And so after Pascal had left, Mary turned to Jacob, and exclaimed, "Father, do you know what this means? Vincent is with Catherine right now..."
To which Rebecca then excitedly inserted, "...AND...they are hopefully straightening everything out as we speak!"
With an encouraging half smile, Jacob nodded as he responded, "Yes, let's hope that is the case..."
And then Jacob added, "So...it appears all of your concerns have indeed been corroborated by all Pascal told us..."
Feeling validated, Mary replied, "Yes, it does appear so! And though we may have thwarted a few of Brigit's advances, it is wonderful to know, when all is said and done, Dear Vincent managed to resist Brigit's charms all on his own!"
With an air of pride, Jacob then sounded, "Well then let us accredit your efforts, along with Vincent's moral sense of order, that Brigit did not succeed to bed my abstemious son."
And then with hope in his heart, Jacob tearfully smiled at Mary and Rebecca, as he said, "Perhaps, all is not lost, for Vincent and Catherine after all."
Sadly though, their joy was short lived, as Vincent appeared at Jacob's Chamber entrance, looking very shaken and totally shattered.
And even though he was so devastated, he still managed to kindly say, "Father...Mouse just told me of your safe return...welcome home."
Vincent then put his own troubles aside, as he gingerly approached his Father to bestow upon him a welcome home embrace.
And then Vincent asked, "How is Peter coping?"
To which Jacob with care replied, "As well as could be expected..."
But because Jacob, fearing Vincent's meeting with Catherine had not gone well, he carefully asked, "Vincent? I heard you went to see Catherine."
With trepidation, Vincent then stepped away from Jacob, and looking pleadingly at Mary and Rebecca, he asked them, "May I have a word with Father...alone?"
Well, the two guardians of Vincent's virtue, who have been through sooo much thus far, were very disappointed not to be included in this POW WOW, but they, out of respect for Vincent, complied with his wishes.
And so softly Mary replied, "Of course, Rebecca and I were just leaving to help Brooke and Laura tuck in the children..."
To which Rebecca questioned, "We were?"
With a stern look, Mary enforced, "We were! Now come along Rebecca."
As Rebecca commenced to follow Mary, with a loving concerned look, Rebecca touched Vincent's arm as she passed by, conveying her support for him.
Though Jacob could tell Vincent was upset, with a ray of hope, he asked, "Were you able to speak to Catherine?"
To which a very upset Vincent said, "No, I was not able to speak to her! When I saw her, she only asked for me to leave...I went there thinking the other man had done something to hurt her...however, now I realize she was upset because of me! Father...I don't know what could be so wrong!"
Jacob nodded, and then with great care, said, "I believe I know what has her so distraught Vincent. You see...Catherine was here earlier when MACK had..."
Needing some clarification, Vincent anxiously asked, "Catherine was here?"
To which Jacob nodded, and then explained, "Yes, you see Vincent, I met Catherine at Peter's Mother's funeral, and mind you, I did not know she was your Catherine...not at first because Charles called her Cathy. Oh, I should explain that Charles is Catherine's father, oh wait a minute, that's right, I understand you met him at the masquerade party! Well I met him as well, and I must say, I like Charles very much! He and I hit it off right away...and he, Peter and I, all got along famously as we..."
Wanting to just get to the heart of the matter, Vincent impatiently asked, "Father please, for now, just tell me about Catherine..."
And so Jacob cleared his throat, and then explained, "Yes, yes of course, at any rate, Charles always addressed Catherine as Cathy, so I never suspected she went by any other name...until last night, during a heart to heart...she spoke of the man she loved and lost...and she said his name was Vincent! Well, I put two and two together, and told her I was your Father. Long story longer, we flew home together, along with Noodles, and I brought Catherine here so you two could put all the misunderstandings, of which there are many...to rest once and for all."
And though Vincent wondered who Noodles was, he needed clarification on the main facts, and so he reiterated, "So you have been with Catherine these past few days...and then YOU brought Catherine here?"
To which Jacob with heart, said, "Yes..."
And so Vincent, upon hearing all this, now understood why Catherine had mentioned his Father earlier on her balcony!
