It was an extremely warm early August day, with the sun bearing down vengefully. Anna had to be quick if she wanted to make it to her brother's house before lunch time. She was going to visit with her sister-in-law for the afternoon. Giselle and Nora were already there, no doubt waiting impatiently for her to arrive. Anna had decided to walk since it was only a few blocks, but changed her mind since she had a stop to make first. For the first time in her life, Anna Reynolds flagged down a taxicab, which was a gasoline powered automobile. Her brother was obviously right. Motor cars were the future of transportation. The driver impatiently asked her where she needed to go and she told him.

The Saint James and Albany Hotel.

It was the type of place where you knew the guests were all rich. The walls were an elegant marble and the floor shined in the late morning sun. Anna had never stayed in a hotel before in her entire life. She'd only ever been to London twice and those two times, her family had stayed with Lotte, who was the Duchess of Reddon and had room to spare.

Timidly, Anna approached the gleaming front desk, behind which a man wearing spectacles stood. She tried to remain inconspicuous, placing the envelope on the counter.

"May I help you, Mademoiselle?" He asked, looking at her suspiciously. He had obviously noted her lack of chaperone or companion.

"Yes. Please see that this gets to Monsieur Colin Moreau. Room two twenty-six." She answered in a very small voice, looking around nervously. If Colin were to walk through the lobby right now, it would all be over. She had taken a huge risk coming here personally. If her father or her brother ever found out that she was roaming Paris unaccompanied, she would probably be sent to a convent or locked in her room for eternity.

"Yes, Miss." The man told her when she produced a bill and gave it to him as compensation. He smiled warmly at her before she said her goodbye and rushed out, paranoid. Thankfully, the taxicab had waited for her just as she had asked and she would be able to arrive for lunch with Julienne and the twins in due time. She paid the driver handsomely for waiting for her and getting her to her destination in such a timely manner. The man kindly suggested travelling with a companion next time and gave her part of the generous tip she'd given him back.

"I have three daughters myself, Miss." He smiled at her. "My oldest is just around your age. You take care." She gave the driver a brilliant smile and hurried toward the door to her brother's home, smelling the cookies that Julienne was baking before she even reached the porch. It reminded her of home.

Anna rang the bell, which was immediately answered by her brother's housekeeper Bryna Angler, a maternal woman with graying reddish hair and warm brown eyes.

"Mademoiselle Annie." The woman smiled warmly, pulling Anna inside. "Madame Reynolds and her cousins are expecting you. Lunch has already been set out."

"I smell cookies, don't I?" Anna said with a grin. Madame Angler's eyes sparkled with fondness for her.

"You do…and you know our lady of the house makes the best." Anna gave the woman's hand a squeeze and scurried past her into the parlor, where Julienne was calmly discussing the redecorating of the new baby's room.

"Simon insisted they rip out the lovely carpeting and put in new for her. He's picked out burgundy to set off the pink walls. Even though I am so sure in my heart she's a girl, I cannot help but feel sorry if it turns out to be a boy." Julienne giggled. "He'd better get used to the color pink."

"Sorry I'm late." Anna apologized, settling in to sit beside her. She said hello to Nora and to Giselle, who looked positively crestfallen.

"No worries, love." Julienne assured her, pouring some tea and handing it to Anna. "Have a sandwich and a croissant." Anna helped herself to the food, which was delicious as always. Simon's cook, Monsieur Gautreau was very talented. "Your brother would not stop gushing about how pretty you were yesterday evening." Julienne added, beaming at her. Anna could feel splotches of heat on her cheeks, but shrugged indifferently.

"I broke it off with Beau." Giselle said, breaking her moody silence. Anna stopped with the sandwich halfway to her mouth.

"Oh. I'm sorry, dear." She told her friend sympathetically. "I know how much you liked him."

"He called me immature." Giselle uttered bitterly. "I told him that if he couldn't make up his mind after six months of courting me, then he wasn't worth my time." Sharing a look with her twin, she added, "I didn't want another situation like Lillian's." Anna nodded, remembering that their oldest sister had been engaged for half a decade to a man who had finally broken her heart to marry his employer's daughter.

