their wedding she found out that she was with child. Clyde
was the happiest man alive. Rose's father was secretly concerned
that this child had been conceived before her wedding night and had
suggested to Clyde that she return to the family estate for the last
few months of her pregnancy. Clyde agreed that being with her mother
was best for Rose in her delicate condition, and prepared their home
for his child. He spared no expense, lavishly decorating his
firstborn's rooms.
The moment the child was born, however, Rose's father took the boy
and gave it to the housekeeper's daughter to raise as her own, and
told Rose and Clyde that the child had died shortly after birth.
Clyde was heartbroken, as were Rose, and John.
Anyways, Rose and John continued to see each other and several years
passed. When Rose became pregnant again, Clyde took care that she
receive the best medical attention and their beautiful daughter,
Sara, was born.
It's all here in these letters that grandpa gave momma. Nathan knew
the truth, him being the eldest son and heir to his father's fortune.
His father had entrusted him with the knowledge of Rose's son so
that the child would be well provided for. When their father passed
in 1942, Nathan told Rose about the child. Her son had been named
Anthony and when he was 15, Nathan arranged for him to begin visiting
with her. And I believe that is how my grandpa got the letters."
Lily smiled at Anna and asked to be excused to the bathroom. Anna
cleaned up quickly, wondering at the amazing 8 and a half year old
sleuth, and began looking through the letters.
When Lily returned to the kitchen, she was holding a picture frame in
her hands. "Ms. Montoya? Who are these people in this
picture?"
Anna took the offered frame and replied,"That's my father,
Inigo, and my mother, Daisy."
"No," said the little girl, wide-eyed and smiling
sheepishly at Anna,"her name isn't Daisy.
That lady is Miss Sara."
(to be continued)
Posted by captainhoof
at 10:39 AM CDT