After Catherine's heartfelt conversation with her mother, life became a little more bearable. Though her heartache certainly had not disappeared, she simply felt better for having shared a little of her burden with another. Catherine had not realised it at the time, but the weight of her misery had been persistently dragging her down. To know that her mother was now aware of her pain was a great source of comfort, as she no longer had to concentrate on concealing her emotions when in her company.

It was but a few days later that Catherine, emboldened by her talk with Mrs Taylor, also shared her tale of woe with Bessie - only to discover that Bessie had guessed the source of Catherine's troubles months ago! Catherine had half-expected her little sister to tease her rotten over the entire affair, but to her credit, Bessie handled the situation with admirable maturity. She took it upon herself to provide Catherine with constant distraction, which proved to be very beneficial; whilst immersed in an absorbing novel, or concentrating on a piece of embroidery, Catherine found her mind wandered far less frequently.

The only activity Catherine still refused to attempt was playing the pianoforte - unfortunately, she could not even glance at the instrument without stirring up all the painful memories once again. Stirring up memories was something Catherine was very reluctant to do, for there was no use in dwelling on that which could not be. By forcing Professor Lawes from her mind Catherine found she could at least muddle through the day feeling something like contentment - which was certainly more than could be said for a month ago - so for the moment, she accepted it.

By the week following her talk with Mrs Taylor, Catherine even felt well enough to venture out of the house. As September neared its end, the weather began to turn - so one fine day Catherine decided to make the most of it and step outdoors, as she knew not when she might have the chance to do so again.

Catherine passed a pleasant enough morning in the company of a Miss Fletcher, one of her childhood friends upon whom she was rather overdue to pay a call. A cheerful, animated young woman, Miss Fletcher proved to be very entertaining company, and Catherine left her house in significantly higher spirits than she had been for an age.

All Catherine's spiritedness faded instantly, however, upon approaching Donbroke to find an extremely familiar compact carriage drawn up outside the front steps. The exterior, at least, was familiar - as to the interior, Catherine would not know, not having been granted the opportunity to ride in it that fateful morning in Barnbury.

As Catherine drank in the sight of the carriage and realised what its being there meant, she found herself completely rooted to the spot, unable to take another step.

Her first emotion was pure, complete elation. Professor Lawes was here, in Warwick - inside her very house, no less! Catherine had of course been dreaming of this moment since quitting Barnbury, but never had she dared think for one moment that it might actually happen! Her heart swelled at the thought of seeing him again, filling her with so much happiness she thought it might burst.

Moments later, though, elation gave way to a strong surge of doubt. There was the very strong possibility that it was not the professor's carriage - it could easily be mere coincidence that this one so closely resembled his. How utterly devastating it would be to enter the house, only to find that it was not he at all! Oh, she did not think she could withstand such agony!

Catherine suddenly found her flood of thoughts interrupted as she spotted a figure hopping up and down excitedly next to the carriage - a petite, morning-gown-clad figure who certainly was not supposed to be out of doors at this time of year, in particular without wearing a cloak! The sight seemed to spur Catherine into action, and she found herself closing the remaining distance between herself and her sister almost at a canter.

"Bessie, what in heaven's name are you doing out of doors?" exclaimed Catherine furiously as soon as she was within earshot. "It has been but a few months since your last ailment; this family cannot cope with another!"

Much to her displeasure, Catherine's words did not at all have the desired effect. Bessie seemed thoroughly unconcerned at her sister's outburst, face shining with exhilaration as she grasped Catherine firmly by the hands, still leaping from one foot to the other.

"Oh, Catherine - you have come at last!" she cried breathlessly. "I felt I should burst if I were forced to wait a moment longer - I was about to come directly to Miss Fletcher's in order to fetch you home myself!"

"Mama will have a fit if she discovers you have ventured out of doors, Bessie!" moaned Catherine, focusing on lecturing her sister in order to calm the sudden violent fluttering of her heart. "Come inside this instant!"

"Mama will not have noticed a thing; she is far too preoccupied with another matter of infinitely greater concern!" gushed Bessie, allowing herself to be towed into the hallway.

Catherine had a brief moment to wonder at the meaning of Bessie's words, before she became distracted by the sound of a pair of voices drifting from her father's study at the end of the corridor.

The first voice, of course, belonged to her father; the second, also familiar voice sent shivers of pleasure down Catherine's spine. At once all the deep desires she had forced herself to quash these past months exploded to life, knowing as she now did that the man she loved stood in this very house.

