As the rest of the city slept, Lady Evelyn had yet to touch her bed. She hadn't noticed daybreak as she sat at her desk, still dressed from the night before. Her weary eyes were swollen and raw from all the tears she shed until she couldn't quite see the words she scribbled on the sheet before her. Occasionally, she would pause as another memory brought fresh tears. These were tears of anger-no!-- mortification that fell in large plops down onto the sheet. Tears met wet ink till the letters on the page swelled, then burst into a spidery mess.

Luckily, there were so few people who might inquire or care about her whereabouts. She wasn't certain what she wrote to the Warwicks in her farewell letter to them. Her letter to Edward was much harder to write. Before any of them discovered her disappearance, she would be far away. No more hiding! No more lies! And no more constant torment by that one particular man!

She heard his deep, velvety rich voice once more: "Anything you want. Whatever your heart desires - name it!"

A shiver shot down Evelyn's back. She couldn't allow herself to think of his kisses, or worst still, his rude fingers exploring the secrets of her body. She couldn't even lick her tender, swollen lips, for they still tasted like him. Her fingers grazed her sore neck to her breasts, still tender from his caresses. She didn't have to look to know they bore the marks of his rough whiskers on them. There wasn't a part of her he hadn't marked.

"Wicked, wicked man!" she whispered. "Since that first stolen kiss, I ought to have stayed far away from him. Each meeting thereafter, he grew bolder and bolder. All because I wasn't strong enough to put a stop to it!"

She must plan her escape now before she loses her nerves or when servants started their day. There was no other choice. She must escape to where Lord Davenport couldn't reach her.

"But where would I go?" she asked herself. "Nevermind! I'll sort it out after I've left this place far behind!"

After some effort to pack a few essentials, Evelyn gave up and woke her maid, Martha, to help. The girl asked no questions as she gathered a case and a satchel with her belongings.

"Milady, where are we going? Are we to have no escort?" her maid protested when they tiptoed down the stairs with luggage in tow.

"Don't be silly. People are meeting us at our destination. Now run to the street and hail a carriage." Evelyn grimaced at her lie. Soon, there would be no more lies. She was too overwrought to care if she sounded convincing to Martha. Ahead of her was an unknown she still had to face. She mustn't think about it too much, or she'd lose her nerve.

"I see no hired carriages, milady," Martha observed. They were down the front steps and looking through the iron gate at the near-empty boulevard before them. "It's much too early. I'll go to Lord Warwick's stables --"

"Run up the street and see if you can't find one there. Go! Go!" Evelyn commanded.

"But--" Martha's voice faded and her eyes widened at something over Evelyn's shoulders. The young maid dropped into a deep, clumsy curtsy.

"Why Evelyn, whatever are you doing out at this hour?" asked an all too familiar voice behind her.

Evelyn gave a startled little gasp before she whipped around. "Edward- Goodness! You gave me such a fright!"

Prince Edward alighted from his carriage, looking fresh and bubbling with excitement. "You mean to say you didn't hear my carriage approach? I'm sorry you've lost your hearing at such a young age, Evie."

Evelyn scowled as she swept him a deep curtsy with a mumbled: "Highness," even as her heart sank. There would be no escape for her now.

"But what are you doing out here at this hour?" Edward asked as he nodded at the cases at her feet. "Heavens, Evie, you weren't about to do something foolish!"

Luckily, she was spared from answering when the front door of the house swung open. Warwick's servants came spilling out, all in a tizzy, to be in the presence of a prince. Edward seemed oblivious to the commotion around him as he motioned for servants to take charge of her luggage, then marched her back into the house.

Edward was shown into the formal parlour by the flustered butler. "We're not to be disturbed," Edward said as he handed the butler his hat, gloves and walking stick. "By anyone."

"Why are you here, Edward?" she asked once they were alone.

"To visit my dear little sister, of course," he replied with an impish smile before dropping a quick kiss on her cheek. "Sorry for the early hour ol'girl, but I haven't been to bed yet. And this can't wait. But, I say--! These Warwicks have the most appalling taste in decor, don't they? The aesthetics are all wrong!" He swept a disdainful look around the room, shrugged, then turned his good-natured smile back to Evelyn again. "How much paler you look since I last saw you— what? A fortnight ago? Are you ill?"

"Has it been a fortnight?" she asked. "One day feels the same as the next." How irritating for him to be so boisterous when she was feeling so weary and low.

"Will you ring for tea?" he asked, oblivious to her surliness. "I'm parched. Do they have anything serviceable, or will I have to send for my own brew?"

