Disclaimer Apologies to Ian McEwan, who wrote a wonderful book, to Christopher Hampton, who wrote the script. Thank you to Joe Wright for his vision, and to Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Romola Garai and the rest of the cast for bringing Joe's vision to life.

All rights to those who own them. I claim nothing.

A "What if...?" Story. "What if Robbie made it home?

Love Never Dies

by

Ninja Elizabeth

Chapter 8: A New Start

Jack Tallis made it to the kitchen managing to avoid Paul Marshall. It was in a state of chaos, more so than usual. Betty noticed him and suddenly panicked.

"Relax, Betty," he responded calmly. "Emily asked me to check and see how things are going. She apologizes for not being a better hostess today. Paul Marshall driving you toward insanity?"

Betty let out a frustrated grunt. "That, sir, is an understatement." She replied. "Good thing Mr. Marshall's visits to my kitchen have come without a sharp object in my hand; otherwise I may have skewered him with it.

Jack chuckled. He always appreciated what Betty did in the kitchen and how she handled things. He also knew that she was only half kidding. "He doesn't know how lucky he is then." Jack snickered. He looked around. "What's for dinner?"

"Filet mignon with pommes boulangere, salade Francaise avec Poires and for an appetizer, Vichyssoise."

"What? I didn't understand any of that." Jack replied. He relied on his colleges to translate French.

Betty chuckled. "Fillet steak with a potato onion bake, French green salad with pears and an appetizer of cold potato leek soup."

"Well! Why didn't you say so? We are not French." he laughed knowing that Marshall probably used the more 'elegant' sounding French.

"That's what I said to Mr. Marshall." Betty replied. "If you ask me, it's worse than cooking a roast on a hot summer day."

"Oh? How so?" Jack asked.

"With a roast one just puts it in the oven with the fixings and vegetables and lets it cook. When it's ready, let it rest to set the juices in, then slice it for serving. Each cut of filet mignon," Betty responded over pronouncing the French, "must be prepared separately and just before it's ready to serve to ensure its hot and prepared to everyone's liking. Timing is of essence as the one with the rarest steak must be timed so it is not over cooked or cold when the well done steak is done. And one must be careful not to overcook or burn the well done steak. Let's not even talk about what's for dessert."

"Let's please!" Jack replied with excitement.

Betty shook her head and smiled. She knew Jack was asking to allow her to vent her frustration but he was also curious. Dessert was always his favorite part of any meal. "Peach and strawberry crumble."

"But I don't like crumble." Jack pouted.

"I tried to tell Mr. Marshall that when he shoved the menu in my face this morning, which I might add has been changed three times already." Betty replied. "The latest being an order to make a 'delicious chocolate desert'."

"Chocolate?" Jack perked up. "You know I love chocolate."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, sir, but the chocolate was hand delivered by Marshall Confectionary. All fifty pounds of it."

Jack made a face. "Fifty pounds? What on Earth are we going to do with fifty pounds of that awful stuff?" he asked mostly to himself. "I'm sure whatever you girls come up with it will be delicious. I'll make sure Marshall doesn't take all the credit. Which one of you is going to make dessert?"

Betty pointed over to Cecilia who was looking through Betty's recipes. She didn't think anything of it until Jack started toward her. Ever since she had called her and Grace back into the kitchen, Cecilia fit right in and volunteered to make the dessert having inherited her father's taste for sweets.

"I haven't seen you before," Jack responded. "When did I hire you?"

"I beg your pardon?" Cecilia responded. She had not been paying attention and had not noticed her father's arrival. She had been looking through Betty's various recipes for chocolate and there were quite a few of them which did not surprise her given her father's fondness for it.

"I don't recognize you." Jack replied. "You have quite a task in front of you, making a tasty dessert out of the horrible Marshall chocolate. I love chocolate."

Cecilia chuckled realizing that her father had no idea who she was. She also felt a bit hurt. Had she been away for so long that her own father did not even recognize her? "I have a few ideas, and I know what you tend to like."

That voice! He recognized it now, and could not believe it. "Little Cee! What are you doing in the kitchen?"

"Attempting to make dessert." She responded. "Actually I wanted to talk to Grace and didn't feel like waiting for her. Betty put me to work. She's a slave driver! I knew I should have stayed at the bungalow."

Jack smiled. "You share my sweet tooth and my taste for chocolate don't you? I look forward to seeing and tasting what you can come up with." he replied. "Please tell me you find Marshall chocolate as horrid as I do."

"Oh, father! You must try Marshall's simply scrumptious 'chocktail' made with his melted dark chocolate and rum!" Cecilia responded completely over exaggerating her enthusiasm.

