The Heart Made of Broken Gold
Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Escape

Nancy and Kenny give their consent for Jessica to travel to England. Edward is accompanying Jessica, with Jane’s approval. King Henry is pleased that Edward is joining them in England. Jessica and Edward reach King Henry’s castle, which is large and intimidating. Jessica never imagined she would enter a castle. The castle has numerous stairs, and Jessica becomes tired climbing them. King Henry is aware of Jessica’s difficulty with stairs and permits her to use the elevator. Jessica is thankful for this gesture.

Jessica refrained from exploring the castle as she understood it would be impolite to do so. By Jessica’s request, she will be occupying Jackie’s former room during her stay. Jessica hoped to come across an old diary belonging to Jackie in the room. Fortunately, Jessica was able to uncover Jackie’s diary, which contained entries about her brother Arthur and her longing for him. Additionally, Jackie wrote about her husband Paul, expressing her deep affection for him since their childhood. Jessica found it endearing that Jackie married her childhood sweetheart, recognizing that not everyone is fortunate enough to experience such a connection.

Jessica couldn’t help but wonder if Steve and Susan would ever accept her as their sister. She knew Steve was a kind-hearted person, but she wasn’t too sure about Susan. From what she’d seen, Susan was quite rude and mean.

As Edward and Jessica stepped outside, they both took a deep breath of fresh air. The sun was shining, and a light breeze was blowing. It was a peaceful moment that Jessica was grateful for.

Suddenly, King Henry’s announcement about a party caught them both off guard. Jessica was hesitant at first, given how terrible her New Year’s had been. But the thought of spending time with her loved ones and making new memories was too good to pass up. She decided to put her reservations aside and give the party a chance.

The next day is the big party and everyone is excited to attend. As expected, the whole kingdom came to celebrate the joyous occasion. However, it was unfortunate that Princess Mary was not invited due to her ongoing feud with her stepmother and siblings. On the other hand, Elizabeth had a great time at the party and got along well with Catherine and her siblings. She even brought her boyfriend Andrew along to join in the festivities.

It was a grand affair, and King Henry even invited King James and his family to come and celebrate with them. As the night went on, King Henry spotted a boy that looked strikingly similar to him.

Without hesitation, he walked up to the boy and introduced himself, “Hello, my name is King Henry. What is your name?”

“Hello, I’m Andrew, but you can call me Andy,” Andy introduced himself. King Henry responded, “My daughter’s boyfriend is also named Andrew.”

King James joined them and said, “Ah, I see you’ve met my son, Andy.”

King Henry mentioned, “I heard that you adopted.”

King Henry noticed Andy looking at a girl and asked, “Why don’t you ask that girl to dance with you?”

Andy replied, “I don’t think so.”

King James explained, “That girl is Princess Mary, the daughter of Prince Edward and Princess Lucy. Andy doesn’t think he’s suitable for her.”

“I hope he is able to work things out,” King Henry replied.

“Where is your daughter Princess Mary?” King James asks.

“Princess Mary is still banish for disrespecting my wife and her siblings. She will be welcome back when she learns to respect my wife and her siblings,” King Henry replied. King James understood King Henry’s decision and didn’t blame him, as he knew that Princess Mary had a history of being unkind and disrespectful.