As Miranda stood outside of the school house, she tried to remember in her past conversations with Henry if he mentioned the whereabouts of where his family lived. Miss Sutherland was very unlikely to give out his address and the last thing Miranda wanted to do was go back inside to face her. Miranda thought she could recall Henry talking about his father working as a clerk at a local shop. It wasn't much to go on but at least it was a start.

Heading in the direction of the marketplace, Miranda worried about what her parents might think of her going without an escort. Walking to Cissy's alone in the richer part of London was different than going to a more unrefined area. But this couldn't wait. Miranda needed to see Henry now. Pulling her bonnet to hide her face as much as possible, Miranda was glad for once for her simple attire. She hoped it would help her appear less conspicuous so as not to draw unwanted attention upon herself.

Miranda decided to head towards Bond Street as that was the closest shopping district to the school. Turning onto the street, she could see the various stores opening up for the day and it was already starting to become busy with shoppers perusing the wares available.

Keeping her head low as other ladies strolled by with their maids in tow, Miranda now realized that a lady out by herself could cause some scrutiny. She wasn't planning on staying long, so the sooner she accomplished what she came for, the sooner she could get back home. But Miranda didn't even know where to start.

Looking into each of the stores as she walked past, Miranda caught sight of a woman that looked familiar to her. As the lady turned and made eye contact through the shop window, Miranda realized it was Miss Chism.

Spinning around in the hopes that she hadn't recognized her, Miranda walked in the opposite direction.

"Miss Edwards!"

Miranda badly wanted to keep walking like she hadn't heard her but years of etiquette training wouldn't allow her to do so. Instead she halted and slowly turned back to see Miss Chism standing in the open door of the shop. Allowing the door to close, she made her way over to her.

Miranda braced herself for the smug and derisive comments that were sure going to come her way. Miranda was surprised that Miss Chism would even be seen talking to her in public. When she had finally reached her, Miranda did her best to not break eye contact, else she looked guilty for sins she did not commit.

But instead of speaking, Miss Chism gently placed her hand on Miranda's arm. "Thank you," she said, "For saving Athena. I didn't deserve it of you."

And the next moment she was gone, heading back into the shop and leaving Miranda only with a complete look of shock.

"Miranda?"

Swiveling around at who else could have recognized her, Miranda sagged in relief at seeing William walk towards her. With his top hat and gentleman's cane, he was looking unusually dapper.

"I thought it was you," he said with a smile. Looking around to see no one with her, his smile instantly fell. "Are you here alone?" he asked with concern.

Miranda opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it again and ended up only nodding her head in abashment.

Lightly taking her arm, William led them to a small alleyway off the street where they could talk more privately. "What are you doing here without an escort? I heard about what happened at the Benson's house party, but I figured it was just the gossips blowing everything out of proportion as they usually do. Don't tell me that you've actually thrown off all sense of decorum?"

Miranda wanted to be angry at him for thinking the worst of her, but she knew she couldn't. If their roles had been reversed she would have thought the same thing. "No I haven't," she answered. "I had an urgent matter to attend to that could not wait."

"Just tell me one thing Mir," William said leaning close. "Did Lord Carlisle act dishonorably towards you? Was that where the rumors stemmed from?"

Miranda shook her head. "No William," she said. "It was simply a misunderstanding. But enough about me," she said, brightening her face, "I see you are looking uncommonly dashing this morning. Has the Duke finally turned his favor upon you?"

This time it was William's turn to look sad. "Unfortunately, no." He pointed his cane over her shoulder. "I have an interview with a barrister just up the street."

"William, that's wonderful!" Miranda enthused. "But surely His Grace will change his mind once you have a respectable job and income?"

"I'm afraid the Duke wants more than just a paltry income for his daughter."

"Has Lady Lillian found a match then?"

William's lips lifted at the corner like he found something amusing. "She is determined to defy her father. She insists that she will only marry me but I think it will only be a matter of time before her father wears her down." William then looked at her with such intensity that Miranda slightly leaned back. "You know I greatly desire to marry Lily, but I fear that her father will disown her if she does not marry at all. And then we will be right back where we started." He took a deep breath. "I'm going to need to marry first, so that Lily is free. If I am no longer single, then there is no one for her to wait for."

