As Medlock reached the top of the painted staircase to Lilias's boudoir she called,"Milady? May I enter?"
"Just a moment, please." Lilias replied. Archie leaned over the side of the bed reaching for Lilias's dressing gown and handed it to her, so that she might clothe herself or otherwise make herself slightly presentable. He worried in shielding his own back and shoulders from Medlock's view as well, managing to find his own nightshirt, and to throw it haphazardly over his head.
"You may enter."
"Milady, I'm certain you wish to bathe before your...Oh..." She was surprised and startled to see Lord Archibald Craven glowing with contentment but hair quite desheveled lying next to Lilias in her bed.
"Oh, excuse me, Milord. Please, forgive me. I was apparently misinformed by your brother. He wrongfully assumed that you'd be in your own chambers at this hour. I wasn't expecting you here. "
"Here I am." Archie replied slightly annoyed at the thought of his brother's assumption.
I beg your pardon, Milord. Forgive my intrusion. " Medlock bowed her head subtly. "I have led a housemaid here. She's given instructions to pour your lady's bath. Mr. Leclair is to fetch your things to pack the carriage for your honeymoon."
Gregory and Aisling would accompany the newlyweds on their honeymoon to the continent.
"Right. What is the hour, Medlock?" Archie rose, grabbed his robe, and dressed in it.
"Well, it's half past eight, Milord. Have you forgotten the wedding breakfast at 10?"
"Oh, yes. No, we had not forgotten- just appreciating our privacy a few moments longer than I suppose we were expected to."
Medlock blushed as if apologizing once more.
"Here," Archie took the heavy pails of steaming water from the maid rushing to her aid directly after she entered. The maid didn't know how to react. The Lord Archibald Craven had been so gracious.
"Allow me. That must be heavy."
"I do beg your pardon, sir."
"Oh, but your back, Sir." Medlock responded. "Are you quite well this morning? You mustn't overexert yourself, you know. "
"Nonsense." Archie huffed with a grin.
Martha was red-faced. "Oh, you're very very kind, Sir." She curtsied. "Thank you most kindly, Milord." The maid was taken aback unsure of how to respond.
"That will be all, Betty." Medlock spat. "Impudent girl."
"You needn't shout at her." Lord Craven admonished.
"She was too bold, Sir. She did not address you properly."
Lord Craven shook his head at Medlock's behavior.
Medlock began to stare at Lilias's hair-now a fairy mess.
"I shall leave you now." Archie placed a chaste kiss upon Lilias's forehead knowing Medlock was present. "See you downstairs, my love."
"Yes, my love." Her eyes followed him as he walked away to disappear behind the tapestry entrance.
"Archie?" Lilias called as he was exiting her chambers. He turned in profile to look back at her in response, but as he looked at her, she forgot why she had spoken his name.
She smiled and he smiled back, and then he descended the stairs.
Archie left his brother Neville to manage the estate and his lands while he was away.
What Archie did not imagine was that his own brother was scheming and seeking a way to inherit the estate for himself. A year ago, Neville wanted to argue that Archie was not likely ever to marry or to produce an heir. The former he could no longer argue. He hoped to continue to argue the latter.
A friend who went to Eton with Neville sat discussing matters of estate with him in his private library. They both had consumed far too much liquor and were slightly intoxicated.
"God damn him."
"Your brother?"
"Yes, my brother. Lilias's beauty is beyond words. Skin of delicate ivory...You cannot know how much I desire her. I need to possess her. How can she love him and not me? Why him?! My God, Lilias is perfection." Neville's speech was starting to slur.
"Perhaps, you can convince her to desire you. There has to be a way to take her love away from Archie."
"I fear it's too late for that."
"Why not at least try? The woman you adore and the house can be yours." Llewelyn stated.
"One certainly cannot make Archie appear the villain...never in Lily's eyes..."
In other sinister circumstances, Lilias's sister Rose called upon Neville Craven at Misselthwaite. She had become acquainted with Neville during Archie and Lilias's courtship. Rose was adamantly against her sister's union with Archibald Craven. She was of a mind to assist Neville in finding ways to tear them apart. She too discovered Neville was in love with her sister. Rose and Lilias were twins. They shared each other's physical beauty, but Rose possessed none of Lilias's sweet or tender, kindhearted, constant and true, divinely good personality traits. Rose was selfish and cared for nothing but worldly things, parties, and to be worshipped and adored by men. She even flirted with Neville who-while of course physically attracted to Rose-the mirror of Lilias's physical beauty-was drawn to Lilias's purity of heart and goodness as well as her rare physical beauty. There was also a sparkle of light in Lilias's dark Hazel eyes where Rose's appeared empty or shallow. It was truly only because of the goodness in Lilias that Neville desired her more than Rose. Ironic? Yes- goodness, the opposite of the evil in Rose and Neville's hearts.
