Love Across the Pond

July 22, 1902

Dearest Lily,

I am heartbroken and grieving that you have returned to America upon the death of your father. You must accept my deepest condolences and sincerest desire to follow after you and share in comforting you and your entire family. This pronouncement, I know, is not invited at this time, but rest assured I would hasten my journey upon any word of welcome from you. I can still feel your tears on my cheek upon saying our goodbyes and can hardly believe that you are gone from me so soon after our declaration of love for one another. Understand, I am in no way intending to be selfish in saying this, as no amount of sadness on my part can compare with what you are experiencing.

The shock of this event is beyond devasting for you, as I know your father was to come to England to share in your well-planned summer holiday here in Kent. The summer that brought you to me, and advanced our friendship, blossoming into the sweetest love I could ever have imagined. I love you my darling, your sweetness is missed every moment.

With love and hope that we shall meet again soon, I desperately await your reply.

Yours always,

Peter

August 4, 1902

Peter, my darling sweetheart,

Thank you for writing to me so soon after my departure. My dear mother has held us all together, during our journey across the Atlantic through to our home here in Charleston. Our beautiful house on Hasell Street no longer holds warmth for me. Daddy was larger than life and he filled every space with his great booming voice, belly laughs and raucous behavior. The pain of his loss is in my every movement, every breath, and I cannot escape it. I shut my eyes and see your face, yearning for the beauty of the gardens and seaside vistas where we could hide away and steal kisses. I walked to the harbor yesterday and looked across the water, knowing that on the other coast, you would be there to gather me up, and make all things good again. I cannot know when I will be free to adventure again, nor when or if I could request a visit from you. Hence I pray to God that he keeps you safe until I am able to know our next plans.

Your beloved,

Lily

August 20, 1902

Loveliest Lily,

My heart expanded, bursting with love upon receiving your letter. I am in agony, sharing your current painful situation and wish with all my being that I could erase it. Our summer here has grown quiet these days, yet I have continued my apprenticeship with my Uncle Reggie in his growing law practice. It seems that he has some interest in politics and wishes to advance my knowledge and experience to take over the family business in the near future. If so, I would have a great opportunity to create a living suitable for establishing a proper home for a woman like yourself. Can you guess my meaning? I desire above all things to make you my wife, dear Lily. If we are to live here, so be it. But if you need to stay in America, I will come to you, secure a position with attorneys there, and build that life with you in Charleston. This handwritten communication is all I have at my disposal, so I pray that my intent, wrapped in the most passionate and sincere words of love, will jump off the page and will make my case for our future lives together. Please do not make me wait too long for a reply; I am forever thinking of you day and night.

Your adoring lover,

Peter

Sept 3, 1902

Sweetest love, my Peter,

Your letter has given me much to consider and is most welcome in its intent. Of course, I wish to be your wife! I rejoice in every thought and feeling you have expressed, and now, in complete agreement, I give you my answer. I will speak to Mother and see when it is best to prepare for a journey to Kent, where we will be able to spend the proper amount of time needed to secure our lives, with wedding plans, and establishing a home. As you know it is my desire to also have some form of activity outside of being a homemaker, perhaps in the arts, so I should give that more thought once I arrive back in Kent.

For now, we are still in the throws of adjustment with regards to Father’s business endeavors and financial matters. Let alone poor Mother trying to pack away his things, crying along the way. My younger brothers are holding up well, staying focused on their schooling and roughhousing with neighbor boys to get their energy calmed down! I recognize that this change to our family life has defined the future in major ways, but I believe that Mother and the boys will fair well with or without me here in Charleston. The city is warm and friendly, and Mother is well connected in society and her church friends. And she loves to travel, so many visits to England would be in her future as well.

At best it is likely that I cannot arrive until New Year ahead, as first holidays after the loss of a loved one are hard on the entire family, and they will need me as I will need them. Unless of course, you would wish to journey here for Christmas? That’s an open invitation my dear love, so give it some thought. I’ll set a place at table for you, and leave a candle aglow in the window.

