Diana dismissed Georgia as soon as they arrived at the large estate, and Georgia was shown to one of the damp attic rooms. Realizing that she was not going to be needed, she changed into some walking shoes, picked up her cell phone, in case Diana had a change of heart, and made her way to the large gardens at the back of the house.

If her time was up, as she suspected it was, she would have to make plans to move on to a new position. She enjoyed the Personal Assistant job, it gave her little time to think or dwell on the past, and coming away from the Maillers that might not be a bad thing.

Georgia made her way to a stone folly that was at the edge of a pond and found a cold stone bench. Sitting on it, she sighed as she looked around at the peacefulness. She missed her husband. He had been an honest man. He may not have been as charismatic or powerful as Ewan but he was true to her and she could trust every word he said.

But Ewan had never been dishonest with her she reasoned. He had told her from the beginning that their relationship could never leave the hotel room or be part of their everyday lives. Something in her had built their relationship into something it wasn't.

Yes, she was hurt at the realization that it was all true and that Ewan had been honest about it all. Her heart took a beating with the death of her husband and it would take a beating when she was no longer able to see Ewan and be a part of his life no matter how minute. But it was adding insult to injury that she had been dropped from the communication about James. Not just by Ewan but by Diana as well. She had given five years to them and had always been honest and straightforward as was possible with both, and the fact that they had both decided not to include her in the plan or the outcome was a direct hit and something she had not been expecting.

How long she sat there looking at the pond she couldn't say. She looked down at her phone which was silent and had been all day. Slowly, she rose, noting the lights and music coming across the water from the party that was spread out on the lawn. The reflection was beautiful and she stopped to admire it before she moved back towards the house.

The party had started and it was time for her to make herself scares. As she hit the edge of the lawn there was a sudden burst of light and a loud pop behind her. Fireworks. She quickly scanned the crowd looking for Ewan. Maybe he knew about them and had stayed away until they were finished.

Georgia thought back to their trip to New York when they had taken in a baseball game and the customary fireworks after the game had started. At first Ewan had been fine and enjoyed them but towards the end something in him had clicked and he had returned to the war. It was the only time she had ever seen him completely lose control.

Georgia continued to move around the edge of the crowd her eyes scanning the area until she finally found him in the middle of it all looking up like everyone else. He was holding a champagne glass but it was too dark and he was too far away for her to tell how he was handling it.

With a purpose she had never felt before, she headed right for him, not paying attention any of the odd looks she was getting. Not only was she the hired help she was not dressed properly for the party.

Georgia's heart was beating erratically and she had broken out in a cold sweat. She could not let Ewan lose control here in front of all of his peers. No one would look at him the same way again. She never took her eyes from him and as she reached him she noticed that he was sweating even though the night was cool and he was staring at the fireworks with a vacant glare.

"Mr. Mailler." Georgia reached up and grabbed the wine glass which he gave up without even knowing he was doing it. His gaze dropped to her at the sound of his name but he still wasn't there. She placed the glass on a passing tray and reached for his arm gripping it hard. "Mr. Mailler." He was still unresponsive and she had noticed a slight tremor run through him.

"Ewan." She reached up and took his face in her hands. Unaware of the looks she was getting, she ran her thumbs over his heated cheeks wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes. If she didn't do something quickly people would begin to realize that something was not right with him. Georgia did the only thing she could think of, she went up on her toes and kissed him for all she was worth. At first he remained ridgid but after a few seconds he started to return her kiss and she knew that he was through it.

"Ewan take my arm, stop me," she said against his lips.

He took her wrist in his and squeezed it hard as if to make sure she was real. Then he pulled back and looked down at her his face stony but she could see the exhaustion behind his eyes. He had been to war one more time.

"Now you have to motion for Craig to come and remove me from the situation."

He wouldn't remove his gaze from hers. It was as if he was trying to figure out where he was and who she was.

"Now Ewan, it will look odd if you wait any longer. He is behind you on the left waiting."

Ewan took a shaky breath and turned his head to Craig and that was all it took. He gave Georgia's arm one more squeeze before Craig reached them and took Georgia's other arm.

Craig was silent but she could sense his displeasure and apparent disgust, and as he led her past the edge of the crowd Diana was there suddenly. "She was right about you. You're fired Georgia."

Georgia didn't have to ask who the 'she' was that Diana was talking about.

"The car will be ready to drive you back in half an hour," Craig said before he left her at the stairs to her room. She climbed them feeling as if she had just run a marathon and had no energy left.

