I forgot to mention in the first note that some of these chapters will be extremely short.
Grace woke before dawn as far as she could tell. Light drops of rain hit the window along with an occasional breeze. There was something unusually cozy about Oliver's room, however, it wasn't so much the ambiance of the oncoming storm as it was hearing his steady breaths beside her.
Resisting the temptation to curl up and go back to sleep, she sat up in search of a clock. Not able to see one on the wall through the dark, she turned to the nightstand where she remembered Oliver placed his pocket watch. Carefully she turned the lamp on, glad when the light failed to wake him. Not even five yet, she noted before turning the light off again. So much of her wanted to stay in this marvelous dream. But she feared what the sunlight would bring. She wasn't ready to come back down to earth. Nevertheless, she needed to consider her place among the staff. She couldn't be seen leaving his room. Mrs. Pugh and a few of the maids were up by now. Any later and she'd be dodging the fleet. Worst of all, she realized how inappropriate her actions were with a child in the house — an inquisitive child who would likely be up and about within the next hour. With this, Grace knew she had to leave him.
. . .
Hours later Oliver opened his eyes, surprised he'd woken before Drake's knock on the door. At first grateful, he turned to warn Grace it was morning. The disappointment when he saw she was gone surprised him. Disappointment then turned to concern, fearing he'd alienated her. She came to her senses and fled before she had to face him. She'd been caught up in the emotion, too, and perhaps she hadn't felt it as strongly as he did after all. Sinking back into the pillows, he rubbed his eyes, still adjusting to the sunlight. He knew he couldn't run after Grace now. Too many people would be around and he wasn't going to make mention of anything between them until he knew where she stood. More importantly, work needed to be done. Today he'd take Annie along to the stock exchange. It gave him an out for a little while as well as something to do with Annie. He wasn't ready to say goodbye to all of his newfound joy just yet.