#benday

“There’s only one thing that can save us now!” Ms. Heliotrope shared a knowing smile.

“Classical. French. Needlepoint.” Maria said with her, no small amount of relief flooding through her. 

The journey thus far had been terrible, but if she were to live in the countryside, she could at least preserve her more civil pastimes. 

Ms. Heliotrope took out their most recent projects: matching, colorful, beautiful Fluer-De-Lis, embellished by little flowers, ribbons and birds. Ms. Heliotrope was much further along, but she had years of experience under her hands. She was quick and capable with the needle, and Maria - while quite skillful - took her time to make sure each stitch was perfect. 

It took her a moment to realize the carriage had stopped, so focused as she was on her needlepoint. 

Ms. Heliotrope called for Mr. Digweed, and Maria stuck her head out of the window to find that he was standing before a wrought iron gate. He fiddled with a ring of keys, and it seemed their journey could only go on once it was opened.

“Must be a half-wit!” Ms. Heliotrope muttered snidely after Mr. Digweed did not answer their calls. 

Maria laughed, and pulled herself back inside, only to be grabbed, roughly around her shoulders. Now, Maria had never been grabbed so forceful! Ms. Heliotrope was always kind and gentle, and even when she smacked Maria’s wrist with a ruler, it was little more than a quick, reprimanding snap. Her father held her tightly in goodbye hugs, pulling her to him, picking her up in his arms when she was small. His hands had been firm, and strong, and she knew she would not fall. Other than that, no one had ever really touched her, or had any reason to. 

So when sharp fingers dug into Maria’s arms and began to remove her from the carriage window, there was very little she could do besides scream. And scream she did! 

Furthermore, Maria was a Lady, she had never been disciplined in manners of self-defense (a word that was not even in her lexicon). She had only ever met gentlemen with respectful hands, or other young ladies with soft, gloved fingers like her own. But, Maria knew how sharp her needle was, for in the early days of sewing and embroidery, she had pricked her fingers countless times. As it was her only weapon, she took it in her hand, raised it to the one on her arm, and dropped it. 

Maria blinked in surprise as the needle fell to the dirt road beneath her, and disappeared in a cloud of dust. 

“Maria!” Ms. Heliotrope called, her hands around Maria’s waist in a wasted effort to save her, but Ms. Heliotrope herself had been torn from the carriage. The old governess screamed, loud and shrill, as she herself was ripped away and thrown to the ground. 

“Ms. Heliotrope!” But Maria’s assailant was at last successful, and yanked her out through the window. 

Maria struggled against the sharp hands, before she fell onto the dirt road. (Which was a very long way to go when you were more or less hoisted to the top of the carriage.) Maria caught herself on her hands, her palms scraping against the dirt and gravel as she hissed in pain. Maria brushed her shaking hands and began searching the ground for her needle, but her Assailant jumped from the carriage roof and landed beside her. 

His hands took purchase on her shoulders, and he wrenched her to her feet, before he whipped her around, and Maria recognized him. 

“Where are they!”

The boy from London, at her father’s funeral. 

He shook her again, but she was frozen, unable to say anything. 

The very boy who had watched her from afar and disappeared as if into thin air!

He looked away from her, to where she could hear Digweed running towards them, and he shoved her. 

Suddenly, Maria was running, her hand caught in his. 

“No! Let go of me!” Maria dug her heels into the ground, and he stopped. She almost thought she would be able to get away, but the next moment he had thrown her over his shoulder and was running once more. 

To truly understand the predicament Maria found herself in, one must remember that Maria Merryweather was what one might call sheltered. Born and raised in a beautiful townhouse, in the very center of London, she was never without Ms. Heliotrope, or the servants of her house. Then, beside the butler (who more or less handled Father’s accounts in Father’s office while Father was away) and her Father (who was away more often than not, sometimes for months at a time. Maria was surrounded by women. And, above all, Maria was from London, while not free of crime, she had certainly never been the victim of any robberies, burglaries, assaults, murders, or kidnappings, as her shopping expeditions kept her on the safe side.

