For two weeks, Sam, Liza, and I were busy. The shipment of colognes arrived earlier than expected and we had to arrange shipment for the very delicate bottles from the docks to the shop itself and then unload them all and display them ourselves. Liza had been busy with her designs, coming forward with the first of them only days after I had given her the assignment. Silk shirts of every size and color with unique embellishments on the pockets, on the cuffs, and her own special stitching that she claimed could become the seamstress' hallmark of our brand. She was so enthusiastic and her work was so fine that I approved it on the spot and she spent every waking moment of the next week creating as many of the shirts as she could. I approved the expenditure to grow her team as well and she wasted no time in hiring four more women whose work she claimed was of the highest quality. With the shop not yet open, my home had become the base of our operations and my security detail was at their wits end with all the strangers coming and going from the house at all hours of the day.

There were the four women that Liza had hired, they were our most frequent visitors, besides Liza herself and Sam as well. Anne had hardly left her room since she had arrived, even for meals. I had to send Bonnie up to her room with several dinners that she simply refused to attend. Sam never asked about my unseen guest but I could see the way his eyes drifted up the stairs curiously from time to time when there was a break in our work.

"Are you going to the Cowen's ball tonight?" Sam asked as we both bent over the dining room table which had become our desk throughout the day, sorting through various invoices and correspondences, ledgers and reports.

I glanced up at him before returning to my work.

"Is that tonight?" I asked and he snorted.

"You forgot," he said simply.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I've been rather busy."

I gestured to the papers in front of us but he did not smile at my joke.

"Perhaps Anne would like to attend," Sam said and my gaze snapped up to find that he wasn't looking at me anymore, instead focusing on the papers in front of us.

"I will ask her," I told him, though I couldn't see why a woman who had barely emerged from her room in the two weeks since arriving in this country would suddenly want to attend a party full of the people she seemed to be avoiding. "Is this your way of asking if you can leave early to ready yourself for the ball?"

Sam looked up to me, meeting my gaze with a smile.

"If it's alright with you, boss," he said.

"Go on, then," I told him, nodding my head toward the door.

He turned and placed his stack of papers on an already established one and grinned broadly before heading from the room to the foyer.

"I'll see you there?" he called out as he reached the door.

"Perhaps," I answered as he left.

I sighed once he had gone, glancing at the clock. Only a few hours before the ball began. The young man had no idea how long it took for a woman to prepare for such an event if he thought asking about Anne's attendance so close to the ball itself would give her enough time to be ready for it. But I had promised to ask so I set down the papers and made my way up the stairs and down the hall to the woman's room. I knocked once, already preparing to turn away and head back to my work, when she answered.

"Enter," she said, her voice quiet, calm.

I turned the knob and pushed open the door to find her seated at her window, book open in her hands and gaze peering out into the bright sunny day beyond. At my appearance, she folded her hands upon her lap, over top of the book she now closed to give me her full, undivided attention.

"You found the library, I see," I said, nodding at the book in her hands. She glanced down, running a finger along the cover.

"I hope that's alright?" she replied. "There were quite a few titles I had never read before. I didn't think you would mind."

"Of course, feel free to pull whatever you like. I do want you to feel comfortable here, you know."

She nodded but kept her gaze on a string hanging from the side of her dress which she picked at awkwardly.

"Speaking of which," I started, clearing my throat. "The Cowens are having a ball tonight. Samuel has already left to attend.I thought that you might... well, I thought I would offer to take you. If you wished."

Her eyes snapped up to mine and held my gaze for a moment.

"I would entirely understand if you did not wish to attend," I told her, unable to stop speaking for some reason. "In fact, I have plenty of work to attend to here so perhaps–"

"I'll go," she said, standing and smoothing out her skirts. "I would like to go."

I watched her for a moment, surprised, but then regained my presence of mind long enough to snap my mouth shut and nod. Then I left her alone in her room to prepare for the evening and went back to my work for an hour before heading to my own room to get ready as well.

I was fully dressed and waiting in the foyer by the time Anne emerged from her room again. Her auburn hair was piled atop her head, stray tendrils drifting down to frame her elegant face. Her petite form was bound in a beautiful soft pink gown which accentuated her every curve. I watched her descend the stairs with an amused smile. How had such a woman managed to be hidden away within the confines of a stuffy old convent?

I led her out to the waiting carriage and held the door while she climbed inside, still stunned that she had agreed to come at all. Perhaps I hadn't needed to treat her as fragilely these last two weeks after all. But I had been very aware of the fact that this woman had been through a lot just to be pulled from the convent her father had left her in and transported to another country to live with a man she hardly knew and I hadn't wanted to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was. So, even now, I gave her a wide berth in the carriage we shared, allowing her her own space as she stared out at the passing street beyond.

"You're reintegrating back into society?" she asked after a moment and I froze.

"You know what happened," I said then. It wasn't a question.

"I asked a maid on my first day here. I told you I remembered you. But I remembered your family as well. I wanted to know what sort of man I was staying with."

Fair enough. Still, I couldn't help but bristle at the knowledge that she had inquired about me from the servants rather than coming to hear it straight from my mouth. But then, she didn't truly have any reason to trust that I would tell her the truth, did she? Particularly with my family's history.

"And?" I asked, pushing a bit farther than I had in the last two weeks. "Have you come to any sort of conclusion?"

She finally turned toward me, that shrewd gaze flicking over me in observation.

"I imagine you to be a very difficult man to understand, Camden Keene," she said and I couldn't help but smile at the assessment. "But I do feel safe, nonetheless. And you've been quite hospitable thus far. I appreciate it."

