Poor Little Rich Girl

'Poor Little Rich Girl'

“I... Didn't... Have... A Choice!”

“Okay, okay, Sweetheart. I didn't mean to upset you. Please help me understand. I want to help you if I can. How could you get thrown out of your own house? Why would this Aunt Fanny of yours wield so much power when you were the rightful heir?”

“She was vindictive and hated my father and my grandmother. She schemed for years and once Grandmother passed she wasted no time to convince Grandfather that my father, her brother, was an illegitimate child of a soldier her mother comforted while convalescing in their home during the war. Simple as that. Because she was Daddy's little girl he believed her and they pushed me out on my own at age eighteen. Luckily, Grandmother had already paid for my years at University and had given me her jewelry. I made do. Daddy had a mental breakdown when Mother committed suicide and joined a monastery so I never saw him again, either.”

“Gee, Wendy, you poor thing. This is so totally messed up. Yet look at the success you've had in your life thus far. You could have gone to pieces but you didn't. You fought back and came out stronger. Makes me love you even more. Walk me through some more of your family history and if you want I'll do everything I can to help you regain your rights to this place. Or at least be compensated properly. I thought I was bringing you to a romantic get away in this historic mansion turned into a hotel and here it has haunted memories for you.”

“Oh, Aston, if you only knew how evidence of the truth is etched in the furniture, written on the walls and echoed in the halls you may understand the burden would be overbearing. You may not want what is found under the surface. I thought had a safe and happy childhood but the ugly reality may send you running far, far away.”

“I highly doubt that. But to give our own happiness a starting chance let me help you put the past to rest. Please.”

“Guess I should start with my Grandmother. She was a force to be reckoned with throughout her life. Understand much of what I know is only from a child's point of view and what I figured out after becoming an adult myself.

“She was a beautiful penniless girl from Boston. Her mother sacrificed everything, sold all they had to go to England for a year and live like they had wealth as Elise made the ballroom rounds of the season to attract a well-to-do bachelor. She did very well and married the most desirable catch, a banker named Edward Shaw. It was obvious to all how much in love they were. But soon trouble brewed in paradise when Edward started entertaining mistresses. Elise entertained the rich, influential and famous making a name for themselves. Rumors circulated Edward's beautiful wife was frigid no matter how patient or understanding he tried to be.

“Still a daughter was born, Fanny. Because of a very difficult delivery Elise could not bring herself to bond with the child. Care was left in the hands of a nanny. Her father did become closely attached to the child but was away for business frequently.

“Then came the war. Edward was called to serve. Elise found herself bored and feeling useless. They offered their fine mansion to be used as a convalescent home for the war effort. Elise was very much hands on comforting and caring for the broken, burned and battered troops. This was very much evidenced in a silver framed photo one group presented to her as they shipped out. 'Elise and the boys of 1942' was the inscription. Because Fanny's little brother, Richard, was born the following year she used this picture as proof that Elise had cheated on her father. A child's reasoning had not allowed for the six week leave her father had come home nine months before the baby was born. His fair hair and blue eyes pointed to Elise but the father's dark hair and eyes were absent in the boy although present in Fanny.

“Richard was Elise's pride and joy. If one compared the young man to a young picture of his father the likeness would be evident. No one thought to do that.

“Fanny fell in love with a struggling artist, Brian. Grandfather wasn't pleased. Elise liked him quite a bit. This displeased Fanny. They married and moved away as his star began to shine.

“Richard fell in love with a petite red-haired girl he had met when they were children. Soon after they married they had me. The only way I can describe my mother's problem was it was the opposite of Grandmother, Elise's, problem. Mom liked sex too much. She wore Dad to a frazzle and he started drinking too much. While he was in and out of rehab she looked for it in other places. She destroyed the marriage of her best friend. Then she seduced Fanny's husband, Brian, on one of their visits. It wasn't long after that Mom took an overdose of sleeping pills. Dad sobered up finally and found religion. He left me in my grandmother's capable hands and joined a monastery disappearing from my life. I got word he passed away a couple of years ago. Fanny had found her revenge by then and kicked me out after moving her family in. Edward died a couple years afterwards.

“Fanny's marriage stayed on the rocks for years then Fanny and their twins were killed in a plane crash on their way to a skiing trip. Brian drank himself to death within a couple of years. When I was kicked out I moved overseas and changed my name to my Grandmother's maiden name. I created my own successful cosmetic business. As sole living heir to the Shaw estate no one could find me.

“So you see, Aston, as beautiful as this peaceful, serene countryside setting is no one has lived here happily for very long. I don't want this to be our legacy. I want to live happily ever after by your side.”

“You are taking my line, dear Wendy. That's what I want to propose to you. Will you marry me and live happily ever after by my side?”

“Do I have any other choice? Yes, of course, I will!”