So, to be carted around the countryside, in the arms of a strange man, who had been stalking her since London, was not in Maria’s wheelhouse of expertise.   

It took Miss. Maria a moment to catch her breath, another to realize they had entered some kind of forest, and a final moment to get her voice back. 

“You put me down this second!” She said, each word punctuated with a sharp smack to his back. 

Her Assailant jostled her, her stomach landed painfully on his shoulder, before he himself spoke. “No can do, Princess, unless you tell me where the Pearls are.” 

Suddenly, the other highwayman - who had shoved Ms. Heliotrope to the ground - broke through the trees. “Robin! They’re trying to come after us!” 

“Shit.” Her Assailant - Robin - hissed. “Go that way, make noise, make a mess, leave an obvious trail, and circle back ‘round to the road.”

The Highwayman - who, now that Maria got a good look at his face, couldn’t have even been eighteen - nodded and followed the order, disappearing back into the trees without a moment’s hesitation.  

This Highwayman was named Henry, and he was a member of the De Noir Clan, not that Maria would know any of this. He was an only child and had kept to himself most of his life. Henry was what most would consider well mannered and polite, but to the loud, rowdy, destructive De Noirs, he was odd. He had found for himself three good friends, one of which was Robin, but he was always afraid they would realize that he was just as odd as everyone said and would abandon him. But nevermind all that. 

Maria did her best to escape Robin’s hold. 

Her methods were not limited to, but included: wiggling like a fish, attempting to crawl down his back, kneeing his stomach, blowing in his ear, rolling, fainting, and tickling. 

These methods made him: annoyed, irritated, and pissed off (though that word was not in Maria’s lexicon). 

They hadn’t gotten far when Robin threw her from his shoulder. 

As soon as he did, Maria ran, but clothed as she was in London’s most fashionable attire, she was woefully slow.

And her Assailant just so happened to not be wearing London’s latest fashion’s, and was much quicker. 

His hand wrapped around her wrist, and while she tried to beat him with her other, much freer hand, he had just grabbed it. With her hands disabled, she began to kick his shins. It was working! She knew this because he was grimacing, and barely concealing his pathetic groans, she just had to keep this up, and she’d be back in Ms. Heliotrope’s arms in a-

Robin pulled tightly on the ropes that now surrounded her wrists. 

“What-?” 

She backed away from him, and tried to get her hands out, but they chafed against the thick rope. She looked up at him, aghast that he would dare tie up a young lady, but he had bent down and was lifting up her skirts!

Maria gasped loudly, she tried to back away, but he snatched her ankle. And she fell like a tree. 

Maria had never fallen in this manner, and it quite hurt. There was a sharp jolt up her spine, and for a moment, she was convinced she had stopped breathing, and was about to die. 

Please be mindful, she had never experienced anything like this before! Being bound and gagged - Robin did take the cotton mask off his nose and tied it tightly to her face - was something that happened in stories! And those were usually the kind she wasn’t allowed to read, as the mind of a young lady was too sensitive for such topics. 

Her Assailant secured her two legs together, and tied the rope tightly, so she could not even wiggle her feet. 

Maria was once again in a state of shock, and she began to truly fear for her life. She could not ask questions, but her fear must have been obvious to Robin. 

A moment to introduce this Assailant. 

Robin was a young boy with a heavy burden on his shoulders. He had been raised with the expectation that he would one day rise up and take over the De Noir Clan as Coeur De Noir.

However, it was clear to any and all that he was the Coeur De Noir’s biggest disappointment. And that was a very impressive thing to manage when your sister, the once pride and joy of the entire De Noir Clan, had been disowned for falling in love with a Merryweather. 

Robin was a foolish boy, with foolish friends, and foolish interests, but he still longed for his father’s pride. 

The most Robin had ever done was track and trap animals, mostly birds and hares, not girls. And, while it was true that the De Noir Clan did not have the best reputation (one might say their reputation was the blackest in all of Moonacre Valley, if not all of England, perhaps not the world, as they’re were plenty of evil people in the world) the De Noirs were innocent of half of the things they were accused of. 

