Authors Note: This is the first draft and is raw at the moment - when I have completed all Parts I will start the editing process. (All critiques welcome) 

Lavinia quietly turned her key in the front door it was 7.00 am and the upstairs of the house was just beginning to stir. She quickly pulled her hair from her ponytail and made a quick attempt to make it look ruffled like bedhead. She pulled off her shoes and threw them to one side and turned on the kettle just as George was walking down the stairs with his tired face on, she quickly handed him tea and sat down. 

He was soon followed by Anna, Andy and then Sam who all headed straight for caffeine, one thing about the Gregory's Lavinia mused they were predictable. Lavinia sat quietly at the table hoping that no one heard her early morning flit to Charlie's. All seemed to be going well, silence and morning peace filled the air until she heard her own voice rise from her throat, her mouth betraying her own intentions.

"I'm visiting Andy and Sam in Chichester," said Lavinia.

Both Sam and Andy nearly spilled their tea and George just gaped at her. 

"I knew it!" Cried Anna

"I knew you would finally see sense," said Anna flinging her arms around Lavinia who didn't move, she was so shocked by what had just left her lips that she was sure she was frozen to the spot. She had meant to sit Anna down tell her calming, rationally not spring it on her like this. But then, she mused to herself part of her was trying to convince herself to actually go... be normal. 

"You sure about this?" Said George with frown.

Lavinia just nodded because a nod was all she could manage.

She swiftly put down her tea and ran upstairs thankful that her legs moved at all, leaving her family silent and stunned in the kitchen.

When Lavinia was in her bedroom with her door closed and surrounded by her drawings she felt a little calmer. She focused on her picture of the lake that hung above her bed she walked away from the door and towards her desk where her notepad seemed to be waiting for her. She had to get the words out, and if she couldn't tell Charlie in person she would tell him on the page.

Charlie,

The day which I find so hard to talk about is a happy one it was the last day in my life that I felt truly at peace, after that day everything changed forever and there was no going back, not for any of us.

Jimmy thundered into Marxby Manor, I don't know why we let him do it, well yes I do, we wanted to release Fay from the vice-like grip of her tutor and he had the ability to get everyone to do what he wanted, he was just so damn lovable. 

We all followed him into the silent house like a herd of lemmings, all be it rather heavy footed, giggling, lemmings. Jimmy burst into the study where Fay looked suitably depressed and the old tutor witch whose name now escapes me frowned at him with displeasure.

"I don't think this is really the time do you, My Lord?"

We all stood giggling like idiots in the hallway still slightly afraid of our old tutor and governess.

"I think it's a perfect time, come on Little Bit," he said with a wink.

Jimmy held out his hand to Fay which she took excitedly and we all ran from the building feeling like the most hard of criminals. I gazed back at Marxby Manor as we ran across the bright green lush grass and over the hill and just as the house was to be out of sight I caught a glimpse of my father laughing  from his study window, he was happy that his children and their friends had found a moment of freedom and that they had found that moment together at least, that's what I told myself he believed.

Even till this day I have never found a place as beautiful as our lake. It was at a far corner of the Marxby estate where it didn't matter how much we hollered or screamed no one would hear us, we were completely alone, it was own private hole in the world that just belonged to us or at least that's the way it felt. The lake shone like some kind of glistening wonder, I'm sure it was aided by the bright sunshine and glorious blue sky. On a winter's day, I'm sure it must have seemed like quite a bleak and depressing place but that day was not this day. Lady Percy was the first to shove propriety right out the window stripping right down to the bare bones of her red suit and diving straight into the water I watched as the lake washed away her black curls.

"Come on then what are you all waiting for?" Cried Percy

Percy could be a right cow at times but when fun times were to be had she was always right at the centre, and in this case the first in the water.

"She right you know," said Penny following Percy into the water with a splash.

Jimmy could see Fay eyeing up a rope swing that was hanging from an ancient looking oak tree that sat on the lakes edge. She was too short to reach the rope alone so he clasped his hands around her little waist and lifted her onto the rope.

"Hold on tight Little Bit and just let your body fall into the water and if you can try and splash Percy on your way down all the better" he winked at Fay and she grinned back at him.

He pulled back the rope and left Fay to hang for a moment I could see by the look on her face that butterflies had begun to rise in her stomach. Then, without warning, he let her fly and she fell into the lake bellow so proud that she had survived the fall and suitably managed to splash Percy.

"Thanks for that James" cried Percy immediately ringing out the drips from her short black curls.

