Chapter 1: And So, our Story Begins
"Help! Help me! Please, someone, help me!" a young boy cried out. Elizabeth climbed up over the rocks and splashed through the waves as they came rolling in. She knew this cove very well; the rocks were slippery, and the sand had a way of sinking right beneath your feet. It was not a place to come and play unless you knew what to expect.
"Are you all right?!" she called out to the boy as she came up to him.
"No! My foot has slipped under a rather large rock, and I can't free it on my own, please get someone to help me!" he cried out, his voice filled with panic. "Hurry!"
"There's no time for that. This whole cove will be filled with sea water in just a few minutes, its high tide," Elizabeth told him as she began trying to free his foot.
"I'm going to drown!" the little boy cried as tears streamed down his face. "My mother and father will be so upset with me!"
"You're not going to drown. I'm going to rescue you," Elizabeth assured him.
"You can't rescue me; you're a little girl. Little girls don't rescue boys; boys rescue little girls, it's in all the fairy tales that way," he told her as the waves crashed in on them.
"Either I save your life or else you're gonna drown because the water level is rising fast," Elizabeth warned him as she pointed down towards the water.
"Fine then, since we have no other choice," he told her in an exasperated voice. "What are we going to do, I can't get my foot out. I've tried pulling, and it only sinks deeper."
"I'm going to dig the sand away from the sides of the rock while you pull your foot up really hard. When you feel me tap your leg start pulling until your foot is free," Elizabeth told him. The boy nodded his head in agreement as she plunged herself down beneath the surface of the water. She tapped his leg, then began to dig around the rock to move it. The little boy pulled with all his strength as she dug the sand free from the sides of the rock. After a few moments, he could feel the rock give, and his foot was free. Elizabeth came up, sputtering and gasping for air. She looked out towards the sea and knew that they only had a few minutes left as the waves were now coming in faster. "Can you walk on your ankle?" Elizabeth asked. She could see he had several small cuts and scrapes, and he was already bruising.
"I think so, you lead the way," he told her.
Elizabeth grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her. She guided them both along the way through knee-deep ocean water around the large cliff and out of the cove. The two small children hurried up the beach and out of the water's reach as high tide came rushing in. Breathing heavily the boy looked into her eyes. "Thank you for helping me back there; you saved my life."
"I told you a girl could do it, even a little girl like me," she said as she folded her arms across her chest and arched her brow.
"I see that now," he admitted. "I'm very glad you were there to help."
Elizabeth smiled as she took his hand again and pulled him along with her to the porch. "Well I had to come and help you, my dad has always taught me to be mindful of helping others," she explained. "My name is Beth, what's yours?" she said as she sat down on the steps.
"Fitz," he said as he sat down next to her.
"Do you live around here, Fitz? I haven't seen you before," she asked.
"No, I don't live around here," he paused for a moment trying to think of what to say. His mother always warned him about giving out too much information to strangers. "I was just visiting with my family, and I kind of slipped off by myself. I wanted to go exploring."
"Oh, well you really should be careful about exploring places you don't know. It can be rather dangerous," Elizabeth warned him.
"Yes, I guess so. The cove looked like a place where pirates might bury their treasure, so I wanted to investigate," Fitz said to her. "This part of the beach looks so much more interesting than where I'm staying."
"I think this is the loveliest place in all the world," Elizabeth told him. "You're right, pirates did bury their treasures in the caves at the top of the cove, but we must be mindful of the dangers that lay waiting for us. Pirates are notorious for laying traps. Even if you had made it all the way up into the cave, you probably would have been killed by one of the many traps set by the pirate captain. You already fell victim to the first trap, the pirate's curse."
"What is the pirate's curse?" he asked her.
"It's the curse the pirate captain put over the entire cove," she explained. There is a curse to keep people from trying to find his treasure. The pirate captain placed a curse on the waters that flow into the cove. Anyone who dares go in will find themselves trapped by 'sinking sands' and 'sneaking waves.'
"What is that?" Fitz asked her.
"That's what happened to you today," she explained further. "The sands give way right beneath your feet, and then the waves sneak up, and before you know it, you've drowned."
Fitz's eyes opened wide as he swallowed hard. His heart began beating just a little faster when he realized how close he came to becoming a victim of the curse. He took in a deep breath and looked at Beth. "But you could save me, so how come the curse didn't get you."
