Alice was sitting in the same bed where she and Harold had previously spent the entire afternoon naked, while her mother paced about, trying to collect her thoughts.

Lady Edwina did not look as angry as she was earlier downstairs, but it was still no consolation. The woman could no longer do anything, but she was still her mother and having her blessing would make things quite easier in the future.

"I am sorry to have done something like this, Mother," Alice started.

"You ought to be," Lady Edwina said under her breath then stopped her pacing and turned to face Alice, her face registering something akin to fear. "Oh, Alice, what do I do with you?"

Alice let out an awkward smile. "You could congratulate me. I finally got myself a husband."

Lady Edwina closed her eyes and muttered something through her lips. When she opened them again, her eyes were filled with tears. "Darling, why? Why did you choose him? Was it to spite me?"

She frowned. "Spite you? Of course not."

"You did not wish to marry and I practically shoved you into a carriage and dozens of gowns to get you offers. But..." her mother lifted her arms and let them fall to her sides. "But... you chose the least person I wanted for you."

"You never said Harold is not on your list, Mother. No one was not not on your list, as I do recall for no such list exists. You simply wanted me to marry."

"Yes, but I did not wish for your early demise!"

Her mother's words confused her at first. And then she finally understood. "You are talking about the curse."

"Yes, of course!"

"That is preposterous." Alice stood and walked toward her mother. "I do not believe it."

Lady Edwina was already shaking her head even before Alice finished her statement. "An Everard is good, Alice, dear, but... but the curse!"

"As I have said, Mother, I do not believe in it."

"But—"

"And I will not be like the other Everard women because I will bear you tons of grandchildren," Alice interjected, haughtily lifting her chin. "You will watch them grow before your eyes and you shall witness my hair turning grey."

Lady Edwina stared, eyes welling with unshed tears. "I truly hope it shall come to that, darling. I cannot imagine living this world without you. Your father has left—"

"I shall live longer than anyone." She took her mother's hands in hers. "I married Harold not to spite anyone, Mother, most especially you. I married him because he is the only one I want. It shall make us very happy if you can give us your blessing."

"I would love to, but—"

"Then it is settled!" Alice said with a smile. "We shall both go down now and you shall embrace my husband as family. Can I count on that, Mother?"

Her mother's tears rolled down her face and Alice sighed, wiping them with her fingers. "There is no need for tears, Mother. You look as though you are already mourning my death."

Lady Edwina's eyes widened in horror. "Alice!"

Chuckling, Alice wiped gathered her mother's hand in the crook of her arm. "Now, what shall you say to my husband?" She led the woman to the door. "You may continue to act very angry if you wish. He deserves that for dragging me here in Tiny Town, but you will have to tell him later that you welcome him as your son-in-law."

Her mother sniffled. "Why do I need to act—"

"It brings me a sort of an odd joy seeing him suffer. He has not made this an easy journey for me, you know."

"He did not? How?"

"Well, for one, he had refused to marry me for quite a while before he finally gave in. Should I say he quite broke my heart a few times?"

"No, he did not!"

"Well, you see, he did. And he suffered through it as well."

"Oh, I shall not have it! Did he make you cry?"

"Well..."

"Then he shall suffer tonight!"

"You do not have to overdo it. You are a bad actress."

"Then how?"

"Well... you can just stare at him. It will be quite uncomfortable. He will try to be funny, but you cannot laugh."

"That will be quite easy..."

*****

Harold was not comfortable at all.

After his wife and Lady Edwina came back from their private chat, Alice's mother had not spoken a word to him.

Martin, on the other hand, was receiving a good lashing of tongue from his own mother, Lady Vivian, who was showing her great disappointment with each serving of tea. She was currently having her third.

"You ought to stop, Mother, or you shall not have an ounce of sleep tonight," said Martin.

Her mother's eyes threw darts at him. "You are one to speak. You can barely handle your own responsibilities."

Harold cleared his throat while Martin cowered beside Theobald with a groan. "My lady," he said, gaining the attention of everyone, including Lady Edwina's. "The decision to go to Tiny Town was mine. Martin had nothing to do with it. He practically threw me out of his home to stop me from seeing Alice."

Lady Vivian scoffed.

"I—it is true! I did, did I not!" Martin said, pointing at Harold. "And I warned you to stay away from Alice."

"You did?" Lady Vivian and Alice asked in unison.

Martin swallowed. He blinked a few times, seeing how his answer would definitely disappoint either one. "Well, I did..." Lady Vivian nodded while Alice narrowed her eyes. "T-that is because I noticed that he fancies you."

Alice's eyebrow arched. "You are amongst those who got between us then."

"Yes, he did," Harold said, nodding his head.

"And you are the biggest one to come between us," Alice said, turning to him. "If it was not for your hesitations, we would not have gone through a lot."

Harold shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Well... I had to be hesitant. I had to look after your welfare."

Martin scoffed. "By scratching off every possible eligible prospect of marriage, yes."

He threw his friend a cold look. Martin turned to his mother who had gone calm. "What I am trying to say, Mother, is that what Harold and Alice had was simply the same as what Eva and I had. It was unstoppable."

Lady Vivian rolled her eyes and a long silence followed. Theobald was first to stand and say, "It was a very lovely evening, but I am afraid I need to retire." He bowed and before any of his friends could stop him, he was gone.