Of course, this had been a good thing since James Westcliff had always loved her and he had helped her to mend. Unfortunately, Mercer Arnott had come back to woo her again. Recently, Lillian's former fiancé had poisoned James in retaliation to their engagement. James had nearly died, but thanks to Anna's brother and Roger Tiernay's quick thinking, he hadn't and he had lived to marry Lillian a few weeks before. Mercer had since fled to America to nurse his wounds after his father had bought his freedom from jail.

There was obviously nothing money couldn't buy.

"And," Giselle went on, fueled by her hurt, "he told me he didn't want children! Can you believe that?"

"Simon always said he didn't want children and look at him now." Anna pointed out, gesturing to Julienne, who smiled fondly at the thought of her beloved husband. Giving her sister-in-law an apologetic look, she said, "You know that there'll be no living with him when she's born, don't you? You'll probably want to murder him most of the time."

Laughing, Julienne waved her hand casually. "I already do half the time."

After they had eaten their lunch and had treated themselves to Julienne's dessert, Simon chose that moment to return home with a friend in tow. Anna could hear the two men talking animatedly about something or other. It sounded like locomotive engines. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Julienne coughed, but it sounded suspiciously like she was laughing to Anna. Giselle and Nora continued to banter back and forth in their strange form of speaking in shorthand about why men are useless.

Simon came into the room, followed by a slightly taller figure with dark, neatly combed hair. Anna's stomach dropped when she realized it was Colin. She purposely kept her eyes on Nora, pretending to listen intently to her.

"What you need to do is stop being so bossy. Gentlemen hate being told what to do." Nora was instructing her sister.

"It's true." Simon quipped, kissing Julienne's hand. "Even when we're wrong, we need to feel like we're in the right. Our egos are much more fragile than one would think."

"Yours is clearly intact." Anna told her brother acidly, eliciting laughs from everyone present.

"My wife is an extremely adept manipulator." He answered quickly.

"Yes…I learned from the best." Julienne agreed. "Claire is probably the most manipulative woman I know."

"Poor Gustave." Colin mused quietly, though he was grinning.

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Giselle asked, frustrated. "The man didn't have the sense of a goat."

"It's simple, Cousin." Colin told her confidently. "When you want a man to do something, make him think it was his idea. Works every time for my mother."

"Mine too." Julienne agreed. "I once watched Maman trick Dad into thinking that he wanted Esme to take riding lessons, when he'd been completely against it at first. And Dad's a genius!"

"Didn't he get her a thoroughbred pony?" Colin laughed.

"Yes!" Julienne nodded. "And then, when she was good at it, he said, 'See Evie, I told you she would be a brilliant rider!' and Maman just patted his arm and nodded and told him how smart he was."

"Oh that is so ridiculous." Giselle pouted, looking irritated. Her eyes settled on Anna, brightening. "Your turn, Anna. Out with it."

"I beg your pardon?" Anna asked, looking to Nora who shrugged, bewildered.

"Who is the mystery man?" She demanded, causing Simon's eyes to lock on Anna so quickly, she thought he might have hurt his neck turning his head. Everyone chuckled, indicating that her face was a decidedly unbecoming shade of pink.

"There is no man!" She replied forcefully, glaring at Giselle, who looked satisfied that the conversation had steered away from her romance woes.

"Girls, leave her be." Julienne defended her, putting an arm around Anna's shoulders.

"There is." Nora insisted, joining her twin in the argument. "Our sister Lucy is good friends with Grace."

"So?" Anna asked, raising an eyebrow. Inwardly, she cursed her older sister who had a big mouth and was unable to keep a secret…even if it wasn't correct. As lovely as Gracie was, she was a terrible gossip. She fully intended to give her sister a talking to later and reached for her tea.

"So." Giselle inserted, "Grace told Lucy, who told Jane, who told us that you've been corresponding with someone."

