The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 487: The answer (3)

"You are back earlier than we were expecting you. Did something go wrong?" Thelma asked, looking down at Lydia holding Rafael’s hand. She thought it was good that they weren’t called for during the night to come to help with Lydia.

"No, we went for a quick trip to the market and then thought of stopping here for a moment. Is it possible to get the answer now? There has been a question about staying," Annalise said, pointing down to Lydia.

She was just as curious as Lydia to know the answer.

"Impatient, aren’t we? The guard has already sent a note that there was nothing suspicious during the night from what he heard. Lydia, I want to have a little talk with you. Do you mind?" Thelma asked, holding out her hand for Lydia to come to her.

Thelma’s mind was made up during the night and all that was left was knowing if Lydia felt comfortable with the couple.

Lydia let go of Rafael’s hand and accepted Thelma’s. She wanted to talk about staying where she was now. "Are you staying?" She asked Annalise, not wanting them to suddenly disappear while she was speaking to Thelma. They should come with her so she could watch them.

"We are not leaving yet. We’ll go see if the other children like the gifts we sent. You can go with Thelma and we’ll be right here when you return," Rafael said, urging her to go. In the meantime, he could try fixing what needed to be repaired.

"Okay," Lydia replied, walking with Thelma because she trusted that Rafael wouldn’t leave.

She followed Thelma to the room she was taken to when told that she would be going to play with Annalise and Rafael.

"You can sit here," Thelma said, pointing to the empty chair. She was not strong enough to lift Lydia now that Lydia was getting taller. She’d spend the rest of the day with a great pain in her back if she did.

Lydia sat down on the chair and then waited for Thelma to sit on the chair beside her. "I want to stay with Annalise and Rafael."

Thelma’s eyes widened, surprised that Lydia knew what they were going to speak about. "Did anyone tell you to say that?"

"No," Lydia shook her head. "I want to stay with them. Sometimes, children don’t get to play again. I want to stay to play."

"I see. I take it that you enjoyed staying with Annalise and Rafael. Did they treat you well?" Thelma asked.

"Yes. They played with me. Annalise bathes and helps me put on my dress. They gave me this," Lydia said, looking down at the pink dress she wore. It was pretty and she didn’t want to get it dirty. "And I helped Rafael in the kitchen when Annalise was tired."

"That sounds like a lot of fun. What do you think of becoming their daughter? Would you like for them to be your mother and father?" Thelma asked, noticing the change with Lydia now that this was brought up.

"Family?" Lydia muttered. She thought that she was there to play with them. "Can I?"

"You can," Thelma replied, nodding her head. "If you want and feel safe with them, you can leave and join their family. I know that this is a lot to bring upon you because the only home you have ever known is the orphanage. I will allow you to leave with them if it is what you want."

"If you are uncertain, tell me and I will hold off until you are ready. You do not-"

"I want to join their... family," Lydia said, the word feeling unfamiliar to her. She never thought she would get a family outside of the orphanage. Like the families without caretakers and many children. "I want to go with them."

Thelma smiled, filled with excitement like she always was when one of her children was going to be adopted. "Are you certain?" She had to ask again in case Lydia would change her mind.

Lydia nodded her head. "I want to go. Can I go now?"

"Slow down," Thelma chuckled, placing her hand in front of Lydia to stop her from getting down from the chair. "There are papers that need to be filled out first and I must call the two here. You will be able to leave with them again, but we will need time to gather the rest of your things."

"I have always hoped that you would find a family you can be comfortable around to speak and act like yourself," Thelma said, her eyes filling with water as it came time to let another one of her children go. She loved them as if she were their mother, but she had to let them go. "I hope that you will be happy wherever you go. I mustn’t be the one crying," she said, wiping her eyes.

"I will come visit," Lydia promised.

"I look forward to your visits," Thelma smiled. She looked forward to seeing the changes in Lydia each time she came for a visit. "Excuse me. We need to get Annalise and Rafael to tell them that the decision has been made. They now have a wonderful daughter. It might be strange at first, but one day you should try referring to them as mother and father."

Lydia didn’t respond as she was still shocked that she had gained a mother and a father overnight. They were not just friends who played with each other. They would be family. She swung her feet back and forth, excited for Annalise to know that she was now her daughter.

"You can wait here. They shouldn’t have gone far for you to be alone for long. Let me see," Thelma said, getting to her feet to go to the open door. "Rafael! Oh, Annalise. At least one of you has not gone far," Thelma said, looking at Annalise now surrounded by children. "I’ve made up my mind and I need to speak to you. Where is Rafael?"

"He said he was going to look around at what needed to be fixed. I think he is...excuse me, children," Annalise said, looking down at the children blocking her path. "I will come back to play right after I find Rafael."

"What do you need?" Rafael asked, returning with a hammer and a few nails in his hands.

"Thelma is ready to speak with us so you will need to put down your hammer for now," Annalise said as she carefully made her way out from the group of children.

Annalise walked toward Thelma and from the smile Thelma could not stop fighting to hide, she knew that there was good news. She entered the room and found Lydia also smiling.

"No children allowed," Thelma said, stopping the children trying to sneak in behind Rafael. "You are to go finish reading," she added, closing the door so the children wanting to play could not interrupt them. "I apologise. Each time they get guests they think it is time to play."

"I have spoken to Lydia like I told you that I would and she was quite eager to tell me that she wants to stay with you. I thought about my decision overnight and seeing how much she blends in with the two of you, I have no reason to tell you no. You may adopt her," Thelma said, delivering the good news.

She immediately started looking around for the papers to make it official.

"There are a few papers you need to sign and keep to show that she is now in your care. Once the signed papers are sent to the court, she will be known as Lydia Callahan. She must take after Rafael’s name as it is a law we must follow for couples."