Tiny Town may be part of the Town, but it enjoyed many privileges that the other equally large towns did not.

For one, it was independent.

It had its own laws and regulations, although it still had to be a part of many decisions the Town had to make. It could participate in the choosing of the next Town Leaders.

Many affluent people all over the Town believed that Tiny Town had more influence on everything. As a powerful nation by itself, it kept secrets that even the Town Leaders did not have the liberty to know. And with its large population, their votes were important for those who aspired to a Leader. A vote from Tiny Town could assure victory.

But apart from its great political power, both outside and within its walls, it was constantly receiving visitors for many other reasons. Vacation-goers flocked the town to experience leisure without suffering the consequences they may ultimately get outside Tiny Town.

Most importantly, Tiny Town was the only place to be for those who wanted to get shackled. Acquiring a marriage license was as easy as ringing for tea. Anyone could be a witness, and most importantly, consent was not necessary. Anyone's mother, father, brother or sister could raise hell and the lovers would still be wed.

Most lovers went to Tiny Town to say yes. And most often, they succeeded. A witness, known to the couple or not, would suffice.

Alice and Harold had not spent another single night out of the road. It was upon Harold's insistence that they traveled through White Rocks and through Whiteford to reach Tiny Town. Their borrowed carriage made it easier and faster that Alice was no longer able to find any means to delay their journey.

All she was able to do was hope that Martin and Eva were successful.

Tiny Town was as busy as Willowfair and Wickhurst, only larger in scale, making it harder to locate anyone, much more their friends who were inclined to be wed in haste.

Alice clearly witnessed Harold's frustration as he asked around and she secretly rejoiced. Surely, Martin and Eva were now married.

He had not said a word to her since she last woke up. It seemed that it was the safest way for them to stay alive. He was still clearly angry over her deception.

As she waited inside the carriage with a growling stomach, Alice looked out the window at the passing crowd.

Good Lord, she could never imagine herself living in such place. People and carriages swarmed the streets. There were noises everywhere. Could anyone ever have a minute of peace here?

At a far distance, she saw Harold running back toward their carriage. As he jumped inside, his face was dark, his jaw tight.

"Well? Is it the right church?" she asked. They had been to six so far.

He merely shot her a look.

And that one look was answer enough.

Her hopes were realized and she sighed in relief.

"Well? Where are they?"

His reply was not directed at her as he tapped his knuckles against the carriage roof and barked at the driver, "Stonehill Hotel! Now!" He leaned back against his seat, clearly impatient. His scowl intensified when he finally looked at her. "You dare smile! You rarely express anything with that pretty face of yours and now you smile!"

Alice was indeed smiling. She could not help it.

Martin and Eva did it.

"Thank you," she replied.

"Thank you for what?" he snapped.

"You think my face is pretty."

"Do keep quiet, Alice, or I will shut your mouth for you," he shot at her.

Alice shrugged and looked away. She did not wish to find out how he would do that.

*****

"Come now, Harry," Martin said in a jesting tone, "do not spoil this beautiful day."

Alice looked across the table at Harold who had not even touched his food.

It had not been long since they strode into the Stonehill Hotel and found Martin and Eva dining in the elegant restaurant. There was no brawl between the two young men as Alice had secretly half-expected. Instead, there was a lot of hissing at one corner while Eva and Alice embraced each other in congratulations. The two men would have been dragged by the other customers out of the restaurant if Eva did not pull her new husband away from his very angry and disappointed friend and ordered for everyone to gather around the table and celebrate in peace.

"Martin had already warned me that he will be like this," Eva whispered loudly at Alice.

"Oh, he had been worse on our way here," Alice replied before turning to Harry to say, "Allow me to be kind enough to remind you, my lord, that we had not had a proper meal since we left Dartridge. Neglect us all, but not your appetite for we truly wish this wedding to not end in a funeral."

As her husband chuckled, Eva asked, "Dartridge?"

Alice nodded as Harold's face flushed with anger at the reminder. "I deliberately led him through the longer route."

Martin laughed louder this time and offered Alice a grateful nod.

"I did it for my friend, Martin," she stated, voice growing serious and cold. "I will not appreciate the trouble I faced should you do something I will disapprove of."

"Of course, I would dare not—"

"Trouble?" Harold interjected in a hissing tone. "Are you suggesting I was trouble?"

Alice met his gaze squarely. "Of course. Should I remind you?"

They stared at each other for a long time, Martin and Eva watching them curiously before looking at each other, completely at a loss.

"Now," Alice said without tearing her gaze from Harold's glare, "I wish to enjoy this little feast and celebrate our friends' newly acquired prison."

Eva laughed while her husband choked on his food.

Alice turned to Martin with a mocking smile. "Marriage."

"She is jesting, Martin," Eva told her husband.

