My dearest Ethan,
Oh how it pains my heart to have to pretend typical nobility to servant indifference in the presence of my father, when all I yearn to do is run into your tender warm embrace… that place where everything dark, hard and terrible feels so very far away, as if it could never touch me so long as your arms are wrapped around me.
Why do they make it like this for us? Why is money and power so important to them that they would deny their daughter true happiness?
If you cannot already guess, I had another argument with my father very recently, I turned away yet another suitor he invited to the house… father was less than pleased with me, apparently he stood to gain quite a few acres of land and some stupid mansion by that big lake out in the countryside… but I don't care, none of those men will ever be you.
For heaven's sake, none of the horses in my father's stables would be even half what they are if not for your diligent and loving care!
I resent the hand destiny had dealt us… I, Arabella Constancia Wyncroft, daughter of Count Edmond Xavier Wyncroft… you, Ethan Bishop, an orphan with a golden heart and a virtuous soul… separated by the arrogant and self absorbed illusions of superiority.
Superiority… what a laugh… you are worth a thousand of them, Ethan… no, more than that…
Meet me by the stables tonight after my father has gone to bed, I feel as though if I do not taste your lips soon, I may lose my mind.
Yours for all eternity,
~Arabella
My precious Arabella,
Though it has only been two days since I last held you in my arms, my heart aches and my arms itch to reach out for you, it is only when you are near that I feel the restlessness of my soul fall quiet and still, it is then I am truly at peace.
My love for you, Arabella, grows stronger with every passing day and as it grows, so too does my frustration with our predicament… I am unsure how much longer I can bear this… being kept at arm's length from each other, having to sneak around in the night in order to share in our love for one another… my heart shall surely burst.
I remember the first time I ever saw you… it was my first day on the job as the stable head… I walked into the stables to find the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, wearing trousers and brushing a chestnut brown mare, cooing sweetly to the beast… I think I loved you even then, from the moment I saw the kindness and tenderness in your eyes as you spoke to the horse…
My heart was yours. My heart shall forever and always be yours.
The day you told me that you felt the same about me… was the happiest day of my life… the day you bestowed upon me a kiss for the very first time, was the moment I truly felt my soul sour.
When I met you, Arabella… I learned what love really is. Now that I know it, I cannot turn back, I refuse to turn back.
For you, my beloved, I would do anything…I am not afraid of hard work, I would go above and beyond to provide a life for you that while simple, would still be comfortable…
Please meet me tonight at our usual spot… I need to talk to you in person about something very important.
I love you, Arabella.
Only yours for eternity,
~Ethan
Ethan, light of my life…
Oh my darling… I have been thinking long and hard about everything we talked about those three days ago and I do believe I know now in my heart of hearts what I want… what I, Arabella… truly want.
When I examine my life here with my family… it all feels so… hollow, empty, pointless… I don't think my father and mother have ever actually stopped and wondered what it was they themselves actually wanted or ever considered what might make them actually happy… they never considered that love might be worth more than wealth and fine living.
I do not want to live as they do… I do not want to live my life scheming and clawing my way up some stupid social ladder to please horrible people I don't even like.
Then I look at you… and my heart swells with love and joy… I look into your green eyes and I know that with you by my side, I can do anything, I can challenge anything and come out the other side unscathed.
I suppose what I am getting at is this…
Yes! Yes, my darling, I will marry you! I don't care if I will not live in the lap of luxury anymore, nothing else will matter so long as you and I are together forever, united in holy matrimony!
Your skills with horses are incredible and invaluable, you will surely find work wherever we go… and I can spirit away my inheritance easily enough, I know exactly where father keeps my dowry… and if he still has no clue I found the key to the safe in his copy of Treasure Island months ago. Plus, I am not too shabby with a needle and thread, not to mention I have taken an interest in learning to cook since I was very young.
You will not see Arabella Wyncroft not pulling any of the weight in the marriage!