Jack laughed. "I'll make a note to avoid that. Besides, I don't care for rum." He turned to leave.

"Um, father. Could you find the time to talk with me later?" Cecilia asked a bit tentatively.

"For you, Little Cee, anything." he replied pinching her cheek just to see her cringe. "That is if I can pry Marshall off me long enough. That obnoxious man is relentless in his pursuit to sell me stock in his company. Leon must have mentioned my sweet tooth."

Cecilia nodded. She missed hearing her father call her Little Cee. It was always Lil' Leo, Little Cee, and Little B-nee when they were younger. She was the only one he continued to call Little Cee. Everyone else got called by their full names as they grew older.

When he was gone, Betty, Grace and Cecilia looked at each other then burst out laughing. The two young girls helping out in the kitchen had no idea why and neither did the three older ladies.

A few moments later after order had been reestablished in the kitchen, Betty and crew received another visitor. This one was not as welcome as the master of the house. Grace turned away, Cecilia continued to gather information for her dessert, and Marshall could care less about the younger help, leaving Betty to deal with him.

"Hello ladies," Marshall replied with false cheerfulness, eyeing the chocolate that he had delivered. "I see my chocolate arrived safely. I trust that the three of you can come up with something truly spectacular to do with my chocolate."

Betty covered the pot of stew that she had been stirring and turned to Marshall with the wooden spoon in her hand. She looked at the spoon and cursed to herself. She then turned to Marshall with such a pleasant face that the two younger girls had to turn away or risk bursting out in laughter. "Oh we will, sir. Thank you so much for your generosity in providing the chocolate!"

"You are very welcome. It was my pleasure." Marshall replied drinking up the praise. "I'm sure this meal will be scrumptious and truly worthy of my lovely bride. And if your meal tonight comes anything close to the last meal I was served the last time I was here, Betsy, I might just share my recipe for my delicious 'chocktail' with you. If I may, I would like to prepare it tonight. I think it would make a lovely compliment to the crumble don't you think?"

If Betty was annoyed by Marshall calling her by the wrong name, she did not show it. Nor did she voice any objections to Marshall invading her kitchen. Instead she continued to put on her happy face. "Oh thank you, Mr. Marshall!" she replied. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"I do hope you show some innovation as well." Marshall replied. "Did you know chocolate is not just for dessert? Chefs in the city are using it in savory dishes as well. Please feel free to modify the menu as you see fit to include chocolate."

With that, Marshall left the kitchen, stating that he had business to attend to.

Cecilia sighed. She was sure his 'business' was hounding her father to invest in his company.

Betty let out an exasperated scream. Grace and Cecilia laughed.

" 'Did you know chocolate is not just for dessert? Chefs in the city are using it in savory dishes as well. Please feel free to modify the menu as you see fit to include chocolate.' " Betty quoted. "Oh, the nerve of that man! You do realize we do not have a choice. That was not a suggestion but a request. And I do so hope he tells me that recipe. You should see the mess he leaves me to clean up."

"Have you tasted the 'chocktail', Betty?" Cecilia asked.

"No." Betty answered. "Considering his invasion and the mess he left behind you'd think he would have at least allowed me a taste."

"On the contrary. You should consider yourself fortunate." Cecilia responded. "However on the subject of chocolate as a savory application, when I was promoted to Ward Sister, Marjorie treated me to dinner. We had fillet steak with a chocolate mustard sauce. It was quite delicious. I don't know how Marshall's chocolate will taste if made into that sauce. But it's worth a try."

"Sounds interesting enough." Betty replied. "Since you've tasted it, would you care to make it?"

"I guess it wouldn't be too hard." Cecilia replied. "I've figured out my dessert. I need to start that up first."

(-)

After Sister Drummond had finished speaking with the prison officials and Robbie was gone, Briony knocked on the office door and asked Sister Drummond if she could talk to her. Sister Drummond nodded. She had an idea what Nurse Tallis wanted, but asked anyway.

"What did you want to speak to me about, Tallis?" She asked.

"It's about some time off." Briony replied.

"Some time off? You've hardly earned some time off," she teased.

"I am aware of that, but I wanted to request a weekday off. Usually you schedule my day off on a weekend," Briony replied. "I don't know how much my sister has told you about our past, but I wanted to see if you could schedule us together. I'm going to see a solicitor about changing my evidence against Robbie before a judge. I thought Cee would want to come along."

