"When two people fall in love, all they can think about is how to build a perfect world around them" – Unknown

Two days later…

"You're what?" asked Hannah shocked.

Lilian smiled, and showed her best friend her left hand. The silver diamond ring Newkirk gave her was sparkling in the light, and Hannah reached out to take hold of Lilian's hand.

"I can't believe it" She looked up from her friend's hand. "You're getting married!"

Lilian leaned back against her desk. "I'm every bit as surprised as you are. Never thought Peter was already thinking about marriage"

"I'm really happy for you, Lilian," Hannah declared. "You definitely seem much happier since you're with Peter"

" I am. He is the man of my dreams; and I'm head over heels in love," she fancied. "And I hope you do me the honour and be my Maid of Honour"

" Of course I'll do it! After all, I'm your best friend and the person who talked you into talking with him in the first place"

Lilian started beaming, and the two friends hugged each other.

Hannah sat back, and began to bombard Lilian with questions. "Where did he propose? And when? What did he say? And how did you react? I want to know everything!"

Lilian went on to tell Hannah every detail of Newkirk's proposal, and when she was finished, Hannah said, "He sure knows how to make things romantic" She paused. "Did he really bowed when the people applauded?"

Lilian nodded. "And I was totally embarrassed! But that's just who he is. Always likes to be the centre of attention"

"Well, you know what they say. Opposites attract"

"Talking about opposites," Lilian alluded. "How are things with Colin?"

Hannah and Colin were now officially a couple for two weeks, but it had been obvious to all their friends that they were dating each other secretly for a much longer time. The two lovebirds tried to hide their relationship until they were sure about where things would go, but the way Hannah and Colin looked at each other was evident. Since Lilian understood how Hannah felt after John broke up with her, she played along and pretended she would not notice anything. But now they've made their relationship public, and she was finally able to talk with Hannah about Colin.

"Everything's great; much better than with John," Hannah answered lovestruck. "It's only bad that we can't see each other during the week"

Lilian moved closer to her friend and rubbed her upper arm. "Don't worry, Hannah. Everything will turn out fine. That way, you two only treasure the time you have together even more"

Hannah smiled at Lilian's remark and nodded. "Yeah, you're right with that" As Lilian started to clean the blackboard, a thought crossed Hannah's mind. "Say, will you continue working when you get married?"

"Certainly I will," answered Lilian, without turning away from the blackboard. "I've already told Peter that I don't plan to stop working because of our marriage, and he said he would never demand of me to quit my job" Then she turned around. "He knows I love to work with the children, and how important it is to me to educate them"

"I'm glad to hear that. Lunch would be incredible boring without you"

Lilian left the school about ten minutes later to meet with Newkirk and Pastor North to discuss their upcoming wedding. Since he was the vicar of his family's church, it was only natural for Newkirk to marry the girl of his dreams there, and Lilian happily agreed to it, because she didn't feel connected to her own family's church. As she reached the pastor's vicarage, she already saw Newkirk waiting for her while smoking a cigarette. That was the only thing Lilian didn't like about Newkirk; his smoking habit. But she knew it would have little use to try to talk him out of it, because of how long he is smoking and the number of cigarettes he smoked daily. He consumed at least a pack a day; since he was fourteen. And with the grumpy mood he developed when he had not had his fair share of cigarettes, Lilian wasn't sure if she even wanted Newkirk to quit smoking. After all, his mouth tasting like cigarettes every time they kissed was not all that bad; especially with his soft lips as some kind as redemption.

As Lilian approached her fiancé, Newkirk threw his cigarette to the ground and grinded it under his heel. He then came her way and embraced her, planting a kiss on Lilian's smooth lips. " 'ey, luv! 'ow was yer day?"

Still in his arms, she answered, "Boring. The only thrilling part was telling Hannah about our engagement, and asking her to be my Maid of Honour"

"I assume she said yes?"

"You assume right. Said it was only plausible because she talked me into talking with you"

"And I can't thank 'er enough for 'at," said Newkirk as he leaned in for another kiss.

This kiss was much more passionate, with Newkirk nibbling at her lower lip, prompting Lilian to open her mouth. Now her tongue brushed across his upper lip before touching his tongue, resulting in Newkirk moaning slightly.

At last they broke apart, but Newkirk didn't remove his hands from her hips. "I think we should go to Pastor North now. It's rude to let a pastor wait"

T hey left the vicarage about thirty minutes later, happy that the pastor agreed to marry them. He even offered them the parish hall for the reception, since Newkirk was one of William's sons and Pastor North still felt deeply connected to his former comrade. A date for the wedding was set too; August 16th, about a month from today. Especially Newkirk was extremely jubilant about that, because the wedding could not happen fast enough for him. If it was up to him, he would marry Lilian right now, without the nick-nack of a traditional wedding. But Newkirk knew that Lilian wanted a traditional wedding, surrounded by their family and friends, with a reception afterwards. And he would give her the wedding she always dreamt of, even if it meant to give the shirt off his back. He was determined to make this day the most beautiful day in Lilian's life, to show her that she was everything to him.

Newkirk squeezed her hand slightly, and then broke his train of thought. "What do ya think of 'at, luv? In less than one month, we're 'usband and wife"

"It sounds wonderful" Lilian smiled. "But I'm surely glad we decided to meet with your sister and her husband today. That should leave them enough time for the dress and the suit, without having to let the daily business slide" She tucked her arm into Newkirk's and added, "I think it's utterly nice of your sister to make my dress and your suit for free"

"Well, luv, ya need to know one thin'. We Newkirk siblings, we always 'elp and support each other. No matter 'ow grim it looks, no one is left behind"

"So, Lilian, any idea 'ow the dress should look like?" Emma asked while taking last measures. "Any must-'aves?"

"Not really," Lilian admitted. "To be honest, I'm rather clueless"

"Don't worry! I 'ave already a few things on me mind" Emma motioned her over to a nearby table. She took a pen and started drawing a sketch. "Ya 'ave a slim and fragile-lookin' figure. I would rather emphasise yer figure with a formfittin' bodice that 'as a fluent passage into the skirt than a Cinderella type of dress. Ya would get lost in so much fabric," chuckled Emma. "Do ya like lace?"

Lilian sat down beside her future sister-in-law and nodded. "I do, very much"

"Then I would suggest we embellish the bodice with lace, endin' at the waistline. I mean, we could garnish the whole dress if ya want, but I think then it's too much and the lace loses its impact. What do ya think?"

"I prefer to embellish just the bodice too"

The two women went on to discuss multiple options for Lilian's dress, until they heard Jack, Emma's husband, and Newkirk approaching the backroom. Emma swiftly put away the sketches, so that the two men were not able to even catch a glimpse. After all, it's said to bring bad luck when the man sees the dress before the wedding; and Emma didn't want to risk anything. She was far too happy that her brother finally decided to settle down; with a wonderful girl on top of that. She really liked Lilian, even though she was slightly sceptical before they first met. She had feared that Lilian maybe wouldn't be able to adjust to living in the lower class, and that Newkirk would only get his heart broken in the end. But Emma's fears vanished after she first met her, when she got to know what a terrific human being Lilian was.

Now she looked forward witnessing how her bon viveur of brother entered into the bond of marriage and becoming an ordinary family man.

A/N: I know it's a short chapter, and I'm sorry for that. And I realize you guys had to wait a long time for the update, and probably expected more. But in between learning for my final exams and doing homework and learning for my regular exams, I find myself in the middle of a writer's block. However, I thought it's best to update a chapter I'm not completely satisfied with than having this nagging feeling that I let you wait.