Darling… wipe the look off your face… yes, I know you are making the face you always make when I mention anything referring to being anything but a well cared for wife… but I love you and I want to be your partner, in every sense of the word. Partners for all time, until the day we die and we are buried side by side.
Besides, I want children from you, Ethan, so both of us working hard will ensure our family a pleasant and decently comfortable life.
I await your response, my darling. I assume you have already formulated a plan in your handsome head regarding how and when to make our escape.
Your future bride,
~ Arabella
My bride, my reason to breathe…
The joy filling my heart is overwhelming… soon, we will no longer have to say goodbye before the sun rises above the horizon, soon we will be able to wake holding each other in loves embrace every single dawn.
I close my eyes and I imagine the home we will build together somewhere else… I see myself rising for work, I can smell the food my wife is cooking for breakfast… I hear the laughter of our children as they rise for school… my heart yearns for this future…
I have everything arranged, we will pack anything of our personal belongings we can grab into a wagon the night your father and mother attend that party at the Wilhem's residence, I have the two horses of my own that I brought with me when I came here, we will take Hubert and Duncan.
In two days time, as soon as your parents' carriage leaves eyesight and the servants retire to their quarters for the evening… we make our move, we must move with haste and be gone before midnight.
Very soon, my beloved… we will be together forever.
Your future husband,
~ Ethan
Ethan, the only star in the heavens,
Tonight is the night… I have everything planned out in my head, I am keeping a weather eye on when exactly to begin making my move. I have already packed up a few bags of simple clothing and personal effects, I stuffed them into the back of my wardrobe where no one will look… my maids know to respect my privacy, the back of the wardrobe is my personal space.
One thing though and please, do not panic… my maid Gretchen knows of our plans… She will not betray us, she intends to help me get my things to the wagon much faster… she is my oldest friend and to see me happy and truly in love with my husband is as important to her as it is to me. I promise you, we can trust her.
Gretchen is going to run distraction for me if necessary, so I can get my dowry without anyone seeing me or interrupting me, she is also going to take my out through the servants exit, so no one will spy me going out the front door of the house.
I can hardly believe this is actually happening, my love… I cannot believe our dreams are actually going to become a reality, it almost feels too good to be true, like I am just waiting for the cruel hand of fate to come down and squash us… even still, I am not deterred, I love you and I am going to be your wife.
Together, we can do anything. Tonight, our combined courage will carry us to our new future.
Eternally yours in this life and the next,
~Arabella
My Arabella… Blessed wife and mother of my children…
It is incredible to think it has been fifty years since we made our escape from your family's estate… our life has not always been easy, but damn if it wasn't filled with joy… we had fun didn't we? Even when it was hard in the beginning, we had fun… because we were together and as we always said, together we could do anything, we feared nothing so long as we were side by side.
I still tell our children our story every year on the anniversary our marriage, they love it, Fiona says it reassures her that true love really does exist and can persevere above all obstacles thrown in it's way… speaking of Fiona, can you imagine that our eldest child has finallyt had a baby of her own? I am certain you are watching over baby Henry from heaven.
Lionel and Christopher are doing so well in their marriages, I thought those two would never find spouses that would be as tolerant of their antics as Lucille and Elenor… but heavens, Arabella, you should see the way those girls look at our boys, it would make you so happy…
I miss you so much. I try my best to cherish all of the good and happy memories we have had together throughout all our years of love…but it gets hard sometimes, Arabella… I just want to embrace you, to breathe in the scent of your perfume… to know that so long as you are by my side, everything in my world will be just fine… but I reach for you… and grasp only air… I stare at the empty side of the bed where you once slept… and I ache inside…
I don't let the children see it, I know you wouldn't want them to be sad… and I will continue to be the best father and grandfather that you would want me to be… though I do yearn for that day when God will call me home… home to where you will be waiting for me with open arms…
I love you, my beloved Arabella… I love you now and forever…
Your devoted husband
~Ethan
Oh how it pains my heart to have to pretend typical nobility to servant indifference in the presence of my father, when all I yearn to do is run into your tender warm embrace… that place where everything dark, hard and terrible feels so very far away, as if it could never touch me so long as your arms are wrapped around me.