Kidnapping included. 

When they had heard word that Maria Merryweather would be coming to Moonacre, it was clear that she would be the Moon Princess to break the curse. Or at least attempt to. 

And the De Noirs could not have that.

Maria watched Robin’s lips part, and purse, part and purse, part and purse, before he spoke. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“At least!” Maria said, but really it sounded like “Arf veese!” through the gag.

“I promise, alright?” 

Robin, unfortunately, had big eyes, big beautiful, soulful eyes, and he seemed so truthful, and the longer Maria stared up into his big, beautiful, brown eyes, the more she believed him. She nodded. 

He nodded. 

She was on his shoulder again. 

Maria instantly cursed herself. How could she trust this person! How could she have ever even begun to believe a word he was saying! He was a kidnapper! Of course he would say anything to get her to comply! 

He had tied her up! Gagged her! Kidnapped her!

She was thrown over his shoulder like a sack of flour! 

Maria had always supposed she was a sensible girl, intelligent, and not so easily tricked. But of course, there was a difference between supposing and application. 

Most of the time, people who think they’d be brave and strong in certain situations, often aren’t. 

Still, Maria didn’t want to be lugged around like luggage, so she began to work at the gag, moving her mouth until it was out of her mouth, then on her chin, before she reached up…

With her hands… 

Maria furrowed her brow. For a kidnapper, he wasn’t a good one, was he? He should have tied her hands behind her back, rather than right in front of her! 

Maria pulled the gag around her neck and lifted herself up onto her elbows (prodding them into his back and shoulder was just an added benefit) “Please, tell me where we’re going?” 

He jumped in surprise, and he tried to look back at her (an impossible feat, really, since when you turn your head, you're bombarded with the side of the person you have hoisted on your shoulder) before he turned his eyes back to the road. 

“Castle Black.”

Maria did not know what that was. “Why?”

“Because, Moon Princess.” 

Maria shook her head. “I’m not a Princess, and I’m not even sure what a Moon Princess is supposed to be.”

“You’re a Merryweather aren’t you?” He asked, glaring down at his feet in confusion (hoping that he had not kidnapped the wrong person). 

Maria rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

“Maria Merryweather?”

“Yes!”

“Then you’re the Moon Princess.”

She groaned. “I still don’t know what that is!” 

He paused, and while she didn’t see it, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “It's you! The Moon Princess is you!” 

“That makes no sense!” She placed her hands on his shoulder in an attempt to look him in the eye. “What am I? Princess of the Moon!”

“No! Don’t be ridiculous-!” 

But she had finally managed to escape his hold, only she hadn’t been trying to.  

As she lifted herself up onto his shoulder, the hold he had around her knees wasn’t expecting her weight, so she slipped right through. Maria fell to the floor and Robin caught her in his arms as she tumbled backwards, unable to balance due to her feet being tangled together, and her tied hands were caught between his chest and her own. 

To Maria, this was incredibly uncomfortable. To be pressed to someone so closely, that she had no proper relations with other than that he was her kidnapper, was hardly appropriate, and while they were in the middle of a forest, Maria looked around to make sure no one would see her in such a compromising position. 

To Robin, this was incredibly uncomfortable, but for completely different reasons. The one woman he had ever been remotely close to was his sister, who had abandoned him when he was seven years old. To say he was inexperienced with women didn’t come close to the truth of the matter, which was that he didn’t know any women (his father’s consort hardly counted). To hold Maria Merryweather in his arms  was a feeling he was unprepared to deal with.

And, well, no one wants to read on and on about ‘soft, feminine bodies’ because that’s gross. Besides, that wasn’t what made Robin so uncomfortable. It was one of the things, to be sure, but not the major one. 

Maria had lovely eyes. A charming mix of green and brown, with little speckles around her iris, and long lashes that framed them. 

Robin did not make a habit of getting lost in the eyes of pretty girls, but all habits start somewhere, and his may have very well begun here. 