"Because I'm a direct descendant to the pirate captain, and the curse has no effect on me," she said. She looked at him intently and narrowed her eyes. "But you don't have any protection; you were completely unprotected. Why if I didn't come along you would have drowned," she told him with all confidence. "And if you didn't drown, I'm sure you would have been hit by a flying spear or fallen into a bottomless pit once you got to the caves," she warned him.
Fitz listened to her every word, fascinated by her tale. "Or maybe crushed by a large boulder?"
"Exactly right," she said. "My father has warned me several times not to go into this cove unless he is with me, and I'm a very excellent swimmer," she paused for a moment, then asked him. Are you an excellent swimmer, Fitz?"
"Not really, I can swim, but mostly in swimming pools," he admitted.
"Well, that's ok, as long as you know how to swim. My dad says, if you don't know how to swim, you don't go near the water," Elizabeth told him.
"That seems like very good advice," Fitz agreed.
"My dad is a very clever man, he knows lots of things, because he's always reading books," she picked up her sandwich, then asked him. "Are you hungry, would you like some of my lunch?" she offered as she broke the sandwich in two pieces and held it out to him. "It's ham and cheese."
Fitz sat down next to her and took a bite of the sandwich. "That's really good."
"Thank you, I made it myself," she told him. "I used Cheddar cheese and mustard. I used the brown mustard, not that yellow stuff. I hate the yellow stuff."
"Well, it's really good. I like it very much," Fitz complimented her again.
"So where do you live?" she asked him as she gave him some fruit from her plate.
He took a small bunch of grapes from her and smiled. "I live in the city, but my family has come for a visit, and we are staying in a rather large house not far from here."
"You must be staying at Netherfield Manor," she told him. "It's just down the way from us. It's the largest mansion in all of Meryton, my house is the second largest, or so my mum says."
"Yes, I think that is what my father called the place we are staying, Netherfield Manor," he commented.
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed as she became very serious. "You must remember to be careful in that house, especially when the sun goes down," she told him.
"Why?" he asked as he took another bite of his sandwich.
"Because there is a ghost that lives in that house," she told him
Fitz swallowed as his eyes opened wider. "Are there really ghosts?"
"Yes, of course, there's a ghost, all old houses have a ghost, silly. I'm pretty sure it's a requirement," Elizabeth lectured him. "The ghost in that house is named Isabella, and she's very sad and lonely. At night, she walks up and down the hallways on the top floor crying out for her lost love." She leaned over towards him and whispered, "She was separated from her love by her very mean mother, her mother's ghost is there too. She keeps Isabella locked away and won't let her be reunited with her true love."
"Why won't her mother let her be with her true love?" Fitz asked.
"Because Isabella fell in love with a pirate named Captain Benedict, but her mother thought he was too poor. She wanted Isabella to marry someone who was rich and had lots of money," she told him.
"Is that why Captain Benedict stole all the gold and treasure, so he could win Isabella and prove to her mean mother that he was worthy of her?" he asked.
"Of course," she said. "Captain Benedict loved Isabella very much, and they wanted to be together, so when her mother came demanding she marry the wicked Lord Nevil, Isabella refused. Her mother was angry, and she planned to force Isabella to marry Lord Nevil no matter what. The night before the wedding Isabella ran away from home. She came here to the top of the cove and stood very near the edge of the cliff waiting for some sign that her pirate captain was coming to take her away. As Isabella waited, her mean mother came and found her. She took her back to Netherfield Manor where she locked poor Isabella away in her room until she would consent to marry the wealthy Lord Nevil."
"What happened after that?" Fitz asked. "Did Isabella get rescued by the pirate captain?"
"No," she said sadly. "That is why she's so sad and haunts the hallways of Netherfield to this day. Her mother kept her locked away in her room, while Lord Nevil sent an attack ship after Captain Benedict. It wasn't long before news came that Captain Benedict's ship was destroyed along with Lord Nevil's ship. Both were lost at sea when a huge storm came up as they did battle. Isabella was so sad, knowing she could never love another, she died a few days later of a broken heart."
"That's very sad," Fitz said as he took the last bite of his half of the sandwich.
