Sims 2 Tales

Welcome to Chapter Three of Forefathers, a mini-series which follows the lives of the Le Grande family from late-medieval times to the present day. At the end of Chapter Two - a short "gap-filling" chapter which took the family into the first few decades of the 19th Century - the ancestral home was occupied by George and Augusta Le Grande, together with their baby son, William.

Chapter Three begins with an adult William as sole occupier. I hope you enjoy this latest instalment!

The cover is "Moonlight After Rain" by John Atkinson Grimshaw (www.artmagick.com)

With his parents’ deaths some ten years earlier, William Le Grande gained sole ownership of Normandy Manor and what remained of the family’s estate. As the years had passed the Manor’s upkeep had drained more and more of the Le Grande’s finances, and just prior to his death William’s father had been forced to sell the family business. Vast acres of land had been sold to property developers, and the estate’s only source of income came from the remaining fruit orchards next to the Manor. This income was just enough to ensure that the family could remain at the home that their ancestors had founded soon after the Norman Conquest, and William supplemented this by taking a job as a Junior at a firm of accountants in neighbouring Kent Town.

At the age of 35 William was not yet married, but had fallen head over heels in love with a school teacher named Adelaide Russell and hoped one day to make her his wife.

Adelaide was a very quiet, and rather shy, young woman who had been raised by her grandmother since the age of twelve. Her father had been an army Major, and soon after his marriage to Adelaide’s mother he was posted to India where Adelaide was born two years later. Sadly her mother had died when Adelaide was five years old, and after re-marrying her father succumbed to cholera two months before his only child’s birthday. Unwilling to raise a child that was not her own, Adelaide’s step-mother sent her back to England where she remained with her grandmother until the age of twenty one.

In spite of everything she had experienced in her young life, Adelaide received a good education and was devoted to her grandmother. After the old lady’s death Adelaide was offered a job as a teacher at the local school, and soon became popular with the children and other members of staff for her kindness and patience.

Ever since their first meeting at the school’s Easter fete, William and Adelaide saw each other as often as they could. They spent many summer afternoons in the countryside when the weather was fine, and would dine out or visit the theatre in the evenings whenever possible.

It was on a warm afternoon in late August that William decided to find enough courage to ask Adelaide the most important question he had ever asked. His cook, Mrs Jones, had prepared a fine picnic lunch, and William had spent much of the previous evening rehearsing what he wanted to say. Although William was very nervous he managed not to let his voice give any sign of his feelings.

"What if she says no?" he thought to himself as he chatted casually to Adelaide about the beauty of their surroundings.

"This certainly is a delightful spot," sighed Adelaide, smiling as she surveyed the gently rolling hills dotted with tiny purple flowers, and the narrow stream that bubbled gently over rocks that glistened in the sunlight.

"I chose this area because I have something very important that I would like to speak to you about," began William, growing more nervous.

"William, whatever is wrong you can talk to me about anything. You do know that don’t you?" asked Adelaide fearfully. Was he in some kind of trouble? Did he want to stop seeing her? She couldn’t bear the thought that he may be calling an end to their relationship.

"Dearest Adelaide, there is nothing wrong! I had a speech prepared, but I’m so nervous that I cannot remember the words. What I want to say is that I’m madly in love with you Adelaide Russell, and cannot think what the rest of my life would be without you by my side. Would you make me the happiest man in the world by consenting to be my wife?"

As William slid a delicate ring onto her finger Adelaide cried "Oh William! Of course I’ll marry you!"

Around them a gentle breeze stirred up the flowers’ scent as the birds chirped happily, and the stream bubbled in approval as it caressed the rocks.

Adelaide couldn’t wait to break the news to her friend Madeline. The two had struck up an instant friendship on Adelaide’s first day at work, and often shared their daydreams of being swept off of their feet by handsome men.

Madeline embraced her friend warmly.

"I’m so pleased for you Adelaide," she said, "and I know you will be very happy with William. He’s a good, honest man, and it’s obvious that he’s been smitten with you since the day you met!"

"There is an equally good man waiting out there for you Madeline," replied Adelaide, who still couldn’t believe that she was to marry the man she had been dreaming about for so long.

William and Adelaide were married the following month at Normandy Manor, with Mrs Jones as the only witness. They decided on a quiet wedding - partly because they couldn’t afford anything lavish, but mostly so that they could spend the day together alone as man and wife and settle into their new role. They even shunned traditional wedding clothes and chose to marry in the outfits they were wearing when they got engaged: that afternoon had been perfect, and was equally as important to them as their wedding day.

As winter closed in the warm, dewy mornings were replaced by cold, frost, and eventually snow. However life at the Manor remained happy and unaffected by the changes taking place outside. Adelaide still enjoyed walking, in spite of the biting wind and snow of mid-December, and welcomed the crisp stillness of the gardens when she discovered that she had an announcement of her own to make. For the past few weeks she had been feeling unwell when she woke up, and was more tired than usual. She didn’t want to alarm William until she knew what was wrong, so paid a visit to her doctor while she was running errands in town. She was delighted when the doctor told her that she was in perfect health and expecting her first child.

When she went indoors Adelaide found Mrs Jones in the kitchen making Christmas pudding. All through the house the aromas of mixed fruits and spices were hanging in the air, as sure a sign as any that Christmas was just around the corner. At that moment Adelaide knew when would be the perfect time to tell William that he was to become a father.