VIVIENNE RAISED HER skirts above her ankles and spun around, giggling as the rain hit her face. "This is very much liberating," she said to Fiona.

Her friend was also giggling as they both clasped hands and twirled around in the rain. "Yes, it is. Have I told you that I'm glad to have a friend like you?"

Vivienne stopped for a moment to look at Fiona. She seemed a bit blurry but that might have been because of the darkness that shrouded around them. "Are you declaring your love for me, Lady Fiona?"

Lady Fiona laughed, "I suppose I am, Lady Vivienne." She turned to the sky, where the clouds were the only thing visible, "I love you, Vivienne!"

"And I love you, Fiona!" Vivienne shouted even louder.

Their voices echoed in the empty streets and they both giggled again.

Suddenly, a thought hit Vivienne. "Do you think we missed dinner at the manor?"

Fiona looked around them, "I think we might have."

Realization crept into Vivienne. Her gown was soaked, and she began shivering. They were alone in the streets and had failed to return to the manor in time for dinner. "Lady Torrington is going to be furious with us!"

Fiona's smile slipped almost immediately. "I forgot about the promise we made to her. We must get back to the manor immediately!"

They tried running but Vivienne found that it was much harder for her to stay balanced when the world around her continued to spin. She stumbled a bit, and to stay standing she kicked out her left leg only to have her slipper fly off into the night.

"I lost my slipper!" she cried.

"Never mind that, we can't possibly find it in this darkness. What we need to do his hurry back to the manor. Henry will be furious with me."

"I don't think we can navigate in this darkness," Vivienne wailed as she tried keeping up with her friend. "It seems all black to me."

"We must try Vivienne. There is no time to cry right now, save your tears for later."

They rounded around a corner where a few men were huddled underneath a sheet of roof watching the rain.

Fiona raised her hand and waved at them, "Excuse me, do know which way Chalcott manor is?"

The three men simultaneously turned around to glance at them. Vivienne did not like the looks they were giving her. She pressed into Fiona's side and whispered, "They don't seem friendly Fiona, let's leave before they get cross."

Fiona shook off her hand, "Nonsense. I'll tell them who I am."

Fiona walked to the gentlemen leaving Vivienne no choice but to follow. "I am Lady Fiona," she pointed to Vivienne, "and this is Lady Vivienne. We require your assistance in navigating our way back to Chalcott manor."

The man in the middle chuckled darkly, "Did ye 'ear what they said Norris?"

"Ladies my arse, although they are pretty little 'enches, aren't they?"

Vivienne gasped at the language. "Please sir, there is no need to be crude."

The burly man to the left mimicked her tone and grabbed onto Fiona tightly while the one on the right did the same to Vivienne. She cried out it pain as his thick arm circled around her body. He paid no heed to the sound of her pain.

"A little tupping from real men will do them good, what do you say Norris?"

The man on the left looked greedily at Vivienne, and she shivered not liking what she saw in his eyes. "I say it's been a while since I had a wench."

Vivienne twisted her grip to try to escape as the man began lifting her gown. "Release me at once!" she cried, trying to put down her gown as much as possible.

The man ignored her. Beside her Fiona was struggling to escape as well but her friend bit the arm of the man who was holding her. He dropped his arm cursing, and Fiona ran to help Vivienne, but it was useless. The man once again got a hold of her friend. Fear filled into Vivienne's body as she realized what was going on. Hoping to get to message out to anyone else on the streets she screamed as loud as she could. "Help!"

Fiona screamed the words over and over again alongside her, but their words echoed in the rain and faded into the darkness. The men covered their mouths preventing them from screaming again. Vivienne struggled against the hand that covered her mouth, but she knew it as hopeless. Oh, how foolish they had been. She looked towards the heavens, tears streaming down her face.

There was nothing else left to do.

***

James spun around, "Did you hear that?"

Headfort grim-faced nodded, "It was faint, but that sounded like a scream, most definitely a woman."

The three of them exchanged a look before they began sprinting to the sound of the voice. They heard it a couple of more times before there was only the slow patter of rain. The path was fairly straight, and James knew there wasn't much possibility of where the women could be. As they approached the corner, they saw three men and two women struggling in their grasps.

"You bastards!" Headfort shouted as he ran through the rain and punched the man who had been holding what seemed to be Fiona. They wrestled to the ground, immediately covering themselves in mud. 

Berkeley took the man on the right, who was still holding onto Vivienne. He let go of the lady in pain when Berkeley swiftly kicked his legs. The man in the middle, seeing both of his friends occupied, tried escaping but James retrieved the knife from his boot holding it to the man's neck.

"Don't take another step, you filthy creature. How dare you harm two innocent ladies?"

The man whimpered but didn't say anything.

"Shall I slice your hands so you can't touch any more women?" James asked dangerously, as he held the knife closer to the man's neck, enough to draw a line of blood.

"No, no, please don't my lord," he stammered. "We were just having a little bit of fun."

"The correct title is Your Grace, you filthy rat. Although I do not want to hear any more words from your pathetic existence of a being."

James pondered about ending the man's life right there and then, sans consequences of the law. He thought about carving the man's heart into smaller pieces but stopped himself. That was not who he was. There was a legal system in place to deal with people like this. It was better that these men spend time in prison where their lives would be made more miserable by the others. They deserved to suffer longer and taking their life would remove the pain too quickly.

Using the hilt of his knife, he knocked it against the man's head and he fell to the floor. He looked towards his friends who had both beaten the other men into unconsciousness. Beside them, a few distance away, Vivienne and Fiona stood huddled together. Putting his knife back into his boot he approached them and stood a healthy distance away.

"Are you both okay?"