"Yes, it's very sad," she agreed. "But one day, very soon someone will help poor Isabella, they will find the key that her mother hid away somewhere in the house and then she will be set free from her imprisonment. She will finally be reunited with her one true love, Captain Benedict. On that day Isabella's ghost will come to the top of the cliff, and she will wait for her captain to come and when he does they will sail away and be together forever."
"Perhaps if someone vanquishes her mother's ghost, then Isabella can finally be free to be with the pirate captain," Fitz said.
Elizabeth's eyes opened wide as an idea came to her. "You must do it!" she told him her voice filled with excitement. "You must go and find the key. And when you do, you must be very careful to wait until exactly midnight then go to the bedroom on the very top floor and use it to unlock the hidden room where Isabella is locked away. Once Isabella is free, you must lure her mother's ghost inside and lock her away forever!"
"How can I lure her mother's ghost into the room?" he asked her.
Elizabeth thought for a moment. "She loves money; maybe you could use some money to lure her inside."
Fitz smiled, he knew exactly what to do. "I will set a trap using my allowance."
"That will work," Elizabeth said as she looked at him intently. "You promise me you really and truly will try to rescue poor Isabella?"
Fitz swallowed hard. He felt like he was accepting a noble quest even though he knew it was all just a made-up story he didn't want to let her down. He looked into her eyes and smiled, "I promise you, Beth, I will try."
Elizabeth could see he was sincere. "I know you will try; I can see it in your eyes that you are a good person."
Fitz laughed, he had never met anyone quite like her before. "You are a different sort of little girl," he told her in a very sweet kind of way.
Elizabeth smiled and said, "I know."
Fitz looked down the front of the porch and out towards the water. "Do you like living here?"
"I do like it very much. I don't really like the city. It's so loud and has too many people. Here I can play on the beach or go hiking in the forest up behind our house whenever I like," Elizabeth said.
"It's very quiet here, and your beach is very nice. The city can be loud at times, but where I live isn't so bad. My father brought us here for a vacation for my mother. She has not been feeling very well, so my father thought by bringing her here she might feel better," he explained.
"Well, I sure do hope it will work, and she feels better very soon." Elizabeth hesitated a moment trying to guess his age. He was a tall, rather skinny boy with curly brown hair. "How old are you?" she asked as she handed him a bottle of water.
Fitz took a large sip from the bottle then wiped his mouth. "I'm seven years old."
Elizabeth smiled, "I'm five, but I turn six very soon," she said to him. She stopped and looked off in the other direction. "Do you hear that? It sounds as if someone is calling for..." she paused for a moment trying to listen.
Fitz heard a familiar voice calling out his name. He handed her the water bottle, "I have to go." He told her as he jumped up to leave. "You have been very nice to me. I rather like you," he said as he looked down the beach and saw two well-dressed men coming in his direction.
Elizabeth was just about to say goodbye when he turned back towards her, reached out and pulled her towards him. "You have the most beautiful brown eyes, and I shall never forget you, Beth. Thank you for saving my life," he whispered before leaning down and giving her a soft little kiss on the lips. "Goodbye!" he called out as he ran off.
Elizabeth smiled, she reached up and gently brushed her lips with her fingertips. She let out a small sigh as she watched him run off down the beach towards the two men. "Goodbye," she called out after him waving her hand in the air. She watched as he walked along the beach until he was out of sight, then she turned and cleaned up her lunch things. He really was a rather nice boy; she thought to herself as she went inside. It was getting late, Jane would return home soon, and she would tell her all about what happened.
"Your Highness, you ought not to run off like that," the older man told the little boy as he came running up to him.
"I'm sorry Mr. Robins. I didn't think to go so far or be gone so long. I just wanted to have an adventure," he said as he hung his head down towards the ground. "Were my mother and father very worried about me?"
Mr. Robins put his hand on the young boy's shoulder. "No, Prince Darcy, I didn't tell them of the situation. I knew you wouldn't have gone far," he told him as they walked back down the beach. Mr. Robins saw the disappointed look on the young prince's face and smiled. "All right then, tell me all about it. Did you have a grand adventure exploring the beach?"
Prince Darcy looked up and smiled. "I did actually, yes. I met a very nice little girl, and she saved my life," he told him without going into any of the details. "She was a very odd little girl, but I found that I liked her very much."
Mr. Robins smiled. "It's always nice to make a new friend, isn't it Your Highness?"
"Yes, I think so," the prince told him, then asked. "Has my cousin Richard arrived yet? I have so much I want to tell him."
