"Maria, your tying it to...," I fell my breath get knocked out of me, "...tight!" She then unties the strings and tries to redo the girdle. "I'm sorry my Lady. I'm just nervous you know how your father is..." I sigh in agitation, I more worried about my throwing up my insides. Once she ties the last string she then brings me my dress. The pink gown was dreadful with its short puffy sleeves and oval cut top. "Madam Lawrence and Sir La-Flu picked it out just for this occasion." I then turn away from her and go to my closet. "Mother knows father doesn't like it when she dresses me like that," I open the double doors and walk inside searching for a one of my sundresses, "..besides shouldn't I wear a dress that father has bought me?" I return to Maria with a blue dress with white flowers. She beamed with delight as she dropped the pink gown and asked me if I wanted to wear my girdle. I laugh as I reply, "I wish to be comfortable when I speak to father."

Maria walks me down the stairs as the servants run from all four corners of the large greeting room. "Miss Maria," one of the Ramon's nannies, "when is the doctor going to arrive? Ramon is as red as a strawberry at harvest time!" Once the nanny is standing at the bottom of the stairs she bows, "I am so very sorry, Lady Lawrence, but I need to-" The horns blast in the distance as the entire house seemed to be in attention. "Sir Friar Stephen Lawrence has arrived." My eyes widen as I run to the front door leaving Maria and the nanny in my dust. I feel a hand grab my shoulder stopping me before I could reach my destination, "Abigail, where's the fire hun-bun?" I turn around to see my father standing before me smiling like a drunk old man with a five o'clock shadow. His white shirt un-tucked from his gray trousers, his navy tie undone, and his dark brown hair tousled as if he had slept on the way here. My eyes soften as I walk into his chest, wrap my limp arms around him, and released three years of sorrow fueled tears on his white shirt. I felt his arms wrap around me and pull me in closer, "I know; I've been gone for way to long." I cried in agony and I tightened my grip on him not wanting his to leave me.

"Geary, will you let the cooks know that I'm in the mood for some cherry chocolate pie!" Geary bows as he turns toward to walk towards the kitchen. "Geary wait," he then stops and faces me as I let go of my father. "Yes my Lady?" I try my best to whip my tear-stained cheeks as my father looks on trying to understand why I stopped the servant. "Father just got home so enform the cooks that they must cook something worthy for the head of the Lawrence House, thank you." I hear my father laugh, "Thats my daughter! Always looking out for me." I turn around and smile, I love how he can be so carefree, he made me feel like I was when ever I'm around him. At times like this its hard to feel that way: here I was betrothed to a bachelor but in love with an heir of a lost fortune. "Abigail? Abigail!" I hear my father faint voice his blurry body running to me, "Lady Lawrence!" and others gasp in horror.

I wake up in my room with a man in a white coat observing my face. "Friar Stephen, your daughter should be fine, she was just a little hungry nothing to serious. I gave her some vitamin pills but when she fully recovers she'll need to eat something." The doctor packed up his bag and headed for my door. "Thank you Mister Herren you're a kind old man." He left just as father finished his statement, father then sat on the end of my bed. I started to sit up, "No, Abigail you're still a little weak. Mister Herren said that your body hasn't been getting the essentials it needs and that you need to eat before this becomes a problem." I lay back onto my pillow pulling the heavy blankets over my cold form. "He also said that Ramon should be fine if he stays in bed for the rest of the week; you don't happen to know what happened to him do you?" My eyes flick open and I roll over to face my father and shake my head knowing that lying to him would have severe punishment but he couldn't know about Ashton or Colt or anything about them.

"Well Ramon maybe on bed rest but I'm putting you on bed rest too; don't you dare get up and leave this room." I sat up so quickly that my mind had started spinning but I still felt that I should protest, "Father, I'm fine! I don't need to rest..." I try to crawl out of the bed but he stops me. "Abigail I know you mean well but you're just not health enough to be active right now. Your mother is away so take the silence of the estate and rest, alright? Besides I need some sleep its five and I need to finish my report on my last trip, excuse me." The door closes slowly as I hear my father speak to the guards about keeping me inside. I sigh in relief as I lay back down and relax my stiff shoulders. The sun peers through the glass balcony doors as I turn my back and sleep.

I wake to someone knocking on my door, "Lady Lawrence dinner is served." Maria enters my room with a tray walking toward my bed. "You've been out for quite sometime. Your father wanted me to bring you dinner so you can regain your strength." She sets the tray on my night table and pulls out a box of matches and lights the candles around my room. "I'll be back in the morning to help you dress and bring you breakfast, sleep well, Lady Lawrence," as she heads for the door she suddenly wipes around, "...also Sir La-Flu dropped by not to long after you fainted. He thought your father was another suitor, boy was he upset. But knowing the Friar he milked it for what it was worth! The young man even swore he'd take you and beat him by then your father wasn't laughing anymore." I was barely listening to her story of earlier today. I smile as if I was interested, "Sounds like it was a blast but you might need to go before father lectures you about keeping me up." Maria then nods her appreciation for her safety and leaves immediately. I look down at the tray to see a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and apples mixed in, a glass of water, and a saucer plate with two pills on it. I grab the water and take my two pills glubbing them down. Staring into the glass of water I start to wonder where Ashton ran off to.

