Chapter 17

Lilian slipped into the unfamiliar shop in her more casual dress. It wasn't the kind of place she would usually go to. The gowns on display were far more heavily decorated than anything she would have seen in a proper ballroom.

Within seconds of stepping inside, an assistant came to greet her with a bright smile. "Good afternoon," she said. "How can we help you today?"

"My husband and I recently came into some money. I was hoping to get some new gowns."

"Of course! Did you want something custom? Or would you like to pick from one of the premade gowns? I can, of course, do any alterations you would like."

Lilian smiled. "I would want something as soon as possible, so premade would probably be for the best."

"Of course, please follow me."

Lilian let herself be led through the store. She looked over countless gowns before forcing herself to select three, just to play it safe.

The assistant's eyes shone with delight. "No one's ever bought so many in one go before!" she said.

"Well then, I'm glad I could make your day. Who designs the gowns?"

"I do all of that as well as the sewing myself. It's a bit of a one-woman show here."

"That's very impressive, especially considering you seem so young."

"Thank you, Ma'am, but I'm not as young as I seem. I've just got one of those faces."

"Of course." Lilian smiled. "My apologies."

Then she headed back home, assured that the gowns would be delivered in a few days.

When they came, Anne came to see her with a strange look on her face. "It would seem we've got a delivery," she said, coming into the sitting room where Lilian was doing some embroidery.

Lilian frowned, looking up. "Oh? What is it?"

"It appears to be a few gowns, only they don't look like something you would order."

Lilian's frown deepened. "What do you mean?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but they… well… they are rather ostentatious, to say the least."

Lilian's eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh! Those ones!"

"Yes, what would you like me to do with them?"

"Put them somewhere separate from my other things. They serve a special purpose, and I want them somewhere they won't get mixed up."

Anne just smiled. "Somehow I doubt they would."

Lilian clicked her tongue. "They aren't that bad. Don't get me wrong, they are hardly to my taste, but the girl that made them was quite sweet."

"It is possible to be sweet and also blind."

Lilian rolled her eyes. "I am aware. Thank you, Anne. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Then go get those put away and start helping me think about what I should wear to dinner tonight."

"You could wear one of your new gowns."

"Now, Anne, I just told you those dresses were for a special occasion."

"Quite right. I'll save them for your next ball, then."

Lilian laughed as her maid made her way out of the room.

The next night, they finally had everything in place, and it was time.

Lilian sat down at her vanity with a smile on her face. "After dinner tonight, bring me one of the new gowns that came in."

"The ones you said were for special occasions?" Anne frowned.

"Those are the ones."

"Why? What makes tonight special?"

Lilian grinned. "That's a secret, but know that it is, and I may want to sleep in tomorrow morning, just a bit."

Anne's eyes lit up. "Of course, Ma'am. I hope you and the Duke have a wonderful time tonight. Do you need any help getting changed?"

Lilian thought for a moment then smiled. "Actually, that would be wonderful. Thank you, Anne."

"I'm just doing my job, Ma'am. Do you need anything else before dinner?

"No, Anne. That should be all."

"Of course, Your Grace."

The maid slipped out of the room, giving Lilian a few seconds alone.

She didn't want to wait too long, so she only gave herself a moment before making her way to the dining room.

Frederic was already waiting when she came in. She grinned at him. "Are you ready for tonight?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on. It's just the two of us. Surely there's nothing wrong with us talking about it a little bit."

He shot her a look. "And risk my mother coming out and hearing any of this? Absolutely not. There's no reason to worry her."

"I'm not saying that, but she already knows we go out. I doubt she'd have a ton of questions if she heard we were doing anything."

"I don't want to risk it."

Lilian rolled her eyes. "If you say so, I won't bring it up again."

"Won't bring what up again?"

The pair turned to see Louisa coming into the room.

"Nothing, Mother," Frederic said quickly.

She grinned at him. "Are you lying to me, Freddy? It doesn't sound like nothing."

"I assure you, Lilian was just making a joke."

"Is that right? What was the joke about?"

"Nothing!"

"Relax." She smiled. "I'm only jesting. Besides, I heard enough to know the two of you are going out for some kind of evening alone. It's very sweet, but you don't need to hide from me. I was young once too, you know."

"It isn't about that, Mother," he said.

"It's all right. You don't need to tell your mother your romantic plans for the evening. Just be sure not to eat too much. I'd hate to ruin whatever meal the pair of you are going to get together." She smiled. "Are you sure you want to take the time to eat with me before you go? I'd understand if you skipped dinner for the night."

"Of course, we want to stay and eat with you," Lilian said before Frederic could reply. "Come on, let's go sit down."

They all headed into the dining hall and took their usual seats. Frederic was at the head of the table with Lilian on his left and Louisa on his right.

"How has your day been, Mother?" he asked when their food was brought out.

"I haven't been up to anything special. Just the usual things."

"Have you painted any more since the one you showed us?" Lilian asked.

Frederic winced and opened his mouth to change the subject or backtrack, but before he could, Louisa replied.

"I actually have," she said, to everyone's surprise. "You should come by my parlor sometime. I'd be happy to show you."

"That sounds lovely! I can stop by tomorrow if you like."

"Of course. You are welcome to come by anytime."

"Then I'll be sure to come by first thing in the morning."

Louisa grimaced. "Maybe go with early afternoon instead. I'm not exactly a morning person."

"Afternoon it is then. Ordinarily, I'd ask if I could come by after dinner, but, well…" Lilian trailed off.

"I'm glad you have plans for the evening! You haven't gone to any balls or parties since the wedding, and the only visitors you have are your family. It makes me happy to see you have people you want to go see, even if it isn't anyone that Society would want you to associate with."

"What makes you think we're meeting with anyone?" Frederic asked.

"You go out so often, I just assumed you made friends. I know when Freddy's father and I used to go out more regularly, we'd made quite a few friends of our own. Going out and seeing them was always the highlight of my week."

"You used to go out once a week? That's so much!" Lilian gasped.