Anna spit out her tea, choking violently.

"Girls!" Julienne scolded, patting Anna's back and handing her a napkin calmly. Anna did not look at anyone as she attempted to regain control of her voice.

"You are aren't you?" Nora exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly together. Composing herself, Anna stared her friend in the eye as convincingly as she could manage. She could feel Colin Moreau's eyes on her.

"Absolutely not." She told them. Simon had crossed his legs and was rubbing his temple as if she had brought the worst possible stress on him. It irritated her because she had a father…a wonderful man, who knew what was best for her. Anna did not need guidance from a bull-headed mule like Simon. Nora rolled her eyes at Anna, still giggling.

"Oh come now, I correspond with at least two men at a time!"

"Nora, that is not something we should advertise, love." Julienne intervened, giving her husband a cautious look. Simon looked torn between irritation and laughter. "And if Anna is corresponding with a young man, it is not our business." Anna noticed that Colin was still watching her with a look of morbid fascination on his devilishly handsome face, almost as if he were wondering…

"Grace did say you sent a letter to someone, but she didn't say to whom." Simon agreed finally, speaking quietly. Julienne sighed in defeat.

Thinking quickly, Anna nodded. "Oh, that letter! Yes, I did. I wrote to Lotte. She wants me to visit in the fall." Nora was still eyeing her with wary suspicion.

"I don't believe you." She said pointedly to which Anna laughed.

"I don't care." She replied acidly. "Believe what you want. My sister needs to learn to keep her mouth shut. Especially when she's incorrect."

"She just wants you to be happy, dear." Julienne assured Anna, squeezing her shoulders. Glancing back at Colin, he'd relaxed again, but she thought she detected a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Of course, she could have well imagined it. She looked to her brother, who was staring at Julienne with a ridiculous, love struck gaze. Anna was so envious of them, she could scream with jealousy.

"Oh drat." Giselle said disdainfully, pointing to Anna's skirt. "Don't look now, Anna, but there's a spider by your feet."

"A what?" Anna whispered, freezing when she saw the black creature crawling near the hem of her day dress. The next few moments happened so fast, she probably wouldn't remember in great detail what had happened.

First, she leapt across the coffee table and into the lap of Colin Moreau so fast and so hard that he let out a cry of surprise.

Two, she thought but she wasn't sure that she had broken at least one dish.

And three, she fainted in his arms.

The morning had started normally enough, with Colin rising at seven as he did every morning. He read the paper while he took breakfast. At precisely ten-fifteen, after he had shaved and dressed, he received a message from Simon Reynolds to meet him in the restaurant at half past twelve to discuss business.

At exactly noon, there was a knock on his door. Colin opened it to reveal a hotel employee with a letter that had arrived for him.

"This just came. Delivered personally." The man informed him. Colin recognized Flash's handwriting instantly, feeling his heart clench at the thought that she had been mere feet away from him.

"Did you see the girl? What did she look like? What was her name?" Colin asked desperately, watching the bespectacled man's eyes grow huge. He shook his head, sputtering.

"I didn't see her, Sir." He replied meekly. "I was just told to bring it to you."

"Oh, I see." Colin sighed, thanking him and shutting the door. Sinking into the desk chair, he opened the letter with his fingertip, sliding it easily underneath the sealed flap.

My dearest Colin,

It isn't so much you knowing my identity that I am afraid of. I'm afraid of losing this…this easy correspondence. I like talking to you…I find myself wanting to tell you everything about me, including the bad things. It's not something I am used to.

So, I'll start with the bad. To name a few, I am impulsive (obviously), I am a deplorable cook, I am deathly afraid of spiders to the point where I cannot even function in one's presence, and I sometimes talk with my mouth full (To my mother's chagrin).

The things I like about myself? I think I'm passably attractive in a physical sense. I like my hair color. I am good with watercolors, I can knit, and I can sing (though not well enough to be a professional).