"Yes, he has Your Highness," the other man told him. "Master Richard and his father arrived not long ago."
"Thank you, Mr. Robins, for keeping my secret and not telling Mother and Father. I promise to behave better from now on," he called out as he ran off towards the house.
Mr. Robins took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "Do me a favor, Tom, and assign two extra security details to the prince and his cousin. When those two boys get together, they can be a handful."
"Right away sir," he told him.
Prince Darcy ran into the house and greeted his cousin. "Richard, I'm so glad you're finally here! I've so much to tell you."
"What should we do first?" his cousin asked him.
"Come with me; we have a mission. We must find an old key and vanquish a ghost! I will tell you all about it," Darcy said as the two of them ran off together.
"Be careful Darcy, take care not to be too much trouble for the staff," King George called out after his son. He turned to his brother-in-law. "John I'm glad to see you were finally able to rip yourself away from the office long enough to come on vacation for a few days. I think Darcy was getting rather bored without Richard here to keep him company."
"I almost didn't think we would make it with the way Louis kept going on. You would think he would give up on the idea of changing the current preservation laws after you spoke so eloquently to Parliament yesterday, but instead, he took to the floor and began all over again this morning trying to convince those who haven't committed yet to vote his way," John said to him.
"He doesn't have the votes to sway things his way," King George said.
"He knows that, but he has a lot of money invested in this project, and I don't think he is about to give up anytime soon," John reminded him. "Even Catherine is pushing the issue with Abigail now."
"Catherine has tried to speak with Anne as well," he told him. "Lady Catherine is no better than her husband. For all her talk of caring for the poor, and the people of this country she sees dollar signs in this venture and nothing more."
"How do you want to handle things going forward?" John asked.
"For now, let's just leave it, we are on vacation. I want this time together to be special for Anne." King George said as he looked down at his wife. "It's been such a difficult year for her. I just want her to have this time without anything ruining it."
John walked over to the window and stood near the king. He looked out towards the pool area and saw his sister Anne, and the boys playing. He could still see how exhausted she looked. She was still pale, but he thought he detected some small improvement. "How is she doing?"
"Better," George said to him. "I believe coming here has helped her relax, and I think it's good for her being away from the city. She's enjoying her time with the baby and Darcy."
"You know Lady Catherine was upset that you didn't come to visit her at Rosings as she is accustomed to having you do," John said.
"John, you know as well as I do that your sister would never have allowed Anne the kind of rest she needs. Besides, we both know Louis would just have used the opportunity to try to further persuade us both to back his plan, and I'm not going to do it," he said. "I wanted Anne to have this time to get stronger and feel better. The doctors say she is improving. I want her to get her strength back. I want this to be a real family vacation, not a working one."
"I know, and if it's any consolation I think you made the right choice," John said.
It was nearly six o'clock when Elizabeth heard her mother calling her name. She rolled her eyes and sighed as went inside to join her family for dinner. Her father was there along with her sisters. As she walked over and sat down at the table her youngest sister, Lydia began fussing in her bassinet. Mrs. Bennet hurried over to pick her up. "Hush now my little angel," she cuddled the little girl.
"Really Fanny, if you don't take a firmer hand with her she will be spoiled by you always picking her up at every little sound she makes. Let her fuss a little; it will do her some good," Mr. Bennet told his wife.
Mrs. Bennet cuddled her daughter close. "Someone has to keep her quiet. My nerves can't take the crying all the time. I do think she has colic or something. You know I could enjoy my meal and eat in peace if you would allow me to hire a nanny."
"I have told you, Fanny, we can't afford to hire a nanny. You already have a full-time cook and housekeeper. I think you can manage to at least take care of the children," he said sarcastically. "It's not as if you do very much throughout the day."
Mrs. Bennet shook her head in frustration as Lydia continued to fuss. "Jane, you and Lizzy help with getting Mary and Kitty to bed after dinner so that I can take care of the baby."
Elizabeth looked over at Jane and rolled her eyes. "Yes Mother," they both replied at the same time.
Several minutes had passed before Mrs. Bennet had finally gotten Lydia to sleep. She turned her attention to her other daughters. "Lizzy, you should have come with us today. We had such a wonderful time shopping in the city, and I bought everyone new outfits."