Evelyn rang the bell before she sank onto a sofa. The cushion beneath her felt soothing to her weary body. She was so very, very tired.

"Why are you here, Edward? No one rises before noon for anything short of a house fire. Why are you visiting me? What will people think?"

Edward flopped down beside her with a playful tweak of her nose as he did so. "You were so low when we last saw each other. I have to see for myself how detestable your living quarters are. But, frankly, now that I've seen this appalling place, you are quite right. What is this cushion stuffed with? Hay?"

"Solution?" asked Evelyn. As glad as she was to see Edward, she felt she couldn't remain upright for much longer after the long night. "I'm sure Lady Warwick is made aware of your presence by now. No doubt she awaits you outside the door, so speak quickly."

"I can't have a moment alone with my sister?" Edward grumbled, but he couldn't hide his smile. He slumped into the seat with his head on the rest, then picked at the folds of her skirt.

"Were you running away, Evelyn?" he asked, his tone soft with restrained worry. "Has it really been so dreadful? I didn't think anyone would mind having a pretty young lady in their midst."

Evelyn mumbled something as she cast her eyes down to her clasped hands in her lap. "I don't— I wasn't. Oh, it's no use. You might as well know everyone is perfectly cordial. That is all. Just cordial. Yet I know I am under constant scrutiny and always found wanting. It is unbearable to live like this. Every moment I live in fear of the next time they ask more questions I can't answer."

It was true for the most part. But how was she to reveal anything about Lord Davenport to Edward without revealing her own shameful conduct?

The young prince blew out his cheeks. "Not that again, Evie," he admonished. "I know what you're getting at. It's useless, you know. All this wondering about what was, what might have been. The past ought to remain in the past. You've got such a wonderful future before you!"

"Do I have a choice?" she retorted. But then, she regretted her harsh tone. Exhaustion overtook her emotions, but she was being needlessly foul towards poor, sweet Edward.

He took no offence and patted her hands in his usual loving manner. "I'm sure it hasn't been easy. But it needn't be. None of us is satisfied with our lot in life. One simply must make do. But, my darling, you always keep everyone at arm's length. People will believe anything from someone they like. Have you tried at all to make friends?"

"If he were to know the truth of what sort of friendship I was offered, would he be so glib?" Evelyn thought as she bit her upper lip. That was the wrong thing to do, as her lips were still raw from what Lord Davenport had done to them.

"Well, dearest, I've come with the solution to all your troubles and assure your happiness!" Edward announced with a bright smile.

"Yes, Edward?" she asked at the same time Edward announced: "You're to be married!"

"I—I'm--? WHAT?"

He placed his hands on her shoulders to pull her in for a kiss on both cheeks and was about to speak when the parlour doors swung open. The butler came through with tea.

It took an eternity for the tea to be poured. Then the old butler went about stroking the fire with all the urgency of a slithering snail. Evelyn watched his old weathered hand tremble to grip the poker. Every bone in his body creaked as he bent to push the kindling here and there, then back again. She felt the hairs on her head tingle, and she screamed on the inside with impatience. Married? To whom? How? Will the butler ever stop playing with that fire? It was hot enough!

An eternity later, they were alone once more.

Evelyn whirled around to Edward. "What do you mean I am to be married?"

The young prince, brimming with excitement, laughed at her impatience. He thought of teasing her and keeping up the suspense if he wasn't so impatient to share his news. His words tumble out. "I've found you a husband! And Father agreed, of course. He requires a wife, and you're to have a proper title, and then, a better one to come. Wouldn't it be grand for you to be Duchess? It's the perfect solution. I discovered I'm quite clever when it comes to these things. I introduced St. James to his lady wife, you know."

"Edward, please make sense!" she pleaded, her nerves frayed.

Edward's cheeky grin widened. Between sips of his tea, he relayed the tale of how he brokered Evelyn's marriage to the Duke of Northumberland's heir. The king had given his blessing. The contract had already been signed and sealed. As Edward recounted recent events, he perused the dishes of cakes before him. Thus, he missed the shock and horror on Evelyn's face.

"So no more of this charade for you. No more Warwicks!" Edward finished with a flourish. Glee turned into a grimace when he rejected the confections with a disdainful curl of his lips. That scorn returned to a self-satisfied smile as he looked at Evelyn, as he expected her to cry out in joy and declared him the cleverest man in the realm.

For a moment, there was no sound at all except for the ticking of the mantelpiece clock as Evelyn sat in stunned, stony silence. She felt ill. She felt like crying and laughing all at once. Surely, she heard wrong as she knew -- as everyone did-- the heir to Northumberland was none other than Lord Davenport.