Louisa just smiled. "For a while. We had to cut back once we had children, but when we were newlyweds, we used to go out all the time. It was always so wonderful."

"It sounds like it. How did you two meet, if you don't mind my asking?"

"It was actually an arranged marriage. Those were still fairly common then. Not that they don't happen anymore, but they are rather uncommon now."

Lilian nodded.

"I remember the day we met. I was so nervous. The second we were alone, it was like oil and water. I was always a stickler for the rules and a bit of a homebody, but not him. He was so outgoing, so social. I wanted nothing more than to stay safely in my shell, but he forced me out into the warm sunlight."

"He sounds wonderful."

"He was. It took us the better part of six months to even tolerate each other. Then, one night, I caught him sneaking out."

Lilian gasped. "What did you do?"

"I did what any woman would have done. I followed him. I was expecting to find out he was going to see another woman, but he wasn't. Instead, he went into a pub and started playing cards! I watched him for a few hours before going home to wait for him. The second he came home, I confronted him."

"Oh no! How did that go?"

"It might surprise you to hear that it went great. Honestly, it was probably the moment that we finally started to make things work. It's amazing what good, open communication can do for a relationship. Don't get me wrong, at first, he was deeply hurt that I followed him. He said that it felt like I'd invaded his privacy, but the more we talked, the better things got. We stayed up until well after sunrise talking. He told me it was something he started doing when he was just a teenager. He would wait until his parents fell asleep, get changed, and creep off into the night. With how social he was, it didn't take long until he'd made a whole crew of friends. Then he asked if I wanted to come meet them!"

"And then you said yes?"

"Oh, good heavens no! As I said, I was always so afraid to break the rules. I told him I could never go and do something like that, and I was horrified that he could. Of course, he could see through that easily enough, but he knew when it wasn't worth it to push, so he dropped it for the moment. But the next time he went out, he came to let me know."

Lilian was on the edge of her seat, hanging on to every word Louisa said.

"And not only that, but he didn't come empty-handed. He had this simple little dress, but it was in just the most heinous color. It was so horrible, I had to ask where he got it. Apparently, one of the servants was getting rid of it. I told him I could see why."

Frederic let out a small laugh.

"He said that meant it was perfect because no one would recognize me in it. I told him that there was no world in which I would ever consider wearing something so ugly. I could tell he was disappointed to go out alone again, but I didn't say anything. I just watched him go. Only when he was gone did I call for my maid. I asked her to help me find a simple dress I could use to go into town discreetly."

"Did you tell him?"

"No, I was going to say something the next time he asked, but he didn't ask again. So instead, I waited until I saw him getting ready to leave, then I changed as fast as I could and went to meet him. He lit up when he saw me. Years later, he told me he never thought I'd looked more beautiful than I had that night. We were inseparable ever since."

"That's very sweet," Lilian said, dabbing at her eyes.

"He was incredibly sweet. It was the kind of love that only comes once in a lifetime, sometimes less. I was so lucky to have it." Louisa leveled the two with a serious look. "I sincerely hope the two of you have that same bond. That's why I was so happy when Freddy told me he was engaged, and it was a love match. He's been such a serious young man ever since his father passed away. I wasn't sure if he would ever find something like that. You truly are a blessing, Lilian."

Lilian flushed, looking away. "I'm just doing my best. If anything, you all have been a blessing to me. If I'm honest, I hated everything about looking for a husband. It was nothing like the fairytale I was imagining based on hearing my mother and father's stories. I was starting to wonder if I'd ever find someone." She forced him to meet her eyes. "Then I met Frederic, and now, here we are."

"I truly am so happy for the two of you."

"Thank you, Mother. That means a lot to hear."

The rest of the meal passed in pleasant conversation.

When she was done, Lilian returned to her room, where Anne was already waiting with one of the special gowns.

"Shall I help you dress, Your Grace?" she asked.

Lilian rolled her eyes, a fond smile on her face. "I should hope you would—it is your job, after all."

"Yes, but usually you send me away when you are getting ready for one of your ‘walks,' so it is a fair question.

"Yes, well, usually I'm wearing something simple enough that I can change on my own easily enough."

"But tonight is some kind of special occasion. I do wonder where you're going."

"Just out on a walk," Lilian said as Anne helped her get out of her dinner dress. She raised her arms to get the new one over her head.

"Of course. This is a perfectly normal outfit for an evening stroll."

Lilian bit back a smile. "Maybe I just wanted to try something different."

"It's definitely different, that's for sure. Do you want to do anything with your hair?"

Lilian thought for a moment. "I don't want to go out with my hair unadorned, but I need to make sure whatever I wear is something I won't be overly upset about if it gets lost or damaged."

Anne nodded. "I think I know just the thing." She motioned for Lilian to take her seat at the vanity.

Anne turned, looking through some of her accessories before returning later with a pink and bronze hair stick.

Lilian smiled. "Yes, that's perfect. I don't think anything will happen to it, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I couldn't agree more."

The pair sat in silence while Anne finished getting her ready.

"Will there be anything else, Your Grace?"

Lilian shook her head. "That should be everything for tonight. Thank you."

Anne curtsied then left Lilian on her own.

Once she was gone, Lilian turned her attention to her reflection. She looked so different, it was honestly a little jarring. The gown was made of stiff, yellow fabric. It was oddly shiny in the way only a cheap satin can be. It was also covered in beading, embroidery, and lace, none of them quite the quality Lilian preferred to go for but perfect for tonight.

Once Lilian had taken a minute to mentally prepare herself, she made her way to Frederic's study, where he was in his own equally silly outfit. The suit was expensive but clearly the better part of a decade out of fashion. It was done up in shades of purple that hadn't been in fashion since his father had been a child.

She couldn't help but laugh when she saw him. "Well, that certainly is a new look for you."

Frederic rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I know my suit is very silly, but it's a disguise. It doesn't matter how it looks. All that matters is that it is effective."

"Oh, come on now. It is hardly that odd. It could even be your new look. Perhaps after all this is over, you could wear it to the next ball you see fit to attend. Who knows, you could set quite the trend."