Elizabeth looked over at her father and smiled. "But I had a very good day here, with Dad," she told her mother.
Mrs. Bennet cleared her throat just a little. "Did you now?" she asked skeptically. "Then tell me what did you do while I was away?"
Elizabeth chewed her bottom lip then said, "Well, we worked in the gardens in the morning, and then we spent some time fishing."
"Is that all you did today?" Mrs. Bennet asked.
Elizabeth furrowed her brow as she thought about what to say next. "Oh yes, there was one more thing, when Father went over his business accounts, I made my own sandwich for lunch."
"Why didn't Hill make your lunch for you?" her mother wanted to know.
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed, her mother sounded irritated with her, but she wasn't sure why that would be. "Because Mother, Hill was very busy, and I wanted to make it for myself."
"That may very well be, but your father pays Hill to cook food for the family, so you won't have to make lunch for yourself," she reminded Elizabeth.
"But I like making my own sandwiches," Elizabeth said. "Really, I don't mind doing it."
Fanny rolled her eyes and scolded her. "I don't care if you like making sandwiches, that's not the point. The point is it's Hill's job to make your lunch, and in the future, you will leave the cooking to her."
Mr. Bennet sighed. "Fanny it was just a sandwich and some fruit. Lizzy was very proud of herself for being able to help out."
Mrs. Bennet looked down the table at her husband. She pursed her lips disapprovingly. "I realize that it was just a sandwich, but really we have servants for a reason. I don't want my girls having to spend all their time cooking and cleaning when they have servants for that. Both Lizzy and Jane spend far too much time in the kitchen as it is," she said as she took another sip of her wine.
Mr. Bennet leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "You make too much of it Fanny."
Mrs. Bennet ignored his comment and asked Elizabeth. "What else did you do today while I was away and your father was going over his accounts?"
She thought about telling her mother and father about the adventure she had with the little boy but decided against it. "Nothing in particular. I ate my lunch and then when Father returned we went fishing for a while longer. Then you came home, and Jane and I went for a swim, then we played in the sand."
Mrs. Bennet's eyes narrowed, "Milly said that she saw you near the water with a little boy? Is that true? Were you swimming with some strange little boy today?"
Elizabeth swallowed, "I did go swimming before father returned home, but there was no one swimming with me."
Mrs. Bennet shook her head and scolded her daughter. "Elizabeth, you know very well I don't like you going swimming when no one is with you."
"But I followed all the rules, and didn't go out to deep," she said. "Besides both Milly and Hill were here."
Mr. Bennet reached over and gently squeezed his daughter's hand. "Fanny, Elizabeth is an excellent swimmer, she knows the rules, and she knows well enough to stay close to shore. She has a proper respect for the water; she's very careful."
Mrs. Bennet became irritated, "Next time I go to town for the day I think both Jane and Elizabeth will come with me," she announced. "I don't like having my daughter making her own lunches or working in the gardens."
"But I don't like going into the city…" Elizabeth protested.
Mrs. Bennet shrugged her shoulders. "Well I don't like hearing from the servants that you are playing near the water with strange little boys that I have not approved of," she told Elizabeth just as Lydia began crying again. "Now see what you have done Miss Lizzy, your little sister could sense how upset you have made me and it has upset her all over again."
Mr. Bennet rolled his eyes as he watched his wife fuss over Lydia. "Jane, you and Lizzy take your sisters upstairs to play for a while before bedtime," he told them as they got up from the table. Jane took Kitty from her high chair, while Elizabeth helped Mary down and they all walked out of the dining room. Just before they reached the stairs, Elizabeth heard her father say, "So tell me, Fanny, just how much money did you spend today?"
"What does it matter, the girls needed new clothes. I will not have my girls dressed in old rags!" Elizabeth could hear her mother saying as she climbed up the stairs.
Later that evening after everyone had gone to bed Elizabeth slipped down the hall to her older sister's bedroom. She tapped lightly on the door and then went inside. "Jane, I have the most exciting news I must tell you all about it," she hurried over to her sister's bed and climbed under the covers.
Jane smiled as she moved over to make room for her younger sister. "I knew you had a secret at dinner when mother kept nagging you about how you spent your day," she said. "Tell me what happened today Lizzy. Did you meet a new little boy, as Milly said?"
Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest in protest. "Jane, you're supposed to call me Beth, remember I'm trying the name out to see if I like it better than Lizzy. We agreed you would call me Beth."