Is it my imagination, or are things changing in these letters? I had just intended it to be an innocent correspondence, but I don't think it is anymore. I don't think you do either. I'm not good at this, Colin. I've never even been kissed…I don't know the first thing about love or courtship. I'm afraid of it and yet, I want it more than anything. Most of all, I'm afraid that if I were to reveal who I am to you, that you would be disappointed in my identity and I don't think I could bear that. You're idealizing me because I am a mystery to you. Once you find out whom I am, the thrill of the chase will be gone and all that you will see is a silly girl who needs to learn to think before she acts. I'm sure of it.

Don't try to find me, Colin. I'm nothing special. I have nothing to offer you that you couldn't get from another, better woman. You deserve someone better. Perhaps I have fallen in love with you already, foolish girl that I am.

I'm sorry.

I will think of you.

Always,

Flash

Colin stared, unseeing, at the words written on the paper held between his fingers. He could not understand why it had upset him so badly, but he felt physically sick.

Don't try to find me, Colin. I'm nothing special.

The words rang over and over again through his mind and his vision. They were horrible, offensive words and they were wrong. How could the girl who had written these charming letters be anything but special? It made no sense.

Once you find out whom I am, the thrill of the chase will be gone and all that you will see is a silly girl who needs to learn to think before she acts. I'm sure of it.

Ridiculous. Colin had never chased a girl in his life and had no intentions of starting now. He had been with women in his life, but he'd never enjoyed the flirting or the courtship rules. He hated the chase, if truth were to be told and if he had it his way, he would find the girl and simply marry her and be done with it. He had no desire to go on carriage rides, or walks in gardens, or outings to museums while a chaperone hovered nearby watching their every move. He had never understood the codes women tried to use with their hand fans at balls, and certainly did not care if a woman opened and shut her fan that she meant for him to kiss her. How utterly ridiculous! Colin despised silly games.

Pocketing the letter, he forced himself to calm down and decided to head down to the restaurant and order a drink to soothe his nerves. Simon had already arrived and was seated at a table, waiting patiently with a glass of brandy. Colin quickly ordered the same.

"How is Julienne feeling today?" Colin asked, remembering that his cousin had been sick the previous evening. Simon smiled.

"Much better, thank you. She has her good and bad days." He explained, sipping his drink. The waiter came back and set down Colin's own drink, which he sampled with no delay.

"You two should come visit London once your baby is born." Colin insisted, thinking of how his mother would love seeing a new baby since his nephews were growing faster every week. Simon nodded in agreement.

"Julienne would love that. She speaks fondly of your mother." He said, pulling out his cigarettes and lighting one. He offered one to Colin, who declined. He'd never been a good smoker. It didn't suit him.

"I only smoke when I drink. Or when I'm nervous." Simon explained.

"Oh, I don't mind. I have a breathing condition." Colin informed him. "I've never been able to handle it."

"Ah." The blond man responded. "Well, I'm going to cut to the chase. You have had remarkable luck with your investments and you obviously know your way around the business world."

"I've had mild success." Colin concurred.

"Don't be modest, Moreau." Simon told him, "You're filthy rich." Colin grinned, despite himself.

"Well, if we're being technical."

"James Westcliff and I run a financial advising company…we target mostly corporations, though we also have individual clients as well. I figured, since you know your way around the economy and numbers, you could be an asset to us."

"How so?" Colin inquired curiously.

"We are in the midst of trying to procure an electric company. I think since you know both sides of the spectrum, you could help us to talk them into it. We will be making a presentation on Monday afternoon to them. You could make them see it from their own perspective, if you will." Simon told him.

"I'm flattered." Colin replied sincerely. "The truth is, I can't guarantee you any success."

"Look, I am not saying you have to succeed…but it wouldn't hurt to try. And just think, if it all works out, I have a new client and you have a new investment opportunity. They say you have the "magic touch."" Simon laughed.

"Well," Colin said thoughtfully, swirling the brandy around mindlessly in his glass. "I am here through the end of September. I certainly would be willing to try to help, though I must confess, I don't know how convincing I am."

