Part 23: link
Arthur opens the door, “Good morning, Tom,” he greets Gwen’s father.
“Arthur, good to see bạn again.” The two shake hands and Arthur ushers him inside.
“Father, this is—“ Arthur begins, but Uther cuts him off. The two businessmen’s reputations precede them.
“Tom Thomas, GE Die Casting,” Uther finishes, extending his hand.
“And bạn must be the mighty Uther Pendragon of Camelot Bank,” Tom chuckles, clasping Uther’s hand.
“Pleased to finally meet you, Tom. I’m surprised our paths have not crossed before, honestly.”
“Yes, well, I like to keep a low profile,” Tom jokes, then turns to his daughter. “Guinevere, bạn look lovely,” he bends and kisses her.
“Thanks, Dad,” she smiles up at him.
“I believe Leah has everything ready for us in the dining room. Shall we?” Uther leads the way.
“This is a lovely home, Uther,” Tom says as they sit.
“Thank you. I’ve grown quite fond of it.”
“Been in the family awhile, then?”
“Yes, my great-grandfather built it.”
“Had it built,” Arthur corrects him, rolling his eyes, eliciting a small snort of a giggle from Gwen.
“Where do bạn call home, Tom?” Uther ignores his son.
“Well, the house my wife and I bought was just too empty once the children moved out. The business was doing well, so I sold the house and treated myself to a penthouse in the city, overlooking the Thames.”
“One of the converted warehouse buildings?” Uther asks.
“Yes, they’ve been magnificently done.”
“Very nice,” Uther says, but thinks, Ah. New money, then.
Arthur can see his father’s thought as if it was written on the man’s forehead and gives him an annoyed look. You can be such a snob sometimes, he thinks, picking up his glass of sữa for a drink, to hide his disgust.
“So Tom, with whom do bạn have your accounts?” Uther asks as they tuck into the spread laid out before them.
“Father, this is a social brunch, not a business meeting. We didn’t invite him here so bạn can try to drum up some thêm business. Tom can keep his money in his mattress if he so desires.”
Tom laughs at this, and Uther asks, “So exactly why did bạn gather us all here, then?” He had noticed Gwen’s ring immediately, and is tired of waiting for his son to get to the point.
“Well, actually, Guinevere and I want to tell bạn both that we intend to marry,” Arthur tells them, reaching for Gwen’s hand on the table.
Arthur and Gwen were not expecting joyful cries of congratulations. They had no illusions about this; they knew their courtship was ridiculously short.
They were met with complete silence.
Finally, Uther speaks. “Arthur, when bạn came for that ring Friday morning, I knew what your intentions were. I just didn’t expect bạn to follow through with them so… quickly.”
“I know.”
Uther takes a drink of his coffee, and sets it on the table. “Though I don’t know why I’m surprised. You’ve always done exactly as bạn pleased, regardless of what I felt was best.”
“Father, this is not the time for that discussion. Again.”
They sit silently for another minute. The phút feel like hours. Gwen has been watching her father. His face is a mask.
“Dad?” she asks quietly.
“Excuse me.” Tom stands and walks from the room. Gwen looks at Arthur, who gives her hand a squeeze, and she gets up and follows after her father.
“Dad, wait!” She finds him in the parlor, looking out of a window. At least he hasn’t left, she thinks as she walks over to him.
“Dad...” she begins.
“Guinevere, don’t bạn think this is a bit hasty? thêm than a bit. A lot.”
“Daddy, I tình yêu him. I knew it ten phút after I met him. I know it’s crazy. We both know it is. I can't explain it myself. At least not in a way that will make bạn understand. I want to be with him. I want to be his wife. I have never been thêm certain about anything in my entire life.”
He says nothing. Gwen puts her hand on his shoulder, saying softly, “He’s not Lance, Dad.”
He turns to look at her. There are tears in her eyes. He hates that he’s upset her. “You’re not getting married next week, are you?”
“Of course not.” She attempts a different tactic. “Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t bạn and mum have quite a short courtship as well?”
“Not this short. But yes,” he admits.
“And wasn’t Granddad against your marriage?”