Maria swallowed thickly, and pushed at his chest. He stepped away, but did not let go, lest she fall. “Now, please, tell me: what is a Moon Princess?”

Robin blinked, and shook his head sharply. “A Moon Princess- I don’t know how to describe it without giving you the full story.”

“Give me the full story then.” She commanded, and despite the ropes that adorned her wrists and ankles, she gave the impression of being the one in charge. 

It seemed as if Robin was going to consider it, before Henry broke through the trees. 

Robin quickly bent down, and picked her back up, making her yelp at its suddenes. 

“They’ll be running in circles ‘til nightfall!” Henry proclaimed proudly. 

“Good, that gives us plenty of time, let's go.” 

Maria spent the rest of the journey planning her escape. 

Henry walked ahead of Robin, quicker without a heavy burden, and Robin did not have eyes in the back of his head, so neither saw as Maria used her teeth to untie the knot on her rope. To reiterate, Robin was not a good kidnapper. 

Of course, untying the knot would not solve her feet being strung together. Nevertheless, Maria bit, and spit out fibers, and pulled with her teeth, until it fell loose. It almost fell to the floor, but she caught, and wrapped it loosely around her hands, tucking the end in, so it looked as if her hands were still bound. 

It was at this moment that two other boys came out to greet them.

“Robin! There you are! You’ve been gone- Robin, the hell is that?”

Maria heard his gentle huff. “The Moon Princess!”

“The Moon Princess!” One laughed in disbelief, and she tried to lift herself up and look over her shoulder at the two. 

“Stole ‘er right outta ‘er carriage.” Henry supplied, crossing his arms in a misplaced sense of superiority. 

“Did you?” The last one said, he was quieter than the others, and Maria twisted around to see him. 

Robin had picked Henry to come along because of the four of them, he was the strongest, and when kidnapping someone, it made sense to bring someone strong to do the heavy lifting. Of course, Robin was still holding Maria, and Henry was not.  

“Maria Merryweather.” Robin said, “The Moon Princess.” 

One of them whistled. “Impressive!” 

“We’re taking her to my father. Let’s get a move on.” 

The two come to the other side of Robin, and Maria glared at them. 

“More Highwaymen?” 

One smirked. “We’re a package deal, your Highness!”

The other one simply glared at her. 

These boys were Richard and David, respectively, of the group Richard was the most nimble, he was an excellent lock picker, and a good distraction, especially if it was a lady who needed distracting. Then there was David. David was a very dangerous thing: intelligent. He was the slightest of them all, and rather scrawny, but he had a mind for strategy. He was slow to trust, but adroit in the De Noir business. Which was, of course, preserving their black reputation. 

Maria looked between the two of them, before deciding it was best to keep her eyes on the forest floor. And her hands, to make sure the rope never fell off. 

When at last they came to Castle Black (which had once been foreboding and treacherous, but was now falling apart, and mended haphazardly with ill-fitting wooden structures) Robin set her down on the ground and cut through the ropes around her feet. 

“Let’s go.” He said, and rather gingerly, wrapped his arm around her bicep. 

The boys had formed a circle around her, Robin at her side, Henry ahead of her, David on her other side, and Richard behind, so no one touched her, so no one could really see her. 

Castle Black was not home to many of the De Noir Clan, as a village rested on the other side of the hill. The men that were there, were guards, or workers of the house, however. 

When they came through the gate and up the courtyard, the men gathered around them, forming a jeering and taunting crowd. As she walked by, they shouted and catcalled, the likes of which Maria had never before heard. 

“C’mon, Robin, let me take ‘er to the Coeur!” 

“Got yerself a lil’ Moon Princess, eh boy?”

“Let me haves a look!”

She did her best to ignore them, but her jaw trembled, how could these men be so cruel? 

She wasn’t even fourteen. 

Someone threw something, and it landed on her face. She came to an abrupt halt and gasped sharply, her hands swiped away what she was sure were the rotten remains of a tomato. 

