The Lord The Lady and The Land

Chapter 21 Lizzie and Bill

Hermione got packed and traveled to Salisbury where her Royal Highness the Queen of England retreated due to the plague and was holding court.

She got there in the early morning feeling extremely tired and very sick. Harry met her at the gate wearing his noble robes looking very grand. Hermione had changed into her pink gown and was wearing a rose quartz bead necklace with a diamond pendent trying to look her best.

Harry kissed her feverishly as soon as they were in his room.

“I missed you so much.”

“Harry, why am I here?” Hermione asked.

“The Queen wishes to hear our story. I asked for the old law to be applied to us.” Harry told her taking hold of her hands in his and kissing them,
“I think some people got the story wrong. They want to hear it from your lips.”

“When?” Hermione asked.

“As soon as you can.”

“I have to tell it to the Queen? In the court?” Hermione posed.

“Yes, in her court. She will make the decision there. The worst that can happen is that she doesn’t give you an annulment for your marriage to Draco and we wait.”

Before she knew it Harry escorting her to the court door and waited until he was announced. Harry went in first to speak.

Hermione stood there waiting to be called in. She bit her lower lip trying not to be nervous. But why would she be nervous? In telling their story she would have to forget she killed her uncle and Harry strangled her husband, Draco, to death. ‘No, Draco fell off the horse,’ she told herself.

Fingers reached under hers in gentle manner but she jumped. Hermione turned to see Geoffrey bowing down to kiss her hand. She curtsied and said,
“Hello my lord. Should you not be inside the court?” Looking at him she wondered if he was the reason Harry’s case was being heard?

“I am escorting you to the Queen my lady. Hermione you’re hands are cold. Are you alright?” he asked with great concern.

“I’m tired and …” she looked at the closed door, and then back at Nobleman next to her. “I’m nervous, my husband put me up on the auction block once and I nearly fainted. I feel very much the same way and this time I might actually faint.”

“Tell your story quickly and I will see that you have food and drink right after this.” Geoffrey said as he patted her hand.

Hermione just wanted to keep talking to calm her nerves,
“My lord did you have a good Christmas?” Hermione asked.

“Good enough, I’m waiting for my gift from you to arrive. You were to send me a beautiful woman like yourself so I may woo and marry her.” he teased.

“Oh my lord you are trouble.” Hermione teased back.

The doors open and Geoffrey walked Hermione to the middle of a huge hall where she curtsied and stayed down until she was told to rise.

“Tell us your story Miss Granger,” Geoffrey said as he stood by the queen and said something softly to her Majesty.

She began and told her story of how she was forced against her will to marry Draco and that Harry claimed the right of first night with her. She told them how cruel her husband was and that she had to do what he ever he said do to a curse on the ring. She explained that she did try to get the ring off but didn’t until she cropped it off with a butcher’s knife after he abused her in front of his friends and ran away from her husband. That Draco kicked her while she was pregnant making her lose the child and got on his horse and a moment later he was on the ground, dead.

Hermione was shaking, so worried she wouldn’t say the right things. Should she say she and Harry met in secret time and time again? No. This was about her marriage not her infidelity. Draco went to a whorehouse constantly.

Hermione stood there trembling feeling hot and then cold.
“That’s the story mum,” Hermione said, as the room seemed to go dim. She felt light headed. The next moment it went dark and she felt the cold hard floor.

Hermione heard footsteps coming toward her and Harry’s voice
“Quick, get a doctor,” Harry whispered feeling her cheek.

“She just fainted Harry. She was just nervous,” Geoffrey said.

“It is not just nerves, she’s pregnant,” he explained. “She can’t lose this baby, not another one,” Harry said with fear in his voice.

Hermione didn’t hear anything after that. She woke up lying on a couch with Harry holding her hand.

“Geoffrey just came in with some food. Doctor says you have to take it easy,” Harry said.

“I want to go home Harry. I need to go home,” Hermione said weakly.

“Can you sit on broom?” Harry asked.

“Yes.” she said nodding.

Geoffrey came over to Harry and said, “I have good news for you. Since you married Draco but had the first night with Harry by Handfasting Law you and Draco were not married. And you didn’t stay with Harry for a month so you and he are not married. The queen will give you a formal annulment letter. You may go home now.”

“Hear that Hermione we can get married now and not wait.” Harry laughed and kissed her passionately.

Harry helped Hermione onto the broom and slowly lifted off. His new riding cloak kept them both warm from the cold weather. They were home within hours.

Hermione was put to bed.

“You’re not to leave this bed until tomorrow morning understand?” Harry said.

“I’ll stay, just give me something to read,” she said. After some digging Marie found some old books on farming and the accounts of the farm.

