1. A Letter from Henri Colinsfirth
LE MEURICE,
PARIS, FRANCE,
23rd of February 1912.
My dearest Sierra,
This letter comes hoping I am there with you as it leaves me at present; will you please enlighten me and tell me how you are feeling as of late? Most of my days, dear, I worry about you. Forgive this inescapable thought of mine. I must admit how regretful I am for being here, fulfilling my duty, my dear.
The reason I am writing is that it is the first month of our beloved Daniel’s passing, and ’tis heartbreaking, for I am not by your side. If only I could be there with you, I would be granting every whim and wish you might require. I am your humble servant for ever.
However, let us not be melancholy. Your father would never desire it for us. I know, for sure, that he’d love to see your bright smile when you remember him through the photographs, letters, and memories he had shared with us rather than bring a frown upon your face. He would never want to see you sad, am I correct?
Your last letter was much appreciated, for I sincerely longed for you as well. I could feel your pain emanating from the ink to my heart, and I wished I could make you smile and laugh, just as always. I yearned for the sound of your voice, Sierra.
Work is tiring; nevertheless, thinking of you shines a smile on my face. Counting the days to see you again makes me jump in joy! And your drawing is remarkable. Are you sure you have not traced one of our photographs? I am impressed!
If you were here, beyond doubt, you would already be in the Louvre, mesmerised by the art, or promenading along the Seine, wondering about the history of each bridge, or dragging me to the Eiffel Tower and watching the city grow smaller as we headed to the top.
It would be like the last time we were all here during the holiday. I could still picture you holding your lacy umbrella, laughing with Daniel as one of the street performers let you pet the dancing monkey. Oh, it was such a delightful sight, my dear. I might not have had a camera with me that day, but it would always be in my mind, painted in such beautiful colours. It was a good day.
I received Celeste’s letter last week and an enclosed ticket to travel by cruise liner to New York in April, too. What a thrill to be journeying with you again; I cannot wait to see you. Yes, my dear, it has only been a few weeks, but I am thrilled to meet you. Keep thinking of me as I think of you! Please send my regards to Sadie and Jane.
With all my love,
Henri Colinsfirth
PS. My dearest Sierra, I hope you and Jane are not tormenting Sadie with your scathingly brilliant and mischievous ideas!
You're a very talented at writing historical drama. Are you certain you weren't alive in 1912, because I'm starting to wonder if you've been reincarnated from that time period, lol. 😆 I adore the part of Henri's letter where he mentions Sierra's lacy umbrella she had in Paris- the imagery was delightful. This chapter was so good, and I'm just so excited for them to board that cruise liner to New York.
I have been fascinated by the Titanic since I was a child, so I'm very excited to judge this for the GEA! So far this is beautiful and I LOVE the cover.
Hello! I stumbled upon your story today and really enjoyed it. The emotional moments felt natural and easy to connect with. Wishing you all the best with your writing I’ll definitely be following along.