"I should find out if your rooms are ready," Alice said, jumping to her feet.

Martin stood as well and offered his mother his arm. "Mother, will you join me to the garden? I have news to tell."

"What about?"

"Oh, you will be delighted and might forgive me for my lack of control over my friends. I swear you will."

Lady Vivian stood and allowed her son to escort her to the garden, leaving Lady Edwina and Harold alone.

"You should not have allowed my daughter to check on our rooms. You should have done it yourself," Lady Edwina said, voice disappointed.

Harold smiled. "If I did, I would not have this chance to talk to you alone."

The woman raised her brows. "You wish to talk to me?"

He nodded. "To apologize. And to promise you that I will give your daughter the wedding that she deserves." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "If you will give us your blessing, of course."

The woman gave him a long, assessing look. "You do seem to know your way around negotiations."

"If you know your daughter too well, my lady, you know how the skill is of utmost important."

Her lips twitched into a smile. "Of course."

Harold watched Alice talking to the hotel manager from the distance and returned his gaze to his mother-in-law. "I have to admit that I have always been hesitant to marry because of my family's... history," he carefully started. "It is mainly the reason why I have been avoiding your daughter."

"And what changed your mind?"

He looked at Lady Edwina in the eyes. "Her. She is enough reason for me to give up anything. Or to risk anything."

"You are saying you are willing to risk her life?"

Harold swallowed. His gaze went to Alice. "I am saying I am willing to risk years of sorrow if my family's history proves itself true."

Lady Edwina slowly nodded. "I cannot say that you are to blame for this, my lord, for this incident would not have occurred if my daughter did not want it." The woman gave him a leveled look. "And if she is willing to risk her own life to have you, then she must want you desperately."

"The feeling is mutual, my lady."

Lady Edwina nodded. "You have my blessing. And you can give my daughter the wedding that she deserves, although I doubt she will have it."

Harold smiled in understanding.

"Do promise me one thing, Harold."

Harold nodded.

"Never ever break my daughter's heart again."

Harold nodded. "You will have the privilege to hang me in front of the ton if that happens."

His mother-in-law nodded with contentment.

*****

"What did you say to your mother?" asked Harold later that night.

"Nearly everything, of course. I just saved the bits about us being in different states of undress."

Harold groaned. "You told her I broke your heart."

"Which you did."

He gathered her in his arms and buried his face in her neck. "I did, did I not?"

"Well, not truly, but quite. In tiny bits, in minute moments."

Harold groaned and murmured against her skin, "I'm sorry, darling."

Alice sighed. "You are forgiven."

*****

Alice and Harold stayed for a few more days in Tiny Town. Their friends had long departed to escort Lady Edwina and Lady Vivian back to Wickhurst. Lady Vivian was not wasting more time to be with Eva and her unborn grandchild.

On their second day alone in Tiny Town, Alice and Harold were entertained by the new contents of the gossip section of the Town Herald.

Sebastian was quoted by the writer denying having been mauled by an Everard and his friends. The paper went further as asking Eustace Theobald himself for a reaction and their friend was quoted, saying, "A true gentleman would not ask to be featured on a gossip section."

Harold laughed when more gentlemen gave their own version of the fiasco, with one of them swearing he had never seen anyone call out for his mother while covered in blood like Sebastian did.

"I would love to have been there," Alice wished with a sigh as she threw the paper to the corner.

They were both having a bath in their bedchamber after taking a stroll around the nearby park. Alice proceeded to scrub her husband's back while he read the letter delivered to that morning.

"What does it say?" she asked, kneading his shoulder.

"Martin is asking us to return as fast as we can. Everyone demands to regain their membership at Grey's."

"They expect you to solve this problem?"

"Yes," Harold groaned.

"Well, it was your fault."

"They could have stopped us. This is as much as their fault as ours. They wagered on us while the fight was going on."

"They did?"

"Yes."

"Then you should demand for your share."

Harold erupted in laughter. He looked over his shoulder at Alice. "However your mind runs is a mystery, darling, but I love it nonetheless."

She bent her head and gently bit his shoulder. "Would you wish to know what I have in mind now?"

He turned in the tub faster than a blink, splashing water on the floor as he did so. Alice laughed as he pulled her closer, the motion fluid under the water.

"We can choose not to go home for another month," he said, nibbling her ear. Her hair was gathered in a bun at the crown of her head, giving him freedom to explore her neck.

Alice turned her head to find his mouth. "We can, but we should probably consider going home earlier. The gossips are not taking a rest."

"Martin just confirmed that we are now husband and wife, darling. What else is there to gossip about," he asked.

"You know them," she said with a shrug. "The gossip section is the most successful weaver of fiction. New ideas will always come to mind."

Harold held her waist and guided her so she straddled his hips. "Such as?"

"For one, it might soon be reported how I seduced you and forced you to marry me."

"Hmm..." her husband only managed to say, closing his eyes as Alice ran her hand over his chest. "I like the seduction bit," he groaned as she moved her hips.

Alice smiled, bending her head to whisper in his ear, "Or perhaps there was no seduction. I might have just simply pointed a knife at your neck and took you here."

Harold's hand went to her nape and he searched for her mouth. "We should stop talking now, darling."

Alice smiled. "We are going to be late for the theatre, are we not?"

Harold groaned. "I do bloody hope we shall be very late."