“Henry.” Robin said, and Henry broke off from the group, David came to stand slightly in front of her, and she heard the sounds of a fight breaking out. 

Her head whipped around to see Henry’s fist colliding with a man’s jaw. She gasped at the violence and tripped over her own feet, before Robin righted her and led her on. 

Straight into the Castle’s maw of a front door. 

The jeering men followed after them, into the dark halls, and she felt something pull at her bustle. 

A startled yelp escaped her throat, and she spun around just in time to see Richard’s hand twisting a man’s wrist. The man groaned in pain as he fell to the floor. 

“Come along.” Robin whispered, his hand squeezing her arm, and trying to make her walk a little faster. 

They came out into an open, imposing hall, covered in images of roaring lions and snakes, lit with fire, filled with harsh laughter, and men in dark hooded cloaks. 

A falcon sheriked, everything stopped, and all eyes were on Maria. 

“Well! What do we have here?” A man stood from his chair, and Maria got the feeling that he was very important, as he looked down his nose at her.

She was right, of course. This was the Coeur De Noir, a ferocious, cruel, merciless man (if you believed all that was said about him). A tyrant, a mercenary, an outlaw, save here in his own Castle. 

To understand the Coeur, one must understand his position. 

Moonacre Valley was a bountiful land, the last truly magical place in all the world, and it was his (and the Merryweather’s) in days of old. The De Noir’s had to defend their home from peril and invaders, but it was never enough. It wasn’t until one of the Coeurs, many moons ago, came up with the plan to become a great evil. Or at least, make it appear that they were a great evil. 

Suddenly, the De Noir Clan was feared, and none dared to even enter the forest that they so zealously guarded.  

Ever since, every Coeur was given the same task: to be black, dangerous, and terrifying. 

What more, this particular Coeur knew that the very next full moon would bring about the end of the Merryweathers. It was a great honor, and it was his fate to be champion of Moonacre, so long as he did not fail.

“Welcome, Moon Princess.” He said, when Robin pushed her before him. Maria stumbled, but did not fall. 

As scared as she was - and she was terrified - she did not let it show, choosing instead to glare up at the man. 

“Robin, I had no idea you would be bringing me such a present! Well done.” 

Robin swallowed, unused to the praise, and not quite sure he liked what he was being praised for. His lips twitched into a semblance of a smile. 

The Coeur De Noir grinned at Maria, he stepped down from the platform his table was raised up on, and knelt down next to her. 

“Your downfall means our victory.” His smile was carved deep into his face, curling like devil’s smoke. “Throw her in the dungeons!” 

The men around her burst into vicious cheers, and Robin was hauling her away once more.

He and the three other Highwaymen lead her past the gathered crowds, and to the prison tower.

They crossed a rickety bridge, and Maria got her first real glimpse of Moonacre Valley. She could hardly believe how beautiful it truly was. London was smoke, and stone, manners and restriction; the Valley was anything but that. Vibrant, and alive, and green, and majestic, but all too soon, her view was stolen from her, and she remembered that she was being taken to a dungeon. 

Robin let go of her arm in favor of jabbing at her already abused spine to propel her down the cell-lined hall.

“Leave me alone, you oaf!” She spun around and shouted at him, her annoyance eclipsing her terror. She had had a long and dreadful day; she had been kidnapped, tied up, taunted, she was without her Ms. Heliotrope, being escorted to a dungeon, and this stupid, rude, boy of a criminal still had a mind to push her around! She had had enough, and did not care any longer about propriety, or her fear, or his eyes!

Robin leaned down, so their faces were level, “You know, for someone in your current predicament, I have to admire your spirit.”

But her feet were free, and his legs were parted, and if Maria knew one thing, it was how to kick. 

(Maria, of course, would not know until much later why kicking a man betwixt his legs hurt so much, as a woman’s education on male anatomy was saved until the night of her wedding. Maria merely knew that kicking would be effective in some manner. Not that she knew she was kicking his manhood.)

Her knee met his crotch, and he crumpled in pain. The boys behind him burst into laughter, before he launched himself at her. 