"You are both leg-shackled and you have sealed your fate to the other. You are both officially prisoners to your marriage."

"You need not elaborate, Alice," Martin said with a chuckle. "Good Lord, I should say I am not happy that you two are here, but I must change my mind. It is good that we are with friends."

"But you cannot share our bedchamber," Eva whispered to Alice.

Alice hid the flush in her cheeks by clearing her throat.

*****

"Are you certain you are not regretting anything?" Alice asked. "You can still divorce him. No one else knows that you eloped. We can still save your reputation."

Eva laughed and turned to her. They were alone in Martin and Eva's bedchamber while Harold and Martin were downstairs, probably resuming the hissing as they ordered for two more rooms for Alice and Harold.

"I am the happiest I have ever been today, Alice," Eva said, joining her in the settee. Her friend gathered her hands in hers. "And I have no one to thank but you."

"I did nothing."

"You were a great help. Now, tell me everything. What happened after we left?"

Alice shook her head. She was not certain she should tell Eva everything. "Nothing very good. All you need to know is that I met Sebastian."

Her friend's eyes widened. "How—"

"Harold insisted that we call on the Lord of Henry to ask for direction."

"Did you not tell him—"

"He insisted and truthfully, we needed the direction. I cannot expertly navigate through White Rocks."

"And Sebastian was in the estate? How did he react?"

"He was able to corner me."

"And?"

"Well, I managed to escape, didn't I? I am here."

"Did he hurt you?"

Alice shrugged. "Not really. But I do wish he does not find out that two of my horses are in their stables. His father has kindly offered us one of his carriages."

Eva gasped. "Alice! That man is—"

"I ought not to have told you about Sebastian. He is no longer a concern. Now," she said, shifting in her seat, "do tell me everything. From the moment you left Langworthy..."

*****

"We leave Tiny Town first thing in the morning," Harold said to Martin. "You and your wife are coming with us to face the consequences of your actions."

"Of course," Martin easily replied. "I have already sent my parents letters. I can imagine my mother rushing home to Langworthy as we speak."

Harold scoffed in disbelief. "Has it not yet sank in? What you have done?"

"Of course. I have a wife I utterly adore now. And I intend to make her happy for the rest of our lives together. We have made plans, you know. She shall help me rebuild Surley to its former glory. That means I will no longer be in constant attendance at Grey's, of course."

Harold shook his head. "I am waiting for the day you will come running back to me, begging me to take you in because you cannot stomach going home to something that has become a stranger."

For the first time since they arrived in Tiny Town, Harold saw anger flash before his friend's eyes. "You must learn to accept, Harry, that your friend is more than just a rake. And I hope that you will soon realize the same thing I did."

"Which is?"

"There comes a moment when everything you have known becomes so minute and meaningless because something far more beautiful has arrived and you have no other choice but to reach for it and claim it before it is too late. That is what happened to me and I am proud I reached for it, and even more grateful that she allowed me to claim her despite, unworthy that I am."

Harold took a long breath and sighed. He lifted his hand to call the server. "I need a stronger brandy. And you do, too. You have been drinking nothing but romance."

"It has a very satisfying intoxicating effect, if you must know."

"No, I would dare not want to know," he retorted sharply.

*****

Something very troublesome woke Alice that night.

The feeling of unease lasted for a long time and when she could no longer help it, she slipped out of bed and donned her robe.

She slowly walked out of her bedroom door, feet bare, and padded her way to the door next to hers.

Raising her fisted hand, she gently knocked.

When no reply came, she tried again.

The door finally creaked open and she pushed her way in before he could close it in her face.

The room was dimly lit by a candle in the corner.

"What are you doing here?" Harold hissed at her.

Alice wrapped her robe tightly around her and she searched his face in the dark. He was standing quite far from her. How did he manage to escape her that fast?

"I believe Martin is hurting Eva," she whispered.

"What?" His brows were knitted together in disbelief and confusion.

"I can hear her crying," she added in hiss, walking closer to him.

"No, you stay there," Harold said, putting his hand out to stop her.

Alice sighed in frustration. "Can you not go and check? Something is quite not right. She had been crying for hours!"

Harold sighed loudly and moved to the door. He disappeared and she followed, poking her head out to see if he indeed entered her room which was right next to the couple's bedchamber.

Alice jumped away when Harold finally emerged and re-entered his room.

"Well? Should you not knock on their door? See if she—"

"She is not crying, Alice," he said, sounding irritated.

"Well, I do have ears, Harold. I know what I heard—"

"Do I truly have to put into words what your friend and my friend are doing?"

Alice blinked as she figured out what he was trying to tell her. "Are they mating?"

"You do like that term, do you not?" he scoffed. "Yes, they are mating."