Why do they make it like this for us? Why is money and power so important to them that they would deny their daughter true happiness?
If you cannot already guess, I had another argument with my father very recently, I turned away yet another suitor he invited to the house… father was less than pleased with me, apparently he stood to gain quite a few acres of land and some stupid mansion by that big lake out in the countryside… but I don't care, none of those men will ever be you.
For heaven's sake, none of the horses in my father's stables would be even half what they are if not for your diligent and loving care!
I resent the hand destiny had dealt us… I, Arabella Constancia Wyncroft, daughter of Count Edmond Xavier Wyncroft… you, Ethan Bishop, an orphan with a golden heart and a virtuous soul… separated by the arrogant and self absorbed illusions of superiority.
Superiority… what a laugh… you are worth a thousand of them, Ethan… no, more than that…
Meet me by the stables tonight after my father has gone to bed, I feel as though if I do not taste your lips soon, I may lose my mind.
Yours for all eternity,
~Arabella
My precious Arabella,
Though it has only been two days since I last held you in my arms, my heart aches and my arms itch to reach out for you, it is only when you are near that I feel the restlessness of my soul fall quiet and still, it is then I am truly at peace.
My love for you, Arabella, grows stronger with every passing day and as it grows, so too does my frustration with our predicament… I am unsure how much longer I can bear this… being kept at arm's length from each other, having to sneak around in the night in order to share in our love for one another… my heart shall surely burst.
I remember the first time I ever saw you… it was my first day on the job as the stable head… I walked into the stables to find the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, wearing trousers and brushing a chestnut brown mare, cooing sweetly to the beast… I think I loved you even then, from the moment I saw the kindness and tenderness in your eyes as you spoke to the horse…
My heart was yours. My heart shall forever and always be yours.
The day you told me that you felt the same about me… was the happiest day of my life… the day you bestowed upon me a kiss for the very first time, was the moment I truly felt my soul sour.
When I met you, Arabella… I learned what love really is. Now that I know it, I cannot turn back, I refuse to turn back.
For you, my beloved, I would do anything…I am not afraid of hard work, I would go above and beyond to provide a life for you that while simple, would still be comfortable…
Please meet me tonight at our usual spot… I need to talk to you in person about something very important.
I love you, Arabella.
Only yours for eternity,
~Ethan
Ethan, light of my life…
Oh my darling… I have been thinking long and hard about everything we talked about those three days ago and I do believe I know now in my heart of hearts what I want… what I, Arabella… truly want.
When I examine my life here with my family… it all feels so… hollow, empty, pointless… I don't think my father and mother have ever actually stopped and wondered what it was they themselves actually wanted or ever considered what might make them actually happy… they never considered that love might be worth more than wealth and fine living.
I do not want to live as they do… I do not want to live my life scheming and clawing my way up some stupid social ladder to please horrible people I don't even like.
Then I look at you… and my heart swells with love and joy… I look into your green eyes and I know that with you by my side, I can do anything, I can challenge anything and come out the other side unscathed.
I suppose what I am getting at is this…
Yes! Yes, my darling, I will marry you! I don't care if I will not live in the lap of luxury anymore, nothing else will matter so long as you and I are together forever, united in holy matrimony!
Your skills with horses are incredible and invaluable, you will surely find work wherever we go… and I can spirit away my inheritance easily enough, I know exactly where father keeps my dowry… and if he still has no clue I found the key to the safe in his copy of Treasure Island months ago. Plus, I am not too shabby with a needle and thread, not to mention I have taken an interest in learning to cook since I was very young.
You will not see Arabella Wyncroft not pulling any of the weight in the marriage!
