About three months had passed since Connor's death and in those times the news of the sovereign's suicide had spread so much that by now any nation with English alliances was aware of it.
With the lack of legitimate Hannovers, an attempt was now made to place the person who was actually closest to the kinship with the royal family to the throne.
And while the end of the war had brought to a tragic end for the royals, for the allies the victory of that war was something immensely beautiful, how, for the first time after months , they could finally see the dear departed for war.
All this obviously also interested the young Phoebe, who all that time had been waiting, praying and hoping for her father's return home.
Lord Preston Dustin had returned inert from the war, just in time to be able to hug his dear daughter, announce that he would return home to stay.
It was beautiful, reassuring, how he could again hug his own daughter, caress her soft, straight, sun-warmed blonde hair, touch her pale face, yes, she knew, that her father was there for her, that he was back safe and sound and she was grateful.
At that moment when Preston Dustin had returned with his fleets to the South of Ireland, his young daughter was busy with a rather large task, in a mystery that the two had never had the opportunity to talk about, about something in particular which greatly fascinated the girl.
Phoebe was walking on the beach, she had brought young Zick with her, but being a few years younger, like most boys of his age, he still was immature and rather than spending time with her he preferred running on the sand, bouncing stones on the surface of the blue sea and annoy the poor hermit crabs and other beasts by touching them with wooden sticks and make them run away.
Yes, for some things Ezekiel Jones was still a child and actually and now thinking about it, Phoebe could no longer see the boy: he must have run away on the beach and that was dangerous because nothing assured her his safety.
But now her father was with her and Phoebe had to enjoy the moment he was hugging her again and finally looking into his eyes moist with emotion.
-I missed you so much, sweetheart...- Preston admitted slowly and gently placing one of his warm and sweaty hands on the pale and sweet face of the girl.
Phoebe looked away, smiled, she couldn't describe the emotions she was feeling at the moment, she was so happy but she supposed, it was normal when she hadn't seen her father for more than five months.
-You will want to rest father, I guess, and once you have regained your strength it would be really important for me to talk to you about something really important...- stammered the young lady, rubbing her hands inside each other in the cool of that morning.
She had grown up to be a beautiful girl, Preston had noticed, that his girl looked incredibly like her mother, that she had taken all the beauty which in those early autumn days had begun to shine on the lady's delicate face from her.
He observed her big blue eyes, in which so many mixed emotions shone and reflected themselves, her delicate and pale face, her blonde hair short to the shoulders, which on that day were gently pushed by the wind, a bit like her light and precious dress stained here and there by little drops of salty water.
Yes, Preston smiled slightly as he saw how magnificent his daughter had become and after all that long time he felt that rest was the last thing he wanted, more than being with her.
-Do not worry dear, I have slept enough these days, I would rather walk with you, here, on the warmth of the soft sand and talk about what worries you so much ...- the man admitted slowly taking off his precious black leather shoes from his feet.
He had noticed the girl's feet, they were also bare, wet and covered with grains of shining sand and so he had decided to get as close to her as possible, also imitating her reckless attitudes if that was the price to pay.
On the other hand, even Preston had been a little boy and that feeling, having his feet free, walking on the warm and soft sand reminded him a lot of his childhood, when in the summer the guardian took him and his younger siblings to the beach and do excursions.
And now that time had passed and each of his siblings, for different reasons, were no longer with him, he was alone in the company of his daughter and this was enough for him, it was enormously enough for that man.
-You know father, since you left, a lot has happened here, strange things, even too long events to be able to tell them all right now- the girl admitted wearily placing one of her small hands inside her smooth and soft blond hair -but there is something that I still don't understand...I have visited the archive, leafed through books on the history of different noble families and yet, this name, this, has remained in my mind for some time, who was Azura Hannover and what had she done to have her name removed from history?-.
Phoebe looked in a brief moment in the big brown eyes of the lord, it was strange to see how to say that name, in the moment his face had had taken a turn of sadness.
She had never seen her father like that, so worried, and it was strange to her, so much so that it left the young woman worried that she had said something wrong or inappropriate.
They continued to walk for some time in long minutes of silence, where neither of them had ever dared to say anything, they walked silently, as the cool and transparent water of the gulf bathed their bare feet and the white sea foam silently stagnated on the sand and exploded into many smaller bubbles.
-I imagined you should find out someday, on the other hand you are now old enough to understand and bear the weight of what I am about to tell you...- admitted the man slowly and gently placing one of his hands in the soft and blond hair of his daughter.
