The Colours Of Love Bonus Scene

He stared a long while out over the grounds to save himself from looking at what was directly before him. A lone grave with a beautiful but simple headstone. Walter would not have wanted anything more ornate, though Samuel would gladly have given it.

But the simple stone was appropriate. He knew that. And it fit well in this area of the garden. But he still wished it was not necessary at all. Even spending their entire childhood together and several years in adulthood was not enough. He would have given anything for Walter to still be here with him.

After all, he had only been given two years with his brother after he’d found out they were brothers. That could not possibly be enough, could it? He did not think so. Yet that was all he had been granted.

“Ah, Walter, it is too bad that you could not be here with us today. It has been ten years, and not one day goes by that I do not think of you.”

“What are you doing out here by yourself?” He looked up with a smile. The one bright spot in his life when Walter had passed had been Hannah. She was the only one who cared for him as much as Walter had. And the only one who could make Samuel feel happy after his brother had passed. She was his best friend now that Walter was gone.

“I had to visit again.”

“I am sure Walter appreciates all of these visits. And you telling him all about our life,” Hannah told him with a smile. Samuel especially liked how much she understood him and why he needed to come out here so often to talk to Walter.

“I miss him very much,” he admitted, his gaze directed back toward the headstone.

“I do as well. But though I did not know him the way you did, I know that he loved you a great deal,” Hannah replied, setting a hand on his shoulder.

“And I loved him,” Samuel agreed. “My brother.”

“He would not want you to wallow in sadness,” was the gentle reminder.

“No. He would want me to live my life. He would tell me not to visit quite so much and instead, spend my time with you.” Samuel gave her a smile over his shoulder.

“Ten years this May he will have been taken from us. It seems so strange that it has been that long.” Hannah stared down at the stone herself, her expression revealing her own pain at the thought.

“I would not have believed it,” Samuel replied. “But it is there etched in stone.” The two stared at the headstone a moment longer.

“He was a true friend. I will never forget what he did to help us be together.”

“And how much he cared for so many people. All he wanted was to find love.” Samuel felt deeply saddened that Walter had never achieved that dearest wish.

“He did find love,” Hannah replied. “It was not a wife, as he may have thought. But he had your love, and mine as well. He had love until his last days, and he has love even still. It is that love that allows him to be with us today.”

“Indeed,” was the sad but firm response. “And for that he shall always be with us.” Hannah stood with Samuel for a long while, both of them staring at the gravestone, and then over it, toward the beautiful flowers growing throughout the garden.

There had been no better place to bury Walter when the time came. In the garden he would always be surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers. And this spot on a hill, where he could see out over the town, was even better. Yes, this was just right.

“I miss him a great deal. He was always so kind to me.”

“I miss him as well. He was my brother. But he was also my best friend. For my entire life he was my best friend.” Saying the words was difficult, but there were few truer. Walter had been everything Samuel could have ever asked for in a friend, and so much more.

Samuel bowed his head, holding Hannah’s hand in his own as he mumbled a soft prayer. A hope that Walter, wherever he was now, was at peace and happy. Samuel knew, from the gentle squeeze of his hand, that even though she could not hear his words, she supported their meaning.

For a long moment they did not move, but then he squeezed her hand yet again and led them both back toward the manor. No matter how much they enjoyed standing in the garden to feel close to Walter, there was so much more about their lives they did not want to miss out on. So much more that they had to experience together. Like Brandon and Chase.

“Boys!” He called out to them, and the young boys immediately ran to their parents. Brandon, at eleven, had been given the opportunity to meet Walter, though only barely. And since he had been an infant at the time, he did not remember his uncle. Chase had been born the year after Walter had passed, and so knew him only through stories. Stories that were certainly fantastic, but no match for the true man.

“Papa, we practiced sword fighting!” Brandon exclaimed and both Hannah and Samuel smiled at him.

“Come, let us have lunch, and you can tell us all about it,” Hannah told him, herding the boys toward the dining room. Neither seemed able to wait as they began talking even before they had sat down.

“Chase got me with the sword first, but I did really well and got him back. He was no match for me!”

“Yeah, right! I got you every time! You couldn’t even get close to me,” Chase countered.

“I did too. You kept cheating anyway.”

“I did not cheat!” the conversation started to evolve into a fight, but Hannah stepped in.

“Boys, have we not been playing nicely?”

“We have,” Chase jumped in right away.

