What's up wonderful people? I'm posting a rather long chapter because I'll be off to Australia for a while so I might not be able to post THAT often. More at the end of the chapter! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll see you guys at the bottom of the chapter!
- Harry -
When Harry woke up in Elsa's house, he saw the two women sit at the dining table, chatting over some tea. He walked up to them and sat next to Elsa, so that he was sitting opposite Clara. They chatted for a while before Clara left to get some more tea.
Elsa boldly placed a hand on his right thigh, stroking the area. Harry was leaning into the touch, when he realized what he was doing and how wrong it was. "No. Stop." He backed away.
"What's wrong Harold?" She asked, feigning hurt. "I'm engaged to Clara. I'm not the man I used to be." He said firmly. Before Elsa could reply, Clara came back into the room with a tray of teacups.
- Jim -
Jim had woken up hours ago, but chose to stay in his bed. He couldn't stop thinking about what he had seen the day before. Jim didn't want to believe that Elizabeth betrayed him but he couldn't deny what he saw with his own eyes.
Harry and Clara had come in earlier to get him up for breakfast but he told them to get out, an action that shocked them since the younger man was always so polite. Clara wanted to ask him what was wrong but Harry brought her out, knowing that his friend needed some time to himself.
- Elizabeth -
Elizabeth was in her room sitting in front of the mirror, brushing her long, dark hair when she heard a knock at the door. She told the person to come in and smiled when she saw Jasper in the mirror's reflection.
He walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. "How are you today, beautiful?" He grinned charmingly at her, taking her hairbrush and brushing her hair for her. "Fine. And you Jasper?" She asked.
"Wonderful." He sighed dreamily, taking a seat next to her, putting down the hairbrush. Elizabeth smiled and looked down at her fingers. Jasper used a finger to lift her chin up and very slowly and softly kissed her on the lips.
Elizabeth's mind was in a blur as she kissed him back with much passion. Jasper was about to deepen the kiss when he accidentally knocked over the hairbrush. The loud sound caused them to jump apart.
"I…I apologize." He said quietly, picking it back up. "No…problem." She said, shocked at what she had just done, as realization dawned on her. "I should probably go and get some lunch for us." He nodded in respect, kissed her knuckles lightly and left.
Elizabeth's eyes were still wide. Her trembling fingers slowly touched her lips. Had she really just kissed Jasper? What was she doing? She was together with Jim, yet she cheated on him. She didn't like the feeling of guilt pricking at her and she knew she had to talk to Jasper about this.
She got up and heard voices down the hall. She opened the door slightly and peeked out, seeing Victoria the maid and Jasper talking. She had to listen carefully to hear what they were talking about.
"…Forbid that lowly officer from ever stepping into the house." She heard Victoria say.
"Good. I don't want a repeat of yesterday. If you ever see that seaman at the door again, send him away immediately. I worked so hard and Elizabeth finally loves me. I'm not going to jeopardize our relationship just because Mr. Moody thinks that he can get his hands on my-Elizabeth!" He said, a little shocked, when he saw Elizabeth standing there, arms crossed over her chest.
"Listen, I was just-" Jasper walked towards her. Elizabeth shrunk back and held herself much more tightly. "Stay away from me. James visited and you kept it from me. You knew how much he meant to me."
"Yes, and you were locking lips with me with such fervor just a minute ago, weren't you?" Jasper scoffed at her. "You…I loathe you." She couldn't bring herself to say anymore as she slammed the door in his face when she walked back into her bedroom.
- Harry -
It was late in the evening and Jim hadn't even come out of his room yet. "This is absurd." Harry said to Clara as he walked to the room, flinging the door open as Clara stood at the door, watching him. Harry walked over to the bed and pulled the blankets off of Jim, causing him to sit up.
"Stop moping around Jim! Tell us what happened!" Harry barked at him with ferocity. "Elizabeth cheated on me." He whispered. Harry fiercely told him to speak up. "LIZ CHEATED ON ME!" Jim yelled at Harry, standing up to look him in the eye.
"What?!" Harry and Clara both said at the same time. "That's insane. She would never!" Clara defended her friend. "I went to visit her yesterday and saw her behaving intimately with another man!" Jim glared at her, which he normally didn't do.
"Are you sure it was Liz?" Harry asked him incredulously. "I would know her anywhere." Jim said, expression deadpan. "I'm going there. I don't believe she would do such a thing." Clara said resolutely. She got braver, during the time she'd spent with Harry.
