Chapter 49: Grave matters

It was a particularly cold winter the year that Victoria was old enough to start her schooling.

William was very close to his granddaughter, and wanted to ensure she had the best possible education.

“She is a bright girl,” William told Felice, “She needs a challenge, more than a simple grammar school.”

He invited one of the top tutors to the house to meet the family, hoping to secure a place for Victoria among his students.

Felice prepared a meal using home-grown vegetables and fresh fish from the lake and things seemed to go well.

But while Felice was entertaining the tutor in the sitting room… tragedy struck.

The grim reaper arrived for William.

His sons were all there to witness his passing. As was his adopted sister.

Harry was too devastated to tell Felice, and he went and stood alone in the library – his father’s favourite room – sharing his grief with the books.

So it was James who broke the news to Felice.

Felice was afraid that William’s death would compromise their chances of getting Victoria into the tutor’s school, as William was the one who’d be sponsoring her entry. She asked James to please not say anything to the tutor. He agreed.

Felice finished meeting with the tutor, and James entertained him while she went to try find Harry. Luckily, James was charming and the tutor, who’d been on the fence before, decided to welcome Victoria into his school.

They buried William next to his beloved Amice.

Felice pulled James aside. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for what you did, with the tutor.”

“What are friends for,” he answered, with a shrug.

“That was above and beyond the call of any friendship,” she said.

and gave him a huge hug.

Which left Harry confused. When had this friendship blossomed? He had become accustomed to thinking of his wife and brother as lifelong enemies.

The moment was broken when Sense marched up to them and started yelling at Felice, accusing her of not being there for her family when they’d needed her.

“Why do they all love you when you’re only worried about yourself and your daughter?” She screamed.

“How dare you,” Felice growled. “How dare you profess to care about this family when here you are, causing a scene, at William’s funeral.”

The only person who had ever heard Felice using that tone of voice was James. Sence was so taken aback that she stormed inside.

It was too cold to stay out for long, so after they had paid their respects, Felice and Harry retreated indoors as well, where they sat by the fire as Felice comforted him.

Little did they know, Victoria had snuck out of bed to pay her respects too.

James was walking in the garden, trying to clear his head, as he often liked to do, when he spotted something strange in the graveyard.

Victoria was out there, in her nightgown, building a snowman for her grandpa.

James thought his heart would break watching this sight.

He knew he should chase her inside, it was far too cold for her out there, but he understood what she was trying to do and decided to help her.

He wasn’t so sure about the finished product… but thought she must have had some reason for making him so mean and… evil-looking.

They crept inside, Victoria was already turning blue with cold, and James lit a fire for her to warm herself.

William’s will left the majority of his fortune to James, as his eldest son. Johnny also came off well with a smart $9 800 towards his life with Sense. William also ensured that Victoria received enough money to provide for her education.

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Chapter 45: Victoria

Felice was talking to Jonny in the kitchen when she went into labour.

Only the men were at home and everyone was very panicked.

“I know nothing about birthing babies!” Harry screamed.

Luckily Sim births are pretty easy, so a healthy baby girl was delivered in no time, much to everyone’s relief.

James was genuinely happy for his brother.

Felice and Harry named their daughter Victoria.

James made the mistake of trying to congratulate Felice with a hug. They hadn’t spoken since he’d declared he was testing her loyalty and she pushed him away.

“How dare you!” she said. “You try to convince me to cheat on your brother, then tell me you were testing me, and now presume to touch me?”

“Don’t come near me!” She growled, poking him in the chest.

Unbeknownst to the pair, Jonny had witnessed the entire exchange.

James left the house to try clear his head. Why was this happening to him?

Meanwhile, Jonny was conflicted. Should he tell Harry what he had seen?

He went to talk to Harry and started asking vague questions about love. Harry went on at length about his feelings for his wife.

Jonny decided to remain silent about the matter. He didn’t want to make a bigger thing of it than it was.

He elected to rather tell Harry about the young lady he’d been courting, Sence.

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Chapter 41: Natural progression

Winter melted into Spring and with the change of seasons the heavy atmosphere at the estate lifted. People began smiling and playing again.

And Felice finally found an updo that she could live with.

One day in mid Spring, Harry told Felice to get dressed up. He wanted to take her somewhere.

A carriage arrived for them.

Harry took her to a beautiful park, with a band stand and a bridge over a river. She was delighted.

He was nervous… for this was not just any outing. 

They walked through the park and as they were crossing the bridge, Harry surprised Felice by dropping to one knee.

Much to his relief, the answer was a very enthusiastic “yes!”.

The couple elected to marry as soon as possible and enjoyed a stunning Spring ceremony.

