Mason and Dorothy were taken from Strait via an enclosed carriage. Aliya had to answer Mason's series of questions throughout their journey back to Coulway, and she did so with patience. 

The child rarely went out of Maple Row and had never traveled far before. Everything was new to him, including Aliya's giant husband, whom he would often boldly stare at with mouth hanging open.

"He must think I am out to eat him," Oliver whispered to Aliya on the first day of their journey.

By the end of the second day, just before they reached Coulway, Mason was clinging to Oliver like a leech. Perhaps because climbing over Oliver was akin to a flight up a tower.

When they presented the boy to Natalia, the woman merely stared down her nose at the child, saying, "He is too pale."

Ellise was interested in Mason, claiming the child had been hidden from society for most of his life and she would like to observe how it must have affected his mental state, a statement that elicited a statement from her brother which went along the lines of, "For someone who has deliberately been hiding herself from society, you have developed such remarkable interests!"

Simon, on the other hand, was immediately enamored. "He is a fine, young man, are you not, Mason, my boy?"

Mason then asked if Simon was his grandfather, to which Simon said, "I could be if you want one!"

Dorothy was only happy to leave the mainland. She had been constantly checking the apartment windows in Strait since Aliya married into the St. Vincents. "And I heard Herst is a very fascinating island," she said the morning of their departure.

Herst was located northwest of Sutherland. The best way to reach it is through a cruise from Rothsker, passing by the island of Dockerly and on to Herst.

But the St. Vincents were not keen on taking a one-week cruise when they had a child and a governess to hide. They traveled through Eaton and rounded to the other side of the mountains.

The view of the mountains to their left and the ocean on the other side was worth the long hours of the carriage ride.

"Mason, Mason, look!" Aliya said, waking up the child sleeping in her husband's arms with his arms around Oliver's neck.

Mason rolled his head and sleepily opened his eyes to stare at the ocean. He faintly smiled, but he did not jump away from Oliver as Aliya had expected. What he said next clenched at her heart. "Will Mama join us soon, Aunt Aliya?"

Oliver had been sleeping and he opened his eyes to look at his wife. When she could not offer a reply, her husband groaned and tickled Mason's side. "Your Mama will come and find you the moment she can, Mason."

Mason chuckled and fought against Oliver's attack.

Aliya turned her head to the window and wiped her eyes, blinking to stop any more tears threatening to come out. From across the carriage, she saw Ellise studying her.

The woman averted her gaze when she realized she was caught and turned her attention on Mason. "Mason," she called, "Do you know what we have in Herst?"

Mason shook his blond head. "No."

"We have the ocean at the back of Winfield."

"What is Winfield?"

"It is the name of our manor in Herst."

"Manor?"

"We live in a manor. So shall you."

The child's smile widened. "I will?"

Ellise nodded. "This child keeps repeating what I say," she addressed Aliya, then turned to Mason to ask, "Am I not eloquent enough, Mason?"

"What else is there?" Mason asked instead, climbing off Oliver's lap to kneel beside Ellise.

"Sharks."

"Ellise," Oliver warned with a playful tone for Mason's sake, but his eyes conveyed his displeasure.

"Sharks?"

"Yes," Ellise replied, openly ignoring her brother.

"What are sharks?"

"Large fish."

"Like a whale!"

"Perhaps," said Ellise, lifting a shoulder with a shrug. "But sharks are quite special."

"Why?"

"They eat humans."

As Mason's eyes widened with fear, Oliver reached out for him and hauled him back on his lap. "Do not listen to Ellise. She has a wild imagination."

Mason turned to the ocean. "Do they eat children?"

Oliver threatened to kick his sister's leg before he smiled down at Mason and said, "No, of course not."

"Just don't go far into the ocean," said Ellise.

"What Ellise is saying, Mason," Aliya said, desperate to salvage the child's innocence, "is that you have to be careful whenever you venture out into the beach. Should you want to go into the waters, you cannot go far because it can be dangerous."

"Precisely!" said Oliver, scowling at his sister over Mason's head. "And you should also learn how to swim."

"But I do not want to go to the waters anymore."