With all the love in my heart,

Your Lily

September 20, 1902

My dear heart, Lily!

I am ablaze with joy, hanging on every word from your most welcome letter!

Here’s a plan, one which I believe will satisfy every consideration.

I shall come to you at Christmas holiday. There I can make my declaration of love, and request your hand along with the proper engagements, including a ring on your finger! We can make arrangements with your family to have you return to Kent with me afterwards, with the proper chaperone for propriety’s sake. Upon arrival, you will stay in my uncle’s residence under full care of his household and family. He has offered me the promotion required to secure the living as barrister in his firm, and with that, I will be able to provide for us and of course, purchase our own home. The wedding plans absolutely would need inclusion of your mother and family, and we can provide transport for them to come here, all expenses paid.

These plans are not definite, as I know that you have your own mind, and I am not firm on anything should you have differing thoughts. My only care is for your happiness, and the dream of a future with you at my side.

Pray reply as soon as possible – my heart is beating rapidly just pondering all of this!

Deepest love and care,

Yours forever,

Peter

October 9, 1902

Oh my darling Peter!

Mother and I have discussed your proposed plan, and agree with all aspects, save one.

It seems that Father had amassed quite a large fortune, and we are in no poor financial situation by any means. We are quite able to secure passage for my whole family’s voyage to England for our wedding preparations and ceremony, and the accommodations required while visiting Kent.

God be praised, we are to become one heart, one flesh.

Do come for Christmas! What a blessing that will be. To share in this special holiday and celebrate our engagement! I can hardly manage my emotions.

I love you; I love you; I love you. Not the giddy, silly head-spinning love of first blush moments (albeit those moments were delightful) no, this love is full body, full spirit and full soul. I yearn to know the intense bond that we will share, one that will ever deepen as our lives unfold.

I re-read your letters and place them under my pillow, dreaming of you, desiring you, and pretending you are next to me. The day cannot come soon enough, not soon enough!

You are my whole world, my whole life, my whole heart.

Forever and ever love,

Lily

October 29, 1902

Darling fiancé to be, and the love of my future life,

Passage is booked to South Carolina, arrival estimated for December 11. My uncle is determined to accompany me, wishing to meet your whole family and secure our acceptance into the fold. I daresay I will enjoy his company, as the Atlantic can be mysteriously wicked in winter.

It is a rare thing indeed to have grown this great love between us, via penned notes to one another across a great ocean, over many months. But here we are my love.

I pray God protect and keep you until I hold your beautiful face in my hands once again.

Time cannot pass quickly enough. Heart of my heart, I remain insanely in love with you,

Peter

November 20, 1902

Your letter took a bit longer than usual to arrive, and my heart was skipping beats awaiting it. We have decorated for Christmas, and I am already packing for my life journey back to Kent with you after holiday. My joy increases daily, and the whole household is chattering away about how life takes its turns, and grief can be replaced with happiness at the turn of the clock and calendar.

We miss Father so very much, and have tried to keep memories and traditions alive this holiday season to honor him. It’s helping reduce the pain, and we have had many good laughs over recounted stories of times past. I wish you could have known him.

Be safe my love, and know I hold you in my heart every minute of every day,

Sincerely, deeply, overwhelmingly in love,

Lily

April 24, 1902

Good morning my beautiful wife. I’ve gone to get us our English breakfast, hardly able to tear myself away from your side.

The beauty of our wedding, the joy of family celebrating our marriage, and our cocoon of love last night has left me speechless. Spoken words cannot express what I am feeling so I revert to writing to you, since that has always been an easy expression of thoughts shared between us.

But now I don’t have to wait weeks and months to hear back from you. Now I can reach out, touch you and speak with you; something that was so anticipated has come to life.

So, I will write you notes along the way in our lives. But I will not leave your side. We conquered tragedy, distance and time, and now we live. One orbit forever and ever.

True love for eternity,

Your husband, Peter