"I'm sure she would." Sister Drummond replied. "I know of your past and the relationship with your sister. I'm going to schedule a day off with Nurse Bennet. She is my most trusted assistant and she will serve as your witness. Having Cecilia, your sister and Robbie's lover there might be seen as coercion by the court. Make the appointment, and inform me of the date. I will adjust the schedule to accommodate you."

"Thank you, Ward Sister." Briony could not believe it was just that easy. She was half expecting the Ward Sister to take advantage of the fact that she was standing in front of her an discipline her for something. Surely there had to be something.

Sister Drummond looked up at the nurse still standing in front of her desk. "Is there something else you wanted, Tallis?" she asked.

"No. No. Nothing. I was just leaving. Thank you again, Ward Sister." With that, Briony turned and left the office heading straight for the dorms. She was exhausted and needed to get some sleep before her next shift.

After dressing for bed, Briony lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't. She kept seeing the look on Robbie's face or hearing the sobs of her sister. What had she done? She thought she had understood what she had done and was ready to make amends but now she knew that she was only scratching the surface and that there was damage that might never be undone. It was all her fault. She had to find some way of making it up to Robbie and Cecilia, she just had to.

Why? It was a question she asked herself thousands upon thousands of times over the years, and one that she could not simply answer. There was no simple answer. Jealousy was the easy way out. It was deeper than that. Why did she do what she did? She had told herself that she wasn't in love with him after she threw herself in the water for him to save her but was she? What was it like to be in love? She had always envisioned Robbie as the 'prince' or 'dashing hero' in her stories. He was still a prince in her eyes with his blue eyes and warm smile. So why did she hurt him so? Why had she betrayed him? Why had it been so easy to lie?

She figured when she could answer her questions for herself it would be much easier to explain her actions to Robbie and Cecilia and easier for them to forgive her. Until then she just had to keep on trying to find the answers.

(-)

Dinner was ready to be served. Jack never did manage to visit again. Everyone was seated at the table waiting for the service to begin. Jack sat at the head of the table. His wife sat at the opposite end. The Marshalls were at Jack's right, Leon beside them. Jackson and Pierrot sat at Jack's left. To Emily's right was a setting for her daughter Cecilia which she always insisted be set.

Jack stood up and toasted Paul Marshall and his bride, Lola Quincy. Everyone raised their glasses of champagne, Jackson and Pierrot, juice. Marshall was anxious to say a few words but Jack ignored him and turned to his wife. Emily stood up and said a few kind words to her niece and despite her true feelings, welcomed Marshall into her family. Marshall barely waited for Emily to take her seat when he stood up and proclaimed his love for his beautiful bride. He turned to Jack and welcomed him as one of his investors. He then took his seat and clapped his hands to signal for the service to begin.

"Betsy!" Marshall replied.

Betty, Grace and Cecilia brought out the first course. Betty did her best not to show any anger about being called 'Betsy'. Cecilia tried not to show disgust as she placed bowls of the cold soup in front of Marshall and her cousin. She tried not to cry as she noticed the empty table setting next to her mother set aside for her. No one noticed that the prodigal daughter was serving them. If Jack noticed, he didn't let it on to the others.

With the soup served, Betty, Grace and Cecilia returned to the kitchen. Now the hard work was to begin. Preparing the main course. Grace noticed the tears on Cecilia's face which she was trying to hide.

"Are you all right, dear?" Grace asked with motherly concern. She had an idea what was bothering her. Cecilia had always been so close to her family, especially her mother. What happened five years ago had hurt her so much.

"Has my mother always set a place for me?" Cecilia asked wiping her tears trying unsuccessfully not to cry.

Grace pulled Cecilia into a motherly embrace. "Yes, she has." Grace replied. "After the trial, not a day has gone by where your mother has not told me how much she misses you or told me how sorry she is. I've since told her to stop. As a mother I understand the instinct to protect one's children. Don't hate your mother, Cee. I've forgiven her. We've talked many times about that night. I told her that what I hated her for was her rush to judgment that night, for paying attention only to Lola and Briony and not considering the older more experienced minds that evening, namely you."

Cecilia nodded. "That's why it hurt so much... when she wouldn't listen to me. She didn't even come to me for comfort that evening! She wouldn't let me near her. I was always the one who comforted her when she had a migraine. I was the only one she let lay with her when she had a migraine. I was always the one she asked to do the little things for her. But that night, as soon as Leon and I returned, I might as well have turned invisible. I tried to help her, talk to her but she turned me away."

