I stand up, stretching and rubbing at my sore neck. It has been another busy day of preparation for the National Ball with Lillian. Together, we have been poring over sketches of dresses and suits, finalising the plans for the creations that Lillian will work her magic on. We have been so busy that I have not even had the opportunity to see Eloise and Ella today.

Disappointment tugs at me. I will definitely go to see them tomorrow – it will be the first thing I do.

I touch Lillian's shoulder, noticing that she is slowly succumbing to sleep at the table. "Lillian. I think it is time to go to bed. Tomorrow, I shall leave you to begin your work. I have some errands to run."

Lillian smirks, her eyes droopy. "I wonder if they have something to do with two lovely ladies whose names begin with E."

"Really, Lillian." I snort. "I will see you soon, friend. I trust that you will do your best with these clothes."

"Nothing less is sufficient." Lillian smiles, beginning to gather her things.

I wait for her to pack and we both leave the conference room together, heading to our separate rooms.

The next day, it is mid afternoon before I rise. Cursing myself for oversleeping, I pull on the nearest suit and then lock my room.

I must not waste any more time. Ella must be wondering where I am. Eloise must be doing the same. I do not want them to worry about me and yet, I cannot help but to fret about them.

In my rush to see them, I do not even notice Mrs Rawtenstall waving to me.

It is a breezy day and I shiver as I begin the walk through the town square. There is no market today and so the square is almost bare. There are a small quantity of stalls owned by local vendors scattered around the square and there are but a few people surveying the products. Without the hustle and bustle of the market, the square almost appears eerie. In fact, as I walk, I realise most of the streets and alleys are bare of the people who populate them. There are no running children, no rowdy groups of men returning from work, no haggard maids out on errands. I realise that the whole village is caught up in preparation for the ball. There are only four days left until the day of the ball and everybody must be racing to be the best dressed.

Finally, I approach the house. Walking through the garden that has become entrenched with weeds and wild flowers, I step through the front door.

The lounge is empty.

I make my way into the parlour, calling out Ella's name. There is no response. I venture into the kitchen, which is also empty.

A sharp squeal catches my attention. I look out of the window to see Ella, red-cheeked and ruddy with glee, running around the garden. Eloise is running after her, shouting something I cannot hear. Even just seeing her has an euphoric effect on me. I can feel my heart thrumming in my body, ecstatic at being in the presence of not only the woman I love, but my daughter.

I go over to the door and open it, emerging into the garden.

Ella looks over and beams, scrambling over herself to get to me. I bend down to scoop her into my arms, rejoicing in how tight she holds onto me.

"Damon!" Eloise wheezes. "Do not let go of her! My girl, you are in trouble today."

"Oh, that does not sound good. What mischief have you caused, Ella?" I say, letting her feet touch the ground, fighting a smile at her antics.

"Nothing!" Ella insists.

"You know what Mummy says about lying, Ella." Eloise scolds as she approaches us. "Little Ella here has been playing in the garden and has made a royal mess of herself. To make matters worse, I came out to ask her to have a bath and she will not listen! I have heated the water and it is getting cold. She just will not have the grace to..."

Feeling Ella wince at her mother's increasing anger, I step in. "Okay, okay. Ella, you know that Mummy and Mister Damon like for you to play in the garden, but if you are to play in the garden and get yourself dirty, you must take responsibility and not trouble Mummy when she asks for you to bathe. Understood?"

Ella frowns and crosses her arms in defiance, but nods.

"I knew you were such a good girl. I have the perfect idea. Mummy can bathe you and Mister Damon will sit outside the room. We can all talk while you bathe."

"Perfect!" Ella grins.

Eloise rolls her eyes. "Well, come along then!"

The three of us make our way back up the stairs. I sit outside the room whilst Eloise bathes Ella, so that she may have her privacy.

Ella chatters away the entire time.

"Mister Damon, do you know what I would like very very much?"

"No, Ella, what would you like?"

"A daddy."

The atmosphere instantly changes. From warmth and comfort, it shifts to threatening and chilly. I do not need to look at Eloise's face to know she must be frozen with shock. I swallow the large lump in my throat. How am I to salvage this? I do not want to upset Eloise.

"Is that so?" I manage to choke out.

"Yes, but now it does not matter so much. You are always with me, Mister Damon, so that makes me feel like I have a daddy."

My chest swells with love with for the precious soul I have been blessed with. How can she be so perfect? Tears spring to my eyes and I swallow, trying to hold them back. I have suffered aplenty in my life, but hearing those words turns those struggles to nothing. She has become the epicentre of my universe. Nothing else matters but her. She is my daughter and I shall give her everything, every penny to my name, every ounce of my time. I will devote myself to her. She deserves to have a father in her life and I refuse to deny her that any longer. She must know the truth. We must tell her the truth about how she came to be.

"Ella, take yourself downstairs, please. I think I heard the door, Mamma Mary must be here." Eloise says, her tone low.

Ella scampers past me in a clean dress, hair wet and flinging drops of water as she goes.

Eloise emerges after her, gaze averted from me.

I rise to stand before her, "Did you hear what she said? She thinks I am like a father to her."