What was he talking about? Weight of what? Did something so important really happen that she had to know?
-All this my dear happened when you were just four years old, I suppose, you don't remember very well but I do, I can't forget, when your mother and I left for Wales, do you remember? We leave you alone with your guardian...- Preston admitted lightly taking the hands of his young daughter.
Phoebe felt how hot and humid they were, it was clear that the man was sweating but she still didn't understand, all that, it didn't seem to make too much sense.
In any case, she barely remembered that event, as already mentioned she was still very young, even too young to remember, so she did not answer her father's question.
The only thing that the young woman seemed to remember was that from that trip her mother had never returned, it was a strange feeling, she was small and at the time she did not know very well what death exactly she had died of.
-The Jones invited us to their mansion, on the occasion of the carnival festivity, a great noble festival, I remember everything in a wonderful way, great food and magnificent costumes and then there was her: Azura, a girl of just seventeen years old but of a beauty never seen before, she had recently been married to Lord Jacob Jones and yet the first time I saw her the womb of that young woman was already swollen by pregnancy- Preston admitted looking into the clear eyes of his daughter.
-This is the problem with arranged marriages I suppose, most of the time they are never happy...- the girl admitted slowly and weakly releasing her father's warm, sweaty hand from her -but this means that if my mother never returned from that trip...it means that...-.
-Yes- the lord admitted slowly lowering his gaze towards the warm and golden sand, towards the white and fresh sea foam that bathed his feet.
The salty smell of the sea filled the girl's lungs, it filled them with freshness.
-Yes Phoebe, Azura Hannover killed your mother- admitted the man, slowly flying a glance at the girl's stricken face, who at that statement seemed to have filled with a sad shadow -on the other hand, before you judge her, let me finish telling you the story...-.
The young lady slowly nodded with her head: although she could not accept what had happened in any way, that was always the best way, to wait and know before judging, something that most of humanity had not yet understood.
-As you well know, during a complicated pregnancy, it is recommended by doctors to refrain from any sexual intercourse that could damage the child, precisely for that usually many lords find different lovers in the time of their wives' pregnancies...- Preston admitted pulling slowly and nostalgically a glance at the horizon in front of him.
The lord saw that little boy, Ezekiel Jones, shining in all his still childlike beauty, a beauty that even the little boy had inherited from Azura, an aspect that Preston immediately recognised as the young lord's curious brown eyes met his.
-That same night, at the end of the dance, your mother must have drunk too much and Azura discovered her, in bed with her husband, Jacob Jones, which caused her to fall into a whirlwind of anger and depression, so panicked Azura shot her, putting an end to her life- the lord admitted as his eyes sourly met that woman's own son.
Phoebe understood not to have to blame her, obviously, shooting was too much, but her mother was the cause of her own death.
Azura was a still inexperienced girl who got pregnant when she was seventeen, she didn't know much about the world, she didn't know much about how to behave in such a situation and her actions must have been driven by panic and pregnancy hormones in any way.
But Azura was dead now, she died giving birth to Ezekiel, all that time, all those months, Phoebe had been caring for the child of the woman who had ended her mother's life.
In the heart of the young lady many emotions were mixed, negative, positive, not even she knew it, the fact was that from that moment on the girl felt a sense of joy and liberation, a lightness to her young heart, which had finally come into contact with the truth.
-What will we do now, father? What will become of Zick?- asked Phoebe taking a brief glance at his father, who still with a dull and light look observed the movements of the child, playing on the sand, having fun, unaware of what father and daughter were talking about.
-Do not say anything to him for the moment, he has nowhere else to go, so I thought that for interest, since I'm not as blind as you think, you two could get married as soon as the young lord hit puberty...- .
The girl blushed incredibly, on her nose, on her face, even her soft blond hair had swollen from surprise.
So her father had noticed her crush on him, so her father had finally decided not to condemn her, like many other ladies, to an arranged and loveless marriage.
Perhaps even Preston had understood the lesson after all, perhaps he too, in all his blind ideas, had understood the importance of true love and what a sick love could lead to.
-Phoebe, I think you will be a great lady for these lands one day and I think this may matter to you, I thought I'd burn the page in anger for some time but now it's yours, it's up to you to decide what to do with it- the man handed over to the girl a wrinkled piece of paper representing the portrait of a beautiful woman with golden hair and two big hazel eyes.
Was it her, Azura Hannover, had he simply had her all this time?