Love at First Glance (4 page)

Chapter 5

Lillian practically floated down the winding staircase to breakfast the next morning. Her mother had breakfast in bed and her father sat it the table sipping tea as he and her brother, Victor discussed the latest news.

World War I had just been declared and it was on the lips of everyone. There was an air of patriotism that had an undertone of fear. People didn’t know what to expect with the war starting but change was sure to occur.

Olivia and Kate sat demurely as Victor and their father chatted. Lillian was not interested in the conversation as she usually would be. Normally politics and current events weren’t the type of conversation that a woman would interfere in, but Lillian’s family was used to her discussing her feelings on topics.

Instead, that morning, she sat quietly with a slight smirk on her face. All she could think about was her rendezvous later with
Johnathan
.

“Well, Lily, you must have really enjoyed your evening,” Olivia remarked.

Everyone turned their attention to Lillian, who snapped out of her daze.

She sipped her tea as she got her thoughts together to respond to her sister’s snide attempt at calling her out.

“I did have a lovely evening, my darling
Liv
. As I’m sure you did.”

Lillian gave her a look out of the corner of her eye that told her sister that she knew what she was trying to do.

“Well, you are a bit quiet this morning, sister. You usually have quite a bit to say about what’s in the society pages,” Victor remarked.

Lillian fanned herself and then tried her best to divert the attention away from her. “I have quite a bit on my plate today. If you all will excuse me.”

She pushed away from the table. As a second thought, she came back to the table and kissed her father on the cheek. She didn’t want him to send anyone after her. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to know what she was up to that day. Nothing was going to get in the way of her going to see
Johnathan
.

She had the car ready to take her to town. She would have it drop her off at the market so it would appear that she was spending an ordinary day in town. Lillian would then make her way to Ranger’s Inn to meet up with her suitor.

She made it up to her room to freshen up before leaving.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

She saw Elizabeth peek from around the corner of the opening door.

“Milady, is there anything that I do to help you with your day? Your father said that you were going in to town.”

“Come all of the way into the room and close the door, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth did as she was asked.

“Do you have anything special you would like to do today, Elizabeth?” Lillian asked as she dabbed perfume behind her ears and on her wrists.

“Well, not in particular, Milady.”

Lillian turned around in Elizabeth’s direction. “Can I count on you to keep a secret?”

Elizabeth smiled sweetly and Lillian knew she could.

“Of course you can.”

Lillian turned back to her vanity and continued to primp. Elizabeth came over to her and helped her pin and tuck her hair.

“I am going into to town today. And I need you to come with me so it looks like any other ordinary trip into town.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Surely I will. I can think of a few ways to spend my time.”

“Perfect,” Lillian said, happy that her plan was coming together.

“May I ask what else is to this secret you are asking me to keep, Milady?”

When
Johnathan
Bailey’s face came to mind, Lillian suddenly felt hot and flushed.

“His name is
Johnathan
Bailey. We met last night at the party and he makes me feel-,”

“No words necessary, Milady. I can tell by the way that you are blushing that he has you smitten.”

It felt like a load off to talk about
Johnathan
with someone. Lillian knew that she couldn’t share anything about him with anyone, at least not just yet.

“I don’t know where this is going, but I had to go and meet him. I didn’t want to hurt Mother’s feelings by inviting another suitor to call on me when she went through so much to set me up with Cyril
Aimsley
. “

Elizabeth put the finishing touches on Lillian’s hair.

“Besides, we are not sure where things are going with
Mr.
Bailey. So it’s best not to give too much information before we really know.” Elizabeth put a comforting hand on Lillian’s shoulder.

Lillian knew exactly what Elizabeth meant by the statement. She was correct.

“Thank you, Elizabeth. My hair looks perfect. I’ll be waiting for you downstairs in the car.”

“I’ll be right there, Milady. Let me just grab a few things.”

Lillian was able to leave without a hitch. No one asked many questions about her and Elizabeth leaving.

The ride to the village of
Lanchester
was not a long one. But the time seemed like an eternity.

Once they reached the village, Lillian could finally breathe. She didn’t know what to expect, but being in the village was a step closer to being near
Johnathan
. She made a plan to meet Elizabeth back near the market in three hours. They would exit the market to make it look as though that was where they had been the entire time so when the chauffeur picked them up, nothing would look suspicious. Until then, Elizabeth was on her own free time.
 