“Yes. But that was mostly because of me being black. It had very little to do with the fact that I proposed to your mother after only a month.”
“And now the two of bạn are great friends.”
He sighs. “Your point?”
“My point is that I will not allow bạn to be a hypocrite!” she punches him lightly on the shoulder. “Please give us your blessing,” she asks, taking his hands in her own.
He sighs and looks down at her.
“I thought bạn liked Arthur,” she says.
“I do. But I like bạn more. I wasn’t prepared for this. You’re my only daughter; I don’t want to give bạn up that easily.”
“Gwen, may I talk to your father?” Arthur's voice comes from the doorway.
“I suppose so,” she steps back and Arthur approaches.
He kisses her on the cheek and tells her, “It’s okay. Go back to the dining room.”
She furrows her brow, puzzled as to why she’s being dismissed. She also isn’t relishing the thought of being alone with Uther.
“Just want to have a little man-to-man with your father. I don’t think either of us intends to throw any punches,” he tells her softly. Then he adds, “My father will behave, I promise.”
She sighs. “All right.” Gwen walks back to the dining room, stopping briefly in the hallway to collect herself. Leah happens upon her there and stops, putting her hand on Gwen’s shoulder.
“Everything will be fine. Uther is all bark and no bite, honest,” Leah whispers to Gwen.
Gwen giggles despite herself. “Thank you, Leah.” Gwen takes a deep breath and re-enters the dining room.
“Tom, I know she’s your only daughter. I know how much she must mean to you. I can’t imagine how anyone who knows her wouldn’t tình yêu her.”
“She is my world, Arthur. No matter how much bạn think bạn tình yêu her, my tình yêu for her is tenfold more.”
“I know that. But don’t bạn see, we are not in competition for her. I’m not taking her away to a far-off kingdom. We’ll be here, in London.”
“I know,” Tom says softly. He is still looking out the window. “It’s just too soon.”
“May I ask bạn a question?” Arthur steps closer.
“I guess so.”
“How did bạn know bạn wanted to marry Gwen’s mother? How did bạn know that she was the person that bạn knew bạn had to spend the rest of your life with? How did bạn know that she was the missing part of your soul?”
Tom is silent. Arthur waits. Tom’s shoulders drop as he exhales and he turns to face the young man.
“I can’t answer that question,” he finally says.
Arthur waits.
“It’s not because I don’t want to. I want to answer it. The words just don’t exist.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s how bạn feel about my Guinevere?”
“Yes. I knew it the instant she first looked into my eyes.”
He drops his head. “I know.”
“Tom, I know what you’re worried about. I know all about Lance. She told me,” Arthur says quietly. I hope that’s what he’s worried about, anyway, he thinks, holding his breath.
Tom looks at him, his dark eyes stern. “If bạn ever…”
“I won’t. bạn have my word. If I do, bạn have my permission to find me and cut my tim, trái tim out of my body. In fact, I’ll come to bạn voluntarily, because I won’t want it anymore if I should ever hurt her that way.”
In the dining room, Gwen sits with Uther. She picks at her food, feeling awful that her appetite is gone. Leah went to so much trouble, and it was excellent fare.
Uther drinks his coffee. Occasionally he peeks at her. I should say something, he thinks, I just have no idea what.
Finally, he asks, “May I see how the ring looks on your hand?”
She holds her hand across the bàn to him. He takes it in his and stares at the ring he had purchased for his late wife all those years ago, now perched on the soft brown hand resting on his.
“She loved this ring.”
“I imagine she did,” she says quietly, then bravely adds, “I do, too.”
“You know what happened?”
“Yes. Very tragic. I cannot even imagine.”
“I’m sure bạn can, my dear.” He releases her hand.
“Honestly, not really. I, um, at least have memories of my mother,” she says, then quickly picks up her trà to hide behind the cup for a drink. What are bạn saying? Arthur says he never speaks of her!
“That might make it thêm difficult in some ways. At least bạn know what you’re missing. Arthur never had that opportunity, and I’m afraid I was a lousy mother,” he smiles.
Gwen smiles back at him, relaxing a little. For all his pompous attitude and cold demeanor, he’s not a bad guy deep down, she thinks.