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Chapter 40: The winter of discontent

Harry left Felice in the study, telling her he’d be back shortly. Felice was nervous, what was he doing? Would he call the police? Several times she got up and made to leave, but something stopped her and she sat back down.

After some time, Harry returned. William and Adelina were with him.

“My son tells me you’re in a spot of trouble,” William said to her.

“Yes, sir,” she answered, not knowing what more to say.

“Well, my sister and I have discussed it and we would like to extend to you the offer of a place to stay.”

Felice could not find words to answer him. Adelina stepped in. “This house is plenty large enough for an extra person, and it has a history of welcoming those in need.”

Felice looked to Harry, but he was not going to speak on her behalf. He simply offered a small smile.

“Thank you,” Felice said. “If you… if you’re certain.”

William gave a hearty laugh, “Of course I am certain, or I would not have offered.”

Harry was delighted to have Felice living in the same house.

But not every member of the family was as pleased.

James warned Harry that Felice might still betray them.

But Harry was confident that that was not the case.

Felice for her part was determined to make Harry proud. She tried her best to conform to the formalities of the household but the makeup and hairstyles worn by the upper class made her feel stupid.

 

Another thing that Harry probably should have mentioned upfront was the ghost situation. William casually mentioned the fact that the house was haunted one day.

Felice didn’t sleep properly for weeks.

In her old age, Amice became obsessed with gaining knowledge. She seemed to feel like time was running out. She would stay up for nights on end studying and even travel up to the house’s ancient tower in the middle of snowy weather in hopes of seeing something new in the old telescope.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, she fell ill.

She still did not know all there was to know when she passed away towards the end of that Winter.

Harry had been particularly close to his mother and was absolutely devastated.

Felice attempted to offer whatever comfort she could to the kind family that had taken her in.

James, meanwhile, who had always seemed so strong on the outside, became a shadow of his former self. He fell into a deep depression.

Adelina noticed and brought in a doctor to give him advice…

… but something in James had changed forever.

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Chapter 39: Felice

Harry began courting a young lady called Felice.

He invited her to the house, played the piano for her…

danced with her…

She started spending more and more time at the estate.

Little did Harry realise, she actually never left. She kept finding secluded rooms to sleep in, or simply stayed up all night. One day, Harry found her asleep in the nursery in a  rocking chair.

He didn’t question her, instead he introduced her to Amice and invited her to stay for breakfast.

After breakfast Felice broke down and told him the truth.

She was from a family of robbers and had been sent to infiltrate the estate so she could report back and her family could rob them! But she had fallen in love with Harry for real, and couldn’t bear the idea of betraying him – so she had been avoiding returning home.

Harry was speechless. Could he really have been so blind to her intentions? She had shown more of an interest in him than any other woman had, surely it should have been plain to him that it was all a rouse? He said he’d show her out.

As they opened the door to the kitchen, they found James standing near the door. He’d heard everything.

“Are you just going to let her go?” He asked Harry, ignoring Felice completely. “We should surely call the police.”

Felice jumped in surprise, but Harry just stared straight ahead, his heart broken.

Harry locked himself in his room and buried himself in books.

Outside snow fell in fluffy layers.

Since it was coming up on Christmas, William decided they should host a party to try bring some joy back into the house after his parents’ passing.

They served a feast of food.

And everyone got dressed up.

There were gifts exchanged.

And there were fireworks so spectacular that they finally drew Harry from his room.

He was distracted from the display by a blonde head popping around the door. Felice.

He hurried into the hall and demanded to know what she was doing there. She explained that Amice had sent an invite to her, and she had not known whether she should attend.

“You never told her the truth about me, did you?” Felice asked.

Harry simply shook his head.

“Why?” Felice asked.

Harry closed the distance between them and kissed her.

“There was mistletoe,” he said as he pulled away. She was blushing.

“I’ve missed you,” she said.

“And I you.”

They stared at each other a moment and then he kissed her again.

Outside, the snow continued to fall.

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Start Harry’s story at the beginning.

Chapter 38: Full House

Time passed. Amice and William grew older but remained as in love as they’d ever been.

Adelina’s small florist did so well that she was able to buy herself a shop on Main Street and hire staff to help her run it.

Her flowers were so fragrant that they put everyone who entered her shop into a good mood and business boomed.

James, the eldest of Amice and William’s children, was inspired by her and started tinkering with machines in hopes of becoming a great inventor and starting his own business one day.

Although Amice had pressured him to take a wife since he’d come of age, he showed little interest in anything but accumulating wealth.

Their second child, Harry, was a gentle soul who loved music and art.

Unfortunately this meant that his head was often stuck in the clouds and he battled academically, narrowly escaping being sent to military school.

