"Ella," Henry said, looking up as I walked into the shop. "You're back."

"Obviously," I replied. "What, did you think I would leave for the holidays and never return?"

"No, of course not," he said, picking up a basket full of books and coming out from behind the counter. "I was just pointing out the obvious, I suppose." He handed me the basket.

"Let me guess," I said. "I'm supposed to take these to Mrs. Callaghan."

"You got it," he said.

I sighed, glancing out the window. It had snowed the night before and everything was covered in a layer of white. It wasn't deep or anything, but after my relaxing stay on a Mediterranean island, I wasn't exactly looking forward to tromping though the cold to Mrs. Callaghan's house, dragging the hem of my dress through the slush and losing all feeling in my fingers and toes.

"You know what," Henry said suddenly, reaching out and taking the basket back. "I'll take the books to her. You stay here and watch the store, okay? I'll be back soon."

It was like he had read my mind.

"It won't be that soon," I replied, smiling gratefully. "This is Mrs. Callaghan we're talking about."

He chuckled. "Well, I'll be back at some point. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good, boss."

His gaze fell to my necklace. "Christmas gift?" he asked, nodding at it.

"Oh," I said, glancing down. "Yeah, it's from Edmund."

"It looks very –"

"Expensive?" I finished for him.

"I was going to say fancy, but expensive works too," he said, nodding.

Yes, expensive was certainly the right word to describe it. The diamond in the center –larger than any I had ever seen before – was surrounded all the way around by smaller diamonds. Before marrying Edmund, I had never even dreamed of touching something as luxurious as this necklace, let alone actually owning it. Sometimes my new life still seemed like a dream, even if that dream had taken on a few nightmarish qualities in the past few months.

"I wasn't going to wear it today," I said. "Or any day, really. I'm so afraid that it's going to get lost or stolen or something like that. But I didn't want to hurt Edmund's feelings by never wearing it."

"Yes," Henry muttered, clutching the handle of the basket rather tightly. "You wouldn't want to damage the prince's fragile ego."

"Henry," I said quietly. "Don't."

"I just don't see why you're wasting so much time worrying about his feelings," Henry said. "He obviously doesn't give a damn about yours."

"That's not true," I protested. "He does care about me. He loves me."

"Why?" Henry asked. "Because he bought you a shiny necklace? Here's the thing, Your Highness, expensive gifts don't equal love."

"Edmund's going through a tough time right now," I murmured, not quite sure why I was even defending him. "His father's dying."

Henry rolled his eyes. "So?" he asked. "Both of your parents died when you were a child. My mother died a couple years ago and I haven't seen my father since I was nine. Your precious husband's not the only one who's lost a parent. I don't understand how you can use that as an excuse for his lack of respect toward you and your marriage."

"When his father dies, he'll be king," I said. "That's a lot of responsibility. Not everyone has that kind of pressure put on them immediately after losing a parent."

"You know what?" Henry snapped. "I don't want to argue with you about this anymore. If you're okay with how your cheating bastard of a husband treats you, then that's your problem, not mine."

He pulled open the door, a cool blast of air filling the store, and stepped outside. The door slammed shut behind him and I was alone with only my thoughts to keep me company. I couldn't believe that we'd had another fight. We had been getting along so well. What had happened?

I sighed heavily. The door opened again and a middle-aged couple walked in. I smiled at them politely and after they told me that they were just looking around, I went to stand behind the counter.

Ten minutes later, Henry's fiancée Mary walked in. I was sorting through a box of books that someone had generously donated and glanced up for only long enough to see who had walked in before going back to my work.

"Is Henry here?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, sorry, he isn't. He went to deliver some books to Mrs. Callaghan."

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Probably in about an hour or two," I offered with a shrug.

"An hour or two?" she repeated, a frantic edge to her voice that hadn't been there before. "Isn't that a bit long for a book delivery?

"Mrs. Callaghan is a bit lonely," I said. "She'll talk his ear off, I can assure you."

"Oh," she replied. "Well, can you tell him I stopped by?"

"Of course," I said, glancing up and noticing for the first time just how nervous the poor girl looked. She was wringing her hands together and looking around anxiously. Her strawberry-blonde hair hung down in her face, limp and lifeless, a far cry from her usual bouncy curls. Her face was pale, more pale than usual, and there was no color in her cheeks.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. "Are you feeling ill?"

She shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine. I just really need to talk to him about something important." Her hand moved to her stomach, for only a minute, and then she turned to leave.

