Filed To Story: Alessia Mistaken as Mistress Book PDF Free
“That’s because I’m doing it poorly. It’s just that-you don’t seem suited to Stephen to me. There, I’ve said it.”
Alessia blinked and absorbed the woman’s quickly spoken words.
“Oh, I know opposites attract and all that, and I’m not saying Stephen didn’t have a hundred reasons to admire and love you. Heaven knows you’re easy to love.
“And I’m not saying Stephen wasn’t easy to love, either-everyone loved him. But he could be a difficult person to be around. He was…overstimulating. One had to be on one’s guard and ready for anything. There wasn’t much relaxing to be done when he was about.”
Alessia didn’t know what to say.
“I haven’t hurt your feelings, have I? I didn’t want to say it all wrong.”
“No, Leda. You could never hurt my feelings.” She leaned forward and closed her hand over hers.
But I will surely hurt yours. She lowered her gaze before Leda could see the betrayal in her eyes. “I understand perfectly.”
They sat in companionable silence a while longer. Alessia wanted to reassure Leda somehow. Stephen had been a kind, generous man. It was because of his goodness that he had died. Finally she gathered her chaotic thoughts to speak. “Leda, I told you once that Stephen was the kindest man I’d ever met. That was the truth. Please don’t ever forget that.”
Stephen, though unknowingly, had made the ultimate sacrifice out of the goodness of his heart. “He was a good man. Kind. Generous. And he had so much love in his heart. I know he loved you dearly.”
Tears pooled in Leda’s soft gray eyes. She turned her hand over and clasped Alessia’s firmly. “I know he loved you very much, too, dear.”
“Don’t ever forget how grateful I am to you and your sons,” Alessia said around the lump in her throat. “And always remember that I’m here because of Stephen’s good heart.”
“I’ll remember.” Leda patted her hand and stood. “We need to rest now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Fighting tears, Alessia gave her friend a lingering hug. She would never forget her kindness. She’d learned much about love from Leda. Much about being a mother. Much about being a woman.
Leda patted her back and pulled away, and Alessia let her go. She wouldn’t understand if Alessia broke down and clung to her. Closing the door, she covered her mouth with her fingers and sat on the edge of the bed. It wouldn’t do to lose control now.
William woke and she changed and nursed him. She wouldn’t have another opportunity, so she carried him with her as she went to check on Celia.
The woman sat in her usual chair by the fire, a stack of rumpled newspapers at her feet, a glass of amber liquid on the nearby table.
She looked up as Alessia entered. “That the boy?”
Alessia nodded. “This is William.”
Celia leaned forward and inspected him. She didn’t seem terribly drunk this evening, but Alessia hung on to her baby all the same.
“Don’t look so fierce,” she said. “I ain’t gonna snatch him and drop him on his head.”
Alessia ignored her comment and sat across from her.
“I can see why they’re so all-fired crazy over him,” she said. “He’s a fine-lookin’ one.”
“Thank you.”
Celia gave a nod. “I had a boy once.”
Alessia recalled reading the Pinkerton’s report about Claire’s brother, who’d been killed in a street fight.
“His name was Walt.”
Alessia waited for something more.
“Named him after an old beau. I think that jinxed him, though. The first Walt was killed, too.”
She met Alessia’s eyes, and Alessia remembered Leda’s words vividly:
A mother should never have to lose a child. Never. Celia had lost a son. Alessia couldn’t help wondering if that loss had anything to do with the woman’s inability to cope with life in a sober state. And now she’d lost another child.
“New York ain’t no place to raise kids.” She sipped from her glass.
“I imagine not.”
“This here. This’ll be a fine place to raise your boy.”
“Yes.” Safe. Secure. If only she were staying. Mahoning Valley would be a good place to live. “What about you, Cele? You could live and work here, too. You could probably have a job as a seamstress if you wanted one. It would give you something to do.”
“I’m too old to start something like that.”
“You’re not too old. Afraid maybe.”
“What do I have to be afraid of?”
“You tell me.”
They stared at each other.
“It’s not fair you’ve lost both of your children,” Alessia said. “You have a right to your feelings. But you’re still alive. And in order to live, you’ve got to pull yourself together and go on.”
“You’re a fine one to give advice. You’re doing so well with your life.”
Alessia accepted the criticism with grace. “I didn’t mean to condemn. I just want what’s best for you.”
“I guess I know what’s best for me.”
“Okay. Do you have everything you need?”
“You see to that.”
She couldn’t worry about what would happen after she left. Nicholas and Leda would care for Celia. The woman was, after all, Claire’s mother. “Good night, then.”
“‘Night. Thanks for bringin’ him.”
“You’re welcome.” She hurried back to her rooms and put William to bed. He fussed for a few minutes, then fell asleep.
Alessia stacked the flannels and gowns and blankets she would take for William and made a list of everything she could fit into two bags.
Sitting at the small desk, the weight of her secret goodbye pressing on her heart, she dipped the pen in ink and wrote the note she’d been planning for weeks.
Nicholas and Leda,
I know what I have done is unforgivable, so I don’t ask for your forgiveness. All I ask is that you do not hate me. I planned to tell you the truth from the very minute I awoke in that hospital. But when I saw your grief, Nicholas, and when you offered protection and shelter for my son, I could not bring myself to speak the words. I thought perhaps they’d be more easily spoken to your mother.
And then, dear Leda, when I saw your tears, and your expression as you looked at my son, I could not bear to say the words then, either. I am still too much of a coward to speak them to your face, so I am leaving this letter.
I am not Claire Halliday. I was never married to your Stephen. I only met him that night of the train wreck. He took me in out of the rain and he and Claire gave me food and dry clothing and shared their berth with me.