"If you know how to swim, you can escape the sharks," Ellise said.

Oliver mouthed, "Enough!" at his sister who let out a bored sigh.

"You will learn how to swim, Mason," Oliver said. "Like a fish. I will teach you."

Mason looked up at Oliver and Aliya smiled at the sight. "You will?"

"Yes," said Oliver. "And by the time your Mama comes to find you, you can show her."

Mason turned to Aliya. "Did you hear that, Aunt Aliya?"

Aliya nodded, her eyes brimming with renewed tears. "Yes."

"Now, go back to sleep. When you wake up, we will be in Herst," Oliver murmured to the boy who leaned his head on his chest.

Oliver lifted his leg once more to threaten Ellise with a playful kick. Ellise did the same, but her foot landed on the target. "Am I wrong about the sharks?"

"No, but you were talking to the wrong audience!" Oliver hissed. "Stop scaring the child. You are terrifying enough as it is."

*****

The journey across Herst took an entire night. Natalia and Simon went straight to their cabins. Dorothy and Mason took to theirs while Ellise locked herself in her cabin, one she insisted not to share with anyone, to be alone.

Aliya and Oliver went to the front deck with a few passengers nearby, looking at the disappearing silhouette of the mainland. Finding a spot that gave them the view of the north and the large expanse of the ocean, she grabbed unto the railing and she looked over her shoulder to Oliver who was slowly walking to join her. "Do you remember?" she asked.

"Darling, you do not have to ask," he said, coming closer to enclose her in his wide frame from behind. His hands rested beside hers on the railing and his chin rested on the top of her head. The wind blew their hair. "We used to argue if the stars swam in the ocean once they meet at the horizon."

She chuckled. "We were ignorant fools, were we?"

"Happy, ignorant fools," he corrected, bending low to kiss her shoulder.

"And you shouted at the wind," she added. "You said you will be the best doctor in the world."

"Hmm... that I did," he murmured against the shoulder. "And you said you will be... I do not remember what you said."

"I do not recall what I dreamed of that day," she admitted. "But I do recall believing you will find yours."

He let go of the railing and grabbed both ends of her Kashmir shawl to wrap it around her and did not let go.

"Ollie, we are not alone here," she faintly scolded.

He kissed her temple. "I know you do not care. You used to have Gregory Cook sitting on your shoulder, now you have Oliver St. Vincent around you. Gregory Cook missed his chance, the stupid monkey."

Aliya did not know why, but her eyes filled with tears again. She sniffed and Oliver sighed against her cheek.

"You are crying again."

"Have you ever imagined it?" she asked, her voice breaking. "When I was fourteen and you were sixteen—when we used to stand side by side to watch the darkness of the sky and the ocean? Have you ever imagined we would be standing like this fourteen years later?"

His head bent and he buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I imagined many things during that cruise, Ali. I imagined kissing you."

Her eyes widened. "You did?"

She felt him smile. "I was sixteen, almost a man. Of course, I thought about kissing the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. I even told Uncle Carl I will marry you."

"You must be jesting."

"But I guess I forgot. I never got to write you the letters."

"No, you never did."

"Did you wait for them? The letters?"

"Yes, of course, I did. But I guess I forgot about you, too. You would cross my mind now and then, but then..."

Her voice trailed. She could not bring herself to say what happened a year after the cruise. She could not taint this moment where her fondest memories were out in the open with the horrors of that night.

A strange silence followed her statement as her worst memories drowned the best ones.

"After the cruise," Aliya started, clearing her throat, "you went on to study with your uncle?"

"Yes. It was my first time to be away from Herst for so long," he murmured against her neck. Then he raised his head and squinted against the wind. "And then I went away from Sutherland. Traveled all over England. Then I crossed the ocean to the Americas. I remembered you while on the ship. I would walk up to the deck every night and pay homage to the memories of the girl I promised the unwritten letters to." He nuzzled her neck. "Please forgive me for never writing."

She smiled, bent her head, and kissed his arm. "You are forgiven." His hold tightened as a strong wind blew past them. "Where did you go next?"

"I went to the Orient. Then I stayed in India for a year."