“Yeah. He’s not so bad as that,” Brandon agreed. Hannah gave both of them an indulgent smile, while they returned to their explanation.

“Brandon is better at parrying than I am,” Chase volunteered, looking to his father and mother.

“And Chase is quite fast. Even our tutor says so.”

“I am sure you are both doing quite well,” Samuel agreed. “Perhaps tomorrow we can practice together.”

“You mean it?” Chase and Brandon asked together, both of them excited at the prospect of practicing their sword fighting skills with their father.

“Of course. I always have time for my boys.”

“Great!” There was plenty of genuine excitement on both of their faces before they began talking excitedly over one another again.

“You must eat your dinners,” Hannah interjected, and they both fell to eating ravenously, though there was plenty of talking in between bites.

“I’m going to be a top swordfighter just like you, Papa!” Chase insisted.

“I am sure you both shall be excellent,” Samuel replied with a proud smile.

“How are your other lessons going?” Hannah asked, taking another bite of her own food.

“They’re all right. But nothing is as much fun as sword fighting.”

“I should hope my boys would have more skills than just sword fighting,” was her gentle reproof.

“We do, Mama. We’re getting on fine with our lessons,” Brandon assured her. “They may not be as much fun, but our tutor says we are doing quite well, especially in history.”

“You shall be the duke yourself one day, Brandon. And you shall need to know a great many skills to be a good duke,” Hannah informed him.

“I will do my best to make you and Papa proud,” Brandon replied with a very serious expression.

“You already make us proud,” Hannah replied with a gentle look. “Both of you.” The two boys beamed with pride and wolfed down the rest of their meal, though they did slow slightly at Hannah’s warning look.

“You’ll be an excellent duke one day,” Samuel told Brandon.

“If Brandon is to be the duke, then what shall I be?” Chase asked, glancing between his parents.

“You shall be a great asset to your brother. You shall be his confidante, his best friend, and his supporter along the way. And if he should be unable to fulfill any of his duties, you shall be there to help him. As I always was for my brother,” Samuel replied.

“Shall I be a majordomo as well?” Chase asked, having heard the story of his father, the majordomo, many times over. He sounded intrigued at the prospect, but Samuel laughed.

“No, you shall not be a majordomo, but you shall be your brother’s right-hand man. Wouldn’t you like that?”

“Yes,” Chase replied firmly, looking up at his big brother with adoration. Though the two fought constantly, there was no one Chase would rather be with than his older brother. And Brandon doted upon his younger brother.

When the meal was finished, the maid returned to gather up the boys.

“It is time for bed, say goodnight to your parents,” she told them, and the two boys gave hugs all around, wishing their parents good night.

Watching them go off, neither Hannah nor Samuel could help smiling. They were such sweet boys, and so smart. No matter what they might say about their other lessons, they learned them well. The tutor had told them so. And the boys adored their parents.

“Shall we adjourn to the drawing room?” Samuel asked, and Hannah smiled back at him.

“Yes, let’s.” Samuel held out his arm and escorted his wife down the hall. The drawing room had been redone in the years since Walter’s passing. Now the paintings over the fireplace were no longer landscapes. Instead, they were portraits.

Hannah had taken the time to paint several more portraits in the previous years. One large one of their family hung over the fireplace, lighting up the center of the room. Samuel and Hannah stood side-by-side, with Brandon and Chase standing before them. To each side of the larger portrait were smaller ones of each of the family members, and of course, Walter.

“It is hard to believe we have come so far together.”

“It is,” Hannah agreed. “And we have Walter to thank for it. He brought us to where we are today. With our beautiful boys.”

“Indeed. We have so much to thank him for. I wish he could have had the chance to truly know them. And that they could have known him.”

“He would have adored them. He was so happy when Brandon was born,” Hannah agreed.

“But at least he was here to spend some time with us. At least we got to enjoy those last years with him.”

“Yes. It was truly wonderful.” The two fell into a comfortable silence, staring up at the paintings. Hannah leaned her head onto Samuel’s shoulder and sighed, but it was a happy sound. Samuel could have done the same. Everything about their life was perfect. Exactly as they could have hoped for. Or perhaps even better than they could have hoped for.

The only thing that would have made it better was if Walter were still with them. But Samuel and Hannah had each other, their two wonderful sons, this beautiful estate, and so many people who cared for them. It was so much more than they could have asked for.

“It is truly everything I ever wanted,” Hannah added, and Samuel gave her another kiss.

“Completely perfect,” he agreed.

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