And though Vincent was quite stunned by the fact Catherine was actually there, he was perhaps even more stunned by the fact, his Father was the one who brought her!
And so Vincent, with a tone of disbelief, asked, "With all of your admonition, you are now approving of Catherine being in my life?"
Jacob nodded, and warmly said, "Now since I have met her, I understand why you feel the way you do about her....and I know how deeply she cares about you...and because of my earlier words of caution, if I may, I walk them back...I walk them all back..."
Effected by this change in his Father, Vincent brought his hand to his heart, expressing what all this meant to him...
As Vincent still wondered why Catherine was so upset with him, he with growing anxiousness, said, "I still don't understand why Catherine feels as she does, and earlier you mentioned Mack! What could he possibly have to do with any of this?"
Carefully, Jacob continued, "Yes, I was just getting to why Catherine would have been in such a state when you went to see her, AND about Mack...you see...upon my return, I had asked Mack to inform you of my homecoming, and to ask you to come to my chamber, well unfortunately when he did find you...you were in the Hot Springs Chamber...with Brigit!"
To which Vincent spewed, "Mack never gave me your message! I can't believe we have yet another breach by him! In fact I never even saw him there!"
Clearing his throat, Jacob raised a brow as he responded, "Well he saw you!"
And then Jacob continued, "Ahem, and he said there was a good reason why he didn't give you my message, OR make himself known. You see, when Mack reported back to me, he crudely told me, as well as Catherine, Mary and Rebecca, why he had to wait to deliver my message, which was because you were currently occupied! He then relayed everything he saw and heard between you and Brigit, saying...you and Brigit were together in the carnal sence...and so Catherine left here very upset...as we all were..."
Reeling by this false report, Vincent expounded, "Well Mack was wrong!"
With compassion, Jacob responded, "We know that now...but because of Mack's inaccurate report, Catherine left, and a happy reunion did not work out as I had planned."
Stunned by this chain of events, Vincent also felt his Father should have known he wouldn't have acted so impetuously!
And so Vincent crossly questioned his Father, saying, "You say you understand how I feel about Catherine, if that is true, then how could you have believed I would have been with Brigit in an amorous way?"
In reply, Jacob defensively answered, "Yes...yes, I suppose I should not have so readily believed MACK, and shame on me that it took Pascal to set me straight, well set us all straight...save Catherine that is...which is most unfortunate that by the time Pascal came here to accurately fill in the details...Catherine had already left."
And with a helpless shrug of his shoulders, Jacob continued, "...and if truth be told...I suppose I readily believed it because I knew you were a lonely heartbroken man! And from what Mary, Rebecca, and Pascal have told me, it would seem you have had to resist Brigit's advances, more than once!"
Proudly, Jacob then concluded, "And so in resisting, you are a man who has faced one of life's greatest challenges my boy, turning away a hot-blooded woman...Vincent I personally know how difficult that can be!"
With a small chuckle, Jacob reminisced, "Perhaps I shouldn't share this with you, but I have had to fight off a few bold women myself in my day!"
Jacob then stared off, as he conjured up memories of such occasions, there was the time in the darkened x-ray lab, with an over eager tech, also there was an incident at the end of a long shift with an infatuated young nursing student...oops, and not to mention in his office, with an ambitious drug rep...and darsen't leave out the tailoress, who had cut his first fine suit! Ahhh yes...memories which had been filed away so many years ago...
And so because Vincent did NOT really want to hear about any of his Father's past erotic experiences, he instead asked, "So Father, just to be clear, Catherine believes Brigit and I..."
Snapped from his reminiscing, Jacob cleared his throat, and confirmed, "Yes, I am afraid she does."
And so Vincent gratefully noted, "At least Pascal knew me well enough..."
To which Jacob questioned, "Uh...well I suppose that could be true..."
And then Jacob went on to explain, "...but you see, the way Pascal knew what DID, and did NOT transpire as Mack had said, is because Pascal found Brigit in the Hot Springs chamber just after you left, and she confided everything to him..telling him how she felt about you. Well evidentially, when you left her there in the hot springs to go to Catherine, it was then she realized, it was time to throw in the towel, or so to speak..."
To which Vincent then noted, "And though nothing has happened between Brigit and I, may I remind you Catherine has someone else in her life."
