Dreams Do Come True
1598 Words
1571
It was a bright, sunny day in July, not a cloud in sight, when the Duke and Duchess of Clarence, accompanied by their five children, finally returned to the home that had been their own for such a brief period of time eighteen years previously.
"I simply can't believe that, after all this time, we're finally going home." Jane gazed about in wonder at the beauty of the countryside.
"So, is being a duchess preferable to being a queen?" asked Guilford.
"Most definitely!" Both of them laughed heartily.
"Will there be horses there, Father?" asked Robert.
"I daresay there will be."
"Uncle Robert said he's going to teach me everything he knows about horses. I'm going to be a Master of the Horses too when I grow up." Robert had already formed a special bond with his namesake uncle.
"Father, what was our Aunt Temperance like?" asked Temperance.
"I can scarce remember her, she was so young when she died. From what I do recall about her, she was much like you, quiet, well-behaved, and polite."
"What about our Aunt Katherine?" asked Katherine.
"Which one? You have two Aunt Katherines, one on your father's side and one on my side," Jane told her.
"Why are there so many Katherines in our family?" asked Ambrose.
"Only two. That's not so many," said Katherine.
"You have an Aunt Mary on each side as well," Jane said with a smile.
"And there's only one other Ambrose, besides me."
"I don't think the world could handle another one," Guilford teased him. Everyone laughed except the young man in question, who tried his best to assume an air of indignity.
"Were you named for someone, Mother?" asked Katherine.
"I was named for Jane Seymour. She was the mother of my dear cousin, His Majesty King Edward."
"Why did he die so young?"
"He was ill with consumption. Look, Ambrose, that bird is exactly the same shade of blue as your shirt is." Jane didn't want to dwell on sad subjects on such a beautiful day.
"Were you named for someone, Father?" asked Robert.
"My first name was my mother's last name before she got married."
"But how could it be both a first name and a last name?"
"Some names are just like that. Look, we're finally here!" Guilford quickly jumped down from the carriage and helped Jane and the children down.
"I had forgotten how beautiful it all was," Jane sighed, bending to touch the wildflowers. "Oh, Guilford, did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine that we would ever be able to return? What a kind, gracious Queen we have!"
"As well as a very brave and clever daughter. She has certainly lived up to the name we gave her, and many times over. To say that I'm proud of her would be an understatement." He hugged Grace, who smiled and blushed.
"Which way is the stable?" asked Robert.
They all rode horses for a couple of hours, and then the children went exploring as Jane and Guilford ran hand in hand toward the stream, wondering whether or not the rowboat was still there. To their great delight, it was, and remarkably well preserved for its age.
For Guilford and Jane, still only in their mid thirties, time seemed to have reversed itself, making them teenage newlyweds once more. Guilford helped Jane into the boat, then climbed in himself.
"I told you we would sail this boat again someday," Guilford whispered.
"So you did. I dared not believe you at the time."
"You'll heed my words from hence, won't you, my lady?"
They laughed together, then kissed.
They were just bringing the boat back to shore when Ambrose appeared, followed by Robert. Ambrose's hands were cupped in front of him, and big tears welled in his blue eyes and rolled down his freckled cheeks.
"He threw rocks at a bird's nest and knocked it out of a tree. One of the eggs broke open, and there was a baby bird in it still alive," explained Robert.
"He was throwing rocks too!" Ambrose glared at his brother.
"I was not!" Robert protested loudly.
"Let me see." Jane examined the tiny bird in Ambrose's hands. It was very frail and weak, and Jane saw it gasping for breath.
"It will be all right, sweetheart." Jane hugged Ambrose and kissed the top of his head. "We shall make a tiny bed for it to sleep in until it gets bigger and stronger."
She found a tiny box that had once held a necklace and lined it with cotton and bits of cloth, then gently placed the baby bird inside it.
The boys returned to their play, and Guilford and Jane strolled in the fields of waving grass. After eighteen years, their memories had dimmed somewhat.
"I think it might have been right here," Jane finally said. She lay down in the grass, and Guilford traced his fingers through her long brown hair, stretching each strand out its entire length so that her head was framed with a soft brown halo.
"You're just as beautiful as ever, if not more so," Guilford told her. She watched the wind gently lift his blond locks and noticed the fine lines at the corners of his eyes that hadn't been there eighteen years before but only enhanced his attractiveness to her. Then she closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face.
It was much later that the evening cooled and the family went back inside. Ambrose immediately rushed to the tiny box holding the baby bird, peeked inside, and burst into tears.
"I killed it," he sobbed.
"It's only a bird," scoffed Robert, who was saved from being struck by his brother only by Grace quickly stepping between the two boys.
"We shall give it a funeral," she said in an effort to comfort her distraught brother.
The family went outside once again, and Guilford dug a small grave in the garden.
"Say something from the Bible, Father," said Ambrose, still sniffling a bit.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows," said Guilford. Ambrose looked up at his father with admiring eyes.
"I almost don't want this day to end," Jane said later, as they were preparing for bed. Just then, they heard a soft knock on the door.
"Appearently it hasn't yet," Guilford commented wryly.
When Jane opened the door, she saw Ambrose standing there, crying.
"Mummy, I really am sorry that I killed that little bird. Is God angry with me?"
"He isn't pleased, but He understands that you didn't mean to do it, and He's glad that you're sorry for what you did."
"Is the bird in heaven now?"
"That's exactly where he is, and he's all healthy and strong and happy now."
Ambrose looked immensely relieved.
"You're an amazing mother," Guildford said softly to Jane after Ambrose had left.
"Every time I look at Ambrose, I can't believe how remarkably like his father he is," Jane said, in an equally soft voice.
"And just what do you mean by that, my lady?" Guilford's eyebrows arched.
"He may have a somewhat rowdy exterior, but underneath he has a very tender heart."
Guilford lifted Jane up onto the bed and climbed up beside her himself. Then he lay down on his back and pulled her over onto his body.
"So, dear Jane, what do you want?"
"I want you to make love to me on this bed just like you did eighteen years ago."
"As you wish, my lady."
Afterwards they lay together looking up at the ceiling and holding hands just as they had all those years before.
"Remember our first time?" Jane asked.
"I'll never forget how relieved you were to discover that I hadn't been the rover you'd imagined me to have been. Not that I hadn't tried to be, of course."
"I...was first."
"As you'll be last, and all the ones in between as well. I swear to you, Jane, I haven't visited a tavern nor a brothel in eighteen years, nor have I even wanted to."
"I know." She turned to run her finger down the side of his face.
Guilford raised himself on one elbow. "When was it that you first realized that you loved me, Jane?"
"When I saw you being kind to the men who had been branded for begging. That was when I realized how wrong my first impressions of you had been."
Guilford smiled lazily, twirling a lock of her hair on his finger.
"When did you first realize that you loved me?" she asked.
"I truly believe that I loved you from the moment I first saw you, dear Jane."
"But I was so cold to you at first, Guilford."
"I knew that you were only angry at being forced to marry against your will. I wasn't given a choice either, Jane."
"My mother had beaten me. I still had the stripes of the whip on my body when I wed you." Her eyes moistened with the memory.
"I'm so very sorry, my love. I only wish there were something I could do to put it right." Guilford showered her face with kisses.
"You already have, dear Guilford, that and many times over. No one could ask for a kinder or more loving husband. I thank God every day that she made me marry you."
"As do I, scoundrel that I am."
- Writer