“Feisty, that one is!” One of them shouted. 

“Witch!” And his hands were once again rough and painful as he shoved her in the last cell. 

“I wouldn’t take that from her, Robin!” The boys taunted, “What’re you gonna do, toss her out?” 

“Hey! Lock her in!” Robin snapped at the guard. 

“Right, sir.” 

With one final push, she stumbled into the cell, and the door slammed in her face.

Robin waved mockingly at her, but she didn’t care about that. 

She cared about how stupid she had been. 

The boys laughed as they walked away, leaving her in the cage, locking her away like she was nothing.

“Guard watch her, she’s slippery.” Robin called out, casting her one last glance over his shoulder. There was, of course, some remorse that she had missed. 

Robin wasn’t a bad person, despite the fact that that was what he was born to be, and he couldn’t stop the sour taste in his mouth, as their eyes met.  

The cell door locked. The guard turned away, back to rest in his chair. Maria ripped the rope from her hands and threw it to the floor. She scampred around the cell, looking out the windows, only to find them barred, and high out of her reach. Other than that, there was no way out. 

Maria huffed, and sat down on the floor, rubbing her red wrists as she tried not to cry. 

She began to play with the little bauble that was left to her by her mother. 

It was Saturn, the sixth planet. Maria untied it from her neck, and unlatched it. The inside was hollow, and contained the mementos of her mother.

A lock of her mother’s hair, a pretty curl, that shined in the light like freshly fallen snow. 

A little ring, too big to ever fit on Maria’s child-sized hand. She was pleased to find that it did fit now, on her forefinger. A golden band, with a large pearl set in the middle. 

A tear catcher, filled by her mother’s final tears. It was a small, dark blue bottle that contained little liquid, because her mother had been strong, and she had not cried on her deathbed. She only shed tears as she kissed her daughter goodbye. 

That was what Ms. Heliotrope had told her, however untrue it may be. 

These were her greatest treasures; the very last of what she had of her mother. Maria wore it in times of great tribulation - or when it matched her outfit - and she was glad she had worn it that day. 

Because this was perhaps the greatest tribulation she had ever faced. 

She returned her items to the locket, and wept bitterly.

☾

Ms. Heliotrope and the one she called “Dogwood” ran through the woods for hours, each thinking they saw the back of the two young men’s black clothes, before rushing after them, only to find an empty glade.

“There she is!” Ms. Heliotrope cried, she had seen her ward’s lovely blue travel dress, but as she leapt from the brush and looked around, she realized they had made it back to the place where they had started. “Oh, damn it all!” Ms. Heliotrope beat her fists against her thighs, and squeezed her eyes shut tight, not allowing herself to cry. 

Mr. Digweed burst out of the bush and bumped into her. 

“Oh! Mr. Dogwood, please!” 

“Sorry, ma’am!” He looked away bashfully, before he saw the carriage too. “That’ll be us, then.”

“What do you mean?”

Mr. Digweed stepped around the frazzled city woman and made his way up the steep hill to the coach. 

“Mr. Dogwood! What about Maria-”

“Well, you see ma’am, there’s not much more we can do! I don’t know the forest, and you are run ragged!” 

Ms. Heliotrope blinked away tears. “So- so Maria is gone? Forever?”

“Of course not! I know who took ‘er!” And he smiled proudly. 

“You know- who, my man! Who!”

He jumped, and held his arms in front of his face as if she were close to attacking him (she was). “The De Noirs, ma’am, the De Noirs! We need to tell Sir Benjamin, ma’am! Right away!” 

Ms. Heliotrope glanced back over the shoulder, to the woods where she had been led on a wild goose chase, and relented. “Very well.”

Mr. Digweed helped her back into the coach, and whipped the horses onward.

Ms. Heliotrope picked up her needlepoint, but she did not have the heart to continue. 

The gate was only an hour away from the Manor, but time seemed to drag, and she feared the very worst for her poor girl. 

