Author Note: This a first draft of The Girl Who Fell Out of the Ocean and is yet to be edited.

Charlie's Cottage- Present Day

Charlie dreamt about them again.

The black haired man and red-haired woman now haunted his dreams, as he woke up he felt his body was hot and sticky from a night tossing and turning lost in his sleeping hours. He didn't know who they were or why they haunted his dreams but he knew they were at Marxby Manor maybe long before Dolly had ever lived there. 

As he woke up he wanted to cry, to sit in his bed and weep, there was a sense of tragedy that surrounded the couple, the couple that ran through his sleep and fields of sun coloured corn. His heart ached for them and they tried to whisper their sad song back to him but all he felt was heavy, weighted sadness.

Charlie tried to get up, move away from the night and further towards the start of his day, it felt so enormous the thought of living through the day when it appeared to him that the past was trying to live through his dreams.

 But he did it anyway he got up and moved across his room, musing to himself that he hadn't been right, not since that day at the beach with Lavinia, the day he had almost drowned. He walked slowly towards his bedroom door, he was sluggish and slow, but he knew he was coming back to himself.

The more awake he felt the more alive he became, Charlie was desperate to wake up quicker and moved his heavy body through the door and towards his en suite so he could shower. But he was slow and clumsy, Charlie knocked his brown folder containing all his information about Marxby Manor onto the bedroom floor, the folder fell and his papers fell everywhere.

 Charlie ached as he bent onto the floor to pick up the scattered papers, most in his own writing but there were pages which he hadn't gone through properly in mostly Anna's writing, a few in George's. 

Charlie finished gathering the papers on bended knee, he was irritated and his head swam being on the floor wasn't making him feel any better, but as he scooped up the final few pages and placed them back into the brown folder he noticed something that had been caught in the bottom of the file. Two old photographs, one on top of the other, the top photograph was the first to catch Charlie's eyes, it was of the black haired man, standing in a corn field just as he had dreamt him.

Charlie was astounded by the picture of the man and rubbed his thumb over the image several times as if it would disappear but the man just stood in the corn field staring back at him. On the back of the photograph in almost diminished hand writing it read The 11th Earl of Marxby (1894).

"So he was a Marxby, "whispered Charlie to himself, relieved that photo proved he wasn't descending into dream-induced madness, but there he was, looking right back at him the 11th Earl of Marxby once a living, breathing man. 

Fascinated by how the Gregory's had got hold of these photographs he moved the 11th Earl's photograph out the way so he could study the second photograph in the folder. It was an old black and white photo of three children clearly taken in a garden of some sort, Charlie had heard Lavinia mention that there were gardens at Marxby Manor although he hadn't seen them himself when he visited, this must have been one of them. 

He turned the photograph around and when he looked at the back, written was the names Lord Nathan, Miss Violet and Dickon (1926). Charlie couldn't believe it, this was an actual photograph of Dolly's daughter Violet, he turned the photograph around so he could look at the little girls face, she sat in the middle of two boys, one, Lord Nathan was Lady Jane's father, the actual Lady Jane who runs the manor now, he must have fathered her pretty late in life Charlie mused.

Lady Jane had spoken of Violet with such dishonour when he brought her up at Marxby but here she was sat next to Nathan like they were the best of friends.  

He didn't know anything about the third child Dickon, but from the look of his clothes, he wasn't the son of a Lord or Lady, perhaps he was the son of one the servants? Charlie looked back at the photo again and laughed harder, he had found her, he had finally found her and suddenly with the picture of the little girl in his hand he finally felt well again.

Field Hospital, France, January- 1916

Will and I had been together again for just shy of a month and despite the world that was crumbling and bleeding around us, it had been the best month of my life. For the first time, I was truly with the man I loved more than anything.

 But one Monday morning after meeting Will I was on my way back to the hospital when one of the nurses told me I was wanted in Matrons office. Matron never called the girls into her office for anything good, just the thought of it made my breakfast curdle in my stomach, what could she possibly want, had a made a mistake of some sort? 

The sickness rose in my stomach and this time hit the back of my throat; I had been feeling sick for a few days but pushed the thought of it aside and marched with my head in the air towards Matrons wooden cabin. She was waiting for me behind a small wooden desk, stacked high with papers, her small frame was almost swallowed by the large desk and its tower of contents but she still looked as terrifying as ever.

"Sit down Nurse Marxby," said Matron.

I did as she asked, I didn't know why but my heart was pounding in my chest.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush, I've had a letter, from your husband,"

I felt my body fall back into the chair.

"Quite," she said.

"I do not wish to know why you wished to lie about your name to us, frankly, I don't care much, but you are the Lady Winter are you not?"

I nodded.

"Your husband stipulates that you had an agreement that if he were ever to come home from the war that you would also come home from your nursing duties. "

I managed to nod again.

Matron just pursed her lips at me.

"It seems your husband has been granted a Blighty ticket, it seems he was injured,"

I didn't say anything I just sat in Matron's office, frozen.

"Not worried or concerned for your husband? Why am I not surprised, don't think your affair with Captain Gilbert has gone unnoticed, I have known what's been going on but I did not know you were a married woman, if I did that would have been quite another matter, I am a modern woman My Lady but not that modern."

I still said nothing.

"Listen to me and listen to good Dolphina Winter, "

The shock of my first name made me meet the Matron's eyes.

"It's a jolly good thing your husband wrote to you, he has given you a way out of this terrible situation, all you have to do is make him believe the baby is his, "

I just stared at her blankly.

"Matron... I don't know what you are talking about," I gaped.

The Matron smirked a little and then her smirk turned into a soft, sweet smile.

"My dear, you are pregnant are you not?"

Then it dawned on me, the way I had been feeling the past few weeks, the month since Will and I had started being together. I hadn't seen it but the Matron she had seen it when I could not, I was pregnant, pregnant with Will's child, how would I ever explain this to Niall.

"I can see what you are thinking my dear. You do not tell him about the Captain, and whatever nonsense happened between you before you left forget it, because you have to make him believe that baby is his, you will be ruined if you do not."

The thought of Niall touching my naked body made me squirm, but I knew the Matron was right if I had to go home I was going to have to lie and I was going to have to do it well.

The Matron rose her hand indicating that I could leave her office and as I walked outside the cold winter wind raised up and over my face and was somewhat sobering but its effects didn't last long. As I opened my eyes I saw Will his head in his hands, I ran towards him my heart full of concern "What's the matter?" I said.

"I have to tell you something," he said.

I wanted to tell him everything, about my going home, being pregnant but I couldn't, not then, not with him looking so distressed.

"What is it?" I said.

I Stepped closer to him.

Will took off his cap and let his dark head hang low as he looked back at me.

"There sending me to the front," he said.

"What!" I cried immediately my body was rushed full of panic.

"They need more doctors on the front line," he shrugged his voice full of dutiful acceptance. 

For the first time since arriving in France, I didn't care who was watching I hugged him, right in front of everybody, I felt him flinch at first always worried about my reputation but he relaxed and wrapped his big arms around my body.

"I'm going to war Doll," he said.

And in that brief moment when I hugged Will tightly, I knew it wasn't just me who would be leaving it would be Will also but were destined to go in very different directions.

Hi guys, thanks for continuing to read The Girl Who Fell Out of the Ocean (Book 1 The Ghostly Saga). Updates every Wednesday and Sunday although sometimes I update more often so please to check back just in case :-D 

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P.S I am currently working on Book 2 in The Ghostly Saga - Title reveal coming soon :-)