"Evie?" Edward asked. Her wooden silence tempered his excitement a bit. "Are you not pleased? I've ensured your happiness. You're to be Lady Davenport. Dearest--?"

In Evelyn's mind's eye, she saw Lord Davenport's tall, formidable visage. She recalled the look in his eyes, the feel of his large body pressed against her --

Edward continued, oblivious to the terrible roar in Evelyn's head. "-- Terribly dashing and plenty rich. Got heaps of accolades for bravery in battle. Not to say he's old or infirm. He's still quite young if a touch too grim. But that's what a wife is for. And all the ladies, young and old, swoon at the mere mention of him, the silly cows. Evie? Well, say something? Tell me how happy I've made you."

A small hysterical laugh bubbled up in Evelyn's throat. She pressed her fist to her mouth to hold back her hysterical laughter. Oh, she was so tired she must have heard wrong. It's not possible! It can't be! Contracted to Lord Davenport now, after everything that's passed between them was beyond irony. She uttered another laugh, louder and near hysterics, till tears streamed down her cheeks.

Edward stood over her with a bewildered look on his face. He shifted from one foot to the other as he sipped his tea for lack of anything else to do. "Well then. Do say something."

"How could you?"

"I? But, I don't understand. You asked me to--" Then a look of understanding crossed his brows. He cleared his throat and looked around with a slight embarrassment. "Well, Lady Warwick ought to be the one to explain, uh- or let your husband guide you- to your uh, wifely duties, that is. You needn't be frightened, though. It's all- well, perfectly natural." He cleared his throat again, pulled on his cravat as though it was choking him, then drained his teacup as if it was liquor.

"Oh, Edward!" Evelyn cried out. Then she stopped, gasped with eyes large like a pair of saucers with a sudden realisation. "When did all this take place?"

"Last night."

"And he made no objection? Lord Davenport, I mean?"

Edward didn't understand Evelyn's reaction at all. "How can he object? He'll take one look at you, lovely little thing that you are, and I'm certain he'll agree. At any rate, I wanted to inform you first. These things do matter to you lot far more--"

Evelyn waved her hands before her to stop Edward from speaking further. "Dear God! Do you mean--? You mean he doesn't know?!" she sputtered.

Edward shrugged banally. Why wasn't she shrieking with glee? A suitable match was all that any young lady wanted, after all. "Have your paths crossed? Must not have. Perhaps I didn't impress upon you just how dashing he is."

"How is it possible for such a thing to be decided without either of our knowledge?" she demanded to know, still in disbelief.

Edward felt his exuberance wane. He thought he heard her mutter "Lord Davenport?" several times in disbelief, but in the tone he expected. This was not at all the reaction Edward had been expecting from her.

"Goodness," he snapped, taking offence now. "You're being awfully ungrateful, Evie."

Evelyn dropped her face in her hands to muffle the sobs that shook her entire frame.

That cooled Edward's temper and made him regret his harshness. "Oh, there now! You cried less from being stung by a bee when you were five. I thought you wanted nothing more than to be away from here?"

When she remained inconsolable, to Edward's dismay, he muttered a few awkward "there, there, "s before a thought occurred to him. "Look, he may not be your choice, but he can't be any worse than the rest of them. And if he's disagreeable, you'll have so many houses you won't ever have to see him if you choose. I do believe Father intends to give you Whitmore. Would you like that? Wouldn't it be grand?"

"Thank you, Edward," Evelyn said when she calmed herself a bit. "I'm not ungrateful. You did your best for me. This is the lot of women, is it not? Her life has never been her own since the moment she was born. Her only protection is her honour, yet it is so easily taken away--" She burst into a fresh flood of tears.

The young prince pondered that for a moment. "We, none of us, can do as we please. Otherwise, it would be utter chaos. Here, have your tea. It'll do you good. You'll soon get used to the idea. Think of all the pretty new gowns you'll have. You women love that sort of thing."

Evelyn's lashes fluttered. "Edward, what if- what if he objects? He might very well object, you know. What then?"

"Nonsense! As I said before, and I do mean it, you've grown quite beautiful. But you could use more rest. Touch of rouge might help."

"You still see me as a child," she accused him.

"Of course not, dearest! Here, drink your tea. Dry your tears. That's a good girl! Look, if you need more time to get used to the idea, we'll put off telling Davenport. Let you ease into the whole idea, yes?"

Her dark blue eyes sharpened as she racked her tired, muddled mind. "Yes, Edward, it's all so sudden. I need some time to grow into the idea. Time, that's what I need, I'm sure. Do keep it from him for now."

"Whatever makes you happy, dearest."