He grimaced. "Don't even say that in jest, but it might be an easy way to not get invited back. This thing is practically criminal," he said before glancing back at the clock. "All right, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Lilian grinned. Despite the reason behind their outing, she was excited. It had been all she had been thinking about for days leading up to it, and now, it was finally time. "Let's do this!"

Frederic shook his head. "It's a dangerous mission, not a leisurely night out. Please try and keep that in mind while we are out. I need you to try and take this seriously."

Lilian pouted, crossing her arms. "I know it isn't just a night out. I am taking this seriously, truly, but that doesn't mean we can't try to enjoy ourselves while we work. Surely, even you can't be against that?"

"Lilian," he said, face deadly serious. "Please, we don't have the time for this. If something, anything, even if it seems small or so insignificant, goes wrong…" he trailed off before shaking his head. "Well, it doesn't bear thinking about the risks. If there were any other way, I would never even consider this as an option."

"All right." She nodded. "I'm sorry. I know this is serious. I wasn't trying to downplay anything. I was just excited to be going out again because we had so much fun last time. I'll try to be more mindful."

"Thank you. If I'm being honest, I hate that I have to bring you with me for this at all," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I know, but it's going to be fine. We are going to take him down, together."

He shook his head. "I don't want you to get more involved than you already are. If I can find a way to send you home before things get hairy, then I will."

"You don't need to do that. I can take care of myself."

"Lilian, before we do this, I need you to promise me something."

She hesitated. "What is it?"

"If I tell you to go, I don't care if you think you can handle it, I need you to promise me you'll listen. If I tell you to run, then you need to run and don't stop until you make it home safe and sound."

She frowned. "Frederic, I don't know if I can do that. I don't want to leave you alone in a place like that. Anything could happen to you."

"I can understand that, but I will promise only to do it if it's absolutely necessary. That being said, if I say the word, I need you to promise me that."

She hesitated. "Frederic… what you're asking me—how can you expect me to just abandon you like that?"

"Lilian, please, this is serious. It's not about abandoning me. It's about keeping yourself safe. These guys, they are no joke. They can be dangerous if they want to be."

"I know they can. That's why I don't want to leave you there. I truly can handle myself. I know what these people are capable of and what I can do to defend myself if I need to. My brother made sure to teach me before we ever considered going on any kind of outing together."

"I'm not saying you can't handle yourself under normal circumstances, but this is quite a different situation." He turned to her with a strange expression on his face. "If I'm worried about you, I won't be able to focus on anything else. Please, promise me."

She hesitated for another second then frowned. "Is it really that important to you that I agree to this?"

"It is. It is honestly borderline nonnegotiable."

Lilian studied the intent look he had on his face. It made her face hot to feel his eyes on her so intensely. It took everything in her not to look away.

"All right," she sighed, nodding her head. "If it means that much to you, then if you say I need to go, I will."

He let out a breath of relief. "Good, thank you."

"But I want you to know I don't like it. I hate the idea of you being there alone, so please try and do what you can to make sure it doesn't need to happen."

"I think I can agree to that easily enough. Thank you for trying to understand where I am coming from."

She flushed, looking away from his intense gaze before she nodded. "I'm glad you can tell I am trying. Is that it? Are you ready to go?"

He sighed. "As I'll ever be. Let's get this over with."

The pair stepped out into the fading sunlight, cloaks pulled tight around them to hide their unusual clothes from possible wandering eyes. They only relaxed their grip on the fabric when they were far enough from home that they were unlikely to be spotted by someone they knew. They made their way to a pub in a shadier part of town. He opened the door for her, and they stepped inside.

It was a small, dark place. There was none of the warmth or welcoming energy there was in the places from last time. It was also much quieter, or maybe that was just because they had walked inside. It seemed possible because the second they were inside, every pair of eyes in the place snapped to them.

It was intimidating, heavy. The place was filled with tough-looking men with hard, unkind faces. Lilian wanted nothing more than to reach out to Frederic. She wasn't sure what she thought he could do, but she wanted to hold his hand.

Still, she knew it was unlikely the contact would be welcome, so she forced herself to avoid reaching out to him.

But Lilian did allow herself to glance at him out of the corner of her eye. Frederic hadn't reacted, so neither would she.

She took a discreet, calming breath before stepping away from his side and striding over to the counter, where the largest man she'd ever seen in her life stood, washing a glass with a rag that hardly looked clean, a deep scowl on his sharp face.

"Good evening!" she said with an air of entitlement and confidence she'd never felt in her entire life. "My husband and I would each like a glass of whatever your finest drink is! And don't even think about the price. It is a special occasion, after all."

The man eyed her for a moment, sizing her up. He was still studying her when Frederic came to stand beside her, watching the exchange in silence, an easy smile on his face.

Finally, the man spoke. "Sure. You want two of them?"

She tilted her head to the side, pretending to think. "You know, that is what I said, but I think I've changed my mind."

He sneered. "Is that right? What are you trying to do here, girly?"

She nodded, pretending not to notice his growing annoyance. "That simply won't be anywhere near enough. I think we'd best play it safe. Yes, I think we should just take the whole bottle."

The man's eyes glittered. "Of course. Would you like to open a tab?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Frederic cut in for the first time since he came over. His words could easily have come out sounding panicked, but they didn't, instead sounding more like he was simply too busy of a man to bother with that type of thing. "We aren't sure how long we're going to stay here. It is a special night, after all. It seems such a shame to stop at the first place we stumbled into."

The man perked up as though the words hadn't even registered when Lilian had said them when she first came over. She bit back a frown at the way he lit up talking to Frederic instead of her. That's when she glanced around and realized the only women in the tavern looked like ladies of the night.

"A special evening? How nice. What's the occasion?"

Frederic smiled, wrapping a possessive arm around Lilian's shoulders. She tried not to blush as he pulled her to his side. "It's my darling wife's birthday."