"I heard." Eloise replies. "She is young and she is very attached to you. You are the first man to show her such interest and affection. It is only natural for her to feel that way."

"It is natural because I am her father! Eloise, I think it is time. Why are we continuing this farce? Why must we torture her by letting her believe she is fatherless when I am right here? We could make her so happy!"

Eloise looks at me and then glances towards the stairs. Wordlessly, she takes me by the hand and hurries us to her room.

Closing the door behind her, she turns to me with a huff. "You know why, Damon."

"Listen to me! What are you worried about? Emmanuel? Look how many weeks I have been here, he has not returned once. He has never wrote to you. It is as though he does not exist. He does not care for you or our daughter! Why are you so afraid? I know you still love me, Eloise. I know you love our daughter just as much. Please, forget about him and come with me!"

"Where would you take us?" Eloise yells. "To your town? To your liquor business? Damon, do you really think it is that easy? Do you know what it means to uproot a child as young as Ella? Do you not think I have considered every scenario that you are considering right now?"

"I am not doubting that you have not, I just... I love her. I love her and I love you. I need you both in my life and not just for some months, but for as long as I live. How can I leave her knowing there is a part of me here? She has been created by us, she is half of me and half of you. How can I let you stay here when I know you both are unloved and unhappy?"

I step forward, cupping Eloise's face in my hands and tilting her face so her eyes meet mine. I want for her to see every emotion that I am feeling. "Ellie. A long time ago, you trusted me more than anything. If I had asked, you would have placed your life into my hands. Trust me again. Believe in me. I will keep you safe, I will protect you, I will make you happy, I will give Ella everything she has ever dreamed of. Please, just trust me."

As tears fall down Eloise's cheeks, I use the pads of my thumbs to stroke them away. She sniffs, closing her eyes as though she cannot bear to look at me.

"Damon." She whispers, "Do not put me in this position. Do not make me do this. I beg of you."

"Do what?"

Eloise opens her eyes and then reaches up to hold my wrists, pulling them away from her face. "You say you can keep us safe. You say you can protect us. How? Just how do you aim to do that? Have we not tried this before? Have we not been in this exact position less than ten years ago? What happened? Everything was ruined. He found us. Emmanuel will always be there, in all the shadows of every corner of every room. There is no escape."

"That was different." I strain, fighting the urge to yell and remind her just why it did not work last time. If she had not loved Emmanuel, we would still be together today. "We are different people now. I can support us, I can hide us."

"He is powerful." Eloise cuts in, the tone of her voice rising. "How can I risk my daughter? How can I play games with her life? If I was to leave here with you, do you honestly think he would not use every resource at his fingertips to find us? When he does find us, what exactly do you think he will do?"

"Then why did you love a monster like him?" I sneer, unable to hold myself back. "Why did you choose him over me? Why did you let our daughter suffer by his hands?"

"Damon, that is quite enough."

"What is it you would have me do, Eloise?! You wish for me to stay close to Ella, but to never tell her who I am. You wish for me to stay close to you, but act like a stranger. I cannot live like this! I cannot do that! If you and Ella are to be in my life, I want that to be without any secrets, I want that to be true. Why can you not understand?"

"Damon. The worst thing about all of this is that I do understand. I just... I will not put her at risk. I have worked so hard to make her happy and give her a good life and I cannot jeopardise that."

"You are letting your fear control you."

Eloise sighs, her shoulders slumped. She presses at her forehead as though relieving a headache and then looks at me. "I think that maybe this has run its course. Perhaps it is time for this to end."

"What do you mean?" Fear clenches at my chest, making it hard to inhale. The air in the room is heavy, pressing down on me. Hot tears prick my eyes, blurring the vision of Eloise before me.

"What I mean is, maybe we have let this go on for too long and in the process, become complacent. I did not intend for this to happen. All I wished to do was to let you have your rights as a father. I have to step in now, before this becomes something we cannot control. I think that after the ball, you should return back to your town. You may send Ella letters and I will help her write back."

"What?"

"Do not return, Damon." Eloise says, without ever looking at me. "There is nothing for you here. I am somebody else's wife and I must remain loyal to him. Ella will be sad but life will return to normal with a matter of time."

I scoff. The world is spinning around me. How can she say this with such nonchalance? How could she even think of doing this to me? I have found her after all these years, I have found my daughter. I never knew what I was missing and she wishes to snatch that from me? She wishes to take my daughter from me?

"Are you listening to yourself?" I glare at her, rage beginning to swirl inside me.

"I know that you will be angry, Damon, however I cannot – "

"No, you stop right there!" I step forward until we are within inches of each other. "How could you even think of saying something like that? I have been standing here listening to you refer to Ella as your daughter. Need I remind you, she is our daughter and you are not the only one with rights to her. How dare you?"

Eloise stares at me, fumbling for words. She opens her mouth to say something but I interrupt before she has the chance.

