Larksong: The End, plus a Heart-lifting Cameo!

ne year on, we reach the end of Larksong!


Larksong is set in a lakeside town on the outskirts of Montreal, in July 1914.

Here's where it all began...

In chapters 1 to 10, Alice arrives at the family cottage following her grandmother's funeral, to take care of her grandmother's aviary--only to find that her parents have already leased the cottage to another prominent Montreal family. The only way she can have one final summer in her favourite place is to surreptitiously take on the role of governess to the two young girls.

Gradually, she bonds with them, and eases into her feigned position. Then she learns that their older brother George, laid up with a broken leg, will be staying as well, for rest and recuperation.

Upon his arrival, Alice keeps up her governess role as best she can. She finds George attractive and interesting--but also unbearably entitled. They can't seem to stop arguing over everything--including the rumours of political events in Europe.

As they spend their evenings together over cards and drinks, George attempts a rapprochement and Alice struggles to mask her stirring feelings. George, too, realizes that his attraction to Alice is growing--yet this realization does not lead to greater friendliness.

Here's a snip and a post featuring photos of character faces!

In chapters 11 to 20, a new complication arises, in the form of the arrival of Albert, George's younger--and rather rude--brother, hiding a secret about his expulsion from university. On returning from an afternoon at the lake, Alice and the girls overhear an argument between the brothers. When Albert takes his sisters with him back to the lakeshore, Alice and George share a moment alone in the garden. Alice, growing ever more conflicted, decides to emphasize her governess role and not join the brothers that evening in the parlour.

A snip in real time -- and my Druid's Moon publication anniversary!

In chapters 21 to 30, Alice and George share an early morning idyll rowing on the lake, and finally have a true rapprochement. Alice arranges an expedition in the woods with the girls, and George joins them. There are friendly chats, the girls sign their brother's cast, and George begins work on a sketch of Alice, finally allowing himself to explore his passion for drawing and painting, which his family have been trying to quell.

When they return home, the girls help Alice feed the birds and clean the aviary in preparation for the arrival of Mr Palmer, a prospective buyer. Throughout the day, there are hints of the gathering storms of war.

Alice and George come close to admitting their attraction, but then George unwittingly insults the birds, the aviary, and even Alice's affection for her grandmother's pets.

A further complication emerges with the arrival of Albert's friends from Montreal, as well as Pixie, a hired nurse for George, who seems more interested in flirting with Albert and his friends than in engaging in her duties. That evening, the boys hold an arm wrestling match, involving wagers for a few coins--and kisses for the winner from Pixie. George catches Albert and Pixie canoodling in the kitchen, but decides he's in no position to say anything because he is ready to embrace Alice, the governess.

The next day, George decides to reveal to both Alicce and his sisters his secret--the full extent of his artistry. They discover that Eleanor is also a budding artist, and the siblings, guided by Alice, agree to continue to develop their talent and to hide it together from their disapproving parents.

The girls return to the house, and Alice and George, alone in the enclosed garden, sit side by side on the bench. They kiss, and Alice, too, reveals her secret. She discloses her true identity to George, and they openly discuss their newfound feelings. They also talk of Alice's attachment to the cottage and the birds, and what they might tell his family, if anything, about her pretending to be a governess for the past couple of weeks. Then they talk of George's hopes and plans for his future career in art-- and what might happen if war comes.

Another snip and art for my stories!

Another snip and the story playlist!

In chapters 30 to 34, they all attend the banquet and dance at the nearby luxury hotel. Alice juggles her governess duties with unwanted advances from Albert--and affairs of the heart. Earlier than planned, Alice and George return to the house together and draw closer than ever before, until Albert interrupts.

Following an argument between George and his brother, Albert disappears with Pixie. Alice and George take their relationship further than they have before, until George says the wrong thing and Alice storms upstairs to bed.

The next morning, Alice wakes to find all the birds gone from the aviary. She rushes out to seek them, all the while speculating about who might have left the doors open. She manages to catch most of the birds, with Eleanor's help. Yet just when she thinks all might be salvaged, things take a turn for the worse when George, goaded by Albert's jibes, reveals her true identity to everyone at once.

Another snip, and my year-end writing roundup!

In chapters 35 to 38, we see the aftermath of the birds' loss from George's point of view, then Alice's opinion -- and Alice leaves the cottage!
They all return to Montreal and, following a handful of cryptic notes from George involving his final handover of the birds, Alice arrives at the Cunnick residence. She has a brief confrontation with Albert.

Then, in the ending scene (before the epilogue!), Alice has a moment alone with George...