Jane tried not to laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot," she said. "Well then, tell me, Beth, did you meet a new little boy today?"
"Yes, I did," Elizabeth said. "Oh Jane, it was so strange, while I was sitting on the porch eating my sandwich, the craziest thing happened."
Jane's eyes opened wider. "What happened?" she asked impatiently.
"Well as I was sitting there on the porch I heard loud screams coming from near the water," she said to her trying to make the story sound as exciting as possible. "At first, I didn't see anyone, but then I heard it again, 'Help! Help!'"
Jane's eye's opened wider still. "Oh my goodness! What was happening?!"
Elizabeth leaned in closer and told her the whole story about how she saved the little boy's life. She told her every detail including the kiss they shared. "And then just before he ran away he leaned over and kissed me ever so softly," Elizabeth whispered pointing to her lips. "Just like in the movie that Milly let us watch with her."
"Oh, Lizzy...I mean Beth, you got your first kiss before I did," she told her.
Elizabeth smiled. "And it was from an older boy," she said rather proudly. "He was seven years old."
Jane wrapped her arm around her little sister. "I think it was very brave of you to run out into the cove like that. Dad is right you are an amazing swimmer. You are so much better than I am," she said. "But you shouldn't have lied to Mum."
Elizabeth chewed her bottom lip, "Well when you really think about it; I didn't lie to her. She asked me if I went swimming with some strange little boy and I didn't. I shared my lunch with him, I rescued him from drowning, and we talked for a bit, but I didn't swim with him, so it wasn't really a lie."
Jane gave her a disapproving look. "You know that is still the same as lying," she scolded her.
Elizabeth sighed heavily as she lowered her gaze. "All right yes, I know I should have told the whole truth about the boy being there with me, but I don't want Mum to know of my adventure. She will only lecture me for eating my lunch outside and then she will say that what I did was much too dangerous a thing for such a little girl to be doing," she whispered. "I just want to remember today exactly as it was, perfect and happy from beginning to end."
Jane smiled, "I will keep your secret, but you must tell me, who was this boy and what did he look like?"
Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. "He was very nice; he had curly brown hair with brown eyes. He was tall and rather skinny and somewhat awkward, but I liked him. He didn't tease me, and he wasn't mean like the Wilson boys from school."
"Does he live around here, maybe you and he will be friends?" Jane asked.
Elizabeth shook her head no, "I don't think so, he said he was just visiting and that he lives in the city."
"You know Lizzy, one day you might just meet him again," she said.
Elizabeth's eyes opened wider as she thought about the possibility. "Do you really think so Jane?"
"I do," she assured her.
Elizabeth was puzzled by her sister's confidence. "Why do you think so?" she asked. "Why do you think I will see him again someday?"
Jane smiled, "Because of that movie that Milly let us watch. Remember how in the end Milly said that it was their fate to be together, and that destiny always plays apart when matters of the heart are concerned."
Elizabeth thought for a moment then said. "Yeah, I remember that movie now. So someday, way into the future I will see the awkward boy with the curly hair and soft lips, and we will find true love and live happily ever after. Like in a fairytale story."
Jane laughed, "Now you are teasing me," she accused her younger sister.
Elizabeth smiled, "Maybe just a little Jane," she whispered. "But still it's a nice thought to have. The idea that someday maybe I could be happy like that," she said thinking about how unhappy her parents often seemed with one another. "In the meantime, I think it always nice to have made a new friend, even if he is a friend I shall never see again."
"Even if you do never see him again, at least we will always have each other," Jane told her.
"And Charlotte," Elizabeth reminded her.
"Yes, our dear Charlotte," Jane repeated her name as she began to drift off to sleep. "And of course, Milly is our friend too," she mumbled.
Elizabeth lay there for a time thinking about her exciting adventure with the little boy. She knew it was wrong not to tell her mother the truth about how she really spent her day, and she hoped Milly wouldn't get into any trouble for her fib, but this was one secret she didn't want to share with anyone else but Jane. This was one secret she didn't want her mother to spoil. She reached her hand up to her lips and thought again about how soft his lips felt against hers. She thought about the way her tummy fluttered for just a moment when he told her she had beautiful eyes. She took in a long deep breath then smiled as she closed her eyes and fell to sleep.