Her only consolation was that if Craig hadn't notice anything wrong with Ewan than no one else had. She hadn't really bothered to unpack so it only took her a moment to gather her things and head back down the stairs towards the hall and since the car wasn't there yet she sat on a hall bench and waited. She had only been there for a few minutes when Craig, Diana, and Ewan entered the hall. Craig was talking into his phone and Diana was talking in a heated whisper to Ewan.

They froze when they saw her. Craig looked away from her and Diana's look was filled with so much malice that Georgia was lucky that looks couldn't kill. When she looked at Ewan his face was its usual controlled mask.

"Why aren't you waiting out front?" Diana asked scathingly.

"May I speak to you for a moment Ms. Dawson?" Ewan asked, walking past her to a door on her left. Craig went to follow but Ewan's look stopped him.

Georgia stood picking up her bag and following him into what appeared to be a library. When she sat her bag down and looked up at him he was so close she could see the fine lines around his eyes.

He took her face with both of his hands as she had done with him earlier and kissed her. The kiss was like the very first time he had kissed her, it was so reverent and tender that she knew that it had all meant something. That single kiss made it all worthwhile.

Knowing this was going to be her last kiss from him she returned his kiss and it quickly escalated. Forcing herself to pull away from him before it got out of hand she turned her back to him and all that could be heard in the thick silence was their heavy breathing as they both tried to control the need that pulsed between them.

"Why?" he asked after a moment, his voice low and rough.

"Because what people think of me hardly matters. My life does not affect anyone but me. However, yours affects many people. 'I am a simple secretary that can be replaced with a simple phone call', remember?" Georgia licked her lips clearing her throat as she turned back towards him. "If you had lost control in front of those people..." Georgia couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to, they could both imagine. Best case scenario everyone would have talked about it behind his back and then forgotten, worst case, he would have lost all social standing among his peers.

"The good news is Craig thinks I lost my mind so he didn't notice; and you know if he didn't notice then no one else did." She crossed her arms in front of her.

"I'll tell him-,"

"No, let him think the worst. If he is able to believe it of me then we really don't know each other as well as I thought we did."

"You don't have to leave. I don't really care what people think, you know that." His voice was harsh. "You are not a simple-,"

"It's not about if you care or not, it's about your responsibility to all those who depend on you for their livelihoods and there are a lot of them; besides it's time for me to go. Diana no longer wants me as her assistant."

"What do you mean?" Ewan looked at her, confusion on his face. Georgia couldn't help but feel lucky that she was one of the few people that he would have ever let see the confusion.

"I'll let Craig fill you in later, but it is time for me to go, that was evident in the office today."

"Georgia I am sorry about that, but you know-,"

"Yes, I know Ewan."

There was a tense silence between them as they regarded each other, both wondering what the other one was thinking.

"I'm not sleeping with her."

"I know." And she did. He had trusted her and he still did, that was not something he did lightly.

Georgia walked towards him, her legs a little shaky. When she reached him she looked up at his face memorizing every line. "Thank you," She said as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest listening to his heart beat. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent.

His arms wrapped around her and held her close.

She was thanking him for helping her heal and giving her the ability to love and be a woman again, and she was thanking him for trusting her with his pain and fears. She went up on her tiptoes and brushed her hands through the hair at the nape of his neck feeling its soft thickness. Not allowing herself to think, she kissed him quickly on the lips then pushed away from him.

When she turned towards the door the phone in her pocket buzzed. She pulled it out and laid it on the table next to the door then she turned to look at him one last time, his expression was tired and sad as he watched her.

Georgia couldn't help but think that if he would just get married she could put it all behind her because all hope would be gone. "Ewan, find yourself a wife. You need a partner, and lord knows there are plenty of women who need a few of their dreams about you falling madly in love with them crushed so that they can move on with their lives." She opened the door as the tears started. Unable to stop them she saw pity in Craig's look and smugness in Diana's.

With a sad sigh she reached down and picked up her luggage and started towards the door without a backward glance.

"I expect you to be gone by tomorrow evening when we return," Diana called out to her as the door closed behind her.

From trusted assistant to traitor in less than an hour, not bad for a night's work. As always Georgia's unusual sense of humor was getting her through one of the worst moments of her life. It had been bad when her husband had died but it had been final. There was nothing final about Ewan Mailler being in the world and her not having the ability or the right to see him or talk to him.

It just might break her.