"Well, you certainly seemed to make a good impression on my sister." Simon told him mildly, grinning across the table. Colin stared at the man in surprise.

"She's a lovely young lady." He assured Simon. "One whom any man would be lucky to have."

"Indeed." Simon agreed, raising his glass.

The two men ate lunch, keeping up an easy like-minded conversation. Simon stood, upon paying for the meal.

"My wife wanted me to tell you that she would love to see you if you have no plans for the evening." He said, straightening his jacket.

"Of course, I would like that." Colin countered, following Simon Reynolds back into the hotel and out to the street, where a motor cab was hailed for them. Colin clandestinely thought that he rather liked the new century with its new developments.

Colin was surprised to see his twin cousins visiting with Julienne already, along with another visitor, Miss Anna Reynolds, Simon's sister. Remembering how lovely she had looked at the theater the night before, he swallowed. She was just as lovely today, though in a less intimidating, wholesome and sweet way. Her light blue eyes met his when he followed her brother inside, though he noticed some sadness in them.

The conversation had all been very mild and uninteresting until the twins had begun to badger Anna about writing letters to a gentleman. That had caught his attention. Of course, the girl had denied it vehemently, and had even provided an alibi. Lotte Granger, the Duchess of Reddon, who was at least a decade older than Anna. Of course, Colin remembered that Lady de Chagny was Anna's Godmother, and since Lotte was the Comtesse's daughter, it stood to reason that they would all be somewhat close. He was simply looking for reasons to believe that anyone could be Flash. Especially after that letter. Everyone had finally calmed down, and Anna's color had gone back to a decent shade of pink rather than the dark shade she had been whilst being teased by her friends.

Until she saw the spider.

Colin had never seen a woman who was wearing such a vast amount of layers and a corset, move so fast. She flew across the table and, to his own horror, straight onto his lap, knocking the wind out of him momentarily. They locked eyes for less than a second before she went limp in his arms.

Julienne panicked, standing up and looking at her husband.

"Shall I send for a doctor?" She cried, holding her hand to her face while Colin gently sank onto the carpeted floor with Anna and laid her head in his lap, feeling her pulse. Simon Reynolds was very calm about the whole situation, coming over to inspect her with a sigh after disposing of the offending insect.

"Sweetheart," He addressed his wife, "Will you fetch a wet cloth for me?"

"Of course, my love." Julienne disappeared through the door to the parlor with quick steps. She returned a moment later, her heels clicking in the hallway. Kneeling beside Colin, she lovingly dabbed at Anna's delicate face. The sky blue eyes fluttered open, trying desperately to focus. He stared down at her, continuing to brush her hair back in soothing strokes.

"Colin…" Anna murmured, alarming him slightly when she began to reach up for him and then, thinking better of herself and scrambling to sit up. "What happened?"

"You fainted." Nora told her dryly, sharing a look with her sister, who was trying to hide a smirk.

"Oh." Anna said, swallowing.

"Still afraid of spiders, I see." Simon Reynolds teased his sister, handing her a glass of water. "Drink, firebrand." Colin tensed up, staring at Anna again with sickening longing.

I am deathly afraid of spiders to the point where I cannot even function in one's presence.

Colin shook his head, reminding himself that most women disliked spiders, but he could not push the thought from his mind for a moment. Could Anna Reynolds be his Flash? Scolding himself, he remembered that Flash did not want him to find her until a new thought began to form in his mind.

Unless she could be persuaded to reveal herself.

What if he courted Anna Reynolds? Wouldn't Flash become jealous if she had truly fallen in love with him? Perhaps what she needed was a push…bait.

Colin decided immediately to speak with Anna's father the following morning about courting her. He would endure the frivolous outings…the dancing…the fan codes…all of it.

"Well, we must be getting home." Giselle said, standing and turning expectantly to her sister, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, our mother has some sort of family dinner planned. James and Lillian, Lucy and Michel, and Jane and Heath are coming…I think they want to tell us something."

