"Scarlett!"

A man's voice urgently whispered her name, the sound near and yet distant at the same time. It was as if there was a veil between him and Scarlett, muffling the noise.

Perhaps if she reached over, she could cross the threshold. She could find where the voice was coming from.

Scarlett tried to move, but her body remained still, not responding.

Someone began nudging Scarlett then, rocking her back and forth. Groaning, she tried to pry her eyelids open at the incessant jostling.

But they were so heavy. Everything felt burdened by sleep.

Were there actual rocks in her limbs? Scarlett was not strong enough to lift rocks. She could not even raise an eyelid.

"Scarlett!"

But that was Leo's voice. She was sure of it. And she had to see him.

Scarlett swallowed, and it was as if glass cut through her vocal cords. "Leo," she whispered, and his name almost got stuck on her dry lips.

"Can you open your eyes, love?" he murmured.

Scarlett tried again, forcing her lids to open into slits.

"Ah, there you are," he breathed. He was propped up on his elbow, looking down at her. His ashen blonde hair hung over his face.

"You called?" she croaked.

She felt the rumble of Leo's chuckle and realized her head was resting on his chest.

"You woke and then slipped away from me again. I thought I was okay with it, but then I became nervous." He ran a finger across her cheek, smiling. "Can you sit up? I can get you some water."

His voice was soft. Scarlett could listen to it forever.

She nodded, and Leo helped her into a sitting position. Immediately, her head began to pound, and the darkened room tilted. She braced her forehead against the palm of her hand. This was way worse than when Scarlett had taken the laudanum.

"Water, and then you may rest again," Leo assured her. He brought a glass over, and Scarlett lifted it to her lips, letting the cool drink cascade over her parched cavern of a mouth. It soothed the ache in her throat, and she drank the water until it was gone.

Scarlett handed the glass back to Leo. "Why are you here?"

He smiled. "I told you why."

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked, but then it hit her, remembering the brief moments between consciousness when life had seemed like a dream. Scarlett had woken, and Leo had told her that he loved her. And then she...she had said it back.

Scarlett cleared her throat awkwardly, not feeling ready to talk about her admission yet. "How long have you been here? How long have I been asleep?" she asked instead.

"It's sometime in the middle of the night," Leo replied. "I arrived just after dinnertime."

Gasping, Scarlett looked up at him in a sharp movement that she instantly regretted for the ache that it caused in her head. "So long?"

Leo brought his head down, brushing his lips across her forehead. "The longest hours of my life."

Scarlett bristled a little. "Well, you needn't have stayed."

Shaking his head, Leo replied. "You've said that to me before. But Scarlett, I will always stay." He sighed deeply, the breath rustling the hairs on the top of her head. "Emilia and Lord Eades couldn't wake you after you took that godforsaken drug. I couldn't wake you. These haven't been the longest hours because I was simply bored, Scarlett."

Leo's eyes roamed her face, drinking her in. It would seem he was as thirsty as Scarlett was. "They were long because I was desperately waiting to see you open your beautiful eyes and know that you were okay."

Scarlett felt her cheeks heat in a blush. "I'm okay, Leo," she replied, speaking more confidently than she felt. She instantly regretted the way she had spoken harshly to him. "And I'm glad you stayed. I'm glad you're here," she added.

Scarlett rested on his chest, and Leo wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Thank you for being here," she murmured. Despite her aching head and fiery throat, Scarlett had never felt more at peace than she did at that moment. And it was all because of him.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed that way, wrapped up in each other, enjoying the closeness. Eventually, Leo mumbled beneath his breath. "I should tell the others that you're awake."

Though Scarlett did not wish for him to leave, she let Leo slip from the bed and watched as he padded his way across her chambers. He walked through the doorway, leaving Scarlett feeling utterly alone.

With Leo's absence, everything from earlier began to flood into her mind—the conversation with Emilia and Damien, her breathing attack, Dr. Abbott and Mr. Beckett's visit. She was terrified by it all, by everything her life had turned into. All Scarlett wanted to do was dive under the covers and hide, but she knew she couldn't.

There was one thing she couldn't hide from any longer.

****

Leo wasn't sure if Emilia would still be awake, or even if she were here, but he owed her the news of Scarlett's condition if she was.

It had been so hard for him to walk away from Scarlett, if even just for a few minutes. Not only was she awake, but she'd actually told him that she loved him, and Leo's heart had never felt so uncomfortably full.

He longed to rush back and beg her to marry him—any other secrets she held be damned—but Leo knew it wasn't the right time. It was clear that she still didn't feel well, and he needed to give her a few moments of peace. 

