Natasha's Legacy (30 page)

“I’m afraid not,” Will responded.

“Appointments are required for couples
interested in adopting a child.”

“We’re not looking to adopt. We are hoping to
speak with someone who knows the history of the orphanage.”

“I’m just a volunteer. Yvette may be able to
help you, but she is busy with clients.”

“Could we see her when she’s finished?”
Keeghan asked.

“She is booked with appointments today.”

Damn.
Double damn.
Keeghan turned her head toward Will,
upset with herself for setting unreasonable expectations. It was
foolish to arrive, unannounced, expecting to spend quality time
with the person in charge.

“Would it be possible for us to book an
appointment to see Yvette?” Will asked. “We have travelled across
the pond … the ocean,” he corrected, “and would really appreciate
speaking with someone before returning home.”

“Let me check her schedule.” The young woman
disappeared through a door leaving Keeghan and William in the
lobby.

“I’m sure she can spare a few minutes within
the next day or two,” Will assured her. He crossed his fingers.

While they waited for the volunteer to
return, a couple in their early thirties walked in through the
entrance, exchanged smiles with Will and Keeghan, and sat in the
chairs meant for clients. Within a few minutes, the young volunteer
returned to the lobby. “Yvonne has time the day after tomorrow,
shortly after lunch.”

How I hate a vague
response
. “And what time would that be?” Keeghan asked.

“Around one o’clock.”

“Thank you very much. We’ll be back,” she
responded.

Keeghan gripped Will’s hand, turned, and
stepped outside, leaving the other couple sitting in the lobby.
Walking toward their rental car, Keeghan stopped, turned, and
admired the structure. “Before we leave, would you mind if we walk
around the property? I know things have changed but I’d like to see
it anyway.”

Will gave her hand a slight squeeze and they
began walking, the same walk she knew both Hope and Adam and Alex
and Sarah would have taken.

“It’s exactly the way I imagined it, Will.
Lush grass, trees, manicured flower gardens.” Reaching the back of
the building, Keeghan stopped. “This is the spot. What a beautiful,
private location for a first kiss. I’m envious of Hope and Adam,”
she admitted. She looked farther back on the property. “Their
private cemetery is back there, and if the pond still exists, it
should be to the right. This is so exciting. I want to see
them.”

“Wait a second. This may not be our first
kiss, but….”

Placing his hands on her cheeks, Will leaned
toward Keeghan and gave her a gentle kiss.

“A-hem.”

Keeghan pulled back from the kiss, her cheeks
burning with embarrassment.

“Visitors to the orphanage are
not
given access to the property.” The young man used
a bold, harsh tone.

“I’m terribly sorry,” Will responded. “We’re
leaving.”

Will gripped her hand and they walked toward
the parking lot with the young man following close behind.

“He doesn’t trust us,” she whispered.

They picked up their pace, got into the car,
and drove off without uttering a sound. Once the orphanage was out
of sight, Will reached over and touched her thigh.

“That was embarrassing. We’re a little too
old for that.”

“Uh huh,” she agreed. “We were acting like
teenagers. I doubt that kid knows the significance of a kiss at
that location, but it was exciting while it lasted.”

“I don’t feel like spending another day at
the library. After a long plane ride, a day looking through books,
and some sightseeing, I want to see more of this area. Pull out the
folder from the back seat. I did some research before I left and I
know you will be interested in seeing some of these places. We have
just become tourists for the remainder of the day.”

It was a great day.

* * *

Sunlight poured into their hotel room, waking
Keeghan. Hearing running water, she crawled out of bed, yawned, and
wandered into the bathroom to find Will shaving.

“Any dreams last night?” he asked.

“Yes, but not about the Venderkemp and
Donovan families. Maybe Alex thinks I have information overload. I
learned a lot in the last dream. He is giving me a couple of days
to digest it.”

“It’d be nice if
I
could get back into your dreams,” Will teased. “Tell Alex to make
room for your husband.”