Hearing one of the cues he'd given her earlier, she spoke, words ready without needing to think. "And you just closed that major account at work, darling! I still can't believe the size of your bonus! I never expected your employer to be so generous."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Now, puppet, I told you, no work talk while we're out. The nice man doesn't want to hear about that. Besides, tonight is about you. Now, why don't you go find us a nice table somewhere while I get our drinks? I'll be over in a moment, all right, my dearest darling?"

She let out a small giggle. "Of course, my wonderful husband. I'll be waiting for you, but don't take too long, or I might get lonely."

"Don't worry." He squeezed her hand. "I promise I won't."

She turned and headed off to find a table. Her heart pounded in her chest as she made her way through the crowded pub alone. Dozens of eyes continued to follow her.

Meanwhile, Frederic turned back to the man behind the counter, resisting the urge to watch her from the corner of his eye. The bar was quiet enough, he assured himself. He would hear if something happened to her.

"Sorry about that." He forced himself to turn back to the bartender. "She tends to be a bit chatty," he said, handing the man the money for the wine. "Is this enough to cover it, or do you need more?" he asked even though he knew he'd given the man more than two of those bottles should be worth.

The man's eyes lit up. "I think this should be sufficient. Anyway, that's women, am I right?" He laughed. "I'm married myself."

Frederic forced a smile. "Glad I'm talking to someone who gets it."

"To be honest, I'm surprised you wanted to bring her out to celebrate at all. If you come out by yourself one night, I can introduce you to some women you might be able to have a bit more fun with."

Frederic resisted the urge to grimace at his offer. "Well, it is her birthday, but I'll make a point to remember that."

He turned away, trying to push the slimy conversation from his mind. He took the bottle and the cups from the counter and walked over to the table where Lilian was already waiting. Her eyes were scanning the place with a look of awe he wasn't sure was part of her act or her honest reaction to the place.

He sat down in the booth beside her and rested his arm on the back of the bench before leaning in close to her.

"Do you see anyone familiar?" he whispered, leaning in close enough for it to look like he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

She shook her head. "No, I haven't. At least, not yet. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's still quite early, and we expected it to take most of the night if not a few nights."

"I know, but still, I thought we'd at least see something. Just look at where we are."

"We're in a rough pub but hardly the roughest. After all, I can hardly just waltz into an opium den uninvited, especially with a beautiful lady on my arm."

She flushed, looking away. She cleared her throat before she spoke. "I, uh, I didn't realize that gang lords were so big on manners."

"They aren't, but they are big on security."

She frowned. "But then, if that's true, how on earth are we going to get in at all? I don't understand."

He smirked. "Why don't you just let me worry about that? I'll take care of everything else. All I need from you is just to play your part as well as you did when we first came in. You were wonderful, by the way."

"I was?"

"You were. I've never seen you like that before. I've got to be honest, I didn't know you had it in you."

"I'm glad you think so. My heart was pounding so hard."

"Well, it didn't show at all."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Keep it up, and we'll get to meet them soon."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Now…" He raised his glass to his lips, taking a long sip. "… we have an ‘exciting' night out together and draw as much attention to ourselves as possible."

She grinned back, raising her own cup to her lips.

The pair loudly talked about their evening, drinking the entire bottle of wine over the course of a little over an hour and a half.

When they were done, and they still hadn't seen anything, Lilian leaned in. "Should we get another bottle?"

"No." He shook his head. "If we haven't seen anything yet, it might be time to go somewhere else."

She nodded. "All right. How should we do it?"

"I'm going to ask one of the other patrons for another pub. Wait here."

Lilian nodded, and Frederic got up, leaving her alone for the moment.

He walked over to a large group of men drinking together. Their eyes hadn't left the new couple since they'd walked into the pub.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said. "Do you know somewhere a bit livelier in the area? We were thinking of going somewhere else."

The man glared at him. "Are we not good enough company for you and your proper lady?"

"It isn't about proper company. It's just awfully quiet in here, and I thought we could go somewhere a bit livelier. Maybe even with some music. My wife loves music." He pulled out a coin, sliding it over the table. "For your time."

The man gave him a long look before taking the coin. "If you want to take the lass out for a night out on the town, then take her to Jamie's and tell them Tommy sent you."

"We will. Thank you."

Frederic turned and made his way back to Lilian.

"How did it go?" she asked, following him out the door.

"He was kind enough to recommend another pub that might have more of what we're looking for."

"That's a good start, right?"

"Hopefully, but it's best not to get our hopes up before we see the place."

"Of course, but still, it does seem like a good sign."

He hummed but didn't say anything else as they continued their walk to the next pub. Sure enough, when they got inside, it seemed to be some level of improvement from the first one, though it was hard to say from first glance just how much.

The place was far bigger than the first pub, and the patrons appeared a mix of hardened criminals and rich folks looking to take a walk on the dangerous side of the streets. The walls were lined with small, private booths filled with people looking to have discrete conversations. The center had long tables for meetings for those who did not want anyone to know if they were talking to the person next to them or not. A musician played in the background. He wasn't very good, but the music wasn't really for listening to, so no one cared.

Lilian glanced at where the small group played in one of the slightly more open corners. The drummer seemed to do little more than pound away with no sense of rhythm, the lute was severely out of tune, and the vocalist didn't seem to have ever sung before in her life. It was great at doing what it was intended to do, which was to drown out the surrounding conversations. That was until an obnoxious laugh cut through it, drawing their attention to one of the booths that should have been secluded or private.

Their eyes darted to the source of the sound, and Lilian gasped. "Is that Lord Dunlin over there?" she whispered, clutching at Frederic's arm.

"It certainly looks like it."

"Goodness! What do you think he's doing out here?"

"Who can say, but I can't imagine it's anything good. I wonder if Lady Dunlin knows of his activities?" Frederic sighed.

"What should we do? Should we let him see we're here?"

"No, it is probably best to avoid him, at least for now."

"Are you sure? He might know someone who could help us."

"Perhaps, but then we'd need to either let him think we're looking for opium or tell him what we're doing. No, it's best not to let him see us if we can help it. Try not to make eye contact. Come on. Let's go find a table for ourselves."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, but we should remember that we saw him here. It might come in handy at some point, and if it doesn't, well, it's a funny story."

