The Secret of Anthony Albrecht

"I love you so much." She whispered.

Roderick rose and tapped his glass. "Ladies and gentlemen, if I may be allowed to speak." He waited until quietness descended on the room. "I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed by William here. I too am happy that these two have found each other. I am only too aware that love is so important in a marriage and to see these two together you cannot doubt that they love each other. I know that nothing can separate them from that love and, as an engagement present to the happy couple, I am giving them the keys to their first home." He took the keys from his pocket and handed it to me. "I know that this will be a happy home for you and your children, my grand-children. Enjoy the rest of your lives together."

I wasn't sure if anyone else had grasped the significance of his words, but it was a telling time for me. He was coming to terms with his life, and I foresaw some changes, I just wasn't sure what they would be, and how they would reveal themselves.

Some weeks later Brianna and I were at Roderick's house for dinner. "Where's Mother?" Brianna asked as we sat in the library.

"She's on vacation overseas." He caught the look on our faces. "And she may not be coming back, at least not to this house. We have separated and a divorce is in the process. Brianna, you've probably been aware for some time that something just wasn't right with your mother's and my marriage. It has never had love as a component of it, your mother has never loved me, as I have never loved her. Oh we tolerated each other for appearance sake, but that was as strong an emotion as we could find. You see, before I married your mother I was very much in love with another, wonderful, woman. But she wasn't acceptable to my family, she didn't move in the right circles, in fact she was a maid working in our household. She was a beautiful, kind and loving girl, and I loved her very much. But she was taken from me because we did the unforgiveable, she fell pregnant to me, and our families just couldn't allow me to marry her as I'd hoped the news of her condition would force them to. She was placed in a home for girls in her condition to await the birth of our child. It was taken from her immediately after birth and she never saw it again."

"I went through with the marriage that had been arranged for me. The only good thing that came of that union was you." He looked at Brianna. "You made my life bearable and now you are leaving it, so I have nothing more to give this marriage. Your mother and I have negotiated a mutually acceptable settlement so that we can both get on with our lives. This only leaves one thing for me to do." This was the cue for the door to open and for my mother, who must have been listening on the other side, to enter the room. "This is the woman that I fell in love with all those years ago." Madeline reached him and he took her in his arms and kissed her. "Madeline is the woman that I have loved all these years since I was a young man and yes, we've been lovers over the years. Our love was such that the snatched moments of mutual bliss was enough to carry us over the times when we could not meet. Our love has never died, and as soon as my divorce is final, we are going to marry." They kissed again and their love for each other was evident.

"But how? How were you able to be lovers for over thirty years without Mother finding out?"

"Early on she did, almost. She noticed a cash withdrawal on my bank statement and asked me about it. I told her that I had been using an Escort Service to ease my sexual tension. She wouldn't allow me to have sex with her following your birth, I guess that she decided that she had done her duty in providing me with a child. Anyway, she accepted it when I told her that I paid for the service in cash, not wanting a record of the transaction on my statement. I gave the money instead to Madeline to help her out financially. I doubt whether Phoebe was interested enough to try to trace the service I was supposed to have used, she certainly didn't mention it during our divorce negotiations. A happy ending I think, don't you?"

"Sir, there is one fly in the ointment."

"What is it?"

"I am the son that was given up for adoption all those years ago. I am your son."

"What!" He looked at Madeline. "Did you know about this?"

"Don't be angry with Anthony, and please don't be angry with me. Anthony and Brianna have known about this since before their engagement was announced, we have discussed this in great detail, once they came to me and told me what they had planned. I'm sorry that we've kept that knowledge from you, it was only ever to be for a short time until the time was right to tell you. It was their decision and I agreed to it. They are going to marry as planned, the one thing that they won't do is to have children together, because they've decided that the risk is too great. They are going to go through life as if they'd never found out that you were Anthony's father. We, the four of us, are going to keep this a secret and get on with our lives. Anthony and Brianna love each other as much as we have all of these years, please don't deny them their happiness."

Roderick reached for her, and held his arms out to us. The four of us hugged and our lives were irrevocably joined by these revelations, by these secrets borne of love.

"This calls for a celebration!" He went off to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of champagne and four glasses. He eased the cork from the bottle and poured us each a glass. "A toast!" We stood. "I give you the four of us. Madeline who I love to distraction, and has remained faithful to me all of these years, Anthony who I have come to look on as the son I never had, and now realise that he is the son that I had, and Brianna, the only good thing that came out of the disaster that was the sham of a marriage that I had to endure for so long. I am now happier than I have any right to be, having complied with the wishes of my family and abandoned, officially that was, my one true love, I am now able to be with her again, and you two who have decided that your love is more important to you, than obedience to some stupid law that would force you to give each other up, without acknowledging your feelings for each other. I give you happiness, and long may it last."

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And that is how the secret of Anthony Albrecht was now a secret known by four people, two couples, very much in love.