“Oh, but you’ve been with me, love. I can’t
help it if you don’t remember the story.” Keeghan blew him a kiss.
“I’d like to go to the library today. See if we can find some old
newspaper articles on the family. I know Rose and Richard’s
engagement made the headlines but I refuse to believe the
renovation and addition to the orphanage wouldn’t have made
headlines as well. Some of Stewart’s buildings had to be
newsworthy.”

“Gr-reat,” he groaned. “More archives. I
should have brought my clubs, or Constable along. I could have
dropped you off at the library and gone to a golf course or taken
the dog for a lo-o-ong walk.”

“Luv ya.”

She kissed the tip of his nose and stepped
into the shower.

Two hours later they were sitting in a
library looking through archived newspapers.

“These headlines aren’t worth a shit, Keegh.
I’m scanning way too many articles that haven’t got anything to do
with the headline. We could spend a month doing this and not gain
anything but sore, tired eyes,” he grumbled.

It was such a beautiful day, Will didn’t have
the patience to be sitting in a library. Having come so far,
Keeghan didn’t want to return home without answers.

“There has to be an article of Rose and
Richard’s engagement. I want to see it.”

“I’ll make you a deal. If we don’t get the
answers we are hoping for at the orphanage tomorrow, we will come
back here. I promise, I won’t utter a word of complaint and we can
spend time searching for articles. We will search until we discover
Richard’s surname, but I want you to remember something. There is
no guarantee either of the twins got married and had their own
families. Or perhaps they had daughters. This surname you
desperately want to uncover could have ended as quickly as the
Venderkemp name. This search could turn out to be as frustrating as
searching for a button in a haystack. Show me the patience I know
you have and wait until we have a chance to speak with Yvette at
the orphanage tomorrow.”

Unable to disagree with Will’s comments,
Keeghan pushed her chair away from the table.

“More sightseeing. I enjoyed driving around
looking at the countryside.”

* * *

After a good sleep and a late, leisurely
breakfast, Will and Keeghan went for a long walk before getting
into the car and heading toward the orphanage. Entering through the
main door, they were greeted by the same female volunteer.

“We have an appointment to see Yvette,” Will
reminded her.

“She will be out in a few minutes. Please,
have a seat.”

The volunteer disappeared behind one of the
doors, leaving Will and Keeghan on their own.

“We’re early,” Will reminded her.

Keeghan reached for a magazine that was
sitting on the table beside their chairs and began flipping pages.
Will checked for messages on his cell. He’d just finished sending a
quick text to his business partner, Jim, when a woman in her early
to mid-thirties emerged from the closed office door. Slightly
shorter than Keeghan, her shoulder length light brown hair was
pushed behind her ears.

“Hello, I’m Yvette. How may I help you?”

Keeghan tossed the magazine back on the table
and jumped from her seat. “I’m Keeghan.” She held out her hand.
“This is my husband, William. I’m sure you’re questioning the
reason for our visit.”

“You have my curiosity.”

“I’m doing research for a university
assignment,” Keeghan continued. “I’m looking for information about
the original owners of the orphanage.”

“I know it was established in the eighteen
hundreds by the Venderkemps.

“Yes,” Keeghan agreed. “Although I don’t know
the original owner’s name, Alexander and Myrtle … Mabel?” Keeghan
paused, trying to remember Mrs. Venderkemp’s first name. “His
wife,” she continued. “They were the second owners followed by Adam
and Hope and eventually Alex and Sarah. I don’t know the history
before or after.”

“Oh-h, I wish Nicole were here but she is
away on a well-deserved holiday. Somehow I feel your knowledge
might exceed my own. From what I’ve been told, Alex ran the
orphanage for years with the help of his manager. Sarah always kept
some distance from the actual business, but she loved spending time
with the children. Would you like to see some pictures?”

“Yes.” Keeghan tried to contain her
enthusiasm, but couldn't help smiling. “We would love to.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any portraits
of the original owners, but I’m sure you’ll appreciate what we
have.”

Will and Keeghan followed the woman through a
door and hallway that led to a room with multiple doors and
windows. After studying the room for a few seconds and glancing out
the windows, Keeghan believed they were in the original dining
area. Yvette stopped at the first portrait.