“Um…” she wants to say something to him, but she’s not sure how. hoặc if she should.
“Yes?”
“I… just want bạn to know that Arthur makes me very happy. The happiest I’ve ever been. And I think I do the same for him. I can’t explain why we know we want to get married after only knowing each other a week.” Suddenly it all comes spilling out of her. “There’s no logic to it. Trust me, I’ve tried to find some. You’re a logical man, I know this. bạn have to be, in your line of work. And bởi nature I am quite ruled bởi logic as well. I’ve gone over and over and over it in my head, and there is no logical explanation I can find that fits. We just knew. Immediately, like a light turning on in a dark room. Surely, if bạn think back…” She stops, afraid to go down that path.
Uther has been staring at her as she talks. Fascinating girl, he thinks. When she trails off, he sits back in his chair. With a heavy sigh, he says, “I try not to do that. Think back. To… her. But perhaps I should.”
“I know the memories hurt, Mr. Pendragon, but please try to understand. Try to remember how bạn felt about your wife. Arthur isn’t doing this just to defy you. I don’t think that’s ever been his intention. In any of his decisions.” Gwen speaks quietly, and reaches across and puts her hand on his.
Just then Tom and Arthur re-enter the room. They seem to be chatting companionably now. Gwen pats Uther’s hand once and leans back to look at her father.
Tom holds his hand down to her, offering it. She takes it and stands, and he hugs her. She squeezes him tightly, saying, “Thank you, daddy.”
“You’re stuck with him now, bạn know,” he says. Arthur grins.
Gwen looks up at her father, saying, “Good.”
Arthur notices his father’s slightly haunted look. “Father?”
Uther snaps out of his reverie, and looks at Arthur. “Hold on to this one, son.”
“What did bạn do to him?” Arthur looks at Gwen, confused and impressed.
“We just chatted a bit,” she says, glancing over at Uther. He actually winks at her. Oh good, I đã đưa ý kiến the right thing, she is relieved.
“Can we finish eating now?” Tom asks, sitting. “Because this thực phẩm is really good.”
Part 25: link
Arthur opens the door, “Good morning, Tom,” he greets Gwen’s father.
“Arthur, good to see bạn again.” The two shake hands and Arthur ushers him inside.
“Father, this is—“ Arthur begins, but Uther cuts him off. The two businessmen’s reputations precede them.
“Tom Thomas, GE Die Casting,” Uther finishes, extending his hand.
“And bạn must be the mighty Uther Pendragon of Camelot Bank,” Tom chuckles, clasping Uther’s hand.
“Pleased to finally meet you, Tom. I’m surprised our paths have not crossed before, honestly.”
“Yes, well, I like to keep a low profile,” Tom jokes, then turns to his daughter. “Guinevere, bạn look lovely,” he bends and kisses her.
“Thanks, Dad,” she smiles up at him.
“I believe Leah has everything ready for us in the dining room. Shall we?” Uther leads the way.
“This is a lovely home, Uther,” Tom says as they sit.
“Thank you. I’ve grown quite fond of it.”
“Been in the family awhile, then?”
“Yes, my great-grandfather built it.”
“Had it built,” Arthur corrects him, rolling his eyes, eliciting a small snort of a giggle from Gwen.
“Where do bạn call home, Tom?” Uther ignores his son.
“Well, the house my wife and I bought was just too empty once the children moved out. The business was doing well, so I sold the house and treated myself to a penthouse in the city, overlooking the Thames.”
“One of the converted warehouse buildings?” Uther asks.
“Yes, they’ve been magnificently done.”
“Very nice,” Uther says, but thinks, Ah. New money, then.
Arthur can see his father’s thought as if it was written on the man’s forehead and gives him an annoyed look. You can be such a snob sometimes, he thinks, picking up his glass of sữa for a drink, to hide his disgust.
“So Tom, with whom do bạn have your accounts?” Uther asks as they tuck into the spread laid out before them.
“Father, this is a social brunch, not a business meeting. We didn’t invite him here so bạn can try to drum up some thêm business. Tom can keep his money in his mattress if he so desires.”