She nodded and followed Frederic over to one of the open tables. "So, do we have time for a little bit of fun?"

"We're here on business. Don't let your guard down."

"I'm not. You don't need to worry so much."

Frederic shot her a look. "As we've discussed, I don't think that's something I can avoid. You are entirely too cavalier about all of this."

"I'm not. Honestly, I'm only trying to make the best of a situation because if I don't, then I have to acknowledge how horrifying all of this truly is."

He softened. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

"Of course, you hadn't. So much of this must be normal to you by now. You've gotten used to it."

"I don't know if I would go that far, but I am more used to it than you are. Of course, I am. I've had so much time to get used to it. To stew in it."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I didn't think you meant anything by it."

Lilian opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, a beautiful and bubbly waitress sauntered over, batting her eyelashes at the couple.

"Welcome, you two. I hope you're having a nice night."

"We are, thank you."

"That's great to hear! You know, I don't think I've seen the pair of you in here before," she said.

"It's our first time here," Lilian chimed in. "It's a special night, and the first place didn't seem to work out. Fortunately, someone recommended this place to us."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear about the first place, but I'm glad you ended up coming to us. Did you say someone recommended us?"

"Indeed." Frederic nodded. "Someone named Tommy sent us."

"Tommy, huh?" The waitress grinned at him.

"Do you know him?"

"Oh yes, we go way back, so don't you worry a single hair on your head. I'll make sure the two of you have the night you're looking for. You said it's a special night?"

"Yes, it's my wife's birthday. I wanted to give her a night out like she's never had before if you catch my meaning."

"I think I do. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get what you're looking for. Now, what can I get the pair of you?"

The pair shared a quick look.

"Why don't we start with some whisky," Lilian said. "The last place we were at had some lovely wine, but we were hoping to get something a bit stronger. Do you think you can help us out with that?"

Frederic slid the waitress an extra bill.

She grinned at them. "I'll see what I can do, but I'm sure I can find something you'll like. If you just give me a minute or two, I'll be right back with your first round of drinks. Let any of us know if you need anything in the meantime."

Then she walked away.

Lilian turned to Frederic with a giant smile on her face. "That seems promising, doesn't it?"

He hesitated. "It could be a good start, but we'll have to see how it goes. I'd be careful about getting your hopes up until we know more."

"I won't, but it does seem exciting."

"I suppose."

"Well, that's step one taken care of, but how will we know when to press our luck and ask for more?"

He just shook his head. "You don't need to worry about that. I'll handle it."

"But I want to help."

"And you are. Like I told you, all I need you to do is play your part as my young, excitable wife who's excited to see a side of London she didn't even know existed until recently—which you're great at, by the way. I'll take care of everything else."

She hesitated, but after a moment, she nodded. "All right, just promise to let me know if there's anything else I can do."

"Don't worry, I will, but for now, just know that I really do mean it. You are doing really great so far."

"Really?"

"Really, far better than I was expecting."

She pouted. "Sounds like you must not have a lot of faith in me."

"I wouldn't say that, but I will admit I had some concerns."

"Now that you've seen me out here, do you feel better?"

"A bit, yes. You are far more capable of blending in than I was expecting."

"Of course, I am. You've seen me at the balls before we got married. I always managed just fine."

"You say I've seen you, but prior to the night we met in that alley, I don't recall ever seeing you before."

She frowned. "Is that what you remember as our first meeting?"

"Isn't it?"

"No, not even close. We met earlier that day at the garden party. I can't believe you don't remember." Lilian pouted.

Recognition dawned on his face. "You were the woman who ran into me in the garden! What were you even doing over there?"

She crossed her arms. "I could ask you the same question."

"I was taking a much-deserved moment to myself. Obviously."

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes. "What could you have needed a break from?"

"Clearly you have no idea how much energy mothers put into thrusting their daughters at single, titled men."

"Can't be nearly as tiring as being the daughter," she mumbled.

Frederic opened his mouth, but before he could reply, the woman returned with a tray loaded with cups. First, she set down a pair of whisky on the rocks and then two glasses of a dark ale.

"Here you are. I brought you two drinks to start you off. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"I don't think so at the moment, but thank you."

"Of course. I will be back in a little bit to check on the two of you."

She shot them one last look and then walked off.

Lilian picked up her whisky and took a long sip.

"I must admit," Frederic said, "I was surprised by your request."

"Yes, well, as I said, I'm full of surprises, and now that I've had a chance to try it, I must say this is an exquisite vintage."

He drank from his own glass, delighted surprise filling him at the unexpected turn of events, but he couldn't dwell on it too long. They were on a mission, after all.

"It is good, but we can't afford to get distracted now. We're just getting started."

"So you keep saying."

"Then maybe you should listen."

"I am listening. You literally just said I was doing really well."

"I said you were doing better than I expected. That is not the same thing."

She pouted. "You seemed to think I was doing all right."

He let out a noncommittal hum.

"If I'm not, then tell me what I can do better, but you won't."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I've asked you multiple times if there's anything more I can do to help, and every time, you tell me just to keep doing what I'm doing."

"Maybe that's because I don't want you to be more involved than you already are."

Lilian softened, bumping her foot against his under the table. "I've told you once, I'll tell you again, and I will keep saying it until you understand. I am your wife. If you are involved in something, then so am I. That's how this works now."

He frowned. "I appreciate the sentiment, I really do, but it isn't that simple."

"But it could be. All you have to do is let it be."

"We've been distracted for too long. Keep your eyes open for anything you think is out of the ordinary."

"Don't worry. I've been looking."

"Good. Have you seen anything?"

"Not yet, but I will let you know the second I do."

"Please do. The sooner we find him, the sooner we can take him down."

"I don't know if he'll show himself in a place like this."

"Probably not while he's ‘working,' but everyone needs to unwind in their downtime, and this seems like just the place for someone like him."

"That seems like something you'd know far better than I would."

"Yes, well, it's been what I've spent most of my time on for the past few years."

Then something unexpected possessed Lilian. The look on his face made her reach across the table and take his hand. "Don't worry, no matter what happens, we're going to get him. I promise you that."

