When the night had finally fallen and everyone was asleep, Eli sneaked out of the house. He had told Ada of Mary's bet, and she had given him an odd look. Twas not the wisest thing to meet a lady in the middle of Hyde Park at night, but that was not a reason to lose the bet. So Ada may look at him with the strangest looks, he was going.

He ran down the street and hurried toward Hyde Park. Twas eerily dark and silent, and the black trees moved like long fingers trying to reach for him. He was not frighten. He knew they were only trees. But would Mary be frightened? Too frightened to show up?

But if she did not come, would he claim the win for a bet he did not even know yet, or would he worry for her safety?

He mentally shook his head. She would show up. Mary would do anything to win a bet, and she would not leave him alone in the middle of the park at night.

He walked to the Serpentine River, near where they played cricket. The river bank was empty, so Eli decided to walk around it. Mayhap she was on the other side, but twas too dark for him to see.

"Enjoying the view?"

Eli startled and turned around. Mary was behind him, sitting on the ground and smiling up at him. She looked very comfortable, and like she had been waiting for quite a while.

"How long have you been here?" he asked her.

"Long enough to see you look at the dark trees with fear in your eyes."

He squeezed his eyes to slit and looked at her. He knew she had not been able to see the look in the eyes, yet she was able to get under his skin.

"Why are we here?" he asked, changing the subject purposefully.

Mary stood up and wiped her hands to get the dirt off. She looked at him, standing close to him. Too close, to his opinion, but was not going to walk away. That would be a defeat.

"For a bet," she answered. She pointed at the river behind Eli. "Whoever goes under the water the fastest, wins."

He raised his eyebrows. "Completely under the water?"

"You entire body at once," she said with a nod.

Eli looked her in the eye, trying to find if she was truly serious with this. But he did not find a glimmer of jest in her green eyes, and knew he was doomed. Though it was summer and the water had been heating up all day, the nights were cold enough to quickly lower the temperature.

But the look in Mary's eyes showed him she was determined. So Eli was not going to back down.

"Very well," he said, then started unbuttoning his vest. He took it off and threw it on the ground, then started unbuttoning his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Mary asked, her eyes wide with shock. Understandably, for it was not proper to be seen in less than a full attire. But Eli was not bothered about what she might see.

"I am not going to make all my clothes wet," he explained. "And neither should you. You might drown with the weight of your wet dress."

He threw his shirt on the ground as he watched her contemplate his words. Mayhap Eli did not bother being seen with not a lot of clothing, but Mary was a lady. She ought not to do it.

But as he was taking off his shoes, she surprised him by saying: "fine." She started unbuttoning her bodice and threw it on the ground near Eli's clothing.

He was frozen on the spot. While standing on one foot with the other one in his hands, he watched Mary in her stays, untying the skirt and petticoats.

He swallowed.

Twas the nice thing to turn away and not look as she stepped out of the layers of skirts and crinoline, but he could not keep his eyes off her. She was almost naked, and she was gorgeous. He could see her ankles, and he could touch her shoulders if he only reached out to them.

While he was standing in only his trousers and the knowledge that he had seen women in less clothing, he felt like he had never seen anything so beautiful – or naked.

He quickly looked down at the shoe in his hand when she looked up at him, and he was glad for the dark. His red cheeks would certain show her how he was feeling.

He noticed her walking toward him, but he did not look up. He told himself he ignored her because it was the proper thing to do, but in reality he knew he would not be able to look away again.

She turned around in front of him. "Could you help me?" she asked.

Finally he looked up, finding it rude if he ignored her now. She had her back to him and held her hair up.

Although Mary could not see it, he frowned. "You want me to take off your stays?"

She turned her head toward him. "They are expensive. I should not get them wet." When she noticed he was still doubting, she fully turned her body to him. "Or are you frightened to take them off?"

She had said it on a challenging tone, and Eli must admit it worked. He could not show her he was too weak to take off her stays.

So he walked behind her and started pulling at the stays. These are merely some ropes, he told himself. They are not special, and certainly not an essential part of her attire. Twas not like she would be completely naked once they were off.

But once the stays were completely lose and he was able to take them off her body, he realized she was only wearing one more layer.

And while she was taking off her shoes and stockings, unaware of Eli's eyes on her, he realized she was wearing white undergarments. And when white became wet, it was easily to see through it.

