I'm greatly overwhelmed with the response to this story, it's just amazing. A massive shout out to those who reviewed, you are awesome. I've had a massive couple of days, so this chapter has now been tweeked. Enjoy :D

Disclaimer: As much as I would like them to be, they're not mine.

Chapter 2

Having recently received the title of Lord Castle, as his predecessor and all his family had perished on their return trip from the Americas, Richard Alexander walked around the outskirts of the grand ballroom at Múrdèr, where he hadn't stepped foot for six years.

Richard had arrived just in time to see his dear friend Katie hand her youngest sister Jenifer to her father to be presented and he stayed in the shadows and watched her for quite a while.

She had grownup so much in the six years since he had walked out of her life, breaking her heart, and his own, in the process. That night he had walked in from the garden, slipped around the edge of the ballroom and out of Múrdèr without saying goodbye to anyone, his mother included. He had slipped away and left his life behind; if he couldn't face Katie, he couldn't face anyone.

Richard watched as Katie made her way around the large room, stoping occasionally to talk, or to get a drink, but in general she just walked around the room, just watching the people there. He wondered why she wasn't dancing, she was a great dancer, of that he knew. They had learnt how to dance together, so they had danced many times, but still he remembered the feeling of dancing with her that night six years ago. He danced with her when she danced her first dance as a lady. He remembered the smile on her face, and how it hadn't faltered until he told her he was leaving.

He let his eyes leave her for a moment, and saw her sister Lanie dancing with his friend Javier and wondered if they had married yet, it was clear just looking at them that they were in love. Though people had often said that about Katie and himself, but he had ignored them. She was his best friend, they had known each other years; he couldn't love her. But again, he had been young and foolish.

It had only taken a little over a year to realise that he loved her. When he was promoted to the rank of Officer quite a number of girls would all but throw themselves at him, but there was only ever one he accepted, she was so different from Katie that he thought he could get her off of his mind, but it didn't work, so he never took the advances of other girls again. He would just go back to his quarters, and once a week he would write a letter to Katie. It never bothered him that he got replies less than half as often as he sent letters, but in all the letters he sent not once had he mentioned the fact that he loved her. That was something he had to do to her face.

Richard let his gaze roam the room again, looking for that head of brown wavy hair that he would be able to spot a mile away, and thought about how he came to be here, and so finely dressed at that.

It was just under a year earlier that Richard had been promoted to the rank of Captain, and they found out that the late Lord Castle had perished. Richard was sent to his estate to settle his affairs and found that the late Lord Castle had no family left to speak of. So he prepared his findings and set off back to his commanding officer, Montgomery.

Montgomery had read his findings, written off a short note of his own and ordered him to the King, to sort everything out, telling him that he would dispatch an express to get to London before him.

When he had arrived in London two weeks later the King was waiting for him. He handed over his findings and Montgomery's letter, which the King read with scrutiny. The King looked up and told him that if he accepted then the estate and title of Lord Castle could be his, and Richard had accepted. He was hence forth Lord Richard Castle.

He had been in the town for two months, sorting out business, when the invitation for Lord Beckett's ball had arrived.

When Richard next looked around the room for Katie he found that she was standing not ten feet in front of him, watching her father dance with Lanie.

He stood stock still for a moment; it was now or never. He walked up behind her and spoke.

"Dance with me, Katie?"

-!-!-!-

When Katherine turned around she was staring into a pair of blue orbs that she would never forget. Six years? It barely felt like six minutes since she had last seen them. Suddenly she was sixteen again, and there was her best friend.

Reality soon caught up with her enough to choke out a word.

"Ricky?" She asked, as she took in the rest of him. He was very well dressed; she had never seen him in such fine clothes. She was shocked out of her blatant staring by his words.

"Dance with me, Katie?" He asked, holding out his hand, and she could do nothing but place her hand in his and be led to the dance floor.

-!-!-!-

Many people were surprised when they saw Miss Katherine Beckett dancing with the tall, hansom stranger. As everyone knew that she never danced any but the first dance at her father's ball, but she seemed to be dancing of her own free will so no one could see any harm being done.

Out in the middle of the room Richard could feel people staring at them, and he didn't know why.

"Katie," He said. "Why is everyone staring at us?"

"Could be one of two reasons," She responded cryptically. "Either it is because at my father's ball I only ever dance the first dance. Or it could be because I'm dancing with a strange man that none of them recognise."

"But you recognised me." He commented.

"Yes," Katherine responded. "But remember, we spent most of out childhood together, and I saw your eyes; I'd know those eyes anywhere. And everyone else has only seen you from a distance, even I wouldn't have recognised you from a distance, you have much finer clothes that you ever did. Care to explain?"

"Uhh..." He started. "I have recently acquired a new title." Katherine nodded her head for him to continue. "Lord Castle." He stated, averting his eyes from her.

Katherine wanted to get as far away from him as possible, but for now she would just have to do with not speaking to him any more for the rest of their dance, and he noticed.

"Look Katie," He started when he realised that she wasn't going to say anything. "I wanted to tell you, I really did, but I could never find the way to write it, and so the letters never even got sent. I wanted to tell you in person, but this wasn't the way I imagined it happening." He didn't get the chance to say anymore as the song came to an end and Katherine extracted herself from his arms, dipped a slight curtsy and fled to the garden.

Richard made his way towards the edge of the room, knowing that he couldn't follow her out there for a good ten minutes without both of them being the subject of talk, not that they weren't already. But he didn't want to ruin her reputation. So he made polite small talk with a few people and once the next dance was finished he headed into the garden. He knew exactly where he would find her.

-!-!-!-

When Richard rounded the last corner before he would get to the bench labelled with Johanna Beckett's name he wasn't sure what to expect. But it wasn't what he found. What he found was Katherine sitting on the bench, much like the last time he had seen her there; tears streaming down her face.

It had taken him a while to figure out why she was so upset that night, but one night it hit him like a stampeding horse. She had thought he was going to propose, and he ended up leaving her.

Richard shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked up to her.

"Katie," He said gently, attempting to take one of her hands in his, but she wouldn't let him. "Talk to me, tell me what's wrong."

"You want to know what's wrong?" Katherine asked sarcastically. "What's wrong is that you walked out of my life six years ago without thinking anything of it. Now you're back, acting like nothing has changed, but everything has. Everything but one." She finished before a fresh batch of tears started streaming down her face and she got to her feet and took off through the garden.

AN: So what did everyone think? Reviews are love.