"I'll be sure to tell him you were here," I said, as she opened the door and stepped outside.

"Mary stopped by earlier," I said, when Henry did finally come back, nearly an hour and a half later. "She seemed upset about something. You should probably go see her."

"Ella," he said. "I need to talk to you."

I looked up. "Did you not hear what I said?" I asked impatiently. "Your fiancée wants to talk to you about something that sounded important."

"I'll go see her later," he said. "Right now I need to talk to you."

"Fine," I said, setting the down the book I had been examining. "What?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about earlier. It was my fault. I shouldn't have tried to pick a fight with you and I shouldn't have said some of those things. We've been getting along well recently and I don't want to ruin that."

"Henry," I sighed. "It's fine. It's not like you said anything that wasn't true. I don't know why I was defending him. Believe me, I really wish that I didn't feel the need to."

"But you love him," he said quietly.

"Yes," I agreed, nodding sadly. "I do."

"I'm bored!" James declared.

Anna looked up from her sewing. "Then leave," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

We were all gathered in my sitting room. Anna and I were sewing, while Elizabeth was in the corner, playing piano. James and Jane were seated at a table, playing some sort of card game. It was hard to tell which one because they mostly seemed to be ignoring the cards, more focused on playing footsy under the table instead.

James redirected his gaze to Anna, his smirk growing wider. "You'd miss me too much."

"I think I'd manage," she replied.

"Fine," he said, standing up and grabbing Jane's hand. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" she asked with a giggle, as she followed him to the door.

"Just follow me," he said, whisking her out of the room.

I had a feeling that Jane was very pleased with all the attention James had been bestowing upon her recently. If she had her way, he'd be putting a ring on her finger in no time at all. Of course, the chances of that actually happening were close to zero, but she didn't know that.

A few hours later, I was sitting by myself at my window seat, when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," I said.

The door opened. James was standing there, his sticking out in every direction and his clothes wrinkled.

"James," I said. "You're a mess. What happened?"

"Nothing," he said, grinning. "Jane and I were just having a bit of fun, that's all."

I sighed, patting the seat beside. "Sit," I said.

He crossed the room and sat down next to me. I reached up and began smoothing down his wild, chestnut-colored hair. He turned his head slightly, so that his bright blue eyes were looking directly into mine.

"Ella," he murmured softly.

"What?"

"You're just doing this so that you have an excuse to run your hands through my hair, aren't you?" he asked. "Just admit it, you can't resist me."

I shook my head. "You are really something else, James."

"I'm charming," he said.

"A bit too charming," I replied, lowering my hands. "There, that's better."

He lounged back against the wall, so that he was sitting sideways in the seat. I gazed at him for a moment. His hands were resting behind his head. His expression was content, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he turned and looked out the window, watching as the sun set into the horizon. He was the epitome of a privileged child. He had the looks, the charm, the wit. He had everything, but he was still able to be swept away in the beauty of a sunset.

"James," I said, a thought occurring to me. "You need to be careful with Jane. Her father is expecting her to make a good marriage. But no respectable man will have her for a wife if another man has already had his way with her."

The words made me cringe, even as they came out of my mouth. But society had been the same way for centuries. Women were expected to behave in a certain manner or their reputations would be ruined.

"Relax, Ella," James said, turning his gaze away from the window. "We were only kissing. She'll be a virgin for her husband."

I smiled, feeling relieved. "Although," I said, "I think that if she had things her way, you'll be her husband."

He frowned. "Me?"

"Yes, you," I said, nodding. "That girl is simply desperate to be the future Duchess of Atherton."

He chuckled. "Well, that isn't going to happen."

"You should tell her that," I advised. "You don't want her to get hurt."

"No," he agreed. "I definitely don't want that."

We sat in silence for a while, each deep in our own thoughts. It was nice, the kind of silence that wasn't the least bit awkward. Neither of us was waiting for the other to say anything. We were simply enjoying each other's company without feeling the need to fill it with mindless chatter.

Nearly ten minutes later, though, James did speak. And when he did, it completely caught me off guard.

"Does Anna ever talk about me?" he asked.

"Er, no," I said. "I don't think so." I paused. "Why?"

"She's quite beautiful, don't you think?" he asked, a strange expression on his face, one that I had never seen from him before.

"Yes," I agreed. "She is."