Happily, Jacob told Vincent, "Oh about that...I asked Catherine about this very thing! Well, as fate would have it, the man you saw at Catherine's the other night, was an old friend who had stopped by, and what you interpreted as a loving embrace, was actually a comforting farewell hug from a dear old friend. Evidently, she had been upset when you didn't stay to speak to her when you saw her alone on the park bench. Well, Catherine told me her friend was there for a mere minute or two, and you must have came during their brief encounter."
Realizing he had misinterpreted what he saw that night, Vincent couldn't help but curse his bad timing...
It was then Jacob, began to absentmindedly tap the edge of the letter on the table, as he thoughtfully cursed the bad timing as well, and as he looked downward at the letter, he remembered he needed to give it to Vincent!
Excitedly, he then said, "Oh my, Vincent this letter is for you! Pascal said, Brigit had also confessed to a devious deed as well. So from what I understand to be true, is that Brigit, found Catherine's letter tucked inside of the book I had given to you. And how did the letter find its way inside of the book you ask? Well, evidently, as a means to communicate with you, Mr. Smythe placed Catherine's letter in the book for her, knowing you would eventually receive it! Well Brigit found Catherine's letter before you had a chance to, and Pascal said that Brigit apologized for concealing Catherine's correspondence from you, and as she left, she said she hopes you can forgive her."
To clarify, Vincent asked, "So...this letter is from Catherine?"
In which Jacob confirmed, "Yes...and as I say, Brigit asked Pascal to give this letter to you...the letter you never saw...and it is INDEED from Catherine."
Softly Vincent repeated Catherine's name, as he realized this must be the letter Catherine spoke about the night she had delivered Peter's letter, and he knew she must have written it weeks ago, during the time, he thought Catherine didn't want to see him again.
And so sacredly, Vincent opened the letter, and read:
Dearest Vincent, I hope you don't mind my placing this note in your book, but with Peter gone, I had no way of contacting you, and since you haven't reached out to me, I have begun to think meeting you had been a dream. In fact the only proof I have that night wasn't a dream, is the gift of your copy of Wordsworth. Of which I thank you.
So, through our mutual love of these old masters, I am hoping they will perhaps provide a vehicle for me to connect with you once more, but this time instead of Wordsworth, it is because of dear Shakespeare.
Vincent, since I haven't heard from you, I have to wonder if all we spoke about and shared that night, remained with you as it has with me.
But if you have reconsidered our relationship, I can try to understand, but I need to hear it from you...my heart needs to hear it from you.
In full disclosure, I confess to have heard Brigit's newscast where she expressed her interest in returning to you once again.
So I guess what I am asking, is if you have deepened your relationship with Brigit?
Please find a way to respond to this note...but if you don't, I will try to think it is because you could not find the words. All my love, Catherine
Vincent offered the letter to his Father to read, and as Jacob read what Catherine had written, he was soundly struck by the love she so passionately professed to his son.
As he lowered the letter, he looked at Vincent, and with intense emotion, he said, "Catherine wrote so very eloquently about her feelings for you here in this letter."
Thoughtfully, an overwhelmed Vincent said, "Yes."
Vincent then paced in front of his Father, as all of the facts fell into place for him.
Catherine had waited for him after all, but still, he wondered why was there no reply, to his note that cold fateful night.
And so Vincent then said, "I still don't understand if Catherine felt this way, why didn't she respond to my letter!"
Jacob stepped up to Vincent, and told him, "I told you there were many misunderstandings, and this is another one! You see I had asked Catherine this very question as well, and she said she had only found the book you gifted her...nothing more. She never saw a letter, not any letter at all!"
Vincent took in a deep breath, and with much sorrow, he then said, "She never saw my letter. If I would have had more faith, I would not have given up so easily."
Jacob lovingly said, "At the time, you were only trying to do what you believed Catherine wanted..."
So with a wise owl look, Jacob then pointedly asked, "However NOW that you know differently...NOW that you know everything...what DO you plan to do?"
Without question, Vincent with hope, stated, "Now that I know everything...I must go to her."
As Jacob returned Catherine's letter to Vincent, he then nodded, and softly said, "Yes Vincent, go with great care."