George's scowl remained firmly set until Albert had departed, rather unnecessarily slamming the door shut behind him.

Alice put him entirely out of her mind. She removed her gloves, finger by finger, aware of George's unwavering gaze on her the entire time and stalling, so that she might marshal her thoughts.

She had forgotten–or wilfully chosen to ignore–how the sight of him set her heart to racing, her blood to thrumming. Even now, she ached to extend a fingertip and graze the line of his jaw, murmur something, anything, that might coax a sweet smile out from behind his chilly mask.

Instead, she found herself calling attention to the one topic that had grated on him for weeks. "Your cast has come off at last. You must be relieved."

"Must I? My leg's still weak– I'm sure you recall what that's like. But without the visible cast, no one knows of my injury. Aches and pains–weakness–isn't visible. I have no excuse for not leaping into a uniform as Albert has done."

"Do you...wish to go?"

"Certainly. There will be no honour in staying behind like a craven. But I–" He faltered, held up his hand in the air between them, then let it drop to his side. "I cannot ask anything of you."

"Cannot?" she echoed softly. "Or will not? If you could ask, what would you wish?"

George's eyes blazed, a fiery warmth in their depths. He slid one foot forward, touched the tip of his shoe to hers.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze, from where their feet were linked, up the length of his crisply pressed trousers, over the billows of his loosely buttoned shirt. Mesmerized for a moment by the glimpse of his chest, bronzed skin and gingery hairs, so that her entire mind was filled by the inappropriate thought that the gap appeared perfectly sized for her palm to rest on.

She shook her head, as if that might be enough to dislodge all such fancies, even as George raised his hand again and held it, palm up, between them.

Alice made her choice.

Lifting her hand, she set it on his, palm to palm, and curled her fingers.

He responded instantly, tightening his grip. "It will be painful," he said, low-voiced and slower than usual, as though he tested the weight of each phrase on his tongue before speaking it aloud. "It will hurt us both, to be parted, wherever we end up in this theatre of war."

"But that won't deter you, will it?" she said, fiercely. "It won't hold me back."

"Alice, sweetheart." He held their linked fingers over his heart. "No, it won't deter me. I will go, and I will be parted from you, but I will feel stronger, knowing you are only one letter, one postcard, one telegram away."

"We might be in luck–end up in London or elsewhere, together."

"We might, at that," he said, and the lines of his face were softer than she'd ever seen them, his full mouth quirked in a gentle smile.

"And what will we be?" she asked boldly, plainly. "If we should, say, dine out together, and run into an acquaintance. How will you introduce us?'

"Alice." George's face dipped improbably closer, barely a breath from hers. "Are you asking if... I'm not saying I haven't thought of it. But I'm not prepared." He raised his other hand and looked at it. "I have my school ring. Shall I place that on your finger?"

Her answering smile tugged at her cheeks. It would be unseemly to launch herself into his arms. Yet such was the force of her desire, a feeling that made everything else seem easy by comparison. Grief, she could survive. Albert's treachery, she could endure. The uncertain future, she would face with bravery. All the world would lie at her feet, if once George sealed his promise with a kiss to her mouth.

Loosening his clutch of her hand, he twisted the ring off his finger and held it to her hand, chuckling quietly as he shifted from her ring finger, clearly too narrow for the ring, to her middle finger, then to her index finger.

He looked up and held her gaze. "Alice, sweetheart. I have not shown you anything good of myself, yet still you have found affection for me. Have found, if I dare to believe it, love for me, as I have come to love you. You are steadfast, determined, sweet and patient. I can only hope to become a better person every day so that I may be worthy of you. Worthy to be your husband, if you will have me. Will you accept my proposal?"

"I will," she said, swift as a bird's flight. A mere whisper, as she suddenly found herself without breath. "I will," she repeated more firmly. There should not be any doubts left between them. "Say it again," she entreated.

And George knew what she meant. "I love you," he said, and slipped his ring onto her finger.

"I love you," she said, joyful, with her heart beating harder.

He clasped both her hands in his, closed the final space between them, and kissed her.

Let the world race on, let it try its darndest to intrude. Nothing and no one could break their hold, now that they'd been intertwined. No matter any distance that came between them, all such spaces would be temporary. Alice kissed George, and knew that the future held love.


Thank you for following all year! I really hope you liked the story!

The other day I got a Cameo from Leon 'Buttons' Kirkbeck, Crypid Factor Podcaster (among other things! He's part of the team that created the hilarious Get New Zealand on the Map ads!). I can't embed the Cameo video here, but do go and watch, it's heartwarming!

Have you gotten a Cameo before, maybe for a birthday?
They're great fun!