Author Note: This is a first draft of The Girl Who Fell Out of the Ocean and is currently unedited.

Charlie's Cottage- Present Day

It was around five in the morning the air was crisp and thick and May was considering drinking her tea outside. Charlie didn't have much of a garden it was more a patch of grass that looked like it was going to swallowed up at any moment by three fat conifer hedges.

On this patch of grass sat a small round table with two chairs, this is where May was going drink her tea at least she was, until the unmistakable sound of her sleepy brother walking down stairs more than likely yawning with his hand in his mob of dark hair. When she saw him on the stairs she changed her mind about sitting outside and plonked herself at Charlie's kitchen table. Charlie groaned at the site of her "Why are you even awake?" He said.

May went to speak but was interrupted.

"Better still May why am I awake?" He moaned.

May walked towards the kettle where she had left her tea and picked up her mug letting the heat penetrate through and burn her skin.

"Do you remember what we talking about the other day March... about the kids? May's normally confident tone faded away until she sounded like a tiny mouse afraid to voice what she had to say.

All of sudden Charlie was wide awake.

"May, come on you know you can tell me things?"

"Alright, but you won't like it."

Charlie folded his arms over his bare chest.

"Do you remember I said we are moving again well we have found a place, in Marxby village,"

Charlie's eyes shot open but May didn't stop talking she just kept feeding her brother information.

"It's a cute little cottage right in the centre of the village and you can see the manor from our house and hear the sea from our garden. It's a perfect place for us to settle and I mean really settle this time not just bounce from place to place we're so tired of that March." May looked tiered but not tiered enough to push aside Charlie's anger. His arms moved away from his chest and May knew that he was no longer protecting himself he didn't need to, he was about to let his rage fly from him and May was the perfect living target.

"Why Marxby for god's sake? You're doing this because of me aren't you, you're doing this punish me?

Charlie's face was red and full of frustration but May was frustrated too and she was full of twice as much fire as Charlie, fire, rage and depth and now it was all coming to the surface.

"Ha!" Spat May.

"Punish you? Don't be so self-absorbed March, I am doing this to entice you, you know I read your notes on this Lavinia girl and for some reason you have some sick fetish thing going on for this Dolly Marxby person who she says she is. And you know what at this point I don't even care, I just want a little help taking care of eight kids and if moving to Marxby Village gets me the help I need then so be it,"

Charlie was still furious with his sister she had just referred to his relationship with Lavinia...Dolly as a fetish thing and he was about to begin ranting in protest of his feelings when she through a booklet down in front of him.

"It's our cottage," she said.

Charlie reached forward and picked it up.

There was a large photograph in the centre of an A4 sized printout, Charlie couldn't stop his heart leaping when he saw it, a small brick cottage with a pretty looking lush garden it was the kind of place he had always dreamed of living .

It would be perfect, he mused the children could play, all that fresh air and go to school in a village rather than all the large smoky, heaving cities they were used to.

"But May, it's Marxby," he said his eyes looked sad as he passed the picture of the cottage back to his sister.

May sank further into her chair letting out a large sigh.

"Yes March, it's Marxby village. And do you know who owns our cottage? Lady Jane Marxby-Thomas. The Marxby's own many of the cottages in the village..." May was about to continue but Charlie stopped her.

"Wait...what?" He said his voice rose.

"Look March for whatever reason, reasons that I don't understand you are drawn to the Marxby's I seen in your office you have files and files of research on them. If you have some weird need to be close to them, something you need to get out of your system, or something you need to find out maybe it's worth considering...hmm?"

Charlie looked at the photo of the house again and pictured his brothers and sisters living happily within its walls but still he was held back, held back by the same reason he was drawn to Marxby in the first place.

Lavinia.

May bent forward and Charlie noticed something glimmering in her hair, it was a hair slide holding back her short blonde waves from her eyes. Her hair was soft and silky so when Charlie pulled the slide from her hair it slipped away without tugging on a single stand.

"What are you doing?" Said May.

The slide sat in his hand and he just looked at it, its yellow circumference fibrant and strong.

"What is this May?" he said.

"A hair slide," she said frowning at him.

"No," he said his voice forceful.

"What is this?"

May took the slide from his hand; she was confused but answered him all the same.

"A sunflower, it's a sunflower," she said.

Charlie said nothing for a moment all he did was stare, then out of nowhere he said, "I will look at the house with you May."

Marxby Manor- 1916

I was home.

I had arrived back at Marxby Manor on cold November day the kind of day that masks your view with crisp frost and fog. I was dropped off at the front of the Manor I remember thinking it felt like a dream to be walking up my own steps, towards my own front door.

The door was not locked and I saw no point in ringing the bell, I don't know why I did it pushed the door open like that. I suppose to see if it all looked the same, felt the same but without a butler, maid or servant in sight just for a moment the manor felt like a ghost town.

It's funny coming home after a long period of being away. Everything before me looked like home, smelled like home even but it wasn't my home anymore, even though in my heart of hearts I knew that I would be living here for some time as I returned to the Manor I felt for the first time in my life that I didn't belong here anymore.

It was in this moment of melancholy that I heard a rumble, Fay, I knew footsteps, I knew the sound of them running across the landing and running down the stairs like a wild herd of elephants, I knew it would only be a matter of moments before we were reunited once more.

She saw me from the top of the stairs and, just as she had always done slid down the bannister not needing a single hand to hold on. Only this time when I saw Fay she was not the little girl I had left behind but I sixteen-year-old young woman. Her blonde curls cascaded her face as she leapt towards me, throwing herself into my arms.

"I'm so happy you are home," she cried.

I hugged her tightly, the first good thing I had seen since leaving France.

"It was just terrible without you and Jimmy, have you had word from our brother?" She said.

"I've seen him actually,"

She looked panicked, worried he was injured.

"He's fine, just a few scrapes, we had a little time together but it wasn't much before he was on his way,"

"But he's well?" Cried Fay desperate for news.

"Yes, he's doing okay I think," I smiled.

What more could I say? Could I lie? Worry her that our brother was not in a good way when we last met? No, there was no point in that; I just had to pray that the three of us would be together again soon.

Fay was holding my hand and telling me what I had missed when Niall appeared, I could see he had been wounded by the cane he was holding, shot in the leg perhaps?

It was harsh to have such wicked thoughts but the truth was I didn't care what had happened to him over there. He didn't smile when he saw me, just stood close enough that it made Fay uncomfortable enough that she moved out of his way.

"Wife," he said.

I finally pushed a smiled onto my lips.

"I see you got my letter," he said.