"Go ahead! Then you'll see what I mean!" Jim laughed crazily before walking out of the room. "I'll head out tomorrow." She told Harry, who simply nodded and kissed her on the forehead.
- Elizabeth -
She was in her room, sulking when she heard a knock at the door. "Jasper, go away!" He had been asking for entrance into her room for the past hour and it annoyed her greatly.
"I'm not Jasper." The voice from the other side said. Elizabeth was a little surprised but tidied her hair and called the person in. In walked two people she found to be very familiar.
"I'm Jude, Jasper's older brother and this is my wife Gayle, and our son Quentin." He introduced himself and his immediate family. "Nice to meet you." Gayle smiled sweetly at her, rocking the baby in her arms.
"Likewise. Why have you come to see me?" Elizabeth asked. "Thought we might like to get to know our future sister-in-law. I'm sorry about your father though." Jude offered his sincere condolences. There was a moment of silence before Elizabeth thanked him, offering them a seat on the couch in her room.
"Would you like to hold him?" Gayle offered. Elizabeth shrugged and held her hands out to receive the boy. The moment she hugged the child close to her chest, it started to giggle and laugh. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.
"He likes you." Gayle commented. He voice was pretty high-pitched and sweet sounding, befitting of the slim, petite mother. "You think so?" Elizabeth asked. "Yes. He hardly ever giggles when strangers are holding him. He doesn't even like his uncle." Jude explained.
"No one would like him." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Wait. You don't love him?" Jude asked, shocked. "God no. If you're wondering about the marriage, it was arranged. I never agreed to a word of it."
"Oh my." Gayle said, genuinely saddened. "I need to go speak to my brother. Excuse me." Jude left the room. The rest of the day, Gayle and Elizabeth would bond, and become very close friends.
- Clara -
It took everything to convince Harry to let her go alone, since she was pretty sure that they wouldn't want to see Harry, looking at what happened to Jim. After all, they were both officers.
She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A maid then opened it. "What do you want?" She asked in a snobby voice. "Good morning. I'm here to see Miss Elizabeth Andrews." Clara replied. "She is busy at the moment and will not see anyone. I suggest you leave." Victoria was about to close the door when a voice spoke.
"Clary, is that you?" It spoke from the top of the staircase. "Mr. Barbour!" Clara laughed. "Victoria, let Clary in. I haven't seen her in such a long time." Georg said.
Clara rushed past Victoria and almost ran up the stairs, curtseying to Georg. "It's a pleasure to finally see you again sir." She smiled at him. He pulled her into an embrace, which she warmly returned. "I'm here to see Elizabeth." She told him.
"Of course. Come along." He led her to Elizabeth's room and kissed her on the forehead before walking away, presumably back to his study.
Clara timidly knocked at the door. "Liz? It's me!" She said loud enough for Elizabeth to hear. The door immediately swung open and Elizabeth engulfed Clara in a hug. "Clara! I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too Elizabeth." Clara patted Elizabeth on the back, after which Elizabeth invited her to sit with her on the bed. "I have…something to confess." Elizabeth bit her lower lip nervously.
Clara nodded, gesturing for her to continue. "I…I sort of…kind of…cheated on Jim." Clara's eyes visibly widened. "Actually, I haven't been completely honest with any of you. My grandmother has arranged a marriage for me, with that same man." Elizabeth looked down, feeling shameful.
Clara in that moment felt so disappointed in Elizabeth but couldn't bring herself to say anything. "Do you love him?"
"W…what?" Elizabeth asked. "Do you love that man?" Clara looked at her sadly. "I…I don't know! I mean, I thought I loved Jim but it just turns out that I don't even know what love is." Elizabeth started to cry.
"Oh Liz…" Clara hugged Elizabeth, who started to sob loudly. "Clary…I'm just so confused…I don't know what to do." Elizabeth whispered with a cracking voice.
"Who do you smile at whenever you see him? Who would you rather wake up to in the morning? Who would you rather live for?" Clara asked in a soft voice. Elizabeth stopped to think about this. Clara smiled when she realized that Elizabeth had found her answer.
Later that day, they exchanged addresses yet again and Elizabeth almost broke down when Clara left. Georg couldn't bear to see her leave again but regardless, sent her off with his well wishes.
- Clara -
The moment Clara walked through the door; Harry engulfed her in a hug, as if he wasn't expecting to see her return. "Nice to see you too, Harry." She smiled, patting his back gently.