Tom laughs at this, and Uther asks, “So exactly why did bạn gather us all here, then?” He had noticed Gwen’s ring immediately, and is tired of waiting for his son to get to the point.
“Well, actually, Guinevere and I want to tell bạn both that we intend to marry,” Arthur tells them, reaching for Gwen’s hand on the table.
Arthur and Gwen were not expecting joyful cries of congratulations. They had no illusions about this; they knew their courtship was ridiculously short.
They were met with complete silence.
Finally, Uther speaks. “Arthur, when bạn came for that ring Friday morning, I knew what your intentions were. I just didn’t expect bạn to follow through with them so… quickly.”
“I know.”
Uther takes a drink of his coffee, and sets it on the table. “Though I don’t know why I’m surprised. You’ve always done exactly as bạn pleased, regardless of what I felt was best.”
“Father, this is not the time for that discussion. Again.”
They sit silently for another minute. The phút feel like hours. Gwen has been watching her father. His face is a mask.
“Dad?” she asks quietly.
“Excuse me.” Tom stands and walks from the room. Gwen looks at Arthur, who gives her hand a squeeze, and she gets up and follows after her father.
“Dad, wait!” She finds him in the parlor, looking out of a window. At least he hasn’t left, she thinks as she walks over to him.
“Dad...” she begins.
“Guinevere, don’t bạn think this is a bit hasty? thêm than a bit. A lot.”
“Daddy, I tình yêu him. I knew it ten phút after I met him. I know it’s crazy. We both know it is. I can't explain it myself. At least not in a way that will make bạn understand. I want to be with him. I want to be his wife. I have never been thêm certain about anything in my entire life.”
He says nothing. Gwen puts her hand on his shoulder, saying softly, “He’s not Lance, Dad.”
He turns to look at her. There are tears in her eyes. He hates that he’s upset her. “You’re not getting married next week, are you?”
“Of course not.” She attempts a different tactic. “Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t bạn and mum have quite a short courtship as well?”
“Not this short. But yes,” he admits.
“And wasn’t Granddad against your marriage?”
“Yes. But that was mostly because of me being black. It had very little to do with the fact that I proposed to your mother after only a month.”
“And now the two of bạn are great friends.”
He sighs. “Your point?”
“My point is that I will not allow bạn to be a hypocrite!” she punches him lightly on the shoulder. “Please give us your blessing,” she asks, taking his hands in her own.
He sighs and looks down at her.
“I thought bạn liked Arthur,” she says.
“I do. But I like bạn more. I wasn’t prepared for this. You’re my only daughter; I don’t want to give bạn up that easily.”
“Gwen, may I talk to your father?” Arthur's voice comes from the doorway.
“I suppose so,” she steps back and Arthur approaches.
He kisses her on the cheek and tells her, “It’s okay. Go back to the dining room.”
She furrows her brow, puzzled as to why she’s being dismissed. She also isn’t relishing the thought of being alone with Uther.
“Just want to have a little man-to-man with your father. I don’t think either of us intends to throw any punches,” he tells her softly. Then he adds, “My father will behave, I promise.”
She sighs. “All right.” Gwen walks back to the dining room, stopping briefly in the hallway to collect herself. Leah happens upon her there and stops, putting her hand on Gwen’s shoulder.
“Everything will be fine. Uther is all bark and no bite, honest,” Leah whispers to Gwen.
Gwen giggles despite herself. “Thank you, Leah.” Gwen takes a deep breath and re-enters the dining room.
“Tom, I know she’s your only daughter. I know how much she must mean to you. I can’t imagine how anyone who knows her wouldn’t tình yêu her.”
“She is my world, Arthur. No matter how much bạn think bạn tình yêu her, my tình yêu for her is tenfold more.”
“I know that. But don’t bạn see, we are not in competition for her. I’m not taking her away to a far-off kingdom. We’ll be here, in London.”
“I know,” Tom says softly. He is still looking out the window. “It’s just too soon.”
“May I ask bạn a question?” Arthur steps closer.
“I guess so.”
“How did bạn know bạn wanted to marry Gwen’s mother? How did bạn know that she was the person that bạn knew bạn had to spend the rest of your life with? How did bạn know that she was the missing part of your soul?”