"I never realized you have been to many places."

"It was not as amazing as you may think. I spent most of my time learning. I was hungry to learn."

"But you surely met people."

"The best teachers, yes."

"And you eventually found yourself back in Sutherland."

He nodded. "Five years ago."

His arms tightened around her and he buried his face in her neck once more. Aliya could tell that something bothered him. She wanted to ask but decided not to. Had something happened during his travels?

"I hope I wrote those letters," he told her.

Aliya started to turn and he loosened his hold so she could face him. She looked up at him, the wind blowing her hair over his chest. She reached out to cup his face. "Do you think we would still be here if you did?"

He did not answer. His hazel eyes just looked at her tenderly, but they also seemed blank—as if remembering a distant memory.

She sighed and smiled before pulling him down so she could kiss his lips. And to his ear, she whispered, "I want to go to bed, husband."

They walked back to their cabin hand in hand, but unlike fourteen years ago, they were not running down the corridors to cause havoc. They took their time, pausing now and then to share a kiss. They paused beside a closed cabin door to murmur words; in the middle of a narrow corridor so he could unbutton her dress; and perhaps two more stops to enjoy the prelude of a promising night.

The door was locked as soon as they entered and Aliya gasped in surprise when Oliver pulled at her hand, crushing her against him to receive his kiss.

Aliya felt the sudden change from the harmless teasing outside. His desperation was growing intense, causing her slight alarm. His hands were restless as they worked on her dress and his breeches. And he was silent—too silent. He carelessly crushed her against the wall, eliciting a cry of pain from Aliya. "Ollie," she said, growing uncomfortable. "Ollie!" she said, cupping his face and pulling it away from her neck. She searched his intense eyes. "You are hurting me."

He blinked and suddenly his eyes were clear. He swallowed and blinked a few times. "I'm sorry," he said, jumping away from her. "I do not know what came over me—"

She reached for him. "I am all right," she said, kissing his jaw. "Are you?"

His jaw tightened and he wrapped an arm around her. "Yes. It must have been the journey. I have not journeyed this long for quite some time."

She nodded, raining kisses on his bare chest. "We can sleep if you want," she said, her hands on his hips, furtively moving forward.

"I slept in the carriage," he said in a jesting tone, but she could hear the strain in his voice.

Leading her to the bed, Oliver loved her with such intensity that she had never experienced before. He was not hurting her, but the act was different and she wanted to ask him—wanted to make him tell her. His hands gripped her as if he was afraid it was the last time; his mouth worshiped every part of her as if he was marking his territory.

To her surprise, he sat on the edge of the bed and let her straddle him, letting her take the lead. And while she did, his eyes were open, gazing at her with ardor and tenderness—and that something she could not name.

Caressing his face, Aliya looked into his eyes, her thoughts morphed with heated passion. Her small gasps echoed between their mouths; the unspoken questions muted between their gaze. His hands raked her hair back, traced the curve of her shoulders and the side of her breasts, resting on her hips as she moved above him.

He was a man taking inventory of his possessions—her.

She was not used to this Oliver, Aliya thought as he buried his face in her neck again, his short hot breaths washing over her sweat-coated skin. She listened to his grunts and pants, wondering if it was all just in her head. She hugged him tightly as she shattered into pieces and he did the same moments later.

When they finally fell back on the bed, panting and moist with sweat, he kissed her long and hard. He did not say a word until very much later when he began to make love to her again. He whispered words of love in her ear as he worshipped her from behind, but never about what bothered him. His arms never let her go until they both finally succumbed to sleep.

By morning, her Ollie was back. He slipped out of bed naked and dressed.

Then he pulled at the covers and said, "I would love to have you for breakfast, darling, but after what we did last night, I am famished for actual food."

He playfully tossed her dress over her head. "Ollie!" she groaned.

"Dress, darling. We are nearing Herst."

He helped her with her clothes as he often did back in Strait, distracting her with kisses and sly caresses.

By the time they exited the cabin, Aliya was certain that her husband hid more mysteries than she thought and it bothered her greatly because when Oliver said he had secrets, she only thought about the Royal Circus. But now it seemed that there was more.