"What did she say?" Harry looked at her after he pulled away, still holding onto her shoulders. "She…she's…Her grandmother is making her go through an arranged marriage." Clara told him.
Harry's eyes widened and he punched the wall next to the door. "How can she do that?! And Elizabeth said yes?" Harry was angry. "She didn't have a choice." Clara replied, looking down at her feet. "We can't tell Jim about this." Harry said seriously.
"Too late." Clara had a shocked expression and Harry turned to see Jim standing there, staring blankly at them. "Jim…" Harry walked towards him but Jim stepped back and shook his head, chuckling darkly before returning to his room.
Harry sighed and Clara pulled out an envelope from her pocket. "Liz gave me this when I visited her." Harry opened it.
Mister Jasper Bennett & Miss Elizabeth Andrews
Cordially Invite You To Their Wedding
…
"Are we going?" Clara asked innocently, gingerly taking back the envelope. "Yes. I've got a plan."
- Jim -
Jim had been moping around for almost a week in his room. He had not shaved and was growing out stubble. The only reason he left the room was to go to the bathroom.
Suddenly, while he was lying down on the bed, there was a knock at the door and it opened a little to reveal Clara standing there. "Jim? I've got a few guests for you." She opened the door fully and standing behind her were his friends. Charles, Herbert, Joseph and Harry.
They all but jumped into the room, sitting all around his bed. "What's gotten into you lad?" Herbert asked him, hooking an arm around his shoulders. Jim brought himself to give a half-smile. "Well, we kind of knew you wouldn't pay any attention to us so we got another two guests for you." Harry said, pointing to the door.
It opened again and Jim's eyes widened at whom he saw. Josephine and Max. "Jamie!" She sang, running over to him and hugging him tightly. Max stayed at the door, smiling at the sight.
- Elizabeth -
Elizabeth honestly had no idea whatsoever what to do. The wedding was in a week and the time leading up to then was just an endless routine of dress fittings, food tastings and flower pickings.
Diana may not have liked Elizabeth, but to any first-class woman, party or wedding planning was as much excitement as they were going to get in their boring lives.
"Elizabeth! Come over here and help Gayle and I with the bridesmaid dress!" Diana called her over. Elizabeth walked over and listlessly laced Gayle up. The dress was a beautiful light blue, the color of the sky with a sweetheart neckline.
Diana had gone off to go get something, leaving Elizabeth and Gayle alone. Gayle couldn't help but notice that Elizabeth was lacking her usual energy. "Elizabeth darling, are you all right?" Gayle stopped her.
"Gayle…can I be completely honest with you?" Elizabeth bit her lower lip. "Definitely." Gayle turned around to hold Elizabeth's hands. "I don't know what to do. This whole…marriage thing is just overwhelming and I just…I…" Elizabeth shrugged sadly.
"I've seen you and Jasper. He's not a bad kid. He could be mean sometimes, but he really grows on you. But, don't do anything you're not comfortable with, that's the best advice I can give you. I didn't know Jude when I married him but look at how that turned out? We're happily married, with a beautiful baby boy." Gayle smiled.
This left Elizabeth to really think about what she wanted. Did she want to marry Jasper, the sometimes-nice guy, who could promise her a cushy life, without ever having to worry about financial constraints? Or did she want to be with Jim. The man she had gone through so much with, the man who made her feel so at home, and so happy. He could promise her a tough, but blessed and happy life.
On the sidelines, Augustine watched. Now she wasn't so sure he hated Elizabeth anymore. It wasn't that she completely forgot what Helen did, but it sort of pained her to see her young niece like this. She was reminded of the days when Elizabeth was just a little girl. She was never close to Elizabeth, and in fact she always gave her the cold shoulder. But Elizabeth always loved her. It tugged at her heartstrings to see Elizabeth this listless, like never before.
So Augustine has a heart :) Also, Elsa is a sort of important character so keep an eye out for her! How do you guys like Jude & Gayle so far?
Now to thank the amazing person who left a review! Thank you to Chloe ( again ) for your review!
Chloe : Thank you for your review! I simply LOVE your reviews because they're so personal and up-close with the story :) Thanks for your hatred towards Jasper xD Also, this story won't be much longer so HANG IN THERE. I'm not sure if everyone's gonna accept the sequel but I'll sure try!
To everyone else, I hope you all are enjoying the story as well! Have a nice day and review if you liked the chapter! :D