Once there was a man who knew naught but the world he was enclosed in. Reared to be rich and powerful, he only knew what his teachers taught him—what his parents provided him. But the limitations and ignorance soon ended the moment he learned about the League of Founders and the secrets they protect.

Lord Byron Glocheshire realized that the stories were not merely products of dreamers for they were real and were spoken in truth.

The more he discovered the secrets of the Town, the more he learned of the world above until the secrets themselves became common knowledge and eventually, a part of his daily life.

Until he found her.

Or mayhap the better term is... until she found him.

- Above and Below

*****

It was not long ago when Emma felt the ground above came crumbling down on her.

She had woken up in bed with the most intense headache she had ever known. And merely minutes later she realized she was not alone in the bedchamber that ought to only be occupied by her. And seconds later after she realized she was in fact in bed with a man that was no stranger to her, she realized that they were both unreservedly naked under the thick covers.

The feeling was horrifying if not absurd, really, for Emma Grace Everard was not used to sharing her bed with anyone. No, not ever since she had the bedchamber to herself.

After her sister Ysabella married four years past, Emma was left to have the bedchamber all on her own. Sometimes her cat, Mrs. Brigid Beagle, would come by to spend a month with her before disappearing yet again to another mistress. Emma technically spent two years alone in the bedchamber and two more with Mrs. Brigid Beagle and no other.

Except, apparently, the night prior.

The worst part was that she spent the night naked in bed with the last man she ever imagined doing the deed with—Samuel Theobald.

It was not the realization of finding herself in bed with her friend and her brother's best friend that made Emma feel as though the ground above came crumbling down on her. That, she could have handled quite well if things did not turn out the way they did. The feeling of being buried alive followed just moments after she demanded from Samuel what had happened and the doors to her bedchamber opened to reveal Samuel's best friend, Ralph—her own bloody brother!

The feeling of the world finally coming to an end followed suit as another of her older brother, Maxwell, came into view.

By then, Emma knew that she would surely find herself burned to the stakes with naught but the bedcovers wrapped around her and Samuel before she could even find out what had transpired between them.

But that was two days ago. Two days of agony and constant bickering; two days of having to see that her brothers did not murder Samuel after they dragged the poor man from her bedchamber to the eastern part of the Everard mansion; two days of seeing the look of disappointment in her mother's eyes.

Yet even after a somewhat formal discussion, the tension was still there and the great desire to beat the hell out of Samuel Theobald still simmered within her brothers' blood. It was evident in their eyes. It was like watching blinking fireballs, really.

It was her sister, Ysabella, who fought alongside Emma. And it was their eldest brother, Benedict, who gave the final decision that she and Samuel shall marry.

The Everards had faced numerous scandals before, yet this was the first common scandal they had ever had to deal with. Emma had witnessed one of her brothers marry one of their governesses who also happened to be condemned of witchcraft. One married a bastard, another coveted another's fiancée while another was now married to a woman of color who had spent most of her life inside a brothel. And just recently, Ralph himself married a bandit. Frustrating as it may be for Emma, she also understood why her brothers would react the way they did.

For one, she was their youngest and the only remaining unmarried one amongst the Everard children. And it was not merely because Samuel was Ralph's friend that enraged them, but also the fact that he was a trusted entity in the household, thus it had never occurred to anyone that he could betray their trust in such manner.

Yet, for Emma, whatever she had done with Samuel ought to not be turned into such a bigger issue where she had to be forced to marry him. She admired that man and the cause he fought for as one of the Town Herald's most influential writers, but she could not, at the moment, see herself married to him—or to any man for that matter.

She thought she was spared of the dramas wrought by marriage.

But no, she had to make a very difficult decision she never thought she would ever have to make.

So Emma Grace Everard said yes to a union between her and Samuel Theobald. Almost entirely everyone seemed to be content except for her.

Whatever may have pushed her to share a bed with Samuel that night, Emma was yet to find out, but she knew for certain that she was not in love with Samuel.

*****

"Mother is quite disappointed," murmured Ysabella. Referred to as twins by many for they were born within the same year (although months apart) the two of them had also treated each other as such. Rarely would Ysabella enforce her seven-month seniority over Emma as she was somewhat more childish and impetuous in comparison. "And so is Lady Theobald," she added in a whisper.