"Doesn't seem like the kind of thing you can guarantee. There's still a lot that can go wrong."

"We've already come this far. I feel confident in our ability to make it the rest of the way across the threshold."

"I don't even know if we can say that we've made it through the front gate, let alone near the threshold."

Lilian grinned. "Then I guess I'll just have to be optimistic enough for both of us."

"Then I wish you luck in that endeavor."

"Thank you, but I won't need it."

"Why's that?"

"Because I do truly believe we can do it."

He hummed, taking another sip of his whisky.

Once they were halfway through their second drink, the waitress came back over with a pleasant smile.

"How are you both doing over here? Is everything still good?" she asked.

"Everything is lovely so far! Thank you." Lilian smiled.

"Glad to hear it. Was the whisky to your taste?"

That was when Frederic cut in. "It was good, but we were wondering if you had anything stronger."

She frowned. "Were you looking for something in particular?"

Frederic slid another generous tip across the table. "I think you know what we're looking for."

She hesitated, glancing around.

"Don't worry. We can be discreet."

"It's not that I don't believe you, but it's your first time in. Usually, if someone is ordering something not on the menu, they are either here with someone we already trust or they're regulars."

"I see." He nodded. "I can understand that, but I will say we are willing to pay extra."

"That's very kind, but the best I can do tonight is another whisky."

"Of course," he said. "That sounds great."

"Then it's coming right up."

She turned and walked away, leaving them alone. Once she was out of earshot, Lilian spoke.

"Should I have stepped in and pushed her to do more?" she asked.

"No, that would only have made her double down. We should just cut our losses, spend a little longer here, then go home and try again another night."

"We shouldn't try and go somewhere else?"

He shook his head. "We don't want to burn our bridge with her, and we don't want to risk looking too desperate."

"I suppose that makes sense. Still, it seems a shame to go home with so little to show for it."

"At least we got some good whisky out of tonight."

"I thought you said we were too busy working to enjoy the night."

"We were, but now that we've hit a dead end, there's no reason we can't enjoy a leisurely hour before we head home."

"Sounds a bit hypocritical to me."

"Yes, well, you are allowed to be wrong."

The pair ended up spending close to two more hours there before making their way home. For a while, it felt like they were able to pretend there wasn't a sword hanging over their heads.

It was only on the walk back that their situation seemed to sink back in. Lilian wanted to say something. Countless words bubbled in her throat. She wanted to tell him that they would do better next time they went out, that it was a good start even if it didn't feel like much yet, that they would find a way to do this together.

But she couldn't bring herself to say anything. If anything, the closer they got to home, the worse she felt about it all. She couldn't help but wonder if there was something she could have done to help more. Maybe if she'd been the one to ask, the waitress would have trusted her more than she had Frederic. Maybe he was wrong, and she should have cut in and made it clear what they wanted and what they were willing to do to get it.

When they got in, the pair made their way to his study, where Frederic slumped down in his seat with a deep sigh.

"I can't believe we didn't get anywhere." Lilian crossed her arms.

It wasn't what she'd wanted to say, but she couldn't help the way the bitter words bubbled past her lips. Even as she said them, she wanted to choke them back and offer something more supportive, but she couldn't.

"I really thought that waitress was a promising start."

To her surprise, Frederic didn't seem disappointed as he took his seat at his desk. In fact, more than that, he gave her a smile. "It probably still is. We knew we weren't going to find anything on our first try. Even more than that, we knew it was possible that even if we give it our best effort, it could all come to nothing either way."

"I know we knew it was possible, but If I'm being honest, I think I'd gotten my hopes up. I know it sounds ridiculous, but part of me really thought we were going to be able to take him down tonight."

"I did try to warn you not to get your hopes up. Even if everything goes perfectly, it is still a long shot."

"I know, but I just couldn't help myself. It's all I've been thinking about for days. I know the first place ended up being a dead end, but then we went to the second pub, and we met our waitress. We gave her a name to show we could be trusted and everything. She just seemed so promising. The whole situation did, really."

"And as I said, she probably still is. I know you got your hopes up despite my warnings, but this really was a good start. We just need to be persistent and patient."

"For how long?" she whined.

"As long as it takes."

"I don't suppose you have an estimate on how long that would be."

"How could you possibly expect me to have something like that?"

"I don't know. You seem rather smart, and you spend a lot of time thinking about this. It just seems like the kind of thing you'd have already figured out."

He glared at her.

"You do have an estimate figured out, don't you?"

"I don't have an exact date or anything like that."

"Obviously, but now I'm curious. What did you come up with?"

He huffed out a sigh that sounded annoyed, but the small smirk playing on his lips let her know just how amused he was. "It will probably take a few days at best."

"At best! What do you think it would be at worst!?"

He huffed. "We can't afford to spend more than a month or two on it."

"A month or two!?"

"Is there an echo in here? I keep hearing what I just said."

She rolled her eyes. "I just wasn't expecting it to take that long."

"It technically could take longer. I only said that because after a while, it will reach a point when it is no longer safe. To be honest, it already isn't safe, but there is a point when the risk will outweigh any possible reward."

"Still, even if there's a point when we need to give up, then that just means we need to be all the more dedicated. I can't help but worry about how long you're expecting this to take. I guess it is going to be a lot harder than I thought."

"Try not to worry. It won't be that bad, I promise. Besides, you seemed to enjoy yourself plenty while we were out. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to entertain yourself while we are out."

"I did, and I'm sure we could, but like you said, we're on a mission. Especially now that I know we're on a time limit, we can't afford to get distracted. I need to be serious and give everything going on around me my full attention."

"You did that tonight, and you still had a good time."

"And we didn't get the information we needed. Maybe if I'd been doing more, if I hadn't gotten distracted, then we could have more to show for it."

"Lilian, you did great. You don't need to worry about anything. I will tell you if there is something more you need to be doing."

"But…" she trailed off, trying desperately to form her thoughts into a coherent sentence and failing miserably.

