Narrator's POV:

"Mary it's time to get up." Martha walked in as Mary cracked open one of her swollen red eyes.

"I really don't want to today Martha." Mary sniffed as Martha walked closer to the bed.

"Not feeling well huh? I'll tell Mrs. Medlock that you need some rest. I'm sure she even has enough heart to leave you be. I'll bring you some warm porridge, how does that sound?" Martha smiled warmly as Mary nodded her head.

"Thank you Martha." Mary blew her nose as Martha went out the door and closed it. Mary drifted off to sleep again; time had gone by and she'd eaten her breakfast and sat up in bed reading a book. She looked out the window and saw the clouds forming a gray blanket across the afternoon sky. She closed her eyes and heard the raindrops hitting her window as she sighed.

"It's so ironic that it had to rain today." Mary continued to read her book as she suddenly heard a knock at the door.

"May I come in?" It was Dickon at the other side of the door as Mary cleared her throat.

"Yes." She recalled the events of the previous night as she tried to make herself look presentable. Dickon walked in with a black eye and a bouquet of flowers.

"Mary, I've come to beg your forgiveness. It was foolish of me to get into that fight, and I acted selfishly and . . . and-"

"I forgive you." Mary smiled meekly at him.

"You do?" Dickon was clearly shocked.

"Colin shouldn't have said or done any of that last night, but you should have had more self control. No one's perfect and I understand that, I just feel torn and last night didn't help things. The problem is that I love both of you dearly. I've never had a family or friends care for me so deeply before, I'm touched by all this but I really hate it at the same time. It's conflicting, like a part of me wants all this fighting to end but at the same time, I love spending time with both of you . . . which makes me selfish too." Mary sighed as Dickon brought her the flowers, letting her smell them as she outstretched her hand to touch his cheek.

"Your eye looks terrible." Mary frowned.

"You should see Colin; I'm surprised Mrs. Medlock let him go on that business trip with Lord Craven."

"What!?" Mary jumped out of bed, going for the door.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Mrs. Medlock is furious at you and if she finds out that you're not as sick as you say . . . well I'm sure things wouldn't go well." Dickon held onto her arm as she turned towards him and ran into his arms.

"Mary?" Dickon looked down at her, she was burying her face in his chest, he began to pet her head.
"I want to go to the garden." She said in a low murmur as Dickon nodded.

"Alright, but you'll have to change." Dickon stepped away and looked out the window, making sure not to turn around until she told him to. They managed to sneak out as Mary unlocked the door.

"Mary, I'm a little worried about you. Martha told me that Mrs. Medlock doesn't want you being able to come here, and she hates that she can't come in here."

"Then I'll have to hide the key somewhere safe." Mary took out the key and handed it to Dickon.

"You want me to keep it safe?" He was clearly confused.

"I trust you and I don't think Medlock will realize it. Will you promise to take care of my treasure?" Mary gazed at Dickon's face as he nodded, holding the key to his heart.

"I swear no one will find this key." He kissed her forehead as Mary blushed.

"You missed." Mary pointed to her lips as Dickon's eyes grew large as he neared her face and kissed her lips, gentle at first until she led him on, holding onto his neck as he deepened the kiss. They stayed together for a while until it began to grow dark.

"Goodnight Dickon." Mary kissed Dickon goodnight as he held her close.

"Goodnight Mary. I love you, my princess." Dickon's lips were over her ear as his breath touched her skin, causing her to shiver.

"Oh Dickon." She kissed his neck, feeling guilty over her feelings.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He pulled away as she nodded.

"Mrs. Medlock is taking us shopping?" Mary looked at Martha, shocked and surprised.

"Yes, I thought it was rather strange too, but she intends to buy us something." Martha beamed.

"Hmm, I suppose people do change." Mary thought about it and did want to buy a sunhat. Thus they were on their way, the carriage ride seemed to last forever until they finally arrived in a small town.

"Martha, be a dear and find Mary a lovely sunhat, and I could use some lace gloves." Mrs. Medlock smiled as Martha nodded her head and went off, Mary turned to look at Mrs. Medlock who shut the door and ordered the driver to continue on.

"Where are we going?" Mary looked across to see Mrs. Medlock smiling grimly.

