The days were getting shorter and the night were getting longer as Christmas was just a few weeks away. And just like the days, Andrew's mood was darker every day. He tried not to think of Victoria too much, but he was not able to. If the lady did not want to speak with him anymore, than he would not push her. But he could not deny he missed her.

His days used to be filled with thinking of things to please her, now they were filled with thinking of things to forget her. He had stopped going to Blackburn, for she would never agree on seeing him. All he did was wasting both her and his time. If he kept visiting, he would never be able to forget her. Though it did not seem like he forgot her without visiting her.

Trying to do other things so that his mind would not be free from thinking of her, he had set up the Christmas tree with his mother, Mary and Thomas. The thought of the holidays was a reminder for Andrew that he should truly forget about Victoria, for it had been four months since he last saw her, and three since he had last tried to speak with her. Yet for those four long months, he had not been able to smile or get her out of his head. His family was good at pretending not to notice, but Andrew knew they did notice.

After the tree was set up, Andrew and Thomas found their way to the study where they filled their glasses with brandy.

"Your mind did not seem to be in the room while setting up the tree," Thomas told his brother.

"Neither was yours," Andrew shot back.

The youngest Brompton son sighed and dropped on the coach. "It is Colston. I cannot get him out of my head."

Andrew remembered what Thomas had told him months ago, about how he got beaten up for following the lord of Colston when he had taken beggars' children in his carriage.

"You worry about what he might do to the children," Andrew said, not even questioning it.

Thomas shook his head. "Girls. He only took girls."

"You have not followed the man anymore, have you?"

"No, I have not. But I have kept my eye on him."

"Thomas-"

"I did not speak to the man. I doubt he even knew I was there," Thomas argued. "But I am thinking of not letting the man get his way."

"If the lord of Colston is truly as bad as you say he is, I am certain he keeps his eyes open wherever he is. He certainly has noticed you."

Thomas shook his head and looked at his brother. "I have been hiding myself, entering the bar with a hooded cape over my eyes. He could not have possibly recognized me."

Andrew sighed. "Why do you keep following this man? Why would you want to prove he is bad?"

"Because he takes children! They cannot protect themselves, and they probably believe he is a good man." Thomas sighed and looked down at the ground. Andrew had realized before that his brother had a weak spot for children, but to truly feel the need to safe them from a possibly very dangerous man was not a path he should take.

"I have spoken to the lord of Westwood," Thomas said after a short silence. "He is an investigator. He came to me a few days ago, saying he had seen me trailing Colston. He thought I was an investigator too, and wanted to know what I knew about Colston."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth. That I am not an investigator and that I do not have any prove against the man, but that I think he is into something bad with young, female beggars." Thomas looked up at his brother. "He said they had the same suspicion."

Andrew could barely believe what his brother was saying. Not only was his brother probably correct over his assumption that Colston was a bad man, he was now also encouraged to dig deeper. "What now?"

Thomas shrugged. "He asked if I wanted to school myself and become an investigator too. He wants me to work with him."

"Why would he want that? He barely knows you."

"He said the investigation is not ordered from his boss, for the man does not believe Colston to be bad. He is probably too influential to start an investigation about him. But Westwood does not want influence in London to be a matter of concern when stopping crime. I agree with him. If I can work with him, we might find prove that Colston is indeed doing something bad with those girls. And then we can work on stopping him so that he can no longer cause them harm."

Andrew did not need convincing that young children should not be harmed, but his younger brother, wanting to work on the case, was a wholly different matter. Being an investigator was not without risk. And investigating the lord of Colston, a powerful man who could easily break – or kill – someone, was not something Andrew wanted Thomas to risk.

"What will you do?" he asked, hoping for clarity on Thomas' mind.

The young man sighed and leaned back on the coach. "I am not quite certain yet. I really want to stop Colston if he is indeed doing something bad. But I am aware of the lord's power. Not only might I bring myself in danger, but also everyone I love. And no matter how annoying Mary can be, I would not want to see her – or any of you – hurt by the man."

Thomas looked at Andrew, his eyes full of question over his brother's opinion. Andrew sighed and told his brother: "I will not encourage you to do this, but I also understand where you come from. And I believe you would be a good investigator. But mayhap you should start with an easier task. You said so yourself, Colston would not stop himself from hurting you – to the death, if he has to. And besides, you do not know this lord Westwood. You do not know if he truly is who he says he is, and if he truly wants you to help him catch Coston."

Thomas nodded. "You are right. So mayhap I should start with investigating Westwood."

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Setting up a second Christmas tree was not what Andrew had thought of when he woke up four days after setting up the first one. Elizabeth had called for him to help her husband set up their tree, for she could not help. With her hand rubbing her big belly, she sat on a chair and watched the two men decorate the tree.