They nodded but didn't say anything. James had quite the scolding in his mind but seeing the scene before him had turned him mute. Now was not the correct time to lash out at the two of them. Headfort and Berkeley joined him.

"Fiona, what in the devil were you thinking?" Headfort asked angrily.

James held up his hand to silence his friend, "Later, they've been in the rain for quite some time and could get ill. The roads will certainly be flooded now. We will have to stay the night."

His friends grimaced at his words, but James knew they would have quite the difficulty returning to the manor. It was better to stay at the inn. "Berkeley, knock on the local magistrates house, he might be asleep but let him know it was me who sent you." James gave a disgusting look at the unconscious men behind him. "He'll deal with them swiftly."

Berkeley nodded, "Aye, get the ladies back to the tavern and I'll meet you there."

James slipped off his coat and extended it to Vivienne who didn't take it.

"Don't be foolish, put it on."

She looked at him with her green eyes shining with fear, "I cannot," she raised her hand slightly, "my hand is trembling."

James didn't know if it was because of the fear or the excessive drinking. It was very much evident that both Fiona and Vivienne were deep into their cups. Rubbing his temple, he walked over and placed the coat over Vivienne's shoulders. He was cold and tired, and he didn't want to deal with anymore drama.

"I would give you my coat dear sister, but it has more mud than you would appreciate."

Fiona gave her brother a slight smile, "Never mind, I don't need a coat, let's just head back to the tavern."

Berkeley slipped out of his coat and handed it to Fiona, "Here."

Fiona looked up at him, "Oh no, you don't need to give me that."

"Fiona," James warned, his voice low. "We are not going to have the same conversation twice."

She must have seen something in his eyes because she politely put on the coat without any fuss. The four of them began walking towards the tavern while Berkeley walked the other way. It was particularly slow walk for the ladies as they could barely move in a straight line. When he prevented Vivienne from tripping over a cobble street corner, James had enough. He walked towards her, slipping one hand around her neck and the other under her knee before he picked her up.

"What are you doing James? Let me down!"

That was the first time she'd used his Christian name without being prompted. James hated that he even remembered such an insignificant fact. "We will reach the tavern by sunrise if I let you walk at your current pace." He growled.

She sighed for a moment but snuggled in closer to James. He could smell the faint scent of jasmine and honey, even after the adventure she'd been through.

Her eyes met his and even though it was dark, James could vividly imagine the bright green colour. "Thank you for saving us," she said softly.

James swallowed and nodded once, there was nothing more left to say.

***

James stretched his arms and yawned. He placed a hand on his neck, rubbing it, trying to alleviate some of the stiffness. It was definitely one of the worse night rests he had gotten. They had arrived at the tavern, placing the ladies in the room before waiting up for Berkeley. It was only after Cedric told him that the men responsible for harming Vivienne and Fiona were in the magistrate's custody had he relaxed.

James slipped the blanket off before bending to tie his shoes. It was best they returned back to Chalcott manor before the rest of the guests woke up.

"-How could you be so reckless Fiona! It was utterly foolish of you to even think about heading to the village alone without telling anyone. To top it all off, you then dragged Lady Vivienne into your ridiculous plans."

James frowned. Berkeley was not someone who raised his voice often, yet here he was yelling early in the morning.

"We knew none of you would have gone with us, so we left. I don't need to hear this lecture from you Cedric, you are not my brother nor my father!" Fiona shouted back.

James winced at her tone. He knew Fiona had quite the temper, and it seemed to be out in full force. Sighing, he began walking towards the door. It was up to him to end their dispute before they woke up all the inn guests.

"Oh, don't give me that look Fiona. If you had asked, yes one of us would have taken you, or made other safer arrangements. And I know I'm not your brother or father, but I do care about you!"

"You don't care about me Cedric. Maybe once upon a time when I was a child you did, but you don't anymore," Fiona's voice broke on the last few words.

James' hand paused on the door handle, and he turned the knob slightly before stopping. Maybe it was better for them to let it out so they could clear whatever misconceptions lay between them. Deciding it was better for him to stay out, he instead leaned against the door so he could hear the rest of the conversation. He didn't feel guilty for a moment. If they had chosen such a public place to have an argument, then anyone was entitled to listen to it whether they liked it or not.

"What do you mean Fiona? I don't care? I spent my night in the rain searching for you, I fought a man for you, I did all of that for you! And you have the galls to stand here and question my feelings?"

He heard Fiona let out a watery sigh, "and I'm thankful for all of that. Believe me, I learned my lesson and I'll be more careful from now on. But I said what I said, you don't care for me as I care for you, and I don't think you ever will."

He heard footsteps running away and that's when James pulled open the door.

"Wait Fiona, come back and explain to me what you mean!" Berkeley shouted down the hall.

James placed a hand on his agitated friend's shoulder, "Let her be. This isn't quite the place for it. I reckon you both woke up most of the guests already, and those still sleeping through the ruckus will be furious if you continue."

His friend looked to him confused, "I don't know what she was saying at the end, did you know what she meant?"

James avoided Berkeley's gaze and looked down the hall, "I believe that is between the two of you to figure out. I can't speak for what's in her heart."

"Bloody hell, neither can I."

James gave him a slight smile. "Where's Headfort?"

"Breaking his fast downstairs. Shall we join him?"

James shook his head, "No if Vivienne hasn't woken up yet, rouse her. We need to head back to Chalcott manor with the ladies before it becomes a bigger spectacle."

Berkeley winced, "Agreed. After all this ordeal, that is the last thing anyone would ever want."

------------------

Thankfully the gentlemen arrived in time. What do we think about Fiona letting it out on Berekely, and him losing his cool as well? Did James make the right decision with those men?