Lord Cecil was true to his word and visited her a couple of times, the first time they had tea together, they talked about the party. Francis was careful to say she enjoyed herself but not to mention Will unless Lord Cecil brought him up. However, he did not, instead he asked her about her life in The Labyrinth. She was suspicious as how to answer but thought it best to tell the truth in her normal tongue-in-cheek tone. Things were bad but they could be worse. She found a safe topic in Doe and talked about her little sister more than anything else. And Lord Cecil seemed polite enough to seem interested.
The second time he visited the sun had come out and to get away from a hovering Lord Lurie they went out for a walk. Francis took him around the dewy gardens, pointing out different flowers and telling him tales of her childhood spent amongst them.
"I spent a very happy summer ,when I was first here, following Thom wherever he should go and learning as much as I could." She explained.
"That is very intuitive of you." Lord Cecil agreed.
"It came naturally as I was so fascinated by all the green. I had never seen it like this before."
They walked a little further in silence. They sat down on a bench overhung with ivy and honeysuckle. The rose bushes were jewelled with droplets making up for their bareness. A slight breeze ruffled the vine above their heads. Francis felt herself go blank as to what to say next and she dared not raise her eyes to him. She pulled her coat tighter around her and sighed a little, she would wait for him to speak this time.
"It is lucky the rains have stopped." He finally spoke.
"Yes, it has been terrible." Francis sighed, "The manor always looks nicer in the sun."
"The manor, I find, always a foreboding place usually quite unaffected by the weather."
She looked at him in surprise.
"Do you know how old this building is?" He asked her with a slight smile.
"No. But I imagine very?"
"It is the oldest thing we have left in this country."
Francis looked up at the manor. From where they were in the gardens it was all white stone and bay windows.
"It is a different sort of place." Francis said.
"It is. Every stone, passage, room holds a thousand lives or more. The house started life as a farmhouse, I think I was told, but its owners have added to it with their wealth. Generation after generation have imprinted themselves on to it and changed it. For whatever reason the house grows rather than resurrects." Lord Cecil's voice sounded a little afraid, a frown darkened his brow as if the house offended him on a very personal note.
"It must have a lot of stories then." Francis smiled calmly.
"Yes it does. A lot of ghosts. You may be one in the future." Lord Cecil smiled at her.
"I'm sure there'll be better stories than mine. I would never be a ghost either." She smiled back curiously.
"Do you know the current Luries' story?" Lord Cecil asked her softly, ignoring her sweetness.
"I'm not sure which one you mean." Francis said cautiously.
"Shall we start with Tiberius, today?"
She remained silent.
"A long time ago, when Tiberius was a young ambitious man. He met an equally wealthy and ambitious family. As you know Luries' pride themselves on making good matches."
YOU ARE READING
Doe (#Wattys2016)
FantasiThe Lab isn't for everyone. But for Doe and her sister it's home that is, until Lord Lurie finds out about them and creates a master plan that may propel them out of poverty and straight into the elite. Torn between two worlds they face the ultimat...