But then he looked at his own trousers. They were white too.

Holy mother of God.

Mary looked up at him, unaware of Eli's thoughts. But when she was looking at him the way she was doing now, he forget the lack of clothing both of them were wearing. Fully clothed or not, Mary was gorgeous. Not just a pretty, young girl, but a full grown, gorgeous lady.

He took a step closer to her, wanting to touch her, or even feel her breath on his skin. In truth, he wanted to take off the few pieces of clothing she was wearing and admire every part of her, but he was too captured by the look in her eyes to do so.

He felt an odd feeling in his belly and did not have a doubt about what it meant. A very kind, gorgeous and almost naked woman was standing in front of him. Whose belly would not feel funny?

Mary suddenly took a step forward too, standing very close to him. Slowly, her hand reached out and touched his belly, giving Eli the feeling of an explosion of heat at the place where her skin met his. In enraged the odd feeling in his belly, and made the daze he was in even stronger.

Twas not proper, he knew that. But he liked her touch and did not find the strength to move away. He did not even look at her hand on his bare belly, but at her beautiful, shining eyes that were staring right at him.

He could look at them all day. He wanted to look at them all day. See the colour change when the sun lit them up, see them water up when she cried happy tears, and wipe them when she cried sad tears. He wanted to touch her like she was touching him, and she wanted to only one layer more often than many layers.

But he swallowed, for one of them had to break through the daze. Even if he wanted all those thing, he could not. Twas not proper for friends to do what they were doing, but they could also not become more than friends. She was a lady, and he a mere man. To her, he should be nothing. A not important man who happened to live in the same city as she.

"Completely under the water," he said, his voice sounding weak.

His words seemed to bring her back to earth as well, and her eyes shifted away from him. She swallowed, then nodded. "Your entire body at once."

With her eyes looking at the ground, she turned away from him and walked toward the water. While she was not looking at him, he took the time to catch his breath and calm himself down. He wiped his hands over his face in hopes it would erase any evidence of his feelings. Then he looked up at the night sky, as if he would find the courage there to pretend like he did not have those feelings.

"Are you coming?" her sweet voice asked.

He blew out one last breath, then walked toward her. He stopped when he stood next to her, so that they could start the bet from a same distance. With one last smile in her direction, he started counting down.

"Three, two, one."

They both raced toward the water, and the silence of the park was suddenly filled with the sound of water moving and falling. Eli ran as fast as he could, but was slowed down by the weight of the water. As soon as it reached his knees, he raised his arms and dove in the wet mass.

The water was cold, but not too cold. His body was hot, but not because of the warm weather. The water could not cool him down, for it was his feeling that made him feel hot. With his eyes closed, he could easily remember the look in Mary's eyes when her hand laid on his belly. The feeling in his belly returned at the mere memory of it, but Eli could not say he did not like it.

He swam back up, and when his head breached the surface, the air suddenly felt colder than when he had been watching Mary while only wearing his trousers. He told himself it was because he was wet now, and not because he realized he could never allow Mary to touch him like that again.

Right at that moment, Mary's head breached the surface too. She splashed water at him in the process, making him turn away his head. When he turned back to look at her, she was already smiling at him.

"Who won?" she asked while ignoring the drops of water that threatening to fall in her eyes.

"I do not know," he admitted. "Though I like to say it was me."

"Tis not because you come out of the water first, that you entered it sooner than me," she argued.

"So what are you saying? That there is no winner and we jumped into the water for no reason?"

He saw her shrug. "I fear so," she said before she fell backwards and moved away from him. But her eyes were on him, teasing him and challenging him to come nearer. She was swimming toward the deeper part of the river, and Eli did not know if he could stand there.

Yet he made his way toward her, feeling the sand underneath his feet fly up at his touch. "You can swim?" he asked her, while she was floating on her back with a bright smile on her face.

"I love the water," she told him, while straightening herself. "When I was young-"

Her head suddenly disappeared under the water. She was too small to stand on the ground while keeping her head above her water.

Startled, Eli jumped under the water until her felt her arm brush his hand. He found her torso and held it between his two hands for a good grip, then pulled her above the water. While she took a deep breath, he moved her closer to the river bank.

Once she could stand again, he set her down on the ground, but left his hands on her waist. They were touching her close to her breasts, and the temptation was hard to resist. Yet he did, for again, he was capture by her eyes. How gorgeous they were.

