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Dancing	By : fayzalmoonbeam Category: +S through Z > Tomb Raider (all) > Tomb Raider (all) Views: 4525 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Tomb Raider game series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Dancing
- 2-Chapter 2
- 3-Dreaming
- 4-Existing
- 5-Battling
- 6-Union
- 7-Tearing
- 8-Reunion
- 7
- 8
Chapter
8: Reunited

Summary:
Well, we�re on the home straight now�and I�m afraid it�s horribly
predictable. But sometimes it�s not the ending, but the journey that�s
important (or so they tell me!)

**
As
the sun rose on another beautiful morning at Croft Manor, its cheerful light was
deeply at odds with Lara�s dark state of mind. She should have felt excited
about the day, and the challenge ahead. Instead all she could feel was a dull,
aching emptiness. What had she done wrong? No, that was unfair to herself; she
knew. As far as she was concerned, she and Hillary had done nothing other than
give in to their very strong feelings about one another, but she now knew that
Hillary felt differently. Yesterday he had helped her to fly, today she felt as
though he�d clipped her wings.

What
the hell was she going to do? She had to leave for Peru in a little under twelve
hours in order to arrive in the country under cover of darkness, and the last
thing she wanted to do was leave, knowing that when she returned Hillary would
be gone. She couldn�t bear the thought of coming back to the house in two
weeks with the knowledge that she would no longer see Hillary at the door to
welcome her. But what could she do to avoid that situation?

On
automatic pilot, she wandered down to her drawing room to take breakfast.
Resting beside the silver tray, alongside her usual grapefruit juice, toast and
cereal lay an envelope. With a sense of foreboding that made her stomach churn,
hands trembling almost uncontrollably, she opened it.

My
dearest Lara,

I
took the opportunity while you were resting this morning to slip quietly away.
Lord Montague has been most accommodating and has agreed that I may start my
service a little early. Under the circumstances I felt it was best that we did
not linger over goodbyes; I do not wish to cause you more pain and
inconvenience.

Please
know that I never intended to hurt you, Lara, and that in all the years I have
served you and your family, I have never been happier than when I have been a
part of your life. Watching you develop into the beautiful and compassionate
woman that you are has been one of my greatest pleasures. I am only sorry that
our friendship, if I may take the liberty of calling it that, had to end so
suddenly and painfully for us both.

I
implore you, please keep yourself safe in Peru. You have always been precious to
me, and I know that, in pursuit of a target you can be careless with regard to
your own life. I hope that the knowledge that I am praying for your safe return
will, in some way compensate for the emotional damage I have done.

I
will always remember you, and you will forever be in my thoughts.

>

Yours,

James
Hillary.

As
Lara reached the last lines, Hillary�s elegant handwriting blurred before her
eyes. How could he just leave without even bothering to say a proper goodbye?
The thought that she would at least see him before he left had kept her hope
alive during the tortuous early hours of the morning, when the dawn had seemed
so distant a prospect and it was all she could to not to run down to the
servants quarters and wake him. Now, she had been denied even that. Without even
bothering to touch her breakfast, she ran from the room. She nearly collided
with Mrs Bainbridge, who, worried for the Lady of the Manor�s wellbeing was
hovering nervously outside the door.

�Can
I get you anything, Ma�am?� she asked as Lara stumbled from the room.

�Tell
me when he left,� Lara said bleakly. �And which way he went.�

Mrs
Bainbridge looked even more worried. �I�m sorry Ma�am, all I can tell you
is when he left, which was about six o�clock this morning. As far as which way
he went, well, there are so many routes from here to Lord Montague�s
residence, I couldn�t begin to guess.�

Lara
smiled sadly. �That�s good enough-he�s had two hours, he�s bound to be
nearly there by now.�

The
look on Lara�s face was so desolate that Mrs Bainbridge was touched deeply.
�If it�s any consolation, my Lady, he spent the whole of last night pacing
up and down in his study. He loves you more than anything, from what I can
see.� Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the young woman in front of
her. �He just couldn�t bear to ruin your reputation by bringing scandal on
your family name.�

�I
don�t care about the family name!� Lara retorted quickly, but not in anger.
�All I care about is Hilly. How can he just walk away like that?� She
brushed away the tears that threatened to spill over. Then, in the space of a
heartbeat, she smiled.

