“Why don’t you come back when you finish?” Sybil suggested. His visit had been a great success, and his Butterfield relatives loved him and Laure.
He sat and talked to Augusta after he danced with her and found her stories fascinating. Her mind was totally clear, despite her great age, although her brother’s wasn’t. And then, feeling the inexorable pull that Sybil had hoped for, he smiled at her as Phillips poured more champagne.
“I’ll do it. I’ll come back in February to start.”
“To start what?” Sybil asked him cautiously.
“The book you want me to write,” he said with a broad smile. “That’s why you asked me here, isn’t it?”
“No, it isn’t, but that’s a wonderful bonus. I tried to find you because you deserved to know your family, and for them to know the next generation, and Lili’s son, and now Laure. You’re part of all this, and you always will be, just as they are.”
“You’re part of it too, or they wouldn’t have let you in,” he said knowingly.
“We’re adopted, you’re blood,” she said, and he smiled as he watched everyone dancing in the ballroom. Sybil went to tell Gwyneth that Samuel was going to write the book about the family and the house, and he joined them a minute later.
“May I help you with it?” Gwyneth asked shyly. She was thrilled he was going to do it, and she knew Bert would be too. And it was Sybil who had convinced him.
“Of course,” Samuel said generously, and he turned to Sybil. “Will you help with the research?”
“I’d be happy to,” she answered. She had finished her own book at last. And the Butterfield book would be much more fun to write than her huge official tome about design, although she thought her publisher would be pleased with it. But Samuel would put his heart and soul into the book about the family, and Sybil and Gwyneth would help. It would be a joint effort. They were a community and a family, and provided each other strength, love, and consolation, which was why they had come together, Sybil was convinced.
Sybil thought about it as Samuel led Gwyneth onto the floor, to dance with his very beautiful great-grandmother.
She fully understood now, and had accepted, that she could not protect them from the future and their own history, although the Butterfields had reached far into the future and changed theirs. They couldn’t alter life events, or avoid challenges and heartbreaks. Whatever the century, their children had to grow up, wars could not be stopped, and their loved ones would die one day, whether they knew when or not. What mattered was the love the two families shared with each other, which had been the greatest gift to all of them, in a hundred years, whether the phenomenon could be explained or not. It didn’t matter, as long as they were together at Butterfield Mansion. The future would always be uncertain, and the past was what it was meant to be, which was perfect in a way.
Blake came to find Sybil a few minutes later, and they stood together as Bert raised a glass and wished them all an excellent New Year, full of health, prosperity, and joy.
“To 1920!” the elders of the family toasted in response.
“I hope it will be a wonderful year for us all,” Sybil echoed with feeling.
“As I recall, it was.” Augusta smiled at their family and friends, and sipped her champagne.
They danced in the ballroom as two new years began, a hundred years apart.
To my much loved children, Beatie, Trevor, Todd, Nick, Samantha, Victoria, Vanessa, Maxx, and Zara.
May your past, present, and future be a blessing and a gift to each of you.
And may the history you share be a bond of love, strength, and tenderness now and always, for all your days.
With all my heart and love forever and always.
With all my love,
Mom/d.s.
By Danielle Steel
PAST PERFECT ? FAIRYTALE ? THE RIGHT TIME ? THE DUCHESS ? AGAINST ALL ODDS ? DANGEROUS GAMES ? THE MISTRESS ? THE AWARD ? RUSHING WATERS ? MAGIC ? THE APARTMENT ? PROPERTY OF A NOBLEWOMAN ? BLUE ? PRECIOUS GIFTS ? UNDERCOVER ? COUNTRY ? PRODIGAL SON ? PEGASUS ? A PERFECT LIFE ? POWER PLAY ? WINNERS ? FIRST SIGHT ? UNTIL THE END OF TIME ? THE SINS OF THE MOTHER ? FRIENDS FOREVER ? BETRAYAL ? HOTEL VEND?ME ? HAPPY BIRTHDAY ? 44 CHARLES STREET ? LEGACY ? FAMILY TIES ? BIG GIRL ? SOUTHERN LIGHTS ? MATTERS OF THE HEART ? ONE DAY AT A TIME ? A GOOD WOMAN ? ROGUE ? HONOR THYSELF ? AMAZING GRACE ? BUNGALOW 2 ? SISTERS ? H.R.H. ? COMING OUT ? THE HOUSE ? TOXIC BACHELORS ? MIRACLE ? IMPOSSIBLE ? ECHOES ? SECOND CHANCE ? RANSOM ? SAFE HARBOUR ? JOHNNY ANGEL ? DATING GAME ? ANSWERED PRAYERS ? SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ ? THE COTTAGE ? THE KISS ? LEAP OF FAITH ? LONE EAGLE ? JOURNEY ? THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET ? THE WEDDING ? IRRESISTIBLE FORCES ? GRANNY DAN ? BITTERSWEET ? MIRROR IMAGE ? THE KLONE AND I ? THE LONG ROAD HOME ? THE GHOST ? SPECIAL DELIVERY ? THE RANCH ? SILENT HONOR ? MALICE ? FIVE DAYS IN PARIS ? LIGHTNING ? WINGS ? THE GIFT ? ACCIDENT ? VANISHED ? MIXED BLESSINGS ? JEWELS ? NO GREATER LOVE ? HEARTBEAT ? MESSAGE FROM NAM ? DADDY ? STAR ? ZOYA ? KALEIDOSCOPE ? FINE THINGS ? WANDERLUST ? SECRETS ? FAMILY ALBUM ? FULL CIRCLE ? CHANGES ? THURSTON HOUSE ? CROSSINGS ? ONCE IN A LIFETIME ? A PERFECT STRANGER ? REMEMBRANCE ? PALOMINO ? LOVE: POEMS ? THE RING ? LOVING ? TO LOVE AGAIN ? SUMMER’S END ? SEASON OF PASSION ? THE PROMISE ? NOW AND FOREVER ? PASSION’S PROMISE ? GOING HOME