There was a knock on the glass doors, my head turns to see vampire-toothy smiling Ashton looking through the glass. I carefully rise from my bed and walking toward the balcony doors. Once open he embraced me, "I heard what happened I was so worried that Colt got ahold of you. I'm so glad that you're not hurt." I snuggle into his chest, "Father had the country's finest doctor came see me and Ramon. I was lacking in nutrition and Ramon just had a fever." He pulled back slightly to look at me, "So your not ill?" I nodded my head 'no'. Ashton let out a sigh of relief and pulled me back into his embrace. "That's music to my ears." We stand on the balcony feeling the night's cold wind but his body was so warm next to mind. "It's kind of cold; we better get inside or you'll be ill for sure." I look up and smile into his blue eyes as he guides us inside and closes the glass door. "Where did you go yesterday? I woke up and you were missing..." I walk back to my bed, "...I thought someone must have found you in the night."

I felt Ashton hands wrap around my waist, his chin resting on my right shoulder, and his lips centimeters from my lips. "I'm sorry for my sudden disappearance, I wanted to stay but I felt that my presence wouldn't be greatly admired...," my dart to the right to watch his blue orbs study my face, "...I didn't mean to cause you to worry." He kissed my cheek then let go of my body stretching his long arms while yawning. "Besides we're even now..." He looks over at my night table and grasps the book he was reading earlier looking inside to find the page he stopped on. "Ashton you know its late, what did you come for?" He looked up at me while closing the book, "I just came to see if you were okay...," he sat down on my bed, "...I was at the café for my afternoon tea and one of your father's messanger servants' asked me if I've seen Mister Herren. I ask him why he needed to know and he said that he hadn't arrive to see Sir Ramon or Lady Lawrence, he stated that you both had fallen ill. But I see that it was a false alarm you seem to be well and as beautiful as ever."

I blush as I look down at my clothing, noticing for the first time that I was wearing my nightdress and my hair was a mess on my shoulders. "I'm always a mess when I sleep..." I hear the bed shift and feel Ashton's hands raise my head to meet his gaze. "Don't say that your beautiful and I might have come for something else to..." before I could ask I felt his lips on mine. His hands move to my waist pulling me in as I wrap my arms around his neck. I felt his tongue run along my bottom lip begging for entrance, I smile as I let his tongue slip inside. He tasted like green tea as his tongue found mine wanting me to participate with him. We both gasp for air as we come apart, he then places his forehead on mine, "I might have wanted to do that while I was here." I giggle as he strokes my hair.

There was a knock on the door, "Abigail, I have to go-" We look over to the door as it opens to reveal my father walking in stopping in his tracks once he sees Ashton, "-see your mother. Why is this you man in your room!" Ashton steps away from me and turns toward my father, "Friar Lawrence, I'm sorry to intrude on your estate, my name is Ashton Lanning and I-" Father tackled Ashton onto the floor, "Guards get this man out of my house!" The men came crashing through my small doorway by the dozens. I stood in shock until the ruckus caused my vase with the red rose to fall off the shelf and be trampled by the guards' feet. I ran over to the men tousling on the ground trying to restrain Ashton. "Get off him, please stop!" I grab onto a unknown arm trying to wrench it from the pile as I hear Ashton grunting in pain trying his best to fight back. "Let go, Lady Lawrence," the arm swung back causing me to fall on my tush. "Abigail!" I heard my father yell my name, I ignored him trying to get back in the mess. "Abigail...," I felt father's hand grab my shoulder, "...its to dangerous!"

I tried to get out of his grip, "Stop I have to help him...," I finally slip free from his grasp and dove into the fight, "...Ashton I'm coming!" Before I could get any closer the guards had Ashton restrained with his arms behind his back. He was a bloody mess with his slick black hair tousled around his pale face. I stood back gasping in horror, "Ashton..." as soon as I call his name he raises his head to look at me. I kneel and gentle touch him right cheek. He smiles at me as he closes his eyes and rubs my hand against his face. "What are we to do with him, Friar Lawrence?" Our tender moment was interrupted when the head guard spoke those words. "No you can't take him away!" I look to my father who stares at me in shock, he then steps toward us and looks down at mine and Ashton's blood stained face. "Send him away, now." Tears start to form, "Father you can't do this to him. He's hurt he might die if you put him on the street!" Father turned his back on us as I felt Ashton torn from my hand, "My word is final Abigail, I'm the head of this house." My eyes are red as more tears rain down. "Father please!" I beg him to reconsider. "MY WORD IS FINAL!" His voice boomed throughout the house, I've never heard him so angry at anyone not even mother. I look back over to Ashton, the guards were carrying him out of my room. "Can I at least have a word with him..." I plead father with puffy green eyes. My father looks at me with his own green eyes, lets out a sigh of defeat, "Fine but make it quick." I feel father's eyes on me as I sprint over to Ashton who seemed to be on the verge of death. I grip shoulders his head covered in his blood, "Abie I'll be fine. Don't worry...," he leans closer to me, "...I'll come see you within a the next three days I promise," he whispered the last part to me and me alone. Smiling weakly I nod my head in agreement, "I'll be waiting for you," I whisper back then press my lips onto his lips trying to save this moment knowing that Ashton may not be able to keep his promise...

Sorry its been a week, and it'll be another 5 days before I can upload, so I'll try to post again on Sunday-ish if not then the Monday. :-D