Chapter 19

Dawn was creeping over the horizon when Frederic and Lilian finally made it back to Pembroke House. They slipped inside the still house, locking the door behind them.

Frederic turned to her with a grin. "Do you want to come with me to give my mother the good news?"

"I would love to…" She hesitated. "Only, do you mind if I change my gown first? I feel rather… Well," she trailed off, looking over her soiled dress.

She was more than a little shocked by the state of it. Not only was the hem covered in mud and grime, but one of the sleeves was ripped almost clean off, showing her once-white shift underneath, but even that was stained and dirty from being slammed against the wall of the alley.

"Of course. She's still asleep, so you should have time."

"Thank you, I will try and be quick."

"You don't need to. Like I said, she should still be asleep. Do you want me to ask Anne to draw a bath or anything?"

Lilian shook her head. "Once we talk to your mother, that would be lovely, but for now, I just want to put on a different gown and go straight there."

"All right, if you're sure, then I will be waiting for you in the hall."

He squeezed her hand before he turned and made his way deeper into the house.

Lilian watched him go for a moment, unable to help the smile that seemed to have taken up permanent residence on her face. She turned and raced off to her room. She didn't bother doing anything other than quickly throwing on a clean dress and racing back.

Frederic met her in the hall, an amused smile on his face as he watched her try and catch her breath. "You didn't need to literally run, you know. You could have aggravated your injuries. You should be more careful."

"You said to be quick."

"No, I said you could take your time, as she would still be asleep." He shook his head. "Do you just hear what you want to hear sometimes?"

"Of course not! I listened very closely. Perhaps you should try and be more clear when you speak in the future."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course. How silly of me."

"It was. Now, are you ready to go find your mother or not?"

"Of course, but I should warn you, she will probably still be asleep."

"I know as you've already told me several times. Besides, I would assume so! I know I would be if we hadn't been out all night."

"Yes, well, at least it was a productive night."

"Oh, believe me, that wasn't anything even close to a complaint, just a statement of the facts. Now then, shall we?" She offered her arm.

Frederic smiled, taking her arm, and he led her down the quiet halls to his mother's quarters. The whole house was still silent as they crept through the place.

Just as the pair made their way near the room, they were met by Louisa's lady's maid, who was about to go wake her.

Frederic smiled. "Why don't you let us wake my mother this morning?"

She hesitated. "Are you sure? You know how she can be in the morning."

"I'm sure. Why don't you go to begin preparing her clothes for the day? We will let you know if we need any assistance."

"Of course. Thank you."

The maid curtsied before scurrying down the hall.

Frederic turned back to Lilian. "Ready?"

"If you are."

They stepped inside the dark room. Lilian couldn't help but notice how cluttered the bedroom was with memories from her life before tragedy struck.

Lilian hovered in the doorway while Frederic approached her bed. "Mother," he said quietly. "Mother, wake up. I have some news that I'd like to tell you."

Louisa hummed, turning to sit up. "What is it? Are you two giving me my first grandchild?"

Frederic froze, a look of shock on his face. "N-no, not quite."

"Oh, that's such a shame." She laughed. "But it is still early. I'm sure you'll have happy news for me soon."

"I'd like to think I do right now. Can I share it?"

"Of course. Go on then." She smiled.

"Right." Frederic took a deep breath. "We went out again last night, and while we were out, we ran into the leader of the gang Evan borrowed money from. He went after Lilian, and he got picked up by the Bow Street Runners."

Louisa blinked in shock. Her eyes immediately flew to Lilian. "You what?! Oh, you poor thing. Are you all right, my dear?"

Lilian came forward, squeezing her mother-in-law's hand. "I'm perfectly fine, thanks to Frederic."

"I'm so glad he was with you."

"I couldn't agree more," she said with a smile.

The trio talked for a little while longer.

They all found themselves relieved to finally move on from this part of their life.

After a while, Frederic and Lilian left the room to let Louisa get dressed. As they headed back to their room, Frederic hesitantly spoke.

"Thank you for helping me with this as much as you have. You didn't need to get involved."

Lilian smiled, reaching out to take his hand. "I'm your wife, of course I wanted to help as much as I could. Besides, it was fun."

"Was it?" He turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, maybe not at the very end, but everything leading up to it was."

"That's good. I'm glad," he said, but there was something strange in his tone.

"What is it?" she asked, a frown on her face.

"Nothing." He shook his head.

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

"Just thinking about how this is kind of what brought us together. It seems a bit strange to think it's over now."

"It is, but I still think there's something you aren't saying."

He huffed out a half laugh. "I should have guessed you would notice that. I'm a bit worried we aren't going to spend as much time together now."

She turned to him, a frown on her face. "Do you want to spend less time together?"

"No, of course not!" he said in shock.

"Then why would we spend less time together? If anything, it seems like it would be easier for us to spend time together."

Frederic huffed out a laugh. "I suppose you're right. I'm glad you pointed that out. Thank you."

"It's what I'm here for. Besides, now that we can spend our time out just enjoying ourselves, I can't wait to go back to that little pub! We need to thank them for helping us out."

"You still want to go back out?"

She frowned. "Don't you?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it yet."

"Well, you should. Anyway, I'm going to go get some rest. My family is visiting again this afternoon. I'd hate to be exhausted when they get here."

"Of course. I hope you sleep well." He hesitated. "Do you want me to let Anne know you're going to want to sleep in?"

She nodded. "I would appreciate that. Thank you."

"It's nothing. I can go by on my way to my rooms." He stepped forward, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "Good night, Lilian. I hope you sleep well."