She swallowed, then softly said: "when I was young, we often swim in the lake next to the Duncan estate. But since my father passed, I have not swum anymore."

He looked at her and nodded, but he did not have a response. He was still capture by her and he was still touching her. She was also wearing only layer of white undergarments and her face was so close to his. Twas only a small strip of air between their lips, easy to cross.

He saw her eyes move down to his lips, but then she swallowed and looked back at his eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

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When they had finally come out of the water, they had lain on the grass until they were dry. Now they were dressed and walking through the dark and silent Hyde Park. They did not have a destination in mind, they just started walking.

"Tell me," Eli said, "what would you be doing at this time on a usual day?"

She scoffed. "Sleep." Her head turned to look at him. "And you?"

Before he could answer, she raised her arms and said: "wait, let me guess. You would be stumbling home from the pub, hoping you make it before you pass out drunk."

That might be the truth on most nights, and Eli hated she was correct, he gave her a smug smile and said: "no, I am punished."

She tilted her head. "Yet you are here."

He turned his head to her. "And I am left to wonder if you hate me breaking the rules, or getting drunk."

"Both," she simply answered with a shrug.

He did not doubt about the first statement. Though she probably did not get punished by having to stay home, she was a person to follow the rules.

But it was the latter statement that made him think. He remembered the Morris ball, when she had given him the horrid drink. He had wanted a strong drink to swallow away the flavour, but she had refused and given him a glass of water.

At the time he had thought she believed water might take away the flavour quicker. But now she admitted to not liking him being drunk, it made him think that maybe there was more to the story. So he decided he should ask her. And no, he was not going to dance around the question. The best way to know something, is to ask it straightforward.

"Why do you hate alcohol so much?"

He saw her stiffen and turn her head to look at the ground. She remained silent for a while, and Eli feared she did not like his direct approach. But eventually, she responded with a weak voice.

"Because it is the most acceptable explanation for my brother beating his wife."

This time Eli stiffened. Mary had told him quite little of her family, but he had always seen them as good people. Though he had only met the lady of Hawthorne only briefly, he could not see her brothers as bad people.

Mary must have seen the shock on his face, for she said: "o no, not Andrew or Thomas."

Eli let out a sigh of relief before he frowned. "You have another brother?"

She fidgeted with her fingers. "I used to," she admitted.

Without announcement, she walked away from him toward a bench and sat down on it. He joined her and watched as she gathered her thoughts.

"When I was twelve, Arthur was banished by my parents," she told him. "He was not to enter London, nor come near us again. But when Thomas, an investigator, found a name, his wife recognized it. Her sister was married to the man who went by that name."

She visually struggled with her next words, and Eli wanted to tell her to stop talking. If she were to cry because of his curiosity, she did not have to tell it.

But when he laid his hand on hers, she took it and squeezed it. Then she continued.

"Arthur Everton he called himself. Once he realized that our family knew all the bad things he had done, he tried to burn down Thomas' estate. Then he went back home to beat and abuse his wife, and leave her for death."

Finally, her eyes looked up from her hand holding his, and it was clear to Eli that she was fighting not to cry. "Adelaide has been living with us for six years since. She fears... We all fear that Arthur will return. And when he does, he will not be kinder."

"I am sorry to hear that," Eli said, not knowing how else to respond to such a story. Was there anything good one could say to hearing of an abusive and dangerous brother who got banished but returned?

She had not said what crimes Arthur had committed or why he was never caught, but Eli did not want to ask. She was struggling enough as it was. He did not want to add to the fire that had clearly been burning for more than six years.

"You actually may not hear it," she told him. "I am not allowed to tell anyone."

"I will not tell anyone," he promised. And then he made an even bigger promise – one he never expected he would ever make. "Not even to Ada."

She must have known how much his twin sister meant to him, for her head shot up. She opened her mouth and looked ready to deny him that promise, but then she closed it again. A sigh of relieved escaped her mouth and lowered her shoulders, while a grateful smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you."

He gave her a smile that said it was no bother. And it truly was not. The person who had said the most difficult thing, was she. His promise seemed unimportant compared to her history.

Finding it was a good time to finish this sad moment, he squeezed the hand that was still holding on to his. "Let me walk you home, now."