"No, it is my turn to speak and your turn to listen! You have said quite enough. Let me ask you one thing – when you so coldly brought me to the railway tracks that day and told me to leave your life, did I once question you? Did I resist? I did exactly as you wanted. You threw everything I ever owned in my face and I picked it up and I left, Eloise. I went far away. I did as you asked, because I love you and I wanted you to be happy. I left, I sacrificed everything I built with you. Now, you invite me back into your home, you let me build a relationship with my daughter and then you tell me to leave again? You ask me to abandon my daughter? For him? Just how lowly do you think I am? Am I a toy for you to play with? Do you even care for me, if not as a man, then as a human being?"

Eloise splutters, "Of course I do! I am not doing this for Emmmanuel, I am doing this to – "

"You are doing this to protect Ella, right? Is that what you were about to say? That is where you are wrong again. You are doing this to protect yourself. You are doing this to protect your marriage, to protect Emmanuel."

"I have no need to protect him. Emmanuel can take care of himself."

"Perhaps, but he cannot take care of my daughter like a father can. Only I can do that."

"She is safe here."

"Safe? It appears our definitions of safe are different. Safety is not just about having a roof over your head. It is about happiness and comfort. It is about feeling loved. Do you really believe that Ella feels loved when Emmanuel is around? Do you believe she feels loved when she realises that her mother goes to bed with the man who refuses to acknowledge her existence?"

Eloise's eye flare. She grits her teeth. "Do not say things you may regret, Damon. Do not speak of things you know nothing about."

"You have lost yourself in him, Eloise. I have lost the love of my life to that heinous creature. You lay with the man who will kill your daughter's spirit."

Eloise steps forward, meeting my gaze. Her stature is smaller than mine, but she holds herself with a fiery strength. "Get out of my house. Right. Now."

I stare at her. "Not until we have decided upon my contact with Ella."

"There is nothing to decide. I have told you what will happen. You do not need to come here before the ball. Now, leave."

"I do not agree with those terms."

"Mary!" Eloise calls. "Mary! Come to my room!"

There are hurried steps up the stairs and Mary bursts through the door, her hair dishevelled.

"Is everything okay, dear?"

"Escort Damon out of the house. He has no need to remain here." Eloise folds her arms.

"What?" Mary frowns.

"Please do as I ask, Mary."

Mary glances over at me, defeated. "Come with me, Damon."

I step towards Mary but then look back at Eloise. "Do not assume I am leaving because I have agreed. I am leaving because I do not wish for Ella to overhear. I will return to discuss the future of my relationship with my daughter."

With that, I leave the bedroom, thundering down the stairs and into the kitchen. Ella is sitting at the table, all too unaware of what is happening. She smiles as I enter. Walking over to her, I kneel down before her chair, reaching out to stroke her hair.

"Ella, I will be going now. I will be back soon." I tell her.

"Will Miss Lillian have our dresses ready soon?" Ella blinks.

"Of course she will. As soon as they are ready, you will be the first to know."

Ella beams.

"Give me a hug, angel." I say, pulling her into my arms. She wraps her arms around my neck and I close my eyes, allowing myself into indulge in her embrace. Such a tiny little person, who has fostered such love in me. I hold her tight. I do not know how many more chances I will have to hold her like this. Our time is limited. How can I ever go back to living without her?

Pulling back, I squeeze her cheek. "Goodbye, my love."

"Goodbye, Mister Damon." Ella smiles.

I stand and turn to Mary. She walks out of the house with me.

"I will walk you to the lodge, dear."

"Thank you, Mary."

We walk in pensive silence, my mind overrun by what has unfurled today. How much has changed from this morning to now. Life is so peculiar. Just when I thought my sorrows were over, everything has been ripped from me once more.

"What happened, Damon?" Mary asks.

"She asked me to leave after the ball. She asked me to leave and only ever communicate with Ella through letters. She wishes for me to abandon my daughter and go back to living a solitary life."

"Why would she do that?"

"Mary, I asked her to leave with me. I asked her to tell our daughter the truth. Do you not think Ella deserves to know who her father is? Has she not earned that? I love her, I love both of them. All I want is for our family to be together, for us to truly cherish one another and spend our lives together. I do not know why she cannot pull herself together long enough to see that."

As we arrive at Rawtenstall Lodge, Mary turns to face me. "Of course she sees that. She is not heartless, my child. She is enclosed by fear. I know that you think it is safer for them to be far away from here, but this is all that Ella knows. This is all Eloise knows for almost seven years. She knows where to take Ella, where to keep her away from, who to trust with her daughter and who to disallow her daughter from seeing. She knows this town like the back of her hand, like you must know yours. Leaving is not as easy as you would think, Damon. Out there is a world full of the unknown, full of monsters she does not know. At least here, she knows who the monster is."

Her words sink into me, leaking through my anger and creating pockets of confusion. Was I too rash? Did I expect too much from Eloise? I know that my feelings will not change – I want nothing more than for the two of them to be with me. Yet, could I have introduced that idea in a better fashion?

Sighing, I look at Mary. "I will consider your words. For now, I shall let Eloise's anger cool before I even think of returning to the house. Console Ella if she becomes upset, or even, if Eloise allows it, bring her here to see me."

"I will, Damon. Take care, my child."

"You too, Mary."