"You're going to get yourself a fine education at an all girls' boarding school. By which Lord Craven will pay your way and I'll be sure to tend to that garden of yours. Now, where's that key?" Mrs. Medlock's voice was menacing, causing Mary to slightly draw back.

"I shall never tell!" Mary held her ground as Mrs. Medlock gritted her teeth.

"Well then, I suppose that garden of yours will just have to die." She said in a sharp tone as Mary grew furious.

"Dickon would never let that happen!" Suddenly Mary's eyes widened as Mrs. Medlock grinned in conquest.

"So it's with that stable boy is it?" The carriage suddenly stopped as Mrs. Medlock dragged Mary out and shoved her towards the school.

"Ah Mrs. Medlock, and this must be Mary I presume?"

"Elisa, wonderful to see you. I'm sure you are aware of our circumstances?" Mrs. Medlock handed the woman a rather large bag that jingled with each movement.

"Why of course, Mary I'm sure you'll do your very best here and will get along with the other girls. Now let's get you changed and off to bed." Elisa seemed like a kind woman, but it was clear that she had no intention of allowing Mary to explain that she was brought here against her will. Mary simply walked on, not knowing what to expect from this school, but she would soon devise a plan to escape. She had to be able to visit her garden, and she couldn't bare to be away from Dickon, Martha, Sir Colin, and Lord Craven.

"Mrs. Medlock, where's Mary?" Martha got in the carriage with a hat box and a small box with the gifts requested by her.

"She's going to the prestigious Lady Elisa's Boarding School for Girls. I presume we can keep this little secret between the two of us now can't we?" Mrs. Medlock looked at Martha with a vicious gaze as she nodded her head. Once they arrived back at the manor, Martha noticed Dickon was holding a bouquet of flowers; she felt her stomach drop as she looked away.

"I'll be heading to bed now Martha, make sure everything is put away and the house is clean before you retire. And Martha, don't forget to keep quiet." Mrs. Medlock walked towards her room as Martha began to feel herself shaking. She put everything away and began cleaning up the kitchen, only to drop one of the plates; she began to pick up the pieces as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What's this? Need some help?" Johnathan approached her as she suddenly looked up at him.

"Martha, what's wrong?" He cupped her face as she began to shake her head.

"Nothing." She continued picking up the small shards of the plate as Johnathan looked at her with concern.

"I don't suppose it has anything to do with this plate? We could go into town and buy another one before Mrs. Medlock realizes what happened." He got the broom and dust pan as he swept up the small remnants of the plate.

"No, I'm not upset about that, but-" she took out her handkerchief and began drying her eyes as he walked over toward her.

"You know you can trust me and you know I'm your friend and I can't stand to see you like this." He tried to capture her gaze as she looked at the floor and back at him, biting her bottom lip as she grabbed his hand and ran off to his room. He simply followed her quietly and waited till they were on the other side of the door.

"Mrs. Medlock took Mary and I out shopping but she wound up taking Mary to an all girls' boarding school far away from here. It took us nearly the whole the day to get there by carriage. Mrs. Medlock said I couldn't tell anyone, but I can't let this happen to my best friend and I know I should have suspected something but I convinced Mary that everything was all right." Martha began weeping as Johnathan held her in his arms.

"We'll figure this out, we'll get Mary back." His voice was soothing and his touch gentle.

"How can we do that without Mrs. Medlock knowing we're gone?" Martha squeezed him tightly as he felt a slight blush appear on his cheeks.

"Dickon, we have to tell your brother." Johnathan said in a stern tone.

"Dickon, Dickon!" Mary pulled away and took off towards home.

"That witch!" Dickon shot up out of his chair and began packing his things.

"Dickon, it will take you a while to get there, let me get you some food ready and you can leave in the morning." Martha was pleading as Dickon scoffed.

"I guess it won't do me any good to leave this late at night. But I leave before dusk tomorrow." He looked at her firmly as she nodded her head.

Before the sun rose Dickon was on his horse riding towards the love of his life. It would take nearly three days to reach his destination and be back before Mrs. Medlock realized he was missing. Meanwhile Mary was staring out her window, when suddenly a wooden ruler was smacked down on her desk.

"Miss Mary, it seems you're daydreaming again. Repeat what I just instructed to the class." Mary's teacher said in a stern tone as Mary felt her hands shaking.