Jimmy followed Fay straight into the water and covered Percy again with splashes this time she retaliated and the sibling splash wars began.

I stood on the lake's edge for a moment enjoying watching Penny and my brothers and sisters they seemed so at peace and happy to be together, normally the early signs of bickering would have begun by now but there was nothing well, almost nothing only calm amongst our happy madness.

"Are you going in?" Asked Will who still stood on the edge of the lake.

"Yes come on Doll" called Sarah who was trying to swim without getting her hair wet.

"Yes, I guess I just got caught up in watching them," I said to Will.

 "We don't get to be altogether very often." 

"Yes Jimmy did mention," said Will

"Hey look," I said and pointed to the other side of the lake.

On the other side of the lake, there was a small wooden boat and two ores.

Will just nodded towards the boat and reached out for my hand the others were paying us little or no attention so I reached back and took it. Will pushed back his hair as he helped me into the boat, looking back I suppose he was shy although he never let it show that's who Will was, or part of him at least he was so good at hiding how he really felt, he was quiet and was, I suppose everything deeper that came with that. 

Will began to paddle across the water, I leaned back into the boat,I was so relaxed with him and I didn't even know why we barely knew each other, it was like we didn't need to speak we could just be and it was fine. I leaned back and touched the crystal waters and caught Percy watching us out of the corner of my eyes she was stood dripping on the bank looking rather stern, she had assumed the standard Persephone position and was smoking a cigarette with her arms folded across her chest.

"So you and Jimmy, your pretty close then?" I said.

"Yeah I guess, I don't think your parents are that fond of me though." Said Will

"I wouldn't worry about them, they're just big old snobs," I said.

"Big and old, I'm sure they would love that" laughed Will.

"Oh stop it" I laughed.

Will sat back and smiled.

"Where are you taking me anyway," I said.

"I don't know I guess I was just heading for that tree," said Will.

"The Willow?" 

"Alright yes, the Willow" smiled Will

 I couldn't help but notice his dimples and found myself unable to stop reciprocating his beaming wide smile.

Will was so silent and still, but his face wasn't still at all it looked like it had a thousand questions so as we glided behind the curtain of the willow I just asked him. Like this day, this willow was my veil and once it was gone nothing that I did or said would really have happened at all.

"What is it Will, what do you want to say to me?" 

"I don't know Dolly; I guess I'm just wondering that's all, why you're marrying him, Lord Niall that is. I would never have asked if you hadn't brought it up, it's just your so sweet and he seems so, so sour."

I was so shocked by Will's words, but I couldn't deny that I was desperate to answer his question just to hear what he had to say. For a quiet and still man, William could be profound even if you had to wait for what he had to say.

"My father wants us to marry," I said

Will looked at me crossly.

"There is such a thing as free will Dolly, you're a suffragette for goodness sake," said Will I watched his dimples and his blonde hair flop about and I wanted to laugh but it wasn't funny, just like Will it was serious.

"I don't want to marry him, not at all actually, but my father said that if I marry Lord Nial then Percy and Fay can choose their own husbands with no interference from him, this marriage is important to my father financially, but more importantly, he has already had a hand in James's, Sarah's and now my marital fate what kind of sister would I be if I didn't do this for my little sisters? 

I have to do this.

 Papa, he would find a way to get the marriage to go ahead even if I refused, he would use dirty tactics, manipulations, it's just who he is but this way I can actually change something, I can change my sister's fate. I have to do this Will, there is no other choice."

Will's face softened.

"Do they know what you are doing for them?" said Will.

"No, and that's the way it's going to stay," I said

"Are you sure you are willing to sacrifice your life for theirs?"

"It's not like that"

"It is Dolly, that's exactly what it is," said Will passionately.

"Why does this matter to you so much?" I rocked the boat in frustration.

Will reached out as if to touch my face but instead gently tucked a stray curl behind my ear. My heart began to pound like a drum, the way he looked at me, with such intensity, Will was such a still creature so when he did or said something his actions they just meant more. He leaned toward me and kissed me.

 I wanted to wrap my arms around him, to kiss him back to dissolve in his arms, press my body against his, but that is not what happened. He kissed me so softly and delicately like a butterfly just passing through but it was not without its own kind of passion for a moment I closed my eyes, just for a moment and then I remembered, I remembered who was, and my eyes shot right back open again.

The posting schedule for The Girl That Fell Out of The Ocean is Wednesday and Sundays!