Tom is silent. Arthur waits. Tom’s shoulders drop as he exhales and he turns to face the young man.
“I can’t answer that question,” he finally says.
Arthur waits.
“It’s not because I don’t want to. I want to answer it. The words just don’t exist.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s how bạn feel about my Guinevere?”
“Yes. I knew it the instant she first looked into my eyes.”
He drops his head. “I know.”
“Tom, I know what you’re worried about. I know all about Lance. She told me,” Arthur says quietly. I hope that’s what he’s worried about, anyway, he thinks, holding his breath.
Tom looks at him, his dark eyes stern. “If bạn ever…”
“I won’t. bạn have my word. If I do, bạn have my permission to find me and cut my tim, trái tim out of my body. In fact, I’ll come to bạn voluntarily, because I won’t want it anymore if I should ever hurt her that way.”
In the dining room, Gwen sits with Uther. She picks at her food, feeling awful that her appetite is gone. Leah went to so much trouble, and it was excellent fare.
Uther drinks his coffee. Occasionally he peeks at her. I should say something, he thinks, I just have no idea what.
Finally, he asks, “May I see how the ring looks on your hand?”
She holds her hand across the bàn to him. He takes it in his and stares at the ring he had purchased for his late wife all those years ago, now perched on the soft brown hand resting on his.
“She loved this ring.”
“I imagine she did,” she says quietly, then bravely adds, “I do, too.”
“You know what happened?”
“Yes. Very tragic. I cannot even imagine.”
“I’m sure bạn can, my dear.” He releases her hand.
“Honestly, not really. I, um, at least have memories of my mother,” she says, then quickly picks up her trà to hide behind the cup for a drink. What are bạn saying? Arthur says he never speaks of her!
“That might make it thêm difficult in some ways. At least bạn know what you’re missing. Arthur never had that opportunity, and I’m afraid I was a lousy mother,” he smiles.
Gwen smiles back at him, relaxing a little. For all his pompous attitude and cold demeanor, he’s not a bad guy deep down, she thinks.
“Um…” she wants to say something to him, but she’s not sure how. hoặc if she should.
“Yes?”
“I… just want bạn to know that Arthur makes me very happy. The happiest I’ve ever been. And I think I do the same for him. I can’t explain why we know we want to get married after only knowing each other a week.” Suddenly it all comes spilling out of her. “There’s no logic to it. Trust me, I’ve tried to find some. You’re a logical man, I know this. bạn have to be, in your line of work. And bởi nature I am quite ruled bởi logic as well. I’ve gone over and over and over it in my head, and there is no logical explanation I can find that fits. We just knew. Immediately, like a light turning on in a dark room. Surely, if bạn think back…” She stops, afraid to go down that path.
Uther has been staring at her as she talks. Fascinating girl, he thinks. When she trails off, he sits back in his chair. With a heavy sigh, he says, “I try not to do that. Think back. To… her. But perhaps I should.”
“I know the memories hurt, Mr. Pendragon, but please try to understand. Try to remember how bạn felt about your wife. Arthur isn’t doing this just to defy you. I don’t think that’s ever been his intention. In any of his decisions.” Gwen speaks quietly, and reaches across and puts her hand on his.
Just then Tom and Arthur re-enter the room. They seem to be chatting companionably now. Gwen pats Uther’s hand once and leans back to look at her father.
Tom holds his hand down to her, offering it. She takes it and stands, and he hugs her. She squeezes him tightly, saying, “Thank you, daddy.”
“You’re stuck with him now, bạn know,” he says. Arthur grins.
Gwen looks up at her father, saying, “Good.”
Arthur notices his father’s slightly haunted look. “Father?”
Uther snaps out of his reverie, and looks at Arthur. “Hold on to this one, son.”
“What did bạn do to him?” Arthur looks at Gwen, confused and impressed.
“We just chatted a bit,” she says, glancing over at Uther. He actually winks at her. Oh good, I đã đưa ý kiến the right thing, she is relieved.
“Can we finish eating now?” Tom asks, sitting. “Because this thực phẩm is really good.”
Part 25: link