Hermione found a letter or a note pressed between two books that read,
‘I couldn’t sell the whole necklace only one strand to the jeweler. I will meet you at the stream wearing your promises over my heart, waiting for them to be fulfilled.’ It was crumpled up as thought it was being thrown away, but then hidden.

The farm by the accounts has always done well. Even when a spot of land was not theirs previously it flourished once they inherited it. Hermione fell asleep reading the books.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning Harry snuck into Hermione’s room and under the covers with her. She felt better now that he was there.

“Good morning,” Harry whispered. “Raise and shine we have a lot of things to do. We are having the London Party in a few days after we get back and we are having the village party even sooner.

The next few days were a blur to Hermione; food was prepared, music was practiced and the garden had an enchantment put on it.

Hermione was trying on dress after dress with the village seamstress. She went to the jeweler to see if she could melt down the beads into something else and look at see if her double strand of pearls could be cleaned.

The apprentice looked at the beads closely and then waved his wand over them. “These are not beads.” He tapped one with his wand and it grew to ring size. “These are promise rings, they are given when someone makes you a promise.” He waved his wand over them several times and then said, “Strange these were charmed by the same person a long time ago. Maybe he had a harem?” he laughed.

He looked at the stand of pearls and asked,
“You want these cleaned? I can do that right now and he got a wet cloth and pulled out a box of white powder and rolled them around in it. He dipped them in water and towel dried them.

He looked at the clasp and asked,
“Do you want me to fix them too?”

“Fix them? Why? What’s wrong with them?”

“Your missing a strand, see? The string holder was cut off,” showing Hermione where the loop was cut on both clasps.

“Yes if you can. Why would someone do that?” asked Hermione.

“To make a bracelet, earrings, or pin out of them or if they needed money to sell the pearls.”

“Can you find a strand or make one?” Hermione asked.

“Yes I think so. It might take a few days to find matching pearls to go with this set,” the jeweler said.

Hermione hoped to he would find the pearls in time so she could wear them at the garden party but he didn’t. All the villagers came to the betrothal party and wished the couple happiness and many children.

Hermione found it a little unnerving that a bedtime story now was being told to children that a girl named Hermione was kidnap and force to marry a terrible dragon and that a handsome Lord fought the dragon and defeated him to make Hermione his Lady love.

Everyone had a wonderful time. People talked about the docks that were going to be built when spring comes as well as the cobblestone roads and the plans for a library where the Old Village Hall was barely standing would be built.

The party wasn’t too formal but Harry did propose to Hermione again in front of the villagers, which made her blush. He gave her a new diamond ring with a spiral design around it. It looked like something you see in the heavens.

Hermione kissed him wishing they were alone in a big bed and then she wondered where they would live. She needed to stay on the land some of the time. Perhaps they could build a house of their own. Certainly there was plenty on the land.

The party went on for hours. Hermione snuck away to see if she could see the ghosts again. Hermione came upon the young girl ghost pulling the cart and followed her to a wooded area and the girl took the cart into the trees. She couldn’t see very well and decided to look at the place in the daylight. Hermione returned to the party with no one noticing she was gone.

The next morning, Hermione set out to look for the area where she saw the girl ghost. At first sight there were just trees but as she look closer she noticed the remains of a house, a squared off area that were once rooms and a cellar and a number of large white stones scattered about. No one had been there for years. It started to snow so Hermione went back to Harry’s Estate.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry woke up as Hermione walked into the room. He had a quick breakfast and got dress with all speed.
“Why are you rushing?”

“I have to meet the carpenters. I know where to build the library. Want to come?” Harry asked her.
Hermione grabbed her cloak and they were off.

They stopped at the old village hall that had been in ruins for decades. Hermione walked around the remainder of the building. The roof and all but one wall was gone letting snow get into the basement. She heard a sigh and a moan from below and went down the rickety stairs were she meet an apparition. The ghost looked at her and frowned,
“What are you looking at?”

“I was wondering why you sounded upset.”

“I’m dead and it’s very boring here all by myself,” the ghost screeched at her.

“Well if you didn’t screech at people maybe they would stop by and talk to you,” Hermione snapped at the ghost.

“Hardly anyone comes by. Why are you here? To get mushrooms too?” the ghost asked her.

“No.” Hermione looked around to see a half dozen types of mushroom frozen where they grew, “They are going to build a library here. You’ll have lots of people to talk to then.”

“No I won’t. They’ll be too busy reading then,” the ghost sighed mournfully.

“Why don’t you go outside if it’s boring here?” Hermione suggested.

“What am I going to do outside?” the ghost posed.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders and then thought of the other ghosts around,
“Why don’t you go to see other ghosts. Surely if you are bored you can find another ghost to be friends with?”