"William," Miranda began, "My reputation is shattered. I would only be bringing you down with me. But even if it wasn't, I could not marry you. Not when we are both yearning for a lost love."

"Both?" he asked with a grin. Despite his humor, William let out a dejected sigh. "I understand Mir. Maybe I'm just not meant for matrimony."

Miranda reached out and squeezed his arm. "Don't give up hope just yet. Things might yet turn around."

"I will as long as you heed your own advice as well."

Miranda laughed. "Touche," she said.

Pulling out his pocket watch William checked the time. "I better get going. Wouldn't want to be late for my first meeting. Where are you heading? I could escort you if you like."

"I actually have no idea. I'm trying to find a student of mine, Henry Tillman. I remember him saying that his father was a clerk but that is all I have to go on."

"Tillman you say?" William asked. "I believe that was the clerk in the law office that set up my interview." William offered her his arm. "We can go together."

Miranda could not believe her good luck, but then again, she was learning that with God there were no coincidences.

Arriving at a fashionable building with pane glass windows out front, William opened the door so that she may enter first.

Right away was an oak desk that harbored a small man with spectacles. When he looked up from his work, his face instantly showed recognition. "Mr. Scovell, Mr. Wingham said to send you straight through for your interview."

"Thank you Mr. Tillman," William said with a slight bow. "I was actually hoping to introduce you to a friend of mine."

When Mr. Tillman blinked several times as if Miranda had just miraculously appeared.

"This is Miranda Edwards," William continued. "She tutors your son Henry I believe."

At the mention of Henry's name, Mr. Tillman suddenly looked downcast.

"Thank you William," Miranda said, turning to him. "I can take it from here, I wouldn't want you to be late."

Nodding in agreement, William tapped his hat to her in goodbye and walked around Mr. Tillman's desk towards the back of the building.

With William gone, Miranda turned her attention back to Mr. Tillman whose shoulders still looked slumped in on themselves. "Mr. Tillman," Miranda said with as much authority as she could muster, "I need to speak with Henry."

+++

A week had passed since Alex had last spoken with Miranda and he had never felt so lost. The conversation he had had with his mother wasn't helping matters. Even with the knowledge that he may be struggling with trust issues from the fear of being hurt, wasn't helping with what he was supposed to do with that knowledge. Was he supposed to go out and tell all of London that he couldn't read? He didn't think so. But it did get him thinking that maybe he needed to start letting people in and stop trying to push everyone away. The thought terrified him.

Part of him wanted to run to Miranda and reveal everything. He wanted to explain why he kept pushing her away and why he had hid away at his estate for the past five years. And yet, even if he had done all that, where would it leave them? Would it change anything? Alex still didn't know if he reciprocated Miranda's feelings. He could still feel a part of his heart that was closed off and he wasn't sure if it could ever be opened.

Alex decided that he needed to practice with someone. If he wanted to even entertain the idea of opening up to Miranda and letting her in, he needed reassurance that sharing his secret wasn't going to result in him being laughed at. Having never had to reveal his illiteracy before, he had no idea of what to expect. Or how he was even supposed to go about it. Thankfully he had the perfect person in which to practice on.

Standing in the doorway of the library, Alex watched as Evelyn sat, totally immersed in her book. Her legs were tucked under her in a very unlady-like fashion that made Alex smile. He loved his sister dearly and thus she had been one of the hardest people to hide himself from. Now he knew it was the time that she finally learned what had been plaguing him for all these years.

"Do you have a minute?" he asked, walking into the room, taking the seat beside her.

Evelyn didn't respond and instead kept reading her book. Alex waited patiently as he knew she could never stop in the middle of a chapter. After a few minutes Evelyn marked her page before closing the book. "Of course," she said, as if he had just asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Alex said. He could already feel his heart rate begin to pick up.

"Oh?" Evelyn replied with interest. "Is this about how you ruined Miranda's reputation?"