Ms. Heliotrope was a proud, intelligent, and sacrificial woman. She had been teaching young girls for most of her adult life, but she had always been fondest of a young girl named Elizabeth. Who was a bit sarcastic, a bit stubborn, and a bit foolhardy. She always made Ms. Heliotrope laugh, and when Ms. Heliotrope had doubts about her noble pursuits, she merely thought of her dear Eliza, and carried on. When Eliza married, and grew pregnant, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind who could be there for her. Ms. Heliotrope had even assisted in the birth! Very much out of her wheelhouse, and when Eliza passed, Ms. Heliotrope promised she would always look after Maria. 

So, for Maria to be- For Maria… Ms. Heliotrope couldn’t bear to even put her worry in words. And her settled stomach became quite unsettled. 

When at last they arrived, Sir Benjamin stood in the shadowy doorway like a phantom. “Welcome to Moonacre Manor.” He said as Mr. Digweed opened Ms. Heliotrope’s door and led her out.  

“Sir Benjamin, Sir-!” Mr Digweed began, but so did Ms. Heliotrope, and they spoke over one another. 

“Sir! Not an hour from this very doorstep, we were accosted-:”

“-Those nasty, De Noirs, sir! I know they’re the ones behind-”

“-Frightened for my life!” 

“-but they were too quick for us, sir, and got away-”

“-Please, Sir Benjamin, you must-”

“Enough.” Sir Benjamin’s voice was clear, and firm, enough to put anyone in their place, but that kind of authority came with being an English Lord. “Where is my niece?”

“That’s what we’re trying to tell you, Sir.” Digweed swallowed, and averted his eyes. “The De Noirs, Sir, they took her.”

“What? What do you mean?” Sir Benjamin’s shrewd eyes jumped between them, but they shriveled under his gaze. 

This is when Ms. Heliotrope began to cry in earnest. Mr Digweed was quick to wrap his arm around her shoulders and usher her inside, as Sir Benjamin rolled his eyes and stepped out of their way. 

First of all, Loveday and Benjamin are first cousins. Yes, you read that right, First Cousins. And Robin and Maria? Second cousins. 

Yeah I don’t like it either. 

“My father and Sir Benjamin's father and your grandfather were brothers," said Loveday. "There were only the three of them, and each of them had only one child; Sir Benjamin, myself, your father; and so now the Merryweathers are a very small family, just Sir Benjamin and myself and you."

When Loveday was orphaned at the age of ten, she moved to Moonacre Manor with her Aunt, and her Twenty-Five year old First cousin Benjamin. 

Let me repeat that: HER TWENTY-FIVE YEAR OLD FIRST COUSIN. 

So Sir Benjamin is a predator. 

Heavens above, anyway. 

When Loveday comes to Moonacre Manor, all she has are the clothes on her back and ten pots of geranium cuttings. Salmon Pink Geraniums. Now, despite how silly that is, these flowers matter to Loveday because they were the “pride of Cornwall”. They are the only thing she has to remember her home and parent’s by. These aren’t just flowers to her, but the final mementos of her family. 

Sir Benjamin’s mother's hatred of pink and geraniums leads to Loveday’s inability to wear pink, or keep the geraniums anywhere but in her room. Loveday tells Maria that her aunt was severe and strict. Loveday loves the color pink, and she loves her geraniums, but Loveday is restricted by her Aunt and unable to wear what she wants to wear freely, and keep something that she views as a representation of her parents and family, private. 

“When I was a child of ten he was a splendid young man of twenty-five, and, as I said, he was kind to me and I loved him; even though he shared his mother's dislike of pink geraniums. For he was not like his mother, always talking about the things he disliked; he just kept his mouth shut and did not mention them.”

A couple of years pass, Sir Benjamin (in his early thirties) and Loveday (still a fucking teenager) are engaged to be wed in springtime. In winter, his mom dies, but they don’t move their wedding date and still plan on getting married in a few months. Despite the fact that you were expected to mourn for at least a year, I imagine the mourning period would also include not getting married, but I digress. 

It is also made very clear how Sir Benjamin feels in regards to the women in his life: 

“I cannot tell you how much I loved him, Maria. And he loved me, too, though he loved his mother more."