"This is quite an amusing look," she said with a big smile on her face. "Two grown up men decorating a Christmas tree, who would have thought?"

"Me having a pregnant wife before my friend is even married, who would have thought that," Hawthorne said laughing.

"That is all on him," Elizabeth shot back. Andrew knew his sister was not happy with everything that happened, for she had not heard of Victoria either and she blamed him for it. She wanted Andrew to ride to Blackburn every day until the lady would give in, but he could not. He did not have the strength in him to be rejected so many times.

He saw Hawthorne throwing him an all-knowing look. "She is right, you know."

"You should have stayed outside Blackburn and waited until she came to chase you away," Elizabeth told him.

"Can we talk about this, please," he complained, not leaving the question open for answers.

"No, we should talk about this," Elizabeth answered anyway. "You feel horrible, she probably feels horrible-"

"The whole situation is horrible, and I wish that you stop talking of it."

Elizabeth stood up and walked toward Andrew, who sighed at the look of his sister's serious face.

"Do not forget that you are not only giving up on your love for her, but also on her love for you and my love for her. She is my friend too, but she does not respond to my letters, and I do not doubt that that is because of you."

"What do I have to do with your friendship with her?"

"How would you feel if she answers me and tells me she is alright? Or worse, that she admits she is not? Would that make you any happier?"

Andrew merely sighed and looked away, hoping his sister would stop about the subject. It seemed that every time he would come to visit her, their conversation would end up with the same topic. Victoria.

"It would certainly make me happier to hear of her. But you have ruined it all," she added with a sigh before returning to her chair.

"I have not ruined anything," Andrew said, mad at his sister for making it sound like everything that happened was his fault. "I did not sent that letter to her aunt, and you know that."

"Yes, but she does not. Yet here you are, decorating my Christmas tree instead of telling her the truth."

"She does not want to hear the truth!" he shouted

"And so you just let her believe the lie?!" Elizabeth shouted back. "You just leave her in Blackburn to become secluded like she was before?"

"What do you want me to do? Knock on her door every minute of the day so that she hates me even more?"

"Yes! For when you knock on her door, she knows you are there, and not with her aunt complotting another disaster against her."

Andrew scoffed at the absurdity of his sister's words, but could not deny that they held some truth. Would Victoria truly think he worked together with her aunt to make her life miserable?

"Do not scoff, Andrew. You have been walking around like a living ghost for months now, and I am quite certain you cannot get her out of your head. I know what it is like to wonder every day if the person you love is alright and happy, smiling and laughing and forgetting about you faster than you forget him or her! I know how much it hurts!"

"Well, clearly you are not me, Elizabeth," Andrew said calmly. "I do not worry about that, for it is better she forgets about me."

Elizabeth's mouth fell open. "How much of an coward can you be?! You did nothing wrong, you said so yourself. Yet you want her to forget about you, while you clearly cannot forget her? You ought to fight for her, Andrew! A woman like that does not come around twice in your life."

"Then I shall be alone forever."

He turned to leave the room, wanting their useless fight to end, but Elizabeth was far from finished. "The only way you are leaving here alive, is when you promise to visit her and befriend her so that she can be here when I give birth."

He slowly turned to his sister. "I will not visit her, Elizabeth. I should not waste my time – nor hers."

"It is not a waste of time for either of you. Love never is."

Andrew tried to remain calm, hoping to end the conversation as fast as possible. He wanted to go home and lock himself in his room before anyone could see how much Elizabeth's words hurt him. He understood what she was talking about, for what she said was exactly what he thought of the whole situation. But she did not want to see him anymore and he would respect that decision. Is that not what you ought to do for your loved one?

"If you believe so much that words can bring back love, why do you not go to visit her yourself?"

"Mayhap I will," she answered surprisingly easy.

"Duncan, do not give her any stupid ideas," Hawthorne said for the first time in the fight between brother and sister.

"It is not stupid, William," Elizabeth said with an angry tone in her voice. "If he cannot convince a woman, then that is his problem. But I will not lose a friend because he is a coward."

"Elizabeth, you are pregnant. It is stupid to visit her," her husband told her correctly.

"Pregnant or not, it is stupid nevertheless," Andrew muttered under his breath.

"O you believe it is stupid that I fight for someone?"

"No, I believe it is stupid you would go to her and remind her of the pain she believes I caused her!"

"Then tell her she believes a lie! Go to her and tell her, whether she wants to hear it or not. She will listen either way."

Andrew shook his head. "No, Elizabeth. I am not fighting a lost cause." Without giving his sister time to answer, he turned around to leave the room.