“No one wants to be friends with me,” the ghost moaned as she floated around the basement.

“I know of some ghosts that meet on the road near the Potter Estate. Maybe they’d be friends with you.” Hermione suggested.

“They still meet? The curse hasn’t been broken?”

“Do you know it?”

“Lizzie and Bill? They were ghosts walking this earth before me,” she said sadly, “I saw her once near the old Spencer’s farm walking round at night. And I heard when Bill was still alive that he looked very sad old for such a man his age. Some say he slowly went mad with grief when Lizzie died. He had three sons and longed to have a daughter. He gave Lizzie’s daughters gifts, jewelry for their dowry. He would tell them ‘not to get attached to the gifts that they were to help them in times of trouble’. Bill accidentally set the house on fire trying to remove the curse,” The ghost said. “Some say he was trying to murder Charles for marrying Lizzie and for breaking her heart. You see she was a good wife to Charles but he longed for a son, even a bastard son is better than no son at all. So he had an other child with an other woman making Lizzie look like a fool, but the other woman gave him a girl too.”

Hermione thought for a moment, she had heard this before.

There were several loud bangs and the ghost let out squeak and zoomed away.

A moment later Harry was coming down the stairs and looking around,
“There you are. Hermione this isn’t a strong structure. I don’t want you down here. The floorboards are very old and can be rotten.” He reached out his hand to her.
Hermione took it and said as they went up the stairs,

"When did this place fall apart?"
“Don’t know,” Harry replied, “I think some one was murdered here a long time ago and no one wanted to use the building since.”

“Well, there is a ghost here,” Hermione said. “ I was just talking to her.”
“Well she can haunt this place until spring and then it’s coming down,” Harry said to her as they got to the first floor of the structure.

As they drove back to Harry’s estate something was nagging at Hermione. She wanted to look at were in the girl ghost house’s Lizzie was.
“Harry can we go stop for a moment up the road?” Hermione asked.
“Sure.” Harry replied.
They stopped in front to the remains of the house. Hermione could see it better now.
There was crumbling fence in front of the dwelling. The front yard was grown over with weeds and trees blocking the view of the house. It was the bigger then her house. There were black scorch marks here and there proof of a fire. Hermione looked on to what may have been the root cellar door and pulled up on the door.
She stepped down into the cellar. The fire didn’t get this far. There were a few barrels here and jars of fruits and vegetables covered with dirt. There were a few books with recipes in them. She opened the books up and found letters struck together by sealing wax.
Hermione gently pulled them apart and opened one.

Dear Liz,
Father is watching me so I can’t risk writing you for a while. I promised to help you plow the soil and I will. Just light the fire for your breakfast and burn the meadow weed in the fire after your father leaves and I will see the smoke from my balcony and I will come.
I can’t wait to see you my dizzy Lizzie.
I love you more with every breath I take.
your Till Bill


Hermione opened another letter.

Dear Miss Spencer,
Congratulations on your engagement. I’m sure you are aware that you have to spend your first night on the family farm so the land will prosper under your and your husband’s hands.
Here is a gift for you to wear on your special day, it was something I wanted your mother to have but if times get rough I suggest you sell it.
Bill


Hermione felt a chill as she sat and read the letters.
She noticed other letters in the books.
“Hermione are you alright?” Harry asked her. “It’s getting colder. Let’s go back and get something warm in us. We can come back tomorrow. I don’t want you getting sick before you go back to school. Madame Pomfrey will jinx me.”
Hermione put the letters back in the book but took the book with her. Harry helped her out of the cellar. Hermione walked passed the trees that were like a wall and saw large stones scattered here and there. She looked up and could see her family’s fields cover in snow. She had no idea this place was so close to her land.
They walked to the carriage and got in.

Maggie set a large bowl of stew in front of Hermione.
“That should warm you up Hermione,” Harry commented.
Hermione took one whiff of it and ran to the bathroom.
Hermione apologized again and again to Maggie saying,
“It’s because I’m with child. It’s not you cooking.”

Sirius laughed and said,
“Oh come on Maggie don’t make her feel guilty,” dipping fresh bread into his stew.

Maggie smiled and admitted,
“I know I know, but you looked so awful. I feel bad for you. Is there anything I can get you that you can hold down?”
“Broth, toast and some tea?” Hermione requested.


Hermione was sipping her third cup of tea looking out the dining room window feeling much warmer now. It was snowing again and she wondered about the ghosts. ‘Did they meet every night?’ she wondered.

She opened the door and looked around. She heard the wind blow through the trees and listened and watched to see if she could see the boy ghost.

