Chapter 77

Alex was waiting for us at the front entrance. His lips curved into a smile when he saw us get out of the limousine.

“Lana, you look marvelous,” he said. “It's been too long since I last saw you. How have you been?”

Lana quickly instructed the servants to carry my purchases to my room and approached my father.

“I’ve been wonderful,” she replied. “And now it looks as if our children are about to be officially engaged. I’m pleased to discover they are Fated Mates.”

Alex’s smile grew even wider. “I’m glad you’re happy to have Daisy in your life. She’s a wonderful girl and very much reminds me of her mother.”

“I see Joanna every time I look at her,” Lana agreed.

I followed Alex and Lana inside the mansion.

“Would you like a cup of tea while the servants bring Joanna’s things down from the attic?” Alex asked.

“That would be nice,” Lana replied. “Daisy, this would be a good time to change into your jeans. Perhaps one of the new pairs?”

“Yes,” I agreed and went upstairs to my room, where I found Jennifer unpacking my new purchases.

“I’ll have these things put away and be ready to help you go through the things from the attic in a jiffy,” she said as she hung a new dress on a padded hanger.

I opened the box that held my new jeans and pulled out a pair.

“Sorry to make you do all this extra work, Jennifer. I didn’t know my mother’s things were still in the attic.”

“I didn’t know either,” Jennifer said. “But it’s very exciting, Miss.”

“I need to change and go downstairs. Lana and I will be back up to explore the boxes soon.”

“They will be in the yellow sitting room on the other side of the library,” Jennifer told me. “I’ll meet you there. I can’t wait to meet Mrs. Klein.”

Despite being more formfitting, the denim of my new jeans was softer than my old cheap pairs, and they weren’t uncomfortable to wear. They might get looser as I wore them too.

I paired them with one of my old baggy T-shirts and went downstairs to the drawing room, where Alex and Lana were having tea.

They were talking, so I grabbed a chocolate chip scone and sat down. After a few minutes, the conversation came around to the things in the attic.

“I wasn’t hiding your mother’s things from you, Daisy,” Alex said. “I’ve tried not to think about them, and I haven’t been strong enough to look at the contents of the boxes. It would have been too painful.”

I swallowed a bite of my scone. “But do you mind if Mrs. Klein and I look through them?”

“Everything that belonged to your mother is now yours,” Alex replied. “You may do whatever you want with them.”

“Will seeing them cause you pain? I can have the servants put everything back in the attic.”

I've caused too much pain for people that I cared about lately. I didn't want to add my father to the list.

“Some things may still hurt, but many of them will bring back good memories that I want to remember now,” Alex replied.“I’ve asked Lana to look for one of Joanna’s photo albums.”

“I know which box it’s in,” Lana said.

“After your mother died and I left the hospital, Lana was kind enough to put Joanna‘s things away for me,” Alex explained. “I couldn’t bear to see reminders of her everywhere.”

“It was the least I could do to help,” Lana said.

Jennifer came downstairs, practically vibrating with excitement. “The boxes are waiting for you, Miss.”

“Thank you, Jennifer,” I said. “We’ll be right there.”

It would be impolite for me to rush Lana while she was drinking her tea, but my excitement made it difficult to hold still.

I sat beside her with my leg bouncing up and down so hard she put her hand on my knee to stop the motion.

“I think it’s time we go upstairs to look through those boxes,” she said. “I don’t think Daisy can wait any longer.”

I sprang to my feet and struggled to keep myself from running up the stairs.

The number of boxes waiting for us in the yellow sitting room was shocking. It would take Lana and me days to get through them all.

We stared at the boxes, not knowing where to start when Jennifer entered the room. I introduced her to Victor’s mother, and we began opening boxes.

The first box I opened was marked with my birth name, Alberta.

“Oh, wow! Are these my clothes from when I was a baby?”

Lana looked at the contents of the box. “Yes, I packed away your things too after my husband, and I found Alex in the nursery, holding some of your things and crying.”

“It was very kind of you to help him like this,” I said. Lana was a very kind person. I was still a little bit afraid of her, but mostly, I respected her.

“You should keep the baby clothes for your own child,” Lana said as she picked up a tiny undershirt and examined it. “They are still in excellent shape.”

The mention of children made me blush. Nobody knew my engagement to Victor wasn’t real despite our Mate Bond. By not saying anything, it felt like lying.

Plus, I wasn’t ready to have children with anyone. But I instructed Jennifer to re-pack the garments and place them somewhere safe.

Lana found the box of my mother's photo albums when I discovered a sealed garment bag inside a plastic container. It held the ball gown my mother wore when she posed for the portrait that hung in the ballroom.

It was gorgeous. Made of green silk, it had a Queen Anne neckline, a fitted bodice, and a trumpet skirt. The neckline and hem were edged in gold thread and tiny diamonds.

I held the gown before me and was sure it would fit.

“Is this gown an example of what you meant by my mother’s style?” I asked Lana.

“You bet,” Lana replied. “Joanna had a knack for choosing clothes that would tease but give away nothing.”

“Jennifer, would you please have this gown cleaned? I want to wear it to the next ball I must attend.”

Lana reached over and caressed the skirt of the gown. “Joanna loved this gown. She had it made to resemble her wedding dress, except the wedding gown is white silk.”

“Where is her wedding dress?” I asked.

“It’s here somewhere.” Lana pointed to the mountain of boxes.“Here is the photo album your father wanted. I’m going to take it to him.”

I was torn between looking for the wedding dress and seeing the photos in the album. But since the album was in Lana‘s hand, I decided I could look for the dress later.

“Can I come along and look at the photos?”

“Of course,” Lana replied.

We found Alex in the living room. He was delighted to see Lana had the photo album.

She and I sat at his sides on the couch with the photo album open on the coffee table. The photos inside were extraordinary.

There was a candid shot of my mother on a beach. She wore a bikini with a wrap around her waist, and on her head was a large sun hat that she held onto with one hand.

She was beautiful.

The pictures showed how lovely she was, and I began to understand what Lana meant by calling her style sophisticated innocence. It was the perfect way to describe it, and it suited my mother well.

Toward the back of the album, there was a photo of her holding a tiny baby.

“Here is the first picture of you, my darling,” Alex said, his voice heavy with emotion. “I took that photo myself. That was one of the happiest days of my life.”

“I didn’t have much hair when I was a baby, did I?” I said to lighten the mood and keep myself from crying.

“Nope, you were bald as a cue ball,” Victor declared with a chuckle as he looked over my shoulder.

I felt Diana awaken inside my mind and quiver with anticipation.

“Victor, where did you come from?” Lana asked.

“I saw the limousine outside and stopped in to see my mother,” he replied with a grin.

“Are you sure you’re not here to see your Fated Mate?” She teased. “The pull can be compelling.”

“I never played such games,” Victor insisted. “I wanted to talk to you, but I see you are busy, so I’ll speak to you later.”

He turned and walked out the door while Diana begged me to follow him.

But my mind was occupied, looking at the sly smiles on Alex and Lana’s faces.