How long had she spent torturing herself by analysing every foolish word she had uttered during their last conversation? How many times had she caught herself imagining a reunion between them, only to face the agonising reality that such an occurrence was never to be?

Yet Professor Lawes had indeed come to Warwick, and was now conversing with her father in his study.

"Papa invited him in there barely five minutes after he had arrived," said Bessie now, as if she could read Catherine's mind, "so I hardly managed to catch more than a glimpse of him - but my, how handsome he is!"

The professor's face swam into Catherine's mind at Bessie's words, and she found her heartbeat quickening as she indulged herself imagining his mass of dark curls and soft, brown eyes. To think that not ten minutes ago she had been fairly certain she should never lay eyes on him again - and now she was to be stood before him at any moment!

After daydreaming about this moment ever since her return to Donbroke, to her horror Catherine found that now she was actually faced with the imminent presence of her dear Professor Lawes, she had not a clue how she ought to behave! As she currently felt, she might well faint away before him the moment he entered the hallway; whatever would he make of that?

"Although," Bessie continued with a giggle, clearly oblivious to the turbulent thoughts occupying Catherine's mind, "I oughtn't to say such things now, should I? For I hardly think we need to guess at the nature of the conversation currently taking place between the professor and Papa!"

Catherine's face blanched as meaning of Bessie's words washed over her. So preoccupied was she with coming to terms with the fact that Professor Lawes was here, Catherine had not given a moment's consideration to what might have brought him to Warwick in the first place - but there was only one likely scenario that would involve Professor Lawes disappearing into Mr Taylor's study.

If Bessie's speculations regarding the professor's motives were indeed correct, there was the strong possibility that within the next half hour Catherine's greatest wish might come true - but far from being overjoyed at the prospect of being granted her heart's deepest desire, instead Catherine suddenly found herself feeling rather ill. All of sudden, she had been struck with a most unpleasant thought.

When Professor Lawes had come across Catherine up on the Mendips, he had been on his way to visit her at Broxcliffe Park. Catherine had not noticed it at the time, but now she thought back, she recalled that she had not granted Professor Lawes the opportunity to say what he had planned to when he called upon her.

The professor had told her his decision to return to Cheshire - but she had interrupted before he could finish speaking. What if that was not all he wished to say? What if - what if he had intended to ask Catherine if she wished to return with him, as his wife?

Catherine's hand flew to her bosom as she struggled to comprehend this terrible realisation. Professor Lawes had wanted to propose to her before she returned to Warwick, yet she had behaved in a most despicably improper manner, refusing him even the courtesy of listening to his speech before storming off and declaring it unlikely they should ever meet again! Oh, that she could have been so idiotic! Catherine felt as though she might well die of the shame! The man she loved had been attempting to offer his heart to her, yet she refused him like nothing more than a foul-tempered child, too wrapped up in the mindless chatter of the silly Miss Russell.

What an utter fool she was! Why, she was no more deserving of the professor's hand than Miss Russell herself, for all she claimed to have far more sense than that girl. The only factor in her defence was that she had in fact been told that very morning that the professor did not love her - yet instead of listening to what Professor Lawes had to say, she had dismissed him before he had chance to utter a single word! She could not bear to imagine what the professor must think of her now after such a display, and felt exceedingly nauseous at the thought of facing him momentarily.

"Catherine, you are positively swooning like the heroine of a romantic novel!" teased Bessie suddenly, clearly mistaking her sister's pale countenance for love-sickness.

Catherine made to reply - but she had no chance to utter a single word, for at that moment the door to Mr Taylor's study swung open, and out came Professor Lawes.

His eyes were as soft and his face as lovely as Catherine had remembered and she found herself at a complete loss for words as she devoured the sight of him stood before her in his travelling attire. For a brief moment Catherine completely forgot her worries, simply enjoying the moment as she realised just how desperately she had yearned to see Professor Lawes again.

But no! How was she to face him now, knowing that she had refused to acknowledge his proposal in such a childish fashion? Catherine could not bear to see him think ill of her, though it was nothing more than she deserved. As the seconds passed, the panic inside Catherine rapidly increased, until she found she was steeling herself to do something as senseless and dramatic as she had the last time she and Professor Lawes had been face-to-face.

Moments later Catherine sealed her fate, by taking perhaps the most drastic and foolish action possible under the circumstances. Without uttering a single word, she simply turned on her heel and bolted right out of the house.

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A/N: So I finally uploaded a new chapter! I'm really sorry for the lack of updates - it's nearing the end of term, so things have become rather hectic. I know it's a really short chapter, but I promise the next chapter will be longer as it will be the final one!