"But nothing. I won't say I'm happy to have you with me. I hate taking you into possible danger. If I had my way, you would stay home safe until this had been dealt with, but as much as I hate to admit it, I need your help."

"How flattering," she deadpanned.

"You know what I mean. It isn't that I hate that you're going out, but it isn't safe. The people we're trying to meet…" he trailed off. "I don't want to think about what they would do to you if we were found out."

"But we won't be. You know what you're doing, and I trust you to keep me safe."

Frederic looked away with a sigh, a conflicted look flickering across his face. "You should go get some rest. I want to go back out to that same pub again tomorrow. The more she sees us, the easier it will be to convince her to help us."

"I will. Good night, Frederic."

"Good night, Lilian."

Lilian tried to be patient and was surprised at how easy it became for her. What was even more surprising was how fast the roles switched. By the middle of the second night, she noticed something was off with Frederic.

When they had a moment in what was quickly becoming their usual booth while their usual waitress got their drinks, she leaned in.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Of course, I am," he said too quickly. "Why wouldn't I be? Everything is going perfectly, after all."

She frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Like I said, why wouldn't I be?"

"All right?" She frowned. "Why don't you tell me what you're thinking about?"

"Nothing, I'm just trying to figure out the best thing to do to make this go as fast as possible."

"Is there anything I can do?"

His mildly manic face softened. "No, you're doing more than enough."

"Are you sure? You just seem so… stressed."

"I'm fine, really. I'm just trying to plan, and I think I'm starting to come up a bit short."

"Maybe we should go home, take the rest of the night off? We've been staying out awfully late. Maybe getting some more sleep would help?"

He shook his head. "We don't have time to risk taking a night off. No, we need to keep at it. Unless you are too tired. Do you need to get home and get some more rest? We can if you do."

Lilian snorted. "You just said we don't have time."

"We don't have time for me to rest, but if you really need it, then I can go out on my own for a bit."

"Do you really think I would let you go out on your own with everything going on? Besides if you do get a chance to see him, you won't be able to recognize him without me here."

"It would be harder, but if you need the night off, then I can make it work on my own," he said a bit too eagerly.

She frowned. "It almost sounds like you rather I go home."

"It would make me feel better to know you were somewhere safe, if I'm being honest."

"I can understand that, but I'm not going anywhere."

"I didn't think you would, but I had to offer."

He let it drop after that. They worked hard again that night, but they still didn't get anywhere.

After another three nights of this, all Lilian could do was watch as Frederic paced the small alleyway they were hiding in.

"I can't believe this," he groaned. "We've been at this for how long, and we haven't gotten anywhere."

"We knew it was going to be hard," she said the same way he'd once told her all those days ago. "We just need to be patient, remember?"

"This isn't hard," he scoffed. "It's damn near impossible!" he cursed, shaking his head. "We've been at it for the better part of a week, and what do we have to show for it? Nothing!"

"That isn't true. You said we were really making progress with the waitress."

"Even if we are, I don't think it's enough anymore. Every night we're out here, we're risking your life for nothing!" He rubbed a hand over his face. "At this point, I don't know if it's worth the risk."

"Our progress isn't nothing. We've been doing our best, and I really think we might be getting somewhere soon. I'm here to do whatever I can to help because nothing can or will change that."

"I appreciate that, I really do, but this isn't helping." He sighed. "We've barely made any progress, and at this rate, he's going to be gone before we get anywhere. I'm starting to think this plan isn't going to work."

"We can't give up hope now! We've already put too much into it!"

Frederic stopped pacing, turning to face her. "Lilian, you know I want to catch the man that killed my brother, but it isn't worth this. We can try and find another way, but we need to stop. It isn't worth the possible price."

She frowned, unable to understand what he was saying. "What do you mean? It isn't worth what price?"

He took a step towards her, moving to look into her eyes. "I would have thought it would be obvious by now."

"Well, it isn't. I don't understand what you're getting at."

"You."

Her breath caught in her throat. "What?"

He took another step closer to her until he was so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his chest. He was so close that it felt like if she took too deep of a breath, she would brush against him.

He looked deep into her eyes before he spoke, "I said it isn't worth risking you."

Lilian's heart pounded in her chest. "What are you getting at?"

He didn't say anything for a long moment, his eyes studying every inch of her face. After what felt like an eternity, he shook his head. "Do you really not know?"

"Do I not know what?" Her mouth went dry. He couldn't be implying what she found herself hoping he was.

Frederic shook his head with a strange smile. "I would have thought you'd put the pieces together by now. You've always seemed so clever. I guess it's easy to be blind to something like this though, but I don't know how else to tell you. Perhaps you would be open to me showing you?"

She didn't hesitate to nod.

Then, before she fully processed what was happening, he was leaning in.

The second seemed to slow around them. Lilian felt his breath on her face, the ghost of a touch from so long ago.

And yet she hadn't been able to get the feeling of his lips against hers out of her mind since that night.

Then he closed the distance between them.

Her world narrowed to every point of contact between them, skin buzzing under his fingertips.

Then he closed the remaining gap.

His lips were on hers in a chaste, gentle kiss.

Her mind was still reeling when he suddenly pulled back. She had a blissful smile on her face.

Lilian blinked up at him in shock. "Frederic, I?—"

"Wait," he cut her off in a hushed whisper. There was a deadly serious look on his face that she didn't quite understand. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" she asked.

"There's someone over there." He frowned.

"Should we go try and get a better look?"

He hesitated. "I don't know if that's the best idea. I think we should just make our way home."

"But it could be him. This could be our only chance."

"I just told you it might be time to try and stop this."

"Yes, you said we should try and find another way. Now, one has fallen into our lap. We need to at least try. It could be our only chance," she said again.

He hesitated for a moment, shaking his head. "Maybe, but it isn't safe. Besides, it could be nothing."

"If it could be nothing, then there's no harm in us taking a quick glance."

"Lilian…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Please," she begged, desperation creeping into her voice. "I can't let you give this up for me."

He sighed. "All right, fine. We can take a quick look, but we need to be careful. Whoever is out at a time like this probably isn't going to be someone we want to run into."

