The Acquisition of Memories. Chapter 44- Epilogue: In the End, That's All There Is.

Waking from their afternoon snooze on their rug in the shade beneath the castle, Elsie kneels up with Charles to finish putting away all their lunch dishes in the picnic basket. She finally spies the envelope that is addressed to her in Charles' sure and neat copperplate script.

"Charles, is this your letter?"

He cannot help but quip, "Well I should hope no other man sees fit to be ogling my wife at length within a sylvan glade whilst secreting love letters into trees branches for her!"

"Silly," and she cuffs him on the sleeve. "Will you read it to me?"

"Perhaps read it to yourself first I think, Els, for that is what you would have done if it arrived in a timelier fashion before our wedding. If you like it, then I shall read aloud to you afterwards… only if you like... I … I am not sure if it is really good enough to vocalise, though."

Elsie feels her heart beat faster in anticipation. Despite his reticence to speak too boldly of his skills, Elsie feels sure that her poet-lover has written something quite wonderful for her, given how lovely his other letter of this nature was and which saw her off to such peaceful rest on the eve of their wedding. This will be her second only love letter in her entire life. She has never even received a Valentine. And despite the time she spent walking out with Joe Burns, she never received a letter of this style or intent from him, for he was ever a practical man, and kind in the ways of trying to please her should they go to something like a village fair, but he was a man of very few words and would not have ever thought to commit his feelings in such a way to paper.

Charles settles with his back up against the tree and beckons Elsie to join him within the circle of his arms. Elsie nestles into him and chews on her lower lip as she smiles shyly up at his clear bright face. She opens the envelope, recognising the stationary as the embossed paper supplied in their room at the Grand Hotel. Now she will have yet another lovely souvenir and keepsake of their very special holiday to always look back on and to help her remember the very best of times.

"Thank you, Charles," she whispers out, before she unfolds the paper, suddenly a little overcome by the fact that he loves her enough to put his heart out on the line like this- that he is risking her sharp quips and ridicule if he should appear ridiculous. But no matter what he has penned, she knows it is from his very true and honest heart, and that is not a thing she will ever deride.

She reads quietly and slowly, wanting to draw the pleasure out as much as she can.

oOOo

Friday, 4th June, 1926

To My Dearest Elsie,

I give you my halting words to both contain and add to our acquired memories.

Ever yours,

Charles.

oOOo

And when she finishes the whole missive, she can only murmur softly to him through the thickness of her heart swelled full to bursting within her breast- so overwhelmed is she by his regard for her.

"Oh, …my sweet man," she breathes out heavily as she nuzzles into the open neckline of his shirt to place a kiss at the hollow of his neck where she can feel the pulsing of his heart. She fishes into his waistcoat pocket for a small handkerchief to dab at the tears that have welled up in her eyes, and so as to look upon their little sixpence. "Please read it aloud to me now, a chagair," she whispers thickly past the lump of overwhelming joy and good fortune that has risen to her throat. She always wants to hear his voice speak out for her- for them. Charles, quite bashfully, but willingly obliges, reading the villanelle he composed for her with the surest of conviction- telling her all that he feels for her- for them.

oOOo

Pretty Elspeth

oOOo

When in my dreams I hold your hand in mine,

On sunlit sands, we walk to our fair aisle.

Take all my heart, milady, it is thine.

oOOo

Change roils 'bout such that I cannot define,

Still, I am steady thru' my ev'ry trial,

When in my dreams I hold your hand in mine.

oOOo

Fervent the ache- my body to entwine

With all your fem'nine beauty, grace and style.

Have all my heart, milady, it is thine.

oOOo

The nights we spend together over wine,

Seems like your voice were made just to beguile,

In all my dreams I hold your hand in mine.

oOOo

Full is life when our minds and souls align.

Only side by side is our path worthwhile.

Hold all my heart, milady, it is thine.

oOOo

Light of my world! In your fair eyes doth shine.

Turn unto me and grace me with your smile.

In waking dreams, I hold your heart in mine-

Keep all of my heart, My Lady, for 'tis thine.

oOOo

C.E.C.

oOOo

As he finishes and he looks up from his little paper, she smiles her fullest and most radiant and dew-eyed smile right into his eyes. She is overwhelmed by his honesty and beauty once again and all she can offer is her complete acceptance of his fullest gift to her. Her thumb presses their little sixpence of good fortune into that precious dip upon his chin as she clasps his clean-shaven cheeks in her soft open palms and guides his lips onto hers in an attempt to convey in her own beautiful way that same depth of feeling that this most wonderful poet-lover has forged with his elegant mind and heart and hand.

This gift.

Her man.

His lady.

Just them.

"Always, a chagair."

oOOo

Fin.

oOOo

CECECECECE

Final Ever Author Note!

It has been my absolute pleasure to research for and write these chapters, and I hope it worked a little for others out there in Chelsie-ville. Thank you, dear readers, for all of your time and amazing support.

I shall leave you now, for I feel I have no more that I need to say or fix up for my own benefit within the DA Universe- other writers with a greater passion for all that JF offered will surely serve you better.

And so, I shall bid you all adieu, knowing that I have moved Charles and Elsie into the space that I always felt they deserved, but my memories could not acquire from the canon.

I hope that I could show, that in each other, the lovely and poetic Charles Carson and the inimitable and ever lovely Elsie Hughes found what we all quite possibly deserve, but at the very least, we should all certainly aspire to.

Happy romancing!

With very fondest regards,

BorneToFlow : )

oOOo

CECECECECE