Darling… wipe the look off your face… yes, I know you are making the face you always make when I mention anything referring to being anything but a well cared for wife… but I love you and I want to be your partner, in every sense of the word. Partners for all time, until the day we die and we are buried side by side.
Besides, I want children from you, Ethan, so both of us working hard will ensure our family a pleasant and decently comfortable life.
I await your response, my darling. I assume you have already formulated a plan in your handsome head regarding how and when to make our escape.
Your future bride,
~ Arabella
My bride, my reason to breathe…
The joy filling my heart is overwhelming… soon, we will no longer have to say goodbye before the sun rises above the horizon, soon we will be able to wake holding each other in loves embrace every single dawn.
I close my eyes and I imagine the home we will build together somewhere else… I see myself rising for work, I can smell the food my wife is cooking for breakfast… I hear the laughter of our children as they rise for school… my heart yearns for this future…
I have everything arranged, we will pack anything of our personal belongings we can grab into a wagon the night your father and mother attend that party at the Wilhem's residence, I have the two horses of my own that I brought with me when I came here, we will take Hubert and Duncan.
In two days time, as soon as your parents' carriage leaves eyesight and the servants retire to their quarters for the evening… we make our move, we must move with haste and be gone before midnight.
Very soon, my beloved… we will be together forever.
Your future husband,
~ Ethan
Ethan, the only star in the heavens,
Tonight is the night… I have everything planned out in my head, I am keeping a weather eye on when exactly to begin making my move. I have already packed up a few bags of simple clothing and personal effects, I stuffed them into the back of my wardrobe where no one will look… my maids know to respect my privacy, the back of the wardrobe is my personal space.
One thing though and please, do not panic… my maid Gretchen knows of our plans… She will not betray us, she intends to help me get my things to the wagon much faster… she is my oldest friend and to see me happy and truly in love with my husband is as important to her as it is to me. I promise you, we can trust her.
Gretchen is going to run distraction for me if necessary, so I can get my dowry without anyone seeing me or interrupting me, she is also going to take my out through the servants exit, so no one will spy me going out the front door of the house.
I can hardly believe this is actually happening, my love… I cannot believe our dreams are actually going to become a reality, it almost feels too good to be true, like I am just waiting for the cruel hand of fate to come down and squash us… even still, I am not deterred, I love you and I am going to be your wife.
Together, we can do anything. Tonight, our combined courage will carry us to our new future.
Eternally yours in this life and the next,
~Arabella
My Arabella… Blessed wife and mother of my children…
It is incredible to think it has been fifty years since we made our escape from your family's estate… our life has not always been easy, but damn if it wasn't filled with joy… we had fun didn't we? Even when it was hard in the beginning, we had fun… because we were together and as we always said, together we could do anything, we feared nothing so long as we were side by side.
I still tell our children our story every year on the anniversary our marriage, they love it, Fiona says it reassures her that true love really does exist and can persevere above all obstacles thrown in it's way… speaking of Fiona, can you imagine that our eldest child has finallyt had a baby of her own? I am certain you are watching over baby Henry from heaven.
Lionel and Christopher are doing so well in their marriages, I thought those two would never find spouses that would be as tolerant of their antics as Lucille and Elenor… but heavens, Arabella, you should see the way those girls look at our boys, it would make you so happy…
I miss you so much. I try my best to cherish all of the good and happy memories we have had together throughout all our years of love…but it gets hard sometimes, Arabella… I just want to embrace you, to breathe in the scent of your perfume… to know that so long as you are by my side, everything in my world will be just fine… but I reach for you… and grasp only air… I stare at the empty side of the bed where you once slept… and I ache inside…
I don't let the children see it, I know you wouldn't want them to be sad… and I will continue to be the best father and grandfather that you would want me to be… though I do yearn for that day when God will call me home… home to where you will be waiting for me with open arms…
I love you, my beloved Arabella… I love you now and forever…
Your devoted husband
~Ethan