"I know." She nodded. "But I think we need to do this."

"Me too, let's go."

The pair crept closer to the voices they could hear in the distance. To Frederic's horror, it took them down to the very edge of the docks. He grabbed her arm at the edge of the last alley opening into the harbor.

There was a group of men preparing a small ship hidden in the shadow of a large galley ship. Frederic glanced at Lilian with a frown.

"We aren't getting any closer."

"But—"

"Lilian," he warned. "Please."

She relented, giving a small nod.

The pair turned their attention to the small cluster of people hard at work getting the ship ready. Though neither of them said anything, they both knew there was no legitimate or legal reason for them to be loading anything on a ship this late at night. They had to be smuggling something.

"Come on boys," one of them, who seemed to be the leader of the group, snapped, clapping his hand. It was honestly shocking just how much noise they were making. "Let's pick up the pace here. We need to get this done as fast as possible. The boss is going to be here any minute now. How did we even get this behind schedule?"

"That's a great question," a man said, sauntering out of the shadows.

The first man's back went ramrod straight. "Sir, we weren't expecting you for some time."

"What can I say? I'm early."

Lilian went pale. "That voice," she whispered, breath shaky, heart pounding.

Frederic turned to her, concern written all over his face. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I like to keep you on your toes. Is my ship ready?"

"Almost, Sir."

"Very good. I want to be on my way to the Continent by dawn."

"That's him," Lilian whispered so quietly that Frederic almost didn't hear her.

"Really? That's Tony. Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I'm positive."

"Right, you need to get home now. Run, and don't stop until the door is locked behind you. I can take care of things from here on my own. You just stay safe."

He moved to step forward, but she grabbed his arm. "Wait!"

He turned to her with a frown. "What is it?"

"You can't just go out there, especially not by yourself. We should just go get the Bow Street Runners."

"What? Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do. I truly believe that if what you want is justice and not just revenge, then we should make sure to do this properly."

Frederic hesitated, eyes flicking between her face and the men down at the edge of the docks. "Lilian, I don't know that that's the best idea. There are so many ways it can go wrong if we do that."

She just shook her head, continuing to insist on her point. "Or it can go right. You can get justice, and everyone will know what he did."

"I don't understand. You've never brought anything like this up before. Why are you fighting so hard for this now?"

"Because I really think you will come to regret it if you take matters into your own hands. It certainly isn't even close the first time I've thought about it either. I just didn't know how or when to bring it up."

"As long as Tony gets taken down, I could never regret it. It doesn't matter how it happens as long as it happens."

"You might feel that way now, but I just think you're wrong. I think once all is said and done, you will regret it more than words can say. Maybe you won't feel that way right away, but give it a few years, and you will. But it's even more than that. Going to the law isn't just for you. It will let your mother see justice served as well."

"I can just tell her what happens here tonight."

"And how do you think she will feel when she finds out how you took matters into your own hands?"

That made him hesitate. "I think you might have a point. All right, fine, we can do it your way."

Lilian smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for trusting me with this. I will do everything I can to do this right. Why don't I?—"

"Did you hear that?" Tony said in a dark voice.

Lilian snapped her mouth shut in terror. Her blood ran as cold as ice in her veins. She wouldn't have been surprised if it turned into solid ice inside of her. The terror was so overwhelming.

"What are you waiting for?" the man snapped. "Go investigate it already!"

Frederic grabbed her hand, tugging her down the alley. They could hear the footsteps of the men running after them.

The mouth of the alley came into view. That was when they noticed the dark figures standing there.

The pair skidded to a stop. Frederic's eyes darted around, looking for a way out, but it was too late. They were surrounded by thugs to the front and back. Narrow walls caged them on the right and left.

"You can come with us quietly, or we can take you by force," one of the men said, cracking his knuckles.

"I'll distract them," Frederic whispered to her. "Lilian, I want you to run."

"What!" she gasped in horror.

Then the men charged at them. Frederic forced himself between them and Lilian as best he could. He blocked her from their blows, taking them on by himself.

"Lilian, run!" he shouted the second there was an opening.

For a moment, she froze. Lilian didn't want to leave him alone like this. There were so many of them, and it was obvious they would hurt Frederic if they hadn't already. Not only that, it was highly likely they could capture him or worse.

But as much as she wanted to stay, as much as she didn't want to abandon him, her self-preservation instincts kicked in, and the second she had an opening, she ran.

She didn't want to, and even as her feet pounded over the cobblestones, guilt crashed over her like a fast and heavy wave—she couldn't help it.

Frederic let out a sigh of relief when Lilian was out of his field of vision. Hopefully, that meant she was able to get away. Now, he could focus on finding an opening for his own escape.

There were a lot of them, but they weren't trained fighters—just low-level street thugs used to picking on people who weren't able to fight back due to either fear or physical ability. Frederic wasn't like that.

As soon as he'd made the decision to get justice for Evan, he hired someone to teach him how to defend himself. He'd always hoped never to need what he'd learned, and until that point, he hadn't.

He threw out a punch, connecting with one of the men on his right. They recoiled back in pain, but before he could draw in a breath, one of the other men swung at him, fist connecting with the side of his shoulders. Fredric grunted, gritting his teeth. The man's form was awful. He lost half the power he could have had, but he was big enough to still hit hard even as sloppy as he was.

Fredric stepped back, so he was close enough to the wall that no one could get behind him. One by one they came at him, and one by one they fell.

Finally, he'd beaten enough of them that there was an opening for him to escape. He turned to go before his world turned to nothing but pure horror.

A terrified scream sliced through the night air like a knife aimed straight at his heart. He didn't need to see the cause to recognize it instantly as Lilian. He called out to her, turning in the direction it came from.

His terror only grew when he saw her.

One of the men had thrown Lilian over his shoulder, and she was letting out a series of muffled screams. He turned to see the man taking her deeper into the alley.

"Lilian!" Frederic called out to her.

But it was too late.

His eyes darted back to the harbor just in time to see the boat starting to sail away with Tony on it.

He cursed then turned and ran.