"Neville, I pray that Lilias does not become pregnant while they're away these few months on their honeymoon...I cannot bear to have my sister carrying that Quasimodo's child! Pray, I mean no offense upon your Craven family name-only I'm so upset with this whole matter. I can't believe my own Mother and Father consented to this marriage! We must do everything we can to prevent a pregnancy from happening...I won't have my sister the mother of a deformed creature!"
" There is no evidence that they cannot conceive a perfectly healthy, normal, "fully-formed" as you would probably like to call- child. That's not my issue concerning the subject. To my interest, there should be no child at all: fully-formed or not! If I am to inherit the estate..." Neville's jealousy, greed, and lust for Lilias had overcome him.
"Once they're back, I expect they will work in that walled garden together-the one with all the Ivy that was the wedding gift? It has a key. Let's agree to help them with the work.
"Me? Gardening? Nonsense." Rose laughed.
"You must trust that it is in our best interest to do so. Follow my instructions, and you needn't worry." Neville replied.
He then began to divulge a wicked plot.
"Even if I can't have your sister, my brother certainly won't."
Bitter jealousy and hatred had consumed Rose and Neville. There was no kindness for Archie and Lilias left in them.
"Since I am agreeing to help you in this, what might be my reward? What is the profit in it for me besides avoiding any further social disgrace?" Rose questioned.
"What is it that you wish for?" Neville answered.
Lilias and Archie travelled to Vienna, Salzburg, Rome... They attended operas and concerts and toured those cities' historic sites and architectural works for which Archie held a fascination. Finally, the couple would end their honeymoon excursions with a bit of relaxation at a small chateau in Provence. They scoped the lavender fields from their carriage window.
"Stop." Lilias spoke. "Driver, let's stop here, please. Oh, Archie. How beautiful it is!
They began to walk hand in hand along the fields. "What serenity!"
Lilias began to sing "Lavender's Blue"-an Old English folk song. She'd sing the first line of the verse and Archie sang back to her the second. She continued to sing a few more verses so sweetly.
"My sweet one." Archie grinned with happiness. "I love your singing..."
He kissed her tenderly. "Thank you," she responded softly.
Lilias giggled with joy. "Let's run through the Lavender."
Archie hesitated, "Darling, I don't think that we should..."
"Come on, my king, it's marvellous." She began to run brushing her fingertips along the tops of the rows.
Lilias ran ahead. Archie tried to catch up with her and tripped dropping his walking stick. It was hidden among the lavender. He searched for it. When he grabbed it again, he stood up, and looked out amongst the field for Lilias. He did not see her. Ahead of him, hidden from view, Lilias lay back in the Lavender looking up at the sky."
"Lilias?" Archie called to her. She heard his voice.
"Lilias! Lilias! Lilias? Where are you?" He sounded panicked. She could hear the panic. Lilias shot up and ran to him. "I'm here, my darling." Archie ran to embrace Lilias. His hands cradled her head.
"It's all right, my love. I'm right here." Lilias repeated those words softly and so sweetly.
In the bedroom of the chateau:
Archie spoke, "I apologize for earlier. I just...If I may, I would like to explain my anxiety. Before...in the nights before our wedding, I had nightmares...terrible visions...that I lost you, that you were gone or that something had happened to you. You vanished or worse..."
"Shhh...I'm safe, my darling. I'll never leave you. Sure as you breathe, I am with you." She lovingly and gently kissed him and took his hands and manipulated them to undress her-to remove her peignoir.
"Make love to me, Archie." She said with so pure and musical a tone.
Archie seemed to completely succumb to her command. Passionately this time, he kissed her. When the kiss broke, a look of desperate yearning was upon his face...He rested his head against hers. His soulful eyes were shut with true longing as he nuzzled his face to hers. In their secret hideaway chateau, Archie and Lilias sweetly and romantically made love-balcony doors of their bedroom open to the night sky and stars.