Anna wasn't beautiful in the way most girls were, but she was certainly stunning. Her raven-black hair was always pulled back tightly into a bun, not a strand out of place. She had very sharp features and eyes so dark that they sometimes almost looked black. Her pale skin always stood in stark contrast to the bright red lipstick she always wore. She was certainly gorgeous, but I never would have pegged her as being James' type.

"I think she's the most beautiful girl in the world," he murmured.

Suddenly I recognized the expression on his face. He looked vulnerable. For the first time in his life, James, the future Duke of Atherton, looked unsure of himself, his usual confidence had disappeared. How very strange.

"Is this why you won't marry Jane?" I asked, attempting to lighten the mood with a bit of teasing. "Because you want Anna to be the future Duchess of Atherton instead?"

He stared down at his feet, not saying anything.

"James," I said, trying a different approach. "Don't you think she's a bit old for you? You're only eighteen. She's twenty-five."

"It's seven years," he said, looking up. "Same as the age difference between you and Edmund."

He was right, of course. I was twenty and Edmund was twenty-seven.

"That's different," I said.

"Why?" he asked. "Because I'm a boy and she's a girl? It's the same thing."

"No, it's not," I said, shaking my head. "Girls mature faster than boys. Everybody knows that."

"I'm mature!" he protested, looking offended.

My eyebrows shot up.

"Well, I can be," he muttered.

"James," I said. "Even if age wasn't an issue, there's still the fact that I doubt Anna would ever be able to trust you. I mean, let's face it, you haven't really ever been the monogamous type."

"I could be," he said. "If I found the right person."

"And you think she's the right person?" I asked.

He nodded fervently. "Yes, I do."

I sighed. "James, even if you're serious about this, I really can't see her giving you a chance. She had her heart broken a long time ago and I don't think she's ever really recovered. I've heard the way she talks about men. She honestly doesn't trust them."

"It was the stable boy who broke her heart, right?"

"When she was sixteen," I added, nodding.

"I don't get it," he said. "She was miles above him on the social ladder. It's a miracle she even gave him the time of day. How was it that he was the one who broke her heart?"

"Obviously I wasn't around then," I said. "But from what I've heard, they fell in love and planned to run away together and get married in secret. She knew that none of her family would approve of the match. But the night that they planned to leave, she went to meet him and he wasn't there. Instead all she found was a note from him. He said that he didn't want to damage her reputation by running away with her and that marrying him would only ruin her life. She found out the next day that he quit his job and left without her."

"That's certainly sad," James said. "But I don't see how it's made her so untrusting of all men. It sounds like he did it out of love."

"Well, the thing is," I continued, "it turns out that all those things he had written in his note weren't exactly true. Apparently he had met someone else. They got married a few months later."

"Oh," James said quietly. "I see."

"If you want to win her heart, you're going to have to prove yourself," I said. "And it's not going to be easy." I patted his arm. "But you're a charming kid, James. So if anyone can pull it off, you can."

He nodded, looking thoughtful.

"But promise me one thing," I said.

"What?"

"Don't hurt her," I said. "If you break her heart, I doubt she'll ever recover. If she chooses you, you have to promise you'll be faithful."

"I can be," he said. "I promise. Edmund and I may be a lot alike, but we're not the same person."

It took me a moment to completely register what he meant by that last statement. But once it had, my mouth dropped open in shock. It was the first time I had ever heard him—or anyone that wasn't Sarah, Anna, or Henry— so blatantly address Edmund's infidelity.

"Oh…I, er…" I stammered. "That's…that's good to hear."

"Ella," he said, taking my hand. "My cousin's an idiot. I hope you know that you deserve better. So much better."

"Wait," I said, confused. "How did you know that I knew about all that?"

"I saw you," he replied. "On your birthday. You came back into the ballroom and you looked like you were on the verge of tears. Then you rushed upstairs. I had seen Edmund and that girl sneak away through the doors you had just come through. It wasn't hard to put two and two together."

I bit my lip, feeling a bit like I was on the verge of tears right now.

"I doubt it will make you feel any better," James said, "but you should know that he really does feel bad afterwards every time it happens."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Every time it happens?" I repeated. "How often is that?"

"That was a poor choice of words," he replied. "It's not like he constantly has another woman on the side or anything. It's more like he just slips up every once in a while."

"That doesn't really make me feel any better."

"Understandable," he said with a sigh. "But like I said, he's an ass and you deserve better." He paused. When I didn't reply, sighed again. "Ella, did you hear me?"

"Yes," I murmured. "I heard you. But what do you want me to say?"

"I don't know," he said. "I really don't."

So what do you guys think will happen next?