�He�s
not going to get away with it,� she said. �If I have to renounce my name and
give up my home, I�m getting him back!� With that, she ran off down the
corridor, leaving a bewildered Mrs Bainbridge smiling slightly after her. The
old Cook hoped that the impulsive Lady Croft wasn�t going to do something
she�d regret.

A
telephone call later and Lara had everything she needed. The helicopter that was
supposed to take her to the airstrip to board the charter plane to Peru had been
called in early for a somewhat more urgent mission. Lara didn�t bother to
inform Jacqueline Natla; she had no intention of pulling out of her commission,
but there was something she had to do before she left the country. She had
twenty minutes to get her things together before the helicopter landed.

Gathering
all of her provisions for the trip to Peru, Lara was out waiting for the
helicopter as it landed on the smooth green expanse of Croft lawn. Wasting no
time, she boarded the bird and, giving instructions to the pilot, they soared
back into the air. As the ground fell away beneath her, Lara hoped against hope
that when she got where she was going, she would succeed in bringing Hillary
home.

�Lady
Croft, when we reach Beaulieu, there will be approximately half an hour before
we need to get back in the air and get to the Longmoor air strip for your plane
to Peru,� the pilot said. Lara nodded. That should be enough time to convince
Hillary to return to Croft Manor-and her.

In
what seemed to be very little time the helicopter had covered the distance
between Croft Manor and Lord Montague�s estate. Thankfully the two houses both
had an expanse of lawn at the front, which allowed a safe and easy set down of
the helicopter. Almost before the helicopter had landed, Lara was out of her
seat and jumping to the ground, hoping against hope that she could get to
Hillary before she had to leave once more. Racing over the lawn, she ran to the
front entrance of the house and rang the heavy door chain. Its gloomy toll
echoed through the house and there was a slight pause before a stern looking
butler opened the door.

�Good
afternoon, may I help you?� The butler enquired, looking through half moon
spectacles at Lara. His face registered polite disapproval as he took in her
khaki shorts and green vest top and the sunglasses that were perched on top of
her head.

�I�m
looking for James Hillary,� Lara replied, a touch breathlessly. �He has been
appointed as the new�I mean, a new member of staff for the Montague
household.�

�And
may I ask who you are?� The butler said, unconvinced by her appearance that
she was anyone worth bothering with.

�My
name is Lara, I mean Lady Lara Croft of the Hertfordshire Croft family. With all
due respect, I�m in a bit of a hurry. Is Hillary here or not?� She was
getting impatient, and no amount of breeding could hide the urgency that she
felt, and her frustration that she was being held up.

�One
moment, Lady Croft,� the butler finally said, and beckoned her into the
hallway. Before he could seek the answer to her question, the answer provided
itself. Coming out of what Lara assumed was the drawing room on the left hand
side of the hall, was the elderly and kindly looking Lord Montague, and behind
him, looking tired yet smart in a well cut pale cream summer weight suit, was
Hillary.

If
Hillary was surprised to see Lara, it registered only for the barest second on
his face. Lord Montague walked forward with a smile. �How can I be of
assistance, dear?� he asked as he saw Lara. Unlike his butler, Lord Montague
had an eye for a pretty girl and so was a little more friendly.

�Good
afternoon, Lord Montague, my name is Lady Lara Croft. If you�ll forgive the
intrusion, I came to have a word with Mr Hillary.� Lara smiled her most
disarming smile, although inside she was quaking with nerves.

Lord
Montague looked confused for a moment, and then, realisation seemed to dawn.
�Of
course, dear, please, take Mr Hillary out to the grounds where you may talk in
private.� He pointed to the door at the back of the hallway. �Take all the
time you need. I knew your father, we were in the forces together�splendid
chap, sorry to hear of his disappearance.�
�Thank
you, my Lord,� Lara replied hastily, feeling the pressure of time upon her.

�Well,
go on man, don�t keep the lady waiting!� Lord Montague chided Hillary, not
unkindly.

Hillary
nodded, quite unable to speak, and followed Lara into the sunlit back garden.

