Story Snip from Larksong: Chapter 38 and Tumblr Polls
oooo close to the end of Larksong!Larksong is set in a lakeside town on the outskirts of Montreal, in July 1914.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In chapters 35 and 36, we see the aftermath of the birds' loss from George's point of view, then Alice's -- and Alice leaves the cottage!
In chapter 37, everyone returned to Montreal.
Before we got to the end, however, and the final confrontation with Albert and the sweet reunion with George...we skipped ahead! I shared part of a short story, told from George's point of view as he convalesces in a field hospital in France...
Now back to the final chapter before the epilogue, in which Alice arrives at the Cunnick residence...
Alice arrived late at the Cunnick residence, coming directly from a meeting of the Ladies' Aid. She stood a moment on the doorstep, poking at the pins in her hair, before she rang the bell.
The butler who held the door for her, silent and stern, had long cheeks, sunken and grey. Without a word, he led her from the atrium down a wood-panelled corridor lit only by a single lamp, and opened a door to the left, standing back to allow her to enter.
Another door slammed further down the hall and Albert appeared, dressed in full uniform. "What's this?" He strode forward, stopped directly before Alice and the open doorway and flicked a cursory glance at his butler. "That will be all."
"Very good, master Albert."
"Come." Albert switched his riding crop to his other arm and crooked his right arm at the elbow. "I'd like to show you something in the library."
Alice did not want to take his arm. She did not even want to look at him, unwilling to award him the privilege of a full, open gaze.
"Your parents and mine are expecting me," she said, but Albert simply took her hand and threaded her arm through his and towed her past the open door of the parlour. A number of figures milled about inside, and she caught a glimpse of her mother, tittering politely at some comment. No one noticed Alice being led away.
She decided to indulge Albert for a few moments, perhaps gain a chance to visit with his sisters first, before joining the company. Away from Gran's house, her embarrassment was less acute. She might even be able to face George with equanimity, and at the least demand an explanation for his cryptic notes, even if their discussion went no further.
Albert's boots clomped on the tiled floor as they headed down the corridor and the rough wool of his sleeve scratched her wrist. She braced herself to appear before George--but there was no one else in the library. "What did you want to show me?" She'd assumed George or his sisters, or all three, would be here, but there wasn't so much as an open book lying on a table. She yanked her arm free. "Where are Eleanor and Lucy?"
"Actually, there's nothing," Albert admitted casually. He came around to stand between her and the door, and pushed it shut with the heel of his boot.
"Then what--"
"I wanted to apologise about the birds," he continued in a rush, as though the words escaped him against his will.
She'd suspected as much. But to hear him admit it, in the tone of one apologising for bumping her shoulder or eating the last orange, was especially infuriating. "If that's all you brought me in for--"
"Then you accept my apology? I'm glad, because I also want to know what you think of my uniform." He threw back his shoulders and made a leg. "I'm an officer in the Royal Canadian Dragoons. Doesn't that sound grand? Have you ever kissed a soldier?"
"That'll do, Albert." The door flew open and George stepped in.
In other news, I have some polls open on tumblr!
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