"I, I wasn't paying attention." Mary knew what was to come next as she was ordered to stand at the front of the class as the stinging pain of the wooden stick as she flinched with each lashing. She often found herself thinking of Dickon, Sir Colin, Martha, Lord Craven, and her Secret Garden. As the day turned to night, she was laying in bed, thinking again how she'd escape. She knew rounds of surveillance, she had less than ten minutes to sneak out of her room via the window and making a run for the woods which were about a mile out of town.

"It has to be soon." Mary waited patiently as she heard the two monitors switching positions as she took her bag of the few things she brought with her and acquired (some food included) as she used her sheets as a rope. She ran into the woods, managing to find some cover, thankful for being able to start a fire, being sure to stay away from the school.

"What I wouldn't give for Dickon's coat or his arms around me." Mary sighed as she took out a piece of bread and took a small bite. She gathered her bag and used a small blanket she took in order to keep warm as she fell asleep, awaking the next morning to see a familiar face.

"Dickon?" Mary blinked her eyes, realizing she had been imagining things as she shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

"I hate it when my eyes play tricks on me." Mary huffed as she got up and began walking towards town, thankful to overhear a conversation from a few of the girls. She began humming to herself, until she thought that Mrs. Medlock would just send her back.

"I have to talk with Colin and my Uncle, surly they'd fire Medlock if they knew what she did to me when they're gone. But Dickon, I wonder what he's doing or if he knows where I am? Hopefully Martha was able to say something." Mary's thoughts wondered as she walked faster until she needed to rest, finding a stream where she drank water, washed her face and found some edible fruits and nuts. She continued walking, then she began to hear noises, she turned around but not seeing anyone. She turned in the direction of town and walked on, only to hear clacking becoming loud thumps as she jumped out of the way of a galloping horse.

"Watch it!" Mary shouted, hoping the rider of the horse heard her.

"I'm sorry!" The rider shouted back as she recognized the voice.

"Dickon!?" Mary shouted, turning around and beginning to run towards the rider.

"Mary?" Dickon turned his horse around and jumped off when he saw her, picking her up and spinning her around. He began kissing her passionately as she smiled.

"I'm so relieved to see you." She smiled as he began laughing.

"How did you manage to escape?" He asked as she began giggling.

"I simply went out my window when they weren't paying attention." She shrugged as he held her.

"Let's go." He held out his hand as she nodded her head, jumping on his horse as they rode on, finding some shelter for the night.

"Oh Johnathan, I wish I would have said something sooner." Martha paced back and forth as he kept his eyes on her, wishing she'd sit down.

"Martha, they'll be fine. I'm sure they'll be home soon." He tried to stand in her way as she was forced to look at his handsome face.

"I just, I just wish I was more like Mary, unafraid to say how I feel and to speak up." Martha felt her heart sink.

"You are brave; you were very brave to tell me what happened to Mary. You're very brave to deal with the situation at hand and not lose your cool. You were brave to put up with that hag Medlock." Johnathan cupped her face as her brown eyes met his blue ones.

"Martha, there's something I've been meaning to say, I just haven't been brave enough to say it. I was honestly hoping you'd figure out my feelings for you on your own, but it seems you need a little push. I don't see you as a fellow coworker, I see you as a woman, a woman I care deeply for. Martha, I'm in love with you." Johnathan felt his stomach drop as Martha silently gazed at him, searching his eyes for sincerity as he blushed, his heart beating like a loud drum as he awaited her answer.

"Oh Johnathan." She turned away blushing as she felt herself smiling.

"I can't believe someone like you would love someone like me." She said as she looked back at him.

"And why wouldn't I? You're kind, smart, beautiful, loving, and simply my perfect match." He kissed her as her face turned bright red; she sat there shocked as he chuckled softly.

"So, do you love me too?" He asked as she began nodding her head.

"I do." She felt a bit self conscious as he took her up into his arms.

"Will you marry me?" He whispered in her ear as she looked at him, stunned.

"I, I will." She nodded her head again as he kissed her more passionately as he took out a ring that had been passed onto him by his mother.

"It's a lovely ring." She smiled as he kissed her again.

"Fit for a lovely bride to be."