It
seemed an eternity before Lara dared begin. Looking at Hillary, so differently
dressed and so handsome in the sunlight, despite the paleness of his skin and
the lines under his eyes, she knew she had made the right decision to come here.
Now all she had to do was convince him. Turning to him once they were out of
earshot of the manor, she began.

�Hilly,�
even his name made her tremble. �I want you to come back with me to Croft
Manor.� She laid a hand on his arm. He jumped as if she had burned him.
Undeterred, she carried on. �I miss you already, and you�ve only been gone a
night.�

�Lady
Croft�Lara, I can�t come back to the manor as your butler. It�s not
permissible for me to do so now that we�ve-now that I�ve broken the
code.� Hillary looked into Lara�s eyes, and she could see the wretchedness
of feeling that betrayed his calm exterior.

�I
don�t want you back as my butler, Hilly,� Lara replied, tightening her grip
on his arm. �In fact, I decline your resignation because I�ve come down here
to tell you that you�re sacked.�

Hillary�s
look of surprise almost made Lara laugh out loud. In fact, if she wasn�t so
close to tears, she would have giggled. �Sacked? But I don�t understand. Why
did you come here to tell me that?� He made to turn away from her, but she
kept hold of his arm to prevent him from moving and instead, she forced him to
look at her.

�Because
I want you to come back to the house as an equal, Hilly.� This was it; this
was the moment for which she�d flown down here. �I want you to come back as
the man I�m going to marry.� Placing her other hand on Hillary�s cheek,
she could feel the tension that he was holding in check just below the surface.

�Lara,
you don�t�you can�t mean that you and I�you really want�?� He was,
temporarily lost for words as he finally met her gaze. What he saw there seemed
to take his breath away. Lara could see the unhappiness melt slowly away from
his eyes and a new, softer expression of hope take its place. She nodded,
herself unable to speak.

Eventually,
Hillary seemed to come to a decision. �Lara, are you sure that this is what
you want?� He began. �I�d never forgive myself if I thought that I�d
forced you in any way to do this. Do you really want me to come back with
you?� His voice was low, but its tone told Lara that he needed an answer.

�Hillary,
I love you more than anyone I�ve ever met,� she replied without hesitation.
�You�re the only one I�ve ever loved. Please, I�m begging you, come back
to the manor with me.� She swayed forward into his arms, and, both giddy with
relief and love, they clung to each other for a long, blissful moment.

�I
don�t known how I could ever have thought of leaving you,� Hillary said
shakily when they eventually parted. Wiping his eyes, he looked deeply into
Lara�s once more. �But what about the family? Your reputation?�

�Bugger
them!� Lara responded. �You make me happier than any son of an Earl or
Baronet ever could. You always have. And it�s not exactly unheard of for
someone to marry out of the system, is it? It�s about time we stopped marrying
our cousins and got some fresh blood into the line!� She was being flippant,
but in her sheer relief that Hillary wasn�t going to leave her, she didn�t
care.
< col color="#FF0000" size="4">

Hillary
looked thoughtful for a moment. �Alright then,� he said eventually. �But
on two conditions.� He smiled mischievously.

�Go
on.�

�Firstly,
I do the asking.� He dropped to one knee and looked back up at Lara, his eyes
all seriousness. �Lara Croft, will you do me the very great honour of agreeing
to become my wife?�

At
the sight of Hillary�s handsome, open face staring up at her, Lara, who blamed
lack of breakfast for her sudden weakness, felt her own knees give way. As she
tumbled towards Hillary, he caught her in a firm embrace. �Of course I
will,� she replied. They kissed gently but with increasing passion until at
last, Lara paused to draw breath.

�What
was your second condition?� She asked as they helped one another up.

Hillary
smiled. �Well, I know I certainly need time to get used to the idea that you
and I are going to be married, and I think a lot of your family and friends will
need the same, so I suggest for the moment, that we keep our engagement quiet
and gradually tell them when the time arises.� At Lara�s look of
indignation, Hillary put a finger to her lips. �Have faith in me, Lara, it�s
the best way to go about it.�

�But
I want everyone to know!� She protested. �I�d shout it from the rooftops
if I could.�
- 7
- 8
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