Now, I’m sure that your synapses are just firing off, that your reading skills and critical thinking abilities are great and you know what’s coming next! 

“And then, Maria, one spring evening just before our wedding day, I did a very stupid thing."

We really only get to see this story from Loveday’s perspective, and not from Sir Benjamin’s, I’m sure Goudge is expecting us to find Loveday a reliable narrator, and I’m sure Loveday isn’t lying, but it would have been nice to at least get Sir Ben’s perspective.

The night before their wedding, or just about, the Merryweathers are having the Parson over for dinner, for what I imagine is similar to an engagement dinner, rehearsal dinner, and wedding counseling for us. While Sir Benjamin is out on a horse ride, Loveday decides to take all of her Salmon Pink Geraniums out of her room and decorate the house with them.  At this point, her room was overflowing with pink geraniums, and there was simply no more room for them in her chambers. So, what I find to be very arrogant, Loveday takes all the geraniums out of her room, wears a pink dress, and greets both cousin/fiance and Parson at the door. 

Of course, Sir Benjamin is furious (and in my opinion, I do think Loveday, up to this point, is in the wrong. As far as I’m concerned this is a clear lack of communication, and very disrespectful to her mother-in-law/aunt/the woman who took care of her most of her life) but can’t do anything because the Parson is there, and he has to be sociable. 

“When Old Parson had gone he told me exactly what he thought of me. He has the Merryweather temper, you know, even though he is so sunny and genial, and when he was a young man he could behave like a roaring lion. And he raged and stormed that night until his anger nearly lifted the roof off. He said that I had insulted the memory of his saintly mother and that I was not worthy to follow in her footsteps. And he said other things that made me very angry, so that I said hard things too. Among other things I said that his mother had not been a saint at all but a very wicked woman to be so severe with a little girl as she had been with me over my love of pink. And no saint hates geraniums, I said. Saints love all the flowers that God has made, especially the salmon pink geraniums of Cornwall, because God never made lovelier flowers than those. And at that Sir Benjamin picked up all the pots of geraniums within reach and flung them out of the window into the rose garden."

So Loveday runs away and marries a lawyer out of pure spite.   

“And the son of the house [she was working in], a young lawyer, fell in love with me on sight, and I married him as soon as it could possibly be arranged, because he was kind and I liked him, and in my pride and anger I wanted to put it beyond Sir Benjamin's power to get me back again."

Now I would like us to take a look at the fight that happens in the Secret of Moonacre. 

Sir Benjamin is not insulted by her choice of floral arrangements, he is angered by the fact that she is the daughter of his enemy. He believes she came and tricked him into loving her, that she was using him to find the pearls. 

Loveday lies to him about her name to protect herself. While we are not given her reason as to why - it could have been that she was trying to find the pearls, and didn’t want his wrath and anger, so donned a false name; it could have been she was sent by her father to find the pearls but fell in love with him nonetheless - we know that she did truly love him, and chose him over her own family. 

Either way, the fight Loveday De Noir and Sir Benjamin have is much more nuanced. It is reasonable for these people to be upset. Sir Benjamin is angry that he was lied to, and Loveday is upset because he could not look past her name and love her regardless, that he would not listen to her as she tried to tell him that her love for him was genuine. 

Also, Loveday De Noir doesn’t go off and petty-marry a lawyer so he can’t have her. 

The fight that Sir Benjamin and Loveday Minette have in the book is childish and moronic, while the fight Sir Benjamin and Loveday De Noir have is nuanced and devastating.

Edit: my sister mentioned that Loveday was treated very harshly as a child, and felt free to express herself for the first time and was treated harshly for it. I don’t think this changes my stance on Loveday being in the wrong (they both are) as a couple, they lacked communication, which is a cornerstone for relationships. However, that does make me more sympathetic for how Sir Benjamin treated her

Conclusion: they miscommunicated, but Sir Benjamin is a grooming pedophile, so he’s definitely in the wrong