Chapter 90 - Distressing Events

The day that Harriet had been dreading finally arrived and Jeremy Wesley was taken from her and she was left with two young children. 

She was well provided for as Jeremy had been immensely wealthy. But Harriet had never married Jeremy for his money and felt his absence daily.

Naomi also lost her fiancée in the same year to a heart attack, it seemed she needed to start again and try for fourth time to be lucky in love.

Dominic was still single and spending lots of his time with family members. It was where he felt most comfortable since Spock's birth. He felt accepted by his family. He was in and out of both Einstein and Clark's houses.

Dominic also still got on well with Einstein's oldest daughter Hermoine who had now lost the pigtails, having left school and had joined the police force. 

Hermoine had a strong look of her aunt Marie Curie and Owen watched her with interest hoping she wouldn't be as wild as her aunt had been.

Whilst Merlin and Freya decided to revisit China. This time they were surprised on their visit by a thick snow fall. The landscape looked even more beautiful twinkling back at them.

Merlin had decided now was the right time to go because of some distressing events happening at home.

Merlin's older sister Evelyn had died five years ago now, leaving a widower Lance River.

Lance had been Evelyn's imaginary friend from her childhood and had always seemed devoted to her. 

Yet within a few years of her death he had started dating again and Merlin had spoken his disapproval. When Lance had decided to propose to Karie, he had also decided it was time to move house. 

He felt he couldn't bring his new wife to live in the River family street. So he sold the house that Albin had gifted Evelyn on her marriage. Both Owen and Merlin regretted the empty house just over from their own, they had hoped it would pass down to someone else in the family, but now most likely a stranger would live there.

Merlin took himself and Freya off to China to escape the move and marriage. It felt good to be there again and he set himself a task to get his visa level up to level three by performing missions for the locals.

It took sometime but he finally reached the top level visa status which meant he was now able to buy a holiday home in China. He had okayed this with Owen before he left and they bought a little place called Han's Orchard overlooking the town.

Merlin and Freya had been accepted in the small community and many of the locals came to visit their new home.

Merlin enjoyed the serenity of their holiday home.

He also tried his hand at martial arts again, but after a few matches he decided he was just too old to try to become Grand Master as his father had done.

They even managed to run into a familiar face in China, it seemed Harriet had decided to escape there for a week. Merlin had a lot of fun showing her the basics of martial arts.

At the weeks end Merlin was sad to have to return home, home was a place with a lot of anxiety attached to it. Both Merlin and Freya would like to see their son Dominic settled in a place of his own, but at forty Dominic showed no signs of marrying and settling down. Plus Owen and Martha had just gone through another unsuccessful IVF attempt and Merlin was starting to wonder who would inherit the River family leadership after Owen as it was looking more and more unlikely he would produce an heir.