Chapter Fifteen
Everybody needs somebody to lean on
Lord and Lady Chapman sat in bed discussing Kaylen. They were both worried about her current thought process. They didn�t want Kaylen to stop living with them; they really liked having her around. On some selfish level it reminded them somewhat of when Emily had been alive. Charlotte was enjoying having someone else around the house that didn�t call her Miss or Mam like the staff. It was nice to have another person to talk to, even though there were always people coming around for dinner it was nice to have someone who didn�t care about maintaining an appropriate social distance. Albert enjoyed having someone else around who loved his books as much, if not more than himself. Albert and Kaylen had been enjoying discussions about the well-known classics and putting their views forward on some the infamous in the same conversations. Kaylen had learnt more about wine, both red and white, from Albert in the last few days than all the previous years of her life. They had never imagined a relationship like this with a grandchild, the next oldest was still just a child in many respects.
It was with this that they were trying to think of ways to convince Kaylen to stay with them, or at least to provide some measure of help towards her supporting herself but still remaining in close contact with the family. They thought about what they knew about her likes and dislikes. Even though it was November, Kaylen insisted on walking in the fields � usually with her writing pad. They knew she loved books and reading. Charlotte had an idea, and communicated it to Albert. He agreed wholeheartedly and they put in place a plan of attack.
A couple of days later the Lord and Lady rose early and put the chef to work preparing a picnic lunch. Albert had some phone calls to make and Charlotte also had some people to contact. When Kaylen woke and came down for breakfast she was surprised by how awake everyone seemed. �What�s going on?� She asked as she poured freshly squeezed orange juice into her glass and grabbed a croissant.
�We are going for a drive into London today, and have packed a picnic. Thought it would be good to get out of the house and see what the rest of the world was doing.� Charlotte finished her breakfast and Albert came out from his study to see them all getting ready. Half an hour later and they were back in the Rolls Royce and heading to the city. Kaylen was a bit miffed that she hadn�t known they were going into London. She wished they could put a couple of the horses in a carriage and travel up into the estate in style, not go back to the stinky city. Kaylen had never really spent much time in London when she was not somewhere near her aunties� houses. They didn�t exactly live in the best parts of the city but Kaylen had never really thought about there being anything else. There were gardens in some of the movies but as far as she was concerned these were probably fictional settings. Albert�s driver pulled into an area that seemed to be from one of those movies Kaylen had seen. There were tree-lined avenues and the houses were spectacular, and at least four stories high. Every now and then you would see through a gap and there would be glimpses of parks and gardens that looked manicured and well looked after. Another five minutes of these roads and the car pulled up outside one of these wonderful attached houses.
Charlotte, Albert and Kaylen all climbed out of the car while the driver pulled the picnic out of the boot. Charlotte walked up to the door, unlocked and walked through into the entrance hall. Kaylen followed into the finest London house she had ever been. She guessed this was another property of the Chapmans. Charlotte continued walking through the house until she reached the back and opened another door, which led out onto a patio area. This patio led into one of the stately communal park areas within the Kensington area. Only the houses that boarded the park had access. Kaylen was amazed that such an area existed. This was gave her a completely different view to the smelly and noisy London she had known previously. The driver set down a blanket and the picnic was removed from the basket. The travellers enjoyed a wonderful lunch in a beautiful setting.
�You have a wonderful home here.� Kaylen mused, as she looked though the house after lunch.
�Yes, it was. But now it is much too big for us, we much prefer the apartment because it is all on one floor. We still have lots of space just not too much.� Albert followed her around while Charlotte had some business to attend on the phone.
�Well it is certainly wonderful. What are you doing with it? I mean, do you rent it out or are you planning on selling.� Kaylen admired some of the paintings that remained on the walls.
�We have had people in here, but their tenancy has run out. We were wondering if you would like to live here. After that business with the house we bought for you at birth, it is only fair that we get to give this house to you now. Charlotte and I know how much you were taken with the park, you could write there all day. And with this house you could turn it into smaller apartments or a guesthouse. We want you to do with this place as you would like. Our lawyers are drawing up the papers as we speak. That was some of the business we have been attending.� Albert smiled, and hoped Kaylen would take this as it was � her rightly entitled residence.
�Oh my god. You cannot be serious! You are giving me this house? But it is so valuable, and you want me to take it over. It is so big.� Kaylen looked around now as a possible landowner of this great property. It was more than she could imagine.
�To be sure we would pay for all the expenses. We would not want you to be put off by the upkeep costs. We would also provide staff to prepare meals and clean, because we all know how expensive a place like this can be to maintain.� Albert looked around. There was a cleaner coming regularly but it had been up to the previous tenants to keep the place clean. They would pay for the cleaner for Kaylen. Hopefully though with the rest of the plan she wouldn�t have to worry about supporting herself.
Charlotte came and met the other two. She told them that everything was sorted and that they should follow behind. They climbed back into the car and headed down the road. Charlotte gave some instructions to the driver and they turned down a street that led to a group of shops. It was quite a busy centre and quite a few people were walking around. The car stopped outside of a bookshop and they all climbed out. �We wanted you to see this little store.� They walked inside and Kaylen immediately went around looking at the books. There were different sections including new books, old books, classics, quite a large travel section and no non-fiction. It was just the type of shop she adored. There was no clutter with stationary or other goods for sale. The shop and books were not completely glossy new with bright lights and no atmosphere. She would enjoy this shop and it was so close to where she might likely be living.
�Thank you for bringing me here, okay you�ve sold it � I�ll take the house. You knew that once I saw this little bookshop I would not be able to resist. I�ll be coming here all the time to read in the aisles.� Kaylen picked up an old edition of one of her favourite books.
�We are glad you that like it, because we just bought the store and all the contents.� Lady Charlotte smiled and looked at Kaylen enjoying herself. Kaylen�s heart did a little leap, and then it fell. Surely they did not do what she was thinking. That was just too much. �We put it in your name. It is now your store completely and 100%. We are not going to pay for cleaning, upkeep or power. This is yours to do exactly what you want. Albert and I hope that you like it. Anything you make is yours to pay for all the monthly bills and to keep for yourself. I hope that you will have time to write your own novels as well and then publish them. You have the skill and ability to make this work Kaylen. Albert and I have a great deal of pride in you and your accomplishments and wish that we could have given you everything you deserved from the time you were born. Doing all this now for you is our way of putting things right by yourself and your mother. Emily would definitely approve. And I hope you do not feel that none of this is owed and that we are taking from our other family to make good on our promise to our daughter. They are all supportive of our decisions on this matter. I have phoned an electrician to come in and put a plug right here by the counter so that you can put your computer on this table and type your beautiful stories while you watch the store.� Kaylen was ready to cry as Charlotte continued telling her about the little things they wanted to include to make life easier for her in this matter. They had been so nice and had just answered all her prayers. They had given her the greatest gift possible � love and acceptance. They didn�t look down on her as the product of an illegitimate union or as the adoptive child of Mr Nobody and his dowdy wife. She was Kaylen and that was all that mattered. They had just given her people to depend and rely; they had given her someone to lean on in times of need.
Their generosity had become almost too much to understand. Kaylen brought her hands to her face and began to cry. These were not tears of pain or sadness for once in her life; they were tears of happiness and love. These people were no longer strangers, they were her family, they were really her grandparents and she loved them for everything in the world.