Chapter Seventeen, Dawn

The family dinner was going marginally better than Anzu could have expected. Her father, the perfect caricature of a gentleman, had been civil to Bakura while her mother had launched into questions regarding their townhome, decorations, why they had not hosted any parties, and other inane things that were clearly being used as a means to divert her father's attention on the couple. For that, Anzu was grateful.

Otogi, for his part, had remained absent for the family dinner, and had been absent each time that they had met her parents. This had not seemed unusual to Bakura, who had not even noticed her brother's absence except to remark the first night, "Nice to not be called a demon after dinner for once." Anzu, however, knew her brother's routine better than anyone else and suspected that he was purposely avoiding them for a reason beyond not wanting to be in Bakura's company.

After that night's dinner when they were stepping away from her parent's home, she cast a look behind her towards the carriage house. Her brother's carriage was still missing. She glanced to Bakura, who looked particularly at ease after navigating yet another collection of trap questions from her father regarding propriety and a husband's oath to one's family. The first night, the questions came less quickly, but now that her mother was ramping up her attempts at pushing off the conversation, her father seemed more intent upon directing the questions towards him.

She knew that her brother was avoiding her for some unknown reason and, in her typical manner, she wanted to face the problem head on. She could sneak off once she got home, but did not want to arouse Bakura's suspicions. They had been on stable footing ever since they had arrived back in town. She had discontinued her discussions regarding divorce and they had not notified anyone outside of her family that they had returned to town. The plan, they had decided, was to avoid further scandal, and to smooth over any gossip. Remaining far from Malik was the best way she could do that from her end and once they returned to the ballrooms, she hoped that the gossipers and Bakura alike would not think that she had any interest in the Ishtar beyond that of family friend.

If she snuck away tonight, however, she feared that Bakura's mind would go down a road that would not only put him in a foul mood, but end up in his possessive side getting the better of him and turning into a fight.

Resigned, she said as they stepped up to the carriage, "I want to make a detour on our way home if that's alright."

"Where to?" Bakura asked, raising an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that you wanted to make any social calls."

To the driver, she gave an address and then stepped into the carriage with Bakura following close behind. "Otogi's been avoiding us since we got back into town," she explained as he leaned back in the seat opposite her, casting her a suspicious glance. The address she had provided was one of the hells that Otogi frequented near Malik's own establishment. "I even wrote him to invite him over. It's not like him. I wrote to Yami, asking him if he had heard from him and Yami said that he had been by that day, yet Otogi won't even reply to me. It's not like him. We've been close since we were children – he would never purposely ignore me like this."

"So, what are you planning to do? Walk into one of his hells?"

"I've done it before," she replied, raising her chin a notch as if daring him to argue.

"Yes, and look where you ended up," he drawled, gesturing towards her. "Married to a rakehell."

"Oh, shut up. That's hardly the end of the world." Bakura's amused, dry smile made it clear he thought otherwise. She extended her index finger and stabbed it into her thigh a few times meaningfully. "There's something going on here and I want to know what it is. Otogi has made it clear he doesn't like you, but he likes the idea of me divorcing and marrying Malik even less – he would have no reason to say anything to my father. But if he let something slip on accident and it's his fault that father is acting this way, it would give reason for why he won't see me."

"That's a stretch." Bakura tapped his fingers on his knee and then shrugged. "But you're right, he isn't one to avoid your letters and dinners. He usually enjoys being annoying to me."

"Exactly!" She beamed at him. "Besides, it would almost be good for us to be seen together in a hell. Solidarity, and all that."

"You're digging a hole," he told her mildly.

When the carriage stopped and they stepped out of the carriage, Anzu scanned the lines of carriages and frowned. She could not see her brother's carriage in the line of men waiting for their lords to return from their gambling. She did, however, recognize one of the carriages. "I don't see Otogi's carriage here, but we should look anyway." Bakura nodded his assent and followed her inside the gaming hell.