"Is crying a necessity—"

"Good Lord, Alice, please stop asking questions. You are merely embarrassing both of us."

Alice blinked. "You look uncomfortable."

"I am," he admitted, glaring at her. "You interrupted my slumber."

"Oh, well... I apologize." She looked around the room. "I need a drink. Can I drink here?"

"No, you cannot—"

"Do you expect me to suffer the entire night listening to a lot of moaning?"

Harold placed his hands on his hips helplessly and sighed. "Very well. You can stay here until they are done."

"Thank you," she said. "Can I have the bed?"

"No, of course not. You can have the settee."

Alice walked over to the settee that faced the side of the bed.

"This bed is uncomfortably positioned," she stated.

"No, the settee is uncomfortably positioned. I suggest you lie down and stop staring."

"I am not staring at you."

"You look like a ghost in that bloody white robe, sitting by my deathbed."

"Waiting for you to pass and join me in heaven."

"You must mean hell."

Alice rolled her eyes. She did not lie down, but she did look away by bending her head to stare at her fingers as they played with the sash of her robe.

A long, tense silence followed. Neither of them moved.

"Have you regretted your decision yet?" Harold asked, breaking the silence.

Without looking up, Alice replied, "No. Eva seems quite happy. Why would you ask that?"

"You and your mother might find yourselves without a home now that there is no chance for you to marry into Langworthy," he said.

Alice raised her head to look at him again. His hands were now folded under his head. It seemed that he would not be sleeping either. "Well, if you truly are concerned about the wellbeing of my mother and I, you ought to offer for me then."

He scoffed loudly without sparing her a glance. In fact, Alice realized that Harold had been avoiding her eyes since she entered, except only when he had to glare at her. "I am not the marrying kind."

"Then stop talking as though you are concerned, my lord," she snapped. And to fully divert the subject, she did not give him enough time to argue by asking, "Why did you do what you did in Dartridge?"

Another long, tense silence followed. Too tense, in fact, that Alice nearly wished she was back in her room. The moaning would have been more bearable. "I was foxed. And so were you," he finally answered. His tone was low and unreadable. She saw his jaw clench through the little light offered by the candle. "You said it yourself, did you not? You do not remember much of it and I have decided to forget it."

Alice sighed and narrowed her eyes. He was still not looking at her. "Are you deliberately avoiding the carriage?"

"That was not in Dartridge."

"You were not foxed in the carriage," she said, ignoring his statement.

He could not answer.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do not make me answer that question, Alice." His voice had gone thick and filled with warning, sending tiny tingling shivers to the tips of her fingers.

"You said it was not to punish me."

To her surprise, Harold jumped out of bed. It was only then that Alice realized he was less clothed than normal. He had naught but a long buttoned shirt and his trousers. All other outer layers had been stripped. "Return to your room, Alice," he ordered, pointing at the door behind her. His eyes finally met hers and they were alight with fire. But it was not an angry kind of fire.

She hesitated. Perhaps she should return to her room after all. "How long do you think it would last?"

He seemed confused. His thick brows were furrowed. Or perhaps he was angry at her? Why? Because she dared ask about the carriage? Well, had she not made it clear earlier that she might ask questions later on? "The what?" he asked.

"The moaning."

He blinked and moistened his lips. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was uncomfortable. And he was frustrated. "As long as they want."

Alice sank deeper into the settee. She lifted her feet off the ground and hugged her legs to demonstrate her defiance. "Then perhaps I should stay here and finish a bottle of wine."

"You are not drinking."

"Do you fear I will kiss you again?"

"Yes." His fast reply caught her off guard. "And I know I will not be able to stop. So please... just... go to sleep. Use my bed. I can stay in your room."

He walked past her and toward the door behind her.

Alice did not look over her shoulder. She could not look at him. What he would see in her eyes would merely embarrass her. "Very well. Good night, my lord."

There was a long pause before she heard his footsteps walking toward the door and then she heard the door lock.

Alice swallowed and held her breath.

For a few tense seconds, she did not move.

There it was again. The fire. The tingling sensation.

But it was not only building inside her. She could also feel it in the air around her.

Slowly, she turned her head over her shoulder and saw Harold still standing there, looking at her, eyes intensely dangerous.

With the remaining courage that she had, Alice stood up and slowly turned to face him.

Their eyes locked.

She barely moved and yet she was already breathless. Watching him walk toward her made her heart race even faster. Blood rushed through her, the fire burning high.

"I want you," he said as he closed the distance between them. He cupped her face and his mouth hungrily captured hers. Their bodies instinctively pulled together. Alice clasped the front of his shirt, clinging for strength. His mouth left hers and nipped its way to her ear where he harshly whispered, "That's why I did what I did in the carriage. I want you." One arm wrapped around her, pulling her hips closer. "I want you."