Shooting her a glare, Alex replied hotly, "I tried to do right by her. She was the one who chose to rebuff me."

"Well then you should have tried harder," his sister shot back. "I liked Miranda, she was a friend. And I was hoping to call her a sister as well."

Alex rubbed his forehead in disconcertion. "She made her choice, Evelyn. But what I wanted to talk to you about might help me sort things out with Miranda."

Leaning back in her seat, Evelyn crossed her arms. "Okay, I'm listening."

Licking his lips in nervousness, Alex could feel the sweat begin to bead on his brow. If it was this hard to tell his own flesh and blood, how was he supposed to tell Miranda? "I have been keeping something from you and I feel now is the time to share it."

A smile slowly grew on Evelyn's face, then she started to giggle until she couldn't stop.

"This is serious Evelyn," Alex said angrily, "Can't you see I'm trying to tell you something that's important to me?"

Evelyn immediately stopped laughing and looked slightly chagrined. "My apologies Brother, it's not often I see you so uncomfortable." She bit her lower lip as if she was unsure of whether to say more. "It's just that...you're so nervous to tell me and yet...I'm pretty sure I already know."

Alex stared at her for a minute, trying to comprehend her words. "That can't be possible," Alex finally said. "We cannot be talking about the same thing."

Evelyn looked down and started picking at a piece of thread that had come loose from her frock. "Is it about you never learning how to read?"

Alex gaped at his sister. "You knew?" he choked out. How was this possible? He had always been so careful, to make sure that nobody ever found out and yet his sister had. "How?"

Evelyn gave a slight shrug but didn't meet his eyes. "You always acted very peculiar around books, like when I was younger and would beg you to read to me yet you always made an excuse not to." Glancing up at him, she gave a reassuring smile. "Then there were all the different tutors that kept coming and going. And Father and Mother whispering worriedly to one another when they thought no one was watching. I eventually just put all the pieces together."

"But," Alex said confused, "You never said anything. Didn't it bother you that your brother was illiterate?"

"Why would it?" Evelyn asked, surprised. "It didn't change who you were. And I never said anything because I could tell how much it upset you. I was afraid that it would hurt you more if I told you I knew."

It felt like Alex's head was spinning. All his life he was fearful of people finding out his secret and treating him differently. Or thinking that he was an unintelligent fool. But there sat Evelyn who had known for probably years and had loved him all the same. Could the same be said for Miranda?

"Are you planning on telling Miranda?" Evelyn asked as if reading his thoughts.

Alex laughed though there was no humor in it. "I was practicing on you first and it was all for naught."

Cocking her head to the side, Evelyn studied him. "Maybe she already knows. After all, you have been around her more than most people. Maybe like me she figured it out."

Alex wouldn't have found it possible. But after listening to Evelyn, the idea had merit. He stroked his chin in thought as he looked back on all of their interactions together. There was that awkward meeting in his study at Roseglen. She had certainly been inquisitive then, especially around the books that he kept. Alex frowned as he remembered how she had wanted him to read that book of poetry. Was it just merely coincidence?

Alex did find it odd that Miranda had fainted during the poetry reading, yet shortly after had run into a burning building with great fortitude. It made Alex wonder if the fainting spell had all been an act. The more he thought about it, the more sense everything seemed to make.

I had wanted to share with you something I discovered concerning Henry.

Alex snapped his fingers startling Evelyn, the final piece was falling into place. "Henry!" he exclaimed.

"Henry?" Evelyn asked puzzled.

"It's a boy Miranda tutors. He's like me in that he can't learn to read despite excelling in all his other subjects."

"Okay," Evelyn answered slowly, not quite catching on. "But what does this have to do with you?"

Alex drummed his fingers on the armrest as he pondered. "I'm not exactly sure. All I know is that she was about to share something with me concerning him. It seemed so random at the time but now I wonder if she was trying to tell me something."

"Well I doubt Miranda will want to talk with you right now, though I can't say that I blame her."

Alex shot Evelyn an annoyed look, however she did have a point. An idea slowly began to form into his mind. "Then I might need your help in convincing her to."