Lillian waited for the chauffeur to drive off back in the direction of the manor. When he did, she and Elizabeth went their separate ways.

Lillian walked the streets of the village until she reached the Ranger’s Inn. Her heart pounded knowing that
Johnathan
was so close.

It dawned on her that she didn’t know what room he was in. As a proper lady, she certainly couldn’t be seen going in and asking for a man’s room and she certainly couldn’t be seen going up to his room for a visit.

She decided to go inside of the inn and sit down for a cup of tea and wait to see if he arrived.

Lillian indulged in her tea as her mind twirled about what would happen this afternoon between the two of them. Then she realized that maybe she shouldn’t put too much into it. Maybe he just wanted to meet for lunch and chat over a meal to get to know her better.

Or maybe he wanted to lure her to his room and make sweet love to her.

Just maybe.

Lillian had never laid with a man and had always thought that she would wait to give her virginity to the man that would be her husband. That was the way that it was written, but meeting
Johnathan
Bailey made her want to rewrite the entire story.

           
She sat near a window that allowed her perfect access to see
passersby
on the street. For the next few minutes, she watched as people walked by. Children ran carefree and couples walked by hand in hand. She
marveled
at the way that times were changing. The war was sure to change society even more.

           
It seemed like the entire world passed the window before she saw his slender figure coming down the street. He caught sight of her through the window and when their eyes met, Jillian’s heart began to race.

           
Waiting for
Johnathan
to walk through the door, Jillian was filled with the strongest anticipation. Would he live up to all of the daydreams that she’d had last night since their dance?

           
Seeing him again was the thing that made their secret meeting all worth it.

           
“Lady Lillian,” he said in a velvety baritone as he approached.

           
He was even more handsome than she remembered from the night before.

           
She continued to sip her tea as he took a seat.

           
“Hello,
Mr.
Bailey. It’s so good to see you.” Lillian tried to keep her cool as best she could. After all, she was a lady.

           
“If you would love to join me, we can take a walk. It’s a beautiful day.”
Johnathan
held his hand out, waiting for hers. She put her tea cup down and put her hand in his. His grip was reassuring.

           
“You look lovely today,”
Johnathan
said as he took in the vision of Lillian in her navy blue dress. She liked the most stylish of clothing and she chose a simple classic look of a silk dress with an embroidered collar. She had her hair pinned up perfectly, but somehow a few stray strands of her strawberry blonde hair always seemed to find a way down to frame her face.

           
“Thank you. It certainly is a beautiful day today.” She let
Johnathan
lead the way.

           
He led them through the village towards a small cottage.

           
“You know that I’ve never done this before.” For some reason, Lillian felt the need to make that fact very clear.

           
Johnathan
squeezed her hand in his. He didn’t say anything.

           
They turned down an alley way and once
Johnathan
looked around to make sure that no one was watching, he took his key out and opened the door.

           
“Won’t you come in?” he said in a pleasant tone.

           
The sound of his voice was soothing and Lillian had to admit to herself that she was enraptured by his American accent.

           
“Is this where you live?” Lillian asked.

           
The cottage was humble on the outside, but inside, it was immaculately decorated. It was obvious that it was done with a woman’s touch. Lillian was intrigued.

           
“Well, of sorts. My father purchased it for me when I told him that I wanted to have a home here.”

           
Johnathan
took the wrap that was around Lillian’s shoulders and helped her over to an arm chair where she could have a seat.

           
The chair had gold arms and maroon velvet upholstery.

           
“Thank you,” Lillian said as she took a seat. “But if you don’t mind me asking, how did you happen upon
Lanchester
? Most people don’t come here to visit and then live.”
           
Johnathan
shrugged. “I was on my way to London and had to take a train from
Lanchester
. I sort of fell in love with the place when I came here. It’s charming. Not all of the hustle and bustle of London.”

           
“I do agree. I love the provincial life here. Although I love a trip to London like anyone else, I don’t know that I would choose to live anywhere else but
Lanchester
.”

           
There was a break in the conversation and both of them stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak.

           
Lillian burst out in laughter first, followed by
Johnathan
. It was a perfect ice breaker.