Hampshire, England 1888

Rory:

"Can we go down now?" Little Scarlet pulled on my arm as she beamed eagerly up at me. Cecilia and I had been blessed with our first little girl, Scarlet, eight years ago. She had piercing blue eyes like her mother but her hair was a fiery red just like my own mother's had been with a light smattering of freckles covering her pale face and arms.

It was Scarlet's eighth birthday and she had bounced into our bedroom with her three siblings, Jonathan, Lizzie and Eleanore, bright and early this morning, a huge smile plastered to her face.

 I laughed at her impatient excitement as she wriggled between Cecilia and I. "Pleaseee daddy," she asked as she batted her long eyelashes at me. How could I possibly resist her little face?

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up." I groaned as I pulled myself from the warm covers of my bed. Cecilia laughed as I let Scarlet get her way as always, Cecilia was firmer with our children but I couldn't deny them anything they wanted and they knew it.

"Yay, thank you papa!" Scarlet squealed excitedly before launching herself onto Cecilia.

"Come on mama, papa's coming, you have to come down too!" said the twins, Lizzie and Eleanore, in unison from the end of the bed. 

Cecilia smiled fondly at them before shuffling out of the bed and wrapping a blue robe around her body, "If you say so Lady Elizabeth and Lady Eleanor." The young girls smiled proudly at the use of their formal titles before moving to the door excitedly.

Even when she had just woken up Cecilia still looked as beautiful as she had all those eight years ago before Scarlet, Jonathan, Lizzie and Eleanor had entered our lives.

I feared that I'd be fighting off hundreds of suitors if Scarlet continued to grow up as beautifully as I was sure she would with Cecilia as her mother.

We made our way down the main stairs, Cecilia holding Scarlet's hand in hers as I held the twins' with Jonathan leading the way. Just like every one of her birthdays we would all gather in the private sitting room whilst Scarlet would tear open her presents before going to breakfast as a family.

Cecilia sat down next to me, resting her head on my shoulder as Scarlet chose which of her presents to open first. "It's far too early for this," Cecilia grumbled into my neck as she stifled a yawn. 

I'd noticed that recently she'd become more tired than usual and she often refused breakfast. I hoped that there might be another little Huntington on the way but decided not to broach the subject just yet.

A joyful yelp from the centre of the room brought my attention back from thoughts of another child. "Oh! Thank you papa, thank you mama!" Scarlet shouted as she opened one of the larger boxes containing a new bow, her siblings gawping at the beautiful gift.

From a young age Scarlet had taken a particular liking to archery and quite excelled at the sport. Even at only eight years of age she was far better than many of the village lads. 

The bow was of a far superior quality to the old one she had learnt with and I knew it would definitely be well received by our feisty eldest daughter.

Scarlet threw her small arms around both Cecilia and I as she repeatedly thanked us. I petted her head affectionately before she pulled back, a huge grin spread across her face. 

"I shall definitely better all the boys now," she said deviously, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh!" She continued, "I simply must show Archie! May I be excused for a bit?" She asked politely.

"Of course you may," Cecilia laughed at her eagerness as she bolted out of the room. Archie, as Scarlet preferred to call him, was our newest and youngest stable boy. 

James had asked for a place for his oldest nephew in the Clampton stables after the boy's own father had died, thus making it impossible for me to refuse the boy work. Besides, another pair of hands never went a miss.

Archie being only three years older than Scarlet at the age of eleven years had become a firm friend of Scarlet's almost instantaneously. The two would often shoot and ride together when Archie wasn't busy and the two had become almost inseparable recently.

Of course, their friendship would have to end when Scarlet was old enough to find a husband, for her closeness with a stable boy would be deemed inappropriate by the ton and I didn't want Scarlet exposed to the gossiping tongues of those women. 

All I could hope was that in time she would meet a nice duke or earl who would be able to look after and love her properly.

"Why can't it be my birthday yet papa? I want a bow like Scarlet's!" Frowned Jonathan grumpily.

"Me too!" Piped in Lizzie and Eleanor.

"Well," I started, capturing the attention of all three of them, "Perhaps if you all pay attention in your lessons with Miss Sparks a bit more, maybe you might get a bow like Scarlet's." 

Cecilia looked up at me and rolled her eyes playfully, a smile tugging on her lips as the children clapped their hands gleefully and ran from the room, the sound of feet on the stairs echoing through the house until they eventually faded away. 

"We've done well haven't we?" Cecilia cocked her head to the side as she gazed up at me with bright eyes.

"We most definitely have." I replied, placing a small kiss on her forehead, before repeating the statement quietly, "We most definitely have."

Hey guys!

Ahhh I'm feeling emotional, this is the end of Chasing Cecilia! I really hope you've enjoyed reading my story and thank you to everyone who wrote me lovely comments, you don't know how nice it is to feel the people reading your story are enjoying it. I am hoping to write a sequel-y thing about Scarlet and then maybe more about the other Huntington family members (like a little historical series I guess), but I don't know when that will start as I'm very busy with A-levels at the moment! Have a great day guys and keep reading and writing!

Much love

xxx