Until Forever (Complete)

Chapter One

London, 1918

“Ellie!”

“No, Mother!” Elizabeth groaned, falling on to the bed and pulling her eyelids shut. Her red ball gown sprawled all around her, nearly covering the entire bed. Still, she felt her mother settle beside her on the bed.

The last thing Elizabeth wanted to do was open her eyes to look at her mother. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, tonight had been another epic fail and with the rate at which she was now turning down courtship proposal from men, she knew it would only be a matter of time before her parents either signed her up for the convent or kicked her out on the streets.

But what choice did she have? Half the men in England were fighting the war. It almost seemed to Elizabeth that the good men had gone to war and the epic failures were the only thing left to pick from. And she had tried, honestly tried. For some reason, all the men either had a massive ego too big for the size of the universe, or she found them too dense to engage in a conversation with.

Her parents concern for her indecisiveness had led them to obtain invitations for over fifty balls in less than six months. As it was, her family had already thrown three balls of their own, inviting all the eligible bachelors in town.

Two weeks ago, her father had suggested a correspondence with a family friend; Frederick Wellington. Frederick was Lord Wellington's grandson, the judge that conducted the marriage between Ethan and Gretchen. Elizabeth knew the judge to some extent but she had never met his grandson. According to Ethan, if Elizabeth didn't like a man in London, perhaps she'd find one in Plymouth intriguing.

But Elizabeth had since given up on the notion of finding the right man. If she didn't like a man she had met, she was certain she wouldn't like one she hadn't met.

“At least try.” Gretchen, her mother insisted.

“I have! I try all the time, mother! You have no idea but you're the luckiest woman alive! You literally took the best man on the planet and got married to him and now the rest of us are stuck with egocentric maniacs!” She sighed and her mother giggled.

Elizabeth opened her eyes to find Gretchen smiling down at her.

Her mother's brown eyes twinkled with delight as she beheld Elizabeth.

“Mother,” She said, rising to a sitting position beside her mother. “Why can't I live here with you and Father? Surely I wasn't built for marriage or perhaps the man for me is somewhere across the Atlantic ocean in America, like you and Father.”

Gretchen was an American who had traveled to London for a job but had eventually found love.

“It would seem that Mother and Father are eager to be rid of you, I know I am.”

Elizabeth turned her gaze to the door where her seven year old brother, Samuel, stood with a mischievous look on his face.

Samuel bore a striking resemblance to her mother with his fiery red hair and freckles. The only difference was his silver eyes; a feature he shared with Elizabeth and their father, Ethan. Elizabeth always wondered about the fact that she shared no similar physical feature with Gretchen.

Both women stood at the extreme ends of each other. Gretchen had red hair that bore a striking resemblance to flames while Elizabeth had black, curly hair. Her skin tone was light in comparison with Elizabeth's slightly tanned skin tone like her father. Gretchen's eyes were brown and Elizabeth's were silver.

“That is not true.” Gretchen's voice sounded beside Elizabeth and she immediately knew her mother's comment was more to scold her brother than to reassure her.