“This is Mr. and Mrs. Venderkemp and their
son.”

Keeghan glanced up to see a couple she
assumed to be in their mid to late forties, which, in her mind,
made sense. Adam’s parents wouldn’t have been able to afford to
have portraits done until they received the “donation” from
Stewart.

The woman was sitting proudly on a wing chair
as her husband and son stood behind. “Adam with his parents,”
Keeghan whispered to Will. They stepped toward the next
portrait.

“This was the entire family, Adam and Hope
Venderkemp along with—”

“Oh my gosh. Stewart and Izabella.”

Yvette turned and looked at Keeghan.

“Yes. The couples sitting on the far left are
Mrs Venderkemp’s grandparents, with her father and his wife behind
them and a family friend.”

Without being too obvious, Keeghan wiped her
watering eyes.
I’m a blubbering fool
.
Keeghan was still staring at the far left photo when Will gave her
hand a gentle squeeze.

“Stewart’s parents, Willard and Elizabeth,
Stewart and Izabella and Nanny,” Keeghan whispered. Keeghan
continued looking at the picture, seeing Hope and Adam in the
middle of the group with Mr. and Mrs. Venderkemp standing proudly
beside their son. A young child whom Keeghan knew had to be Alex
was in Stewart’s arms.

“The family in front is Mrs. Venderkemp’s
aunt and uncle and their children.”

Keeghan glanced at the couple who were
sitting on the floor with their children on their laps. “Vicki,
Greg, Matthew, and Tessa,” Keeghan announced with excitement.

She turned her attention to the next picture.
Sarah was sitting at the piano with her fingers on the keys as Alex
stood proudly behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Although
they weren’t smiling, it was obvious they wanted to.

“Alex and Sarah,” Keeghan squealed before
Yvette had a chance to speak.

“Is this your family, ma’am?” Yvonne
questioned.

So absorbed in the pictures, Keeghan barely
heard the woman speak.

Turning her attention back to the portrait,
she appreciated seeing both Alex and Sarah. “They were a very
attractive couple,” Keeghan finally stated. “Did they ever get
married?”

“I assumed they had been married for years.
Married shortly after they met.”

“I’m sure they were,” Keeghan agreed.

The next picture showed Sarah sitting at the
piano bench with the twins on either side. “Sarah looks comfortable
in front of the piano with the children,” Keeghan mentioned.

“From what I was told, if an orphanage child
was interested in learning, Sarah was more than willing to
instruct. I have been told she was brilliant on the instrument. She
performed regularly in the city to a theatre filled to
capacity.”

Keeghan smiled.
You are
correct
. Shifting her body, Keeghan looked at the final
portrait that included the entire family. Stewart and Izabella were
sitting on chairs with Vicki beside her brother and Greg on the
other side of his wife. Matthew and Tessa stood behind their
parents with their spouses and children. Hope and Adam were sitting
on stools with the twins on their laps, and Alex and Rose were
standing behind them with Sarah and Richard on either side.

Keeghan stared at the picture, having her
first glimpse of the family’s spouses and the future generation.
After spending two days trying to convince herself she could leave
the orphanage disappointed, a sob escaped her. Will give her hand
another gentle squeeze.

“What happened to the family?” Will
asked.

“I believe Sarah passed away within a year of
Alexander. They were buried at the back of the property.”

“What about Alex’s sister and her husband?”
Will asked.

“I really don’t know very much about them,”
Yvette admitted. “To my knowledge, they never lived at the
orphanage.”

“Do you happen to remember the names of their
twins? I’m certain the little girl’s name was Alisha.”

“I’m sorry, but no,” she responded. Yvonne
glanced up at their young faces and shook her head. “Your knowledge
of this family far exceeds mine.”

Keeghan tried to hide her disappointment but
it was difficult. Both she and Will were good at recalling names
when they saw a face. She had hoped Yvette would be a little more
helpful.

“Do you know Rose and Richard’s last name?”
Will asked.

The woman thought for a moment and shook her
head.