fly away • drake carne

Part Two

It was mid morning, and Drake Carne was whistling as he walked, heart as light as a feather.

He was heading to Trenwith, where Morwenna was supposed to meet him in the woods. Things were even better, now that Ross Poldark had given him a goodly share in Wheal Grace, Ross's profitable mine.

When he had enough money to provide for Morwenna and make a good living, Drake would ask her to marry him. They had already talked about this, and Ross had told him that she had refused George's offer to marry her off.

Drake grinned. Morwenna, the love of his life, was constantly on his mind. He could hardly wait to see her again. He could scarcely believe that they would be married. He, a low-born miner's son, and her, a rich and respected governess. It was almost too much for Drake to wrap his head around.

He stopped as a sound reached his ears. The sound of a body crashing through the forest. Someone running, running hard through the trees.

Morwenna?

Drake's heart leapt as he suddenly saw her, tearing through the woods towards him. She practically fell into his arms, and the two embraced fiercely.

They kissed, and for a moment Drake felt that he was whole again— no arranged marriage, no distance between their stations, no George Warleggan scheming to destroy their lives. All they had was each other for that wonderful moment.

When they finally broke apart, Drake gasped, "I thought you wouldn't be able to get away! What kept you?"

Morwenna grasped his shoulders, looking up into his eyes. "Drake, we have to get away from here. Now!"

"What? What happened?" Drake was confused on why she was acting so strange. Then it hit him. "Mr. Warleggan. . ." he muttered. "Is he coming after you?"

"I don't know!" Morwenna cried. She sounded close to tears. "We have to go. Mr. Warleggan decided he is going to force me to marry Osborne Whitworth. I barely escaped." Her voice took on a desperate tone.

"W-when is the wedding?" Drake stammered, surprised. Even George Warleggan couldn't force someone to fall in love! But then again, the man owned half the county.

"Tomorrow, at Sawle Church. I cannot marry that man, and I will not."

Drake looked into Morwenna's beautiful eyes again, then at the trees.

"We have to run," he said finally. "You will come with me? We can just. . . fly away from all of this. You and I. I love you, Morwenna. You deserve better than this, and I think I can make you happy. . ." he stared down at his patched shoes bashfully. "If you'll have me, of course."

Morwenna flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Of course we'll run away together! But where will we go?"

"First. . . we'll go to mine brother-in-law's house."

"Ross?" Morwenna frowned.

Drake nodded. "He will help us. I know this. He's my sister's husband. They'll be sorry to see I go, but they will understand."

Morwenna reached out and took his hand in her small soft one. "Then we must go, Drake. We have little time to lose."