Their youngest, Jonny, was active and outdoorsy like his father.

But with everything else happening on the estate that had grown into a giant home packed with people, he did not get much attention.

So Jonny had an imaginary bunny friend who’d come to visit him when he was lonely.

And who wasn’t creepy at all. No, not at all.

The happy family life in the estate came to an abrupt halt when Marissa inexplicably collapsed.

She did not make it through the night. Simon took the loss of his dear wife incredibly hard.

It was not long before he followed her into the next life.

Though his children and grandchildren were devastated, it was a small comfort that his portrait would forever watch over them.

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Custom content shout-outs

My little house (little, ha!) is entering the Victorian Era now. Some of the critical Victorian goodies to make the look:

Wallpapers from the 1860s and 1870s by fruitsymphony
Victorian-Gothic Set by Adele
Homey Touches: The Nursery Set~ 16 New Meshes by sweetswami77 

Chapter 37: Adelina’s ambition

Adelina’s birthday was around the corner, the birthday when she came of age as a young lady of influence. On the surface all seemed well.
She enjoyed playing with her nephews and got on well with the rest of the family. William even invited his academy friends to the estate to meet her, secretly hoping for a match. But Adelina did not seem to fancy anyone. Little did the family know, Adelina was deeply depressed. She hated life as a woman of leisure, feeling purposeless. She was sent to visit the local doctor, but he was of little help. He told her she was simply being stubborn and refusing to accept that as a woman – a woman of colour no less – she should be grateful for her lot in life. Marissa, a working woman herself, was much more sympathetic. When she became aware of Adelina’s condition, she presented her with a gift. It was a lamp, the same lamp that had helped her years before. When the genie appeared and asked Adelina what her wish was, Adelina broke down in tears. “I wish I wasn’t purposeless, uneducated and uninspired.” Suddenly, she started to feel better. She spun around and saw her flower-arranging desk and had the most wonderful idea. A few hours later she went downstairs and announced to the family, “I want to open a florist”. She purchased a tiny property with a large front yard and set up shop. Adelina proved to have a keen business sense and soon business was booming. Meanwhile, the family continued to expand. Amice had been hoping for a little girl, but she was still delighted when she gave birth to baby Jonny. Read from the beginning

Chapter 35: Dangerous brew

Amice and William’s second child was also a little boy

who they called Harry.

It was around about the time of his birth that the family discovered what that little machine that had been sitting on the bar for the last few years was used for – coffee!

They started to love coffee.

Love it.

LOVE it.

(Seriously, it became a bit of a problem).

Thankfully, James was immune to its seduction (being a child) and had the good sense to hide the machine when no one was looking, saving everyone from an endless cycle of drinking and peeing.

In time they’d come to understand the life they were missing out on when they were so terribly addicted.

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The truly weird thing is that I had absolutely nothing to do with this addiction at all, despite it being truly historically accurate. The espresso maker has been there since the principal’s visit a generation ago and for some reason they suddenly discovered it now. Ah, Sims. You never fail to surprise me!

For those interested, the vintage coffee maker is from here.

Streets are now all cobbled thanks to Stev84’s Terrain Mod: Victorian Cobble Streets for Grass Neighbourhoods.

Chapter 34: Golden child

James grew into an adorable child who shared his mother’s blonde locks.

He also shared Amice’s pleasant nature and was very well loved.

By the time he was old enough to go to school, Amice was pregnant with a second child.

It was a happy time for everyone.

James thrived academically.

And he was good at sports.

But there was something ominous ‘brewing’…

Read from the beginning

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All the custom clothes in this post are from All About Style.

Chapter 33: Family business

Amice was so excited about the expected bundle of joy that she wouldn’t stop talking about it to anyone who’d listen.

Late one night when she was down in the pantry getting herself a midnight snack, she went into labour!

She delivered a bouncing baby boy who they called James.

Everyone in the family was besotted with the child – to the point where Amice had to lock herself in the nursery to get any alone time with her son at all (and also so that poor James could get some sleep and not have relatives playing with and feeding him 24/7).

Meanwhile, Adelina had grown into a beautiful and ambitious young lady.

She enjoyed flower arranging.

She’d sworn to herself that she’d never be poor as her parents had been, so she decided to start selling her arrangements – even though the family had no need of any financial contribution from her at all.

Adelina had seen how volatile wealth could be and she feared that Marissa and Simon would pass away, leaving William – a falconer of all things – as the sole provider for his expanding family.

She set up a small flower shop at the edge of the property, selling her arrangements on weekends.

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Adelina’s stunning dress is Teen Regency Dress from All About Style.