Unsurprisingly, Emilia was awake and present when Leo entered Scarlett's drawing-room. She was sitting at a little table in the corner. There was a candle there, illuminating a game of cards. Will was draped across a sofa, snoring softly, and Eades was passed out in a nearby armchair, his head hanging over the back of it in a way that assured neck pain the next morning.

Leo never would have guessed for this to be a sight that he'd ever see. He wondered why they hadn't all at least gone to bed in a spare chamber.

Approaching Emilia on quiet toes, Leo tried not to wake Will or Eades. He wanted to speak to Lady Trotten alone.

"Emilia," he whispered.

Her head whipped up from its studious position over the game of patience. "Oh! Leo!"

Smiling, Leo sat down at the table with her. "She's awake."

Emilia sagged back into her chair, her hand flying to her chest in a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

Leo nodded, undoubtedly agreeing with her words. Then he reached for her other hand that was still on the table and gave it a squeeze.

"Emilia..." he began. "I don't know if I ever fully expressed to you how sorry I am at what happened with you and Lord Trevor. You went through what Scarlett just did, but you didn't wake in the hands of a friend. You woke with your hands tied behind your back on a darkened road to Scotland."

Emilia closed her eyes and shook her head dismissively. "It's okay, Leo."

"It is not okay."

She opened her amber eyes, and they landed on Leo. "But everything turned out okay. And I know I have you to thank for that. For pushing Will in the right direction when he needed it last year."

Leo nodded because it was true. "Of course, I did. The man was acting like a fool."

"When it comes to love, I think we've all been fools at some point," Emilia whispered.

"Not you Shepard siblings. You both have loved relentlessly even after being pushed away." His smile widened. "I've learned from you and Theo."

Emilia's eyes lit up. "Does that mean what I think it does?"

Leo shrugged but threw her a little smirk at the same time. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

Emilia squealed silently; Leo could see it in the way her face scrunched up with excitement.

He chuckled. "Emilia, I know Will would never share you, but I hope Theo knows that he has to. Because so help me god if that child of yours doesn't call me Uncle Leo."

She laughed outright then, seeming to forget to keep her voice soft for the sleeping men behind them. Emilia clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle herself, but it was too late.

"Leo," Will mumbled groggily. "Are you making passes at my wife while I sleep?"

"I would never," Leo protested.

He heard Will groan and looked back to see him sitting up. "Is she awake?"

Leo nodded.

"I cannot tell you how relieved I am," Emilia muttered, causing Leo to twist back around. "I fear this was all my fault," she confessed in a small voice. "I created a whole situation when I came over and announced you were considering marriage to Lady Penelope."

"I confess I wasn't pleased to hear about that," Leo said. "But it isn't your fault, Emilia. It's mine. It's talk of me that seemed to distress her."

"Would you both shut up?" A gruff voice sounded from the corner, and Leo swiveled in his chair once more. He'd forgotten about Eades, who was now awake and massaging his neck. His expression was tight, drained, and full of worry. It was like Leo was seeing an entirely different person.

"It was clearly my fault," he said, glancing up and looked between them. "I should have been more careful about the dosage of medicine that I poured out for her, but I was so damn alarmed." Eades dragged a hand down his face. "Christ, I'm so glad she's awake."

Will shook his head, his mane of black curls going everywhere and his eyes rolling. "Are you all listening to yourselves?" Will asked. Silence greeted the question. "This wasn't anyone's fault. You three have only been trying to help her—tonight and all the times before."

It remained quiet after Will's words until Eades cleared his throat.

"Farrington," he said.

"Yes?"

"I don't know what Lettie will say to you now that she's awake, but I want you to know something. Over the years, I've helped her as much as I could. But for the most part, she's always been on her own. She's had to survive in ways that none of us have. And protecting herself is the one way she knows how to do that. And I—I have encouraged that. I encouraged her away from you for that reason."

Leo nodded, not really sure what to make of what Eades was saying. He didn't really know what to make of Eades at all anymore. But Leo knew there was truth to his words. Scarlett was a widowed woman, and few options came with that.

"I understand, Eades," he said finally.

The man stood then, walking toward the parlor door. Leo wanted to ask where he was going, but then he stopped and breathed out Scarlett's name. Her face appeared in the doorway, and Eades enveloped her in a brief hug, which she returned.

"Scarlett!" Leo said in surprise, standing at the sight of her.

Now that Eades had stepped to the side of the doorway, he could see that she was wearing a pristine, white dressing robe, and it was tied around her waist. Her hair still flowed loosely around her shoulders. "What are you doing up?" Leo asked, alarmed. "You should be resting. I was about to return to see if you needed anything."

"I—" She paused and peeked down at her slippered-covered toes. "I needed to talk to you, Leo. I need to tell you something, and it cannot wait."

"What do you need to tell me?"

"Everything," she breathed out. She looked up, and her green eyes found him. "I need to tell you everything."