Betty joined in the conversation. "Don't be so harsh on your mother, Cecilia. It didn't surprise me in the slightest when Grace informed me that you were training to become a nurse. You are in many ways a lot like your mother, always wanting to help others, take care of everyone." she replied. "She was so very overwhelmed that day. Your father was working late at the Ministry with the threat of war on the horizon. Your Aunt Hermione leaving your Uncle Cecil and the subsequent dumping of their children here to be taken care of. Your brother Leon coming home and bringing his chocolate millionaire friend over for dinner as potential husband for you. You had become distant upon your return from Cambridge. Is it any wonder your mother stayed in bed all day with a migraine? It's enough to give anyone a headache if you ask me."

Cecilia pulled away from Grace and turned to Betty. "Are you telling me that it was all my fault that day? That I should have done more to help out? I was so lost in my own world that I didn't care about anyone but myself. I was worse than Briony and her fantasy worlds. But none of it would have happened if Leon hadn't invited Robbie to dinner. He knew Robbie would be too much of a gentleman to refuse the invitation. All Leon wanted to do was embarrass him! If anything, it's Leon's fault, not mine!"

"I'm not accusing you of anything." Betty replied. "In some ways, I think you should be grateful to Leon for inviting Robbie to dinner that night, otherwise we might have been toasting the soon to be 'Mrs. Paul Marshall' that evening. If you had not gone off to greet Robbie at the door, I'm sure Marshall would have proposed before dinner."

"I would have refused." Cecilia replied.

"No you wouldn't have, Cecilia, and you know it. Not in the presence of your mother and brother. It would have been your duty to accept and provide for the family. You would have done your duty as eldest daughter despite your growing love for Robbie, the housekeeper's son. That was one of the reasons you woke later than usual, spent part of the afternoon with your sister and the rest hand picking flowers. You did everything to avoid doing anything that day."

Cecilia clutched her hand to the ID tags she had hidden beneath her blouse. She sighed. Betty was right. She would have accepted Paul Marshall's proposal that day out of a sense of duty. But things had turned out differently for whatever reason. Although they weren't together the way she had hoped, she was with Robbie. She knew that one day they would live their dream together.

"I'm sorry. It was out of line for me to speak to you like that." Betty replied in response to Cecilia's silence.

"No, it's all right. You're absolutely right about me, at least at that time, but not anymore." Cecilia replied. "I turned my back on everyone because I chose to. I left home not because I did not feel welcome, but because I no longer wanted to live here. It was my choice. I've accepted Briony's apology for her actions that night. Maybe it's time I talked to my mother and try to heal the wounds between us now."

"Oh please do!" Betty exclaimed with a bit of sarcasm. "Perhaps then your mother will stop taking in refugees!"

Grace laughed and agreed. When Cecilia questioned them about the refugees, she got quite an earful. The two ladies went back and forth describing their snobbery, overzealous religious beliefs and practices, unruly and disrespectful children that made the twins look like angels, the broken and lost arm of the Triton fountain, and the final straw, the breaking and denial of doing so of Uncle Clem's vase.

Cecilia burst out laughing at the mention of Uncle Clem's vase breaking. Betty glared at her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry my mother put you through all that. I'm sorry father yelled at you for breaking the vase but I can assure you that those kids were telling the truth. They did not break that vase."

Betty looked at Cecilia suspiciously. "And what do you know about that vase?"

"The handle broke off in your hand, didn't it?" Cecilia asked.

"Cecilia! It was you, wasn't it?" Betty exclaimed.

"Well, me and Robbie." she replied sheepishly. "Five years ago to the day actually."

Grace turned to Cecilia. "Now how does Robbie fit into all this?"

Cecilia laughed. "He was outside." she replied. "Mother asked me to gather some fresh flowers and place them in Uncle Clem's vase with some water and take it up to the room wehre Paul Marshall would be staying. I got the flowers. I took off my shoes and noticed Robbie outside rolling a cigarette, so I decided to take the vase outside to fill it in the fountain."

Betty was puzzled. "Why on Earth would you go outside in the heat to fill the vase with that filthy fountain water when you could have come into the kitchen to fill it?" she asked.

Grace snickered.

"If I walked out to the fountain, I would have to walk past Robbie."

Betty and Grace burst out laughing.

"Oh, you poor thing. You were madly in love with him, weren't you?" Betty teased.

"Still am, I'm afraid." Cecilia replied. "I think I've embarrassed myself enough for one evening, so let's just say, that the vase broke as a result of my being my usual stubborn self and Robbie the perfect gentleman. I am certainly not going to elaborate on what I did after we broke the vase."

Betty shook her head. As much as she did want to hear exactly what had happened, Cecilia was right in calling herself stubborn and if she didn't want to say any more she wasn't going to say any more. "Well, then, we have the steaks to prepare, and you the sauce. We don't want to keep 'his highness' waiting."