Hospitable. Wasn't that just what I was thinking I hadn't been doing very well at all being? Regardless, I was pleased that she didn't seem to share my opinion that I had been a poor host these past two weeks and that she admitted to feeling safe in my home. It was a greater relief than I had anticipated it being and I was able to relax for the rest of the ride to the Cowen's estate. That is, until we pulled into the drive and I noticed every muscle in Anne's body going taut.

"They cannot do anything worse to you than they have," I whispered to her as our carriage rumbled to a stop and I could hear the chattering members of society just beyond the doors. "And if they try, I'll knock them clean off their feet where they stand."

A hesitant smile curled her lips but she gave me a nod and waited as I pushed the door opened and held out a hand. She took it, stepping delicately from the cab and onto the sidewalk just outside of it.

A few lords and ladies nearby fell silent, their mouths popping open in outright shock as they stared at us. Anne tucked her arm through the crook in my own and I felt the shaking of her fingers against me as I laid a hand over hers and led her gently onward. She took a breath, than another, and I heard the shaky intake of air as we joined the throng of people clamoring for entrance to the estate. I kept my eyes ahead, ignoring the stares of those around us. A few moments later, Anne followed my lead and did the same.

Lord Cowen was too stunned to speak when he saw me and the woman on my arm. Luckily, his wife had far more grace than he did and welcomed us into her home with a smile. I tipped my head in gratitude and led Anne through the crowded foyer and into the ballroom beyond.

"They're all staring," she hissed in a whisper.

"They do that," I replied. "Ignore them. You aren't here for them."

"I'm not? Then why am I–"

"Anne?"

The cry came from the other side of the ballroom in the direction I had been leading us. Elena Langley's eyes nearly popped from her head when she beheld her long lost friend striding toward her. She gasped, her hands flying to cover her lips, and then broke away from her husband and sprinted toward us. Anne's attention was drawn her way and her own eyes bulged just as widely. She had only a moment to look back up to me in stunned surprise before Miss Langley was barrelling into her, wrapping her in a warm embrace and sobbing against her neck.

"Oh, Anne. I've missed you so much! I can't believe it! I can't believe you're here. I have so much to tell you. So much to apologize for," Elena cried and I noticed that Anne herself was beginning to tear up.

That was when I tore myself away, extricating my arm gently from her own and giving them the respectful distance they needed for their reunion. I couldn't help but glance over to where Nathaniel Harrison stood, wide eyed and slack jawed at the pure happiness on his wife's face. It was then that I noticed Charlotte and Alexander, never far from Nathaniel and Elena, standing just behind him. Charlotte stared at Elena and Anne in outright shock. Alexander smiled but it didn't reach his eyes as he watched me walk away, a suspicious gleam in his eye.

But it didn't matter. I couldn't stop smiling at the reunion I had helped to create as I strode toward the bar and ordered myself a brandy. I had only enough time to take one sip from it before a gruff voice spoke up at my side.

"Why'd you do it?"

I turned to find a rough looking man in a strange hat made up of a broad, curled brim and a high crown, standing beside me. He was leaning back against the bar, his legs crossed at the ankles as he surveyed the crowd. His skin was tanned, calloused. His features were dark and foreign. I recognized the accept more than any other part of him. American.

"Pardon me?" I asked, sipping my drink as I leaned against the bar myself, following his gaze to where Elena was pulling Anne over to Nathaniel who was grinning wide and extending a hand in greeting.

"The girl," he clarified with that thick accent, his tone barely more than a growl. "Why'd you go get her?"

"Let's just say I know what it's like to have to defend your reputation. No innocent lady should have to."

"What about a guilty man?" he drawled slowly, his gaze finally turning to meet mine. He had to raise his head to peer at me properly from beneath the brim of his hat and I bristled at the tone, at the insinuation he was making. I hadn't met many Americans but I knew enough to know they were far more uncouth, prone to speaking their mind even when they shouldn't.

He cocked an eyebrow and I scoffed.

"Do I know you?" I asked, growing irritated by the condescension, the accusation in his tone.

"Jake Taylor," he answered, extending a hand. I shook it. "Pleased to meet you."

"Are you?"

He didn't respond to that, just turned his attention back to where Elena and Anne were now speaking to Nathaniel, Charlotte, and Alexander. Anne was smiling, happier than I had seen her since the day I collected her from the convent.

"She's happy, you know," he said after a minute and it took me a second to realize that he wasn't talking about Anne. "You should want that for her if you care about her as much as you say you do."

Every muscle in my body tensed with the restraint it took to remain standing there, keep my fists at my sides, avoid snarling in his direction.

"He sent you to tell me that?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"No," he told me. "He's too nice for that, too inclined to give a man a second chance, especially when his fiance already has. I, however, have no such inclinations. I've seen the change in him since you returned, see how on edge he is every time he and Charlotte venture out onto the streets of this city. They spent a lot of time fearing you and your kin. Old habits die hard, particularly given the extent of what happened to that poor woman's family at the hands of your dad."

I frowned. I didn't need to be reminded of how much Charlotte and her family had suffered because of George Keene.

"So I'm saying it because he won't," Jake continued. "Stay away from her. You come after her in any way and you'll have me to contend with. And trust me, you don't want that."

"I don't know what you think my intentions are in regard to Charlotte but–" I began, defensively.

"I see the way you look at her. And if I see it, you can be damned sure the finest detective that London has to offer sees it as well. So I don't know what your intentions are, Keene, but I would advise you to do the wise thing, the right thing, and let her go. Otherwise, this is going to get all sorts of ugly soon enough."

And with that, before even giving me the opportunity to respond, Jake Taylor walked away, leaving me alone at the bar, moping over my brandy.