"If Mother is expecting again, I'm going to throw myself off the roof." Giselle muttered before the two said their goodbyes. Simon and Julienne moved to walk them out as Colin helped Anna to sit on the settee. Neither of them spoke for a few moments.

"I was bitten as a child." Anna finally said, sounding weak still.

"What?" Colin replied, confused, watching her face redden in embarrassment.

"By a spider." She explained. "Just here." She held out her arm to show him a small, faded scar on her wrist. "I was very sick…I nearly died. Simon was already at university."

"Oh." Colin responded, surprised. "That must have been awful."

"I don't remember." She admitted thoughtfully. "The doctor told my parents that I had a rare reaction to it. My throat closed up and I couldn't breathe. I remember hurting here—" She touched her hand to her heart. "—and my mother just kept holding me and telling me 'Hold on, just hold on.' And I did…and here I am, but to this day I am terrified of them, no matter how miniscule of a spider it is."

"That's very understandable." Colin agreed mildly. "When I was a boy, my brother and I decided to take the swords down out of my father's trophy room and play war. I ended up being stabbed in the side with it." Anna did not look surprised to hear this in the least, though she did wince.

"Can I see?" She whispered, swallowing. Colin hesitated momentarily before he discreetly opened his jacket and lifted his shirt to show her the visible part of the jagged old scar on his side. To his surprise she reached out and pressed her finger to it, making him jump. "Sorry!" She cried as he swiftly tucked his shirt back in. "Did I hurt you?"

"Of course not." He assured her. "Just slightly ticklish."

Not to mention, if your brother had seen that, we would be married by week's end.

"Anna, I would like to ask you something while we have a moment of privacy." She watched him expectantly, clasping her hands in her lap. "I would like to ask your father's permission to court you." He finished, to which she gasped.

"Me?" She asked, shocked. "Why?"

"I like you, Anna. I think you're funny and engaging, not to mention beautiful." Once again, her cheeks were pink.

"I'm not that interesting." She insisted, looking down. Colin shakes his head in disbelief.

"What is it with you French women? Is there insecurity in the water or something?"

"What?" Anna lifted her eyes to his, slightly offended.

"Nothing." He told her, taking one of her hands. "It's of no consequence. Anna, I am the second son of an Earl. I will never hold a title. I have a fortune that I have mostly made on my own. I have a townhouse in London with a cook, a housekeeper, a butler and one maid. My ideal way of passing time is doing my taxes." She smiled at this. "I live by a schedule, follow a routine and I eat my meals at precisely the same time every day. I am probably the most boring man you'll ever meet."

"Perhaps more predictable than boring." She suggested, but he could see her warming to him.

"I'm the youngest child, I have an older brother who is as fussy as a newborn, my older sister can't keep a secret and I constantly question whether or not I'm good enough. I've never been courted. I don't know how to be courted." She chuckled sweetly. "I think men take one look at my brother and stay away from me."

"Your brother likes me." Colin pointed out, grinning at her.

"I'm ten years younger than you." She observed, as if that were ample reason for him to stay away.

"Oh, you're saying you don't like older men?" He joked, looking down into her sparkling eyes.

"I was referring to you thinking of me as too young." Her eyes were so unsure that he felt a tiny tug at his heartstrings.

"Anna, this may surprise you, but most men would kill to get an attractive woman ten years younger than himself." Colin confessed, making her giggle – a tiny, lilting sound. "I'll talk to your father tomorrow." Her head moved in the slightest of bobs in acknowledgement.

"If you wish." She told him with a sigh, making him laugh.

Just to be clear, Colin is not going to find out the identity of Flash for certain for a little while longer.

But that's just the beginning. We're going to see some familiar faces and have perhaps a brush with death or two. I hope it will be a fun ride. Oh, and I did the research. There were definitely motor taxicabs in Paris in 1903 on. :) Ah, the Industrial Revolution.

S