Hermione saw nothing as Harry came up behind her.
“Hermione why are you out here? I don’t want you to catch your death.”
She turned and looked at the poem on the wall and said it out loud,
“We will meet again my love and live the life we were denied
In another time, in this place we’ll find each other
and let history be our guide.
Where noble and common blood and germ will be mixed
the charmed couple reunited destiny will be fixed.”

“Reading the poem? Tragic love story,” Sirius commented sipping his after dinner brandy.
“Tragic love story. Can you tell me?” Hermione asked.
“Oh sure it’s an old lost love story.” Sirius said, “Let’s go inside.”
They all went into the dining room and sat down.

“Over a 100 years ago a very young noble man’s son fell in love with a beautiful common maid,” Sirius started to say as though it was a fairy tale.
“He wooed her, and she fell in love but they were both betrothed to other people. They were running away one night when they got catch by their fathers. The girl was quickly married off a few days later to her betrothed to keep the two from trying to run away again. The nobleman was not able to stop the wedding in time but went to the reception to see if he could persuade the bride to refuse to go to her wedding bed that night. At the wedding reception, the bride-groom bragged to his guests that he was going to have many sons with his new beautiful blushing bride. The nobleman heard this and in his anger and a broken heart went to curse the bride-groom with only daughters, but the spell hit the groom and his bride.
The bride pulled the nobleman aside saying, 'if my husband dies we could marry but I can only give you daughters now too.' Well the nobleman was escorted out of the festivities and punished for his actions by his father for embarrassing the family. But sometime later the two met in secret one night after the honeymoon and he allowed her to curse him with only sons in the hopes that maybe some day they could be together. But years went by and she got ill sometime after giving birth to her 4th daughter. Some say it was a broken heart. Her husband in his desperate attempted to have a son impregnated another woman only to get any other daughter.”
Hermione got a chill. She heard this before, the ghost in the cellar.

“and..” Hermione asked.

“The girl was dying when the nobleman came to see her and promised to meet her here again, in another time in another life. He foolishly charmed her home. Then he charmed his home. Both tied to the land. The only thing that can break the charm is the two lovers reincarnated or their blood family to spend their first night on the land. Then they are free to go off and live the life they want.”
Hermione felt dizzy and she put her head down for a moment. She had read this story before in her family book.
Hermione took a breath and asked Sirius,
“The young nobleman his name? Is it William? Bill?”
Sirius laughed,
“Yes. He’s the one who bought most of the land. He made the family very rich. I think he wanted to ”

“The girl? Her name? Was it Eliza Bennett Spencer… Lizzie?” She asked in a weird tone.

Sirius stopped smiling, “Yes. I think it was. How did you know?”

“She’s my great great great great .. grandmother.” she looked at Harry and said,

“Your great great… grandfather cursed us.” Hermione put her head down started to cry.

“Hermione why are you crying?” Harry asked going over to her rubbing her back trying to comfort her. “They didn’t have children right. There’s no blood relations between us and even if there were that is five generations making us distance cousins.”

“The curse Harry. We have to break it. The letter.” She ran to her room and got the letters.
She ran back down the stair to Harry and showed him the letter.
He read it out loud,
“Dear Miss Spencer,
Congratulations on your engagement. I’m sure you are aware that you have to spend your first night on the family farm so the land will prosper under your and your husband’s hands.
Here is a gift for you to wear on your special day, it was something I wanted your mother to have but if times get rough I suggest you sell it.
Bill

“The first night… wedding night on the farm. We didn’t have that,” Hermione said in a worried tone.

“But WE weren’t married Hermione,” Harry commented. “You were to do it with Draco and didn’t. WE still have to get married and then spend the night on the farm. I guess it didn’t matter that we’ve made love there already.” Harry guessed.

“I guess not,” Hermione said.

“What did he give her for a gift?” Harry asked.

“I don’t know, but the ghost said Bill gave the girls gifts for their dowry. Wait, a gift you to wear on your special day.” Hermione thought of her pearls.

“I think he gave her the pearls. No Lizzie had the pearls already. Bill gave all the Lizzie’s daughters jewelry. The ghost said he told them not to get attached to them because the jewelry was to be sold in times of trouble. Mom’s jewelry.”

“Your mom’s jewelry?” Harry posed.

“William gave Lizzie’s daughters jewelry for the dowry, just in case they needed money. He was looking out for them, the daughters he never had with Lizzie.” Hermione said aloud.

Fun Facts
I read the king (Charles II) and Queen(Catherine of Braganza) did retreat to Salisbury when the Black plague had infected England.
The Queen at that time had no real power she was just a figure head, she didn’t have to power to annul marriages(but in my story she does.)

ProperT can you email me please?