Vincent, securely placed her letter, in his shirt, next to his pounding heart, and as he ascended the stairs, he stopped and turned to his Father, and with profound appreciation, he said, "The fact you brought Catherine here, below to the tunnels, to our home, means more to me than I can say."
Jacob humbly bowed his head, and said, "I promised you on that day when you first told me about Catherine, I would search my heart, and be open to change. Allow me to say, ironically...the search has opened and changed my heart..."
With complete sincerity, he then said, "Meeting Catherine, the way I had, without any preconceived expectations, I can tell you I like Catherine very much. She is as how you described her Vincent, she is pure of heart."
Clearing the tightness from his throat, he then told Vincent, "Now go my boy, Godspeed, Godspeed to you both."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Catherine sat on the edge of her bed, petting Noodles. He was all worn out and stretched out so cozily, sleeping peacefully upon her bed.
Catherine then herself stretched out, and now without the hope of having Vincent in her life, Catherine now felt, as if she had lost her foothold. Everything is different now, and her whole world seems to have been divided and shattered into a million pieces.
The ringing of the telephone startled her from her regretful thoughts, but because she was feeling too tired and devastated to move, she decided to let the answering machine take the message.
But as she heard her Dad's voice, Catherine jumped up to grab the phone, interrupting her Dad as he was leaving a message of concern, and said, "Dad, hi Dad, I'm home."
A very relieved Charles said, "I was beginning to get worried. Didn't you promise to call when you got in?"
An astonished Catherine, could not believe how thoughtless it was of her, not to call her Dad right away! And so apologetically, she said, "Ooops, sorry Dad. Just lost track of the time, putting things a way and such."
In an understanding voice, Charles answered, "It's all right Princess, the important thing is you are home, safe and sound! Is Noodles all settled in?"
With a warm smile, Catherine looked over at Noodles, who was all nestled on top of her bed, and said, "Oh yes he's settled in all right, and I think he's planning on booting me out of my bed. But so far so good, he seems happy."
Charles then covered the receiver, as he relayed the info about Noodles, to Pauline and Peter. And it made Catherine smile, as she could hear Peter say, "Oh wonderful, then he won't need a return ticket back to Florida?"
Catherine giggled softly as she told her Dad, "Tell Peter to relax, Noodles is staying!"
Wondering how his daughter and Jacob did as traveling companions, Charles next asked, "And how was the trip home? Did you and Jacob get along all right?"
Because Catherine didn't want to say anything about that which transpired between her and Vincent, she carefully replied, "Yes...we did fine...we talked about his community, and about so many things..."
Charles noting the melancholy in his daughter's voice, hesitantly asked, "And...now a fatherly question....is everything straightened out with you and Vincent?"
Decidedly, Catherine thought telling a merciful "White Lie" was in order, in an effort to keep her Dad from worrying, and so Catherine said, "No not yet, there hasn't really been time...but tell me, how is Peter and Aunt Pauline doing?"
Charles allowing the graceful change in subjects, answered, "As well as can be expected, its been difficult you know..."
And then Catherine asked, "Did you get your plane tickets yet, or did you want me to look into that for you?"
To which Charles said, "All squared away kiddo. Pauline, Peter and I are flying out on Wednesday. Pauline will be going to her daughters to help with Petey as he recoups, and get this...Peter is going to join us up at the cabin, and he even offered to drive."
To which Catherine impressively answered, "Oh wow, we get to ride in his new Cadillac De'Ville hmmm?"
With a bit of a doubting tone, Charles replied, "Yeah, he says he wants to put some highway miles on it to break it in..."
And then so Peter could hear, Charles added, "...but I think he just wants to show it off."
Catherine laughed as she could hear Peter respond, "Hey can you blame me? I haven't had a new car in ten years."
Charles laughed too, and then reminded Catherine, "Better confirm plans with Jennifer, and I'll call Uncle Douglas to let him know we are all coming, and to put on an extra Turkey leg or two!"
Meantime, Charles saw Peter struggling with a box, and so he urgently said, "I better go...looks like Peter needs some help...love ya, and G'night Honey."
Catherine missing her Dad so much, answered, "I love you too...Good night Dad."