Emma sighed, stealing her mother a glance as the woman cradled her one-year-old grandson, Gillian in her arms, her attention completely stolen by Ysabella's babe. "She wanted a shorter engagement, I am aware."

Ysabella leaned closer and her lips barely moved as she said, "I do understand your hesitation, Emma, but a long engagement does not sit well with the elders."

Emma shrugged, honestly not bothered at all. "The brothers quite like it."

"It is because they want Sam to suffer a tad longer, that's why."

"Sam is very much willing to wait. He is very patient."

Ysabella scoffed. "He has been patient for quite a very long time. I'm certain you have an idea how long?"

"Quite," Emma retorted.

"I do respect your decision for a long engagement, dear," their mother's calm voice spoke, surprising both Emma and Ysabella. She had lifted her gaze from her grandson to look at Emma with a look of understanding and tenderness in her eyes. "I have long accepted that my children are prone to making mistakes as Harry and I did many years ago." And then she let out a dramatic sigh. "I simply wished that you would have already learned from us, Emma, dear."

A grin twitched Emma's lips. "I am an Everard after all, Mother."

Lady Alice shook her head. "That, you are, dear. That you are." The baby started to cry in her arms and Ysabella immediately went to get her son from their mother. "By the by," said Lady Alice the moment she was free of her grandson, "Lady Rachel sent a letter of inquiry. She would like to know if we are to attend the weekend Theobald ball. We are, of course. We do not want to disappoint your soon-to-be-mother-in-law, Emma, dear."

"We attend the Theobald ball every year, Mother," Emma said with curiosity. Why would her mother remind her of the said ball?

Lady Alice's blue eyes looked at Emma's emerald green ones sternly. "It is but a few months away, Emma. Perhaps by then you will have a decision on when we can start the actual wedding plans?"

"Ah," Ysabella and Emma chorused. Baby boy Gillian was becoming restless in his mother's arms, urging Ysabella to excuse herself from the parlor. But before she disappeared, she gave Emma a wink for luck.

"You must understand I wish to know Samuel beyond friendship, Mother. I will not know for certain if I can be confident to have the engagement be announced in public at the Theobald ball."

"I do understand, of course," said Lady Alice. She walked over to Emma and stared down at her. "But, dear, the Theobalds are eager for a decision."

"One I cannot give upon pressure," Emma insisted.

Her mother sighed, shaking her head. "You ought to be utterly grateful that your brothers are not demanding you to get a gown and march down an aisle this very moment. If it had been during my time, you would no longer be sitting here drinking tea."

"You eloped to Tiny Town during your time, Mother," Emma jested.

"Ah, that I did," the woman said with a sigh. "Would it not have been far better if you did the same?"

Emma was already shaking her head even before her mother finished her statement.

"But you are not like all of us."

"No," Emma said, calmly replacing her teacup on the table. "For I would not be engaged if Ralph and Max did not catch me."

Lady Alice's eyes widened, but her surprise was quickly overcome by disbelief. "Why do I not find that statement horrifying as I should have?"

"Because you are very much aware it is true?"

Lady Alice shook her head and took the seat opposite Emma.

"And dare not try to convince Samuel to tie me with a rope and drag me to Tiny Town, Mother. You successfully did it with Alex and Ralph, yes, but know that there is a big difference between Ralph and I. He was already madly in love."

She saw the question in her mother's eyes. Had she no feelings toward Samuel at all?

It was a relief the woman did not voice the question for Emma had asked the same question countless times. Samuel was dear to her, but how deep could that feeling go? Never had she entertained a different kind of relationship with the man for it was hard to when you merely see him as a friend.

Surely she could learn to accept the idea of marriage with Samuel but when would it occur? And when it didn't, would she be willing to marry him still?

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother. "By the by, have you read the Herald today? Quite horrible, the gossip about that woman who..."

And that was how they continued their afternoon tea—with Lady Alice completely immersed in the latest gossips and with Emma silently wondering whether or not she had let herself be dragged down a path that she might find ultimately dreadful.