She readjusted her cloak around her evening gown, taking note of the garish clothing of some of the women in the establishment. It was easy to spot the wealthier clients at the tables with their well-cut topcoats and cravats. A few older men had come in with top hats and had removed them, worrying them in their hands until someone yelled at one, violently shaking the hat to see if he had been hiding cards in it. When it was promptly stomped, a tussle began between one of the younger, wealthier clients and the one who had stomped on the top hat.

"They wouldn't have that problem if they just banned hats altogether," Bakura commented as they observed the fight from afar.

"Is that how it is at yours?" she asked curiously.

"Reticules, hats – anything you can hide cards in, really, aren't allowed. People still manage to do it with their cuffs, but it's harder to hide." He turned away from the fight, ushering for her to follow as they continued through to the second room. "Weighted dice are also popular, but easy to spot."

In the next room, the room was more diverse and there were less wealthier clients here. The majority of the clients looked rough, some sweating at the tables nervously. It was clear these men were trying to make their fortune at the tables. At one table, Anzu recognized the male whose carriage was out front. Approaching the table, she scanned the room and then greeted, "How is your game going, Yami?"

Yami started in surprise, turning in alarm upon hearing Anzu's voice. Once he took note of Bakura standing near her, he relaxed and flashed a charming smile. "Bringing your wife to the hells now, Bakura? How very romantic."

"More like she's bringing me," Bakura replied casually. "I have my own to play in if I wanted to."

"Good point," Yami agreed and then played a card when it became his turn. Returning back to them, he asked, "Then what are you two doing out here? This isn't usually your scene."

"I was looking for Otogi," Anzu said. "Has he been by?"

"An hour ago, actually, but he's gone on to Malik's hell, I think is what he was mentioning. He said he had to meet up with him. He rushed off so fast, though, I barely caught what he said."

"Malik?" Anzu repeated, eyes widening in surprise. Yami had turned back to the table, however, and was frowning at the cards on the table. She looked to Bakura in question, but his eyes had narrowed and he was watching the table with a sudden intense look.

Abruptly, Bakura tapped Yami on the shoulder with the back of his hand and said, "Fold. That one's cheating." He nodded over to one of the men, who cast Bakura a venomous glare. The dealer, however, had raised his hand before Yami could fold and two men appeared behind him. There was a brief outburst as the man denied cheating, but once he stood up a few cards fell out from beneath him where he had hidden them underneath his thighs.

They watched as the man was escorted off and the man's winnings were placed back into the pool. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Yami contemplated his cards again and then made a play before turning and smiling up at Bakura. "You're quite the cutthroat, Bakura."

"It pays to be in the business."

He laughed and then continued to Anzu, "Anyway, yes, he went over to Malik's gaming hell. He should still be there. He said he was planning to play a few games."

Anzu thanked Yami and the two of them left back the way they had entered, Anzu's mind troubled by the information. Once they were outside, Bakura took her elbow and guided her away from the entrance towards the side where foot traffic was not so heavy. "Well?" he prompted, folding his arms over his chest. "Are you wanting to go to Malik's now or wait?"

She rubbed her hands together, warming them in the cool night air, peering towards the street that was filled with carriages and hackneys to and from their destination. They would be sure to run into Malik or Marik if they tried to seek her brother out at the gaming hell. Before, this would not have been a problem, but Anzu had stressed to Bakura that she felt that they should avoid the Ishtar brothers until necessary. Given her last conversation with Malik, she had a feeling that Malik was playing some sort of game with Bakura and she did not want to unintentionally play into his hands. Bakura had already expressed that he was sure Malik had some scheme going on and was more than happy to agree to those terms.

Even though Malik had helped her in the past, she had begun to wonder if she had simply assisted him in his own designs and had made it out as if it were her own idea. Now that they were back in town, she wanted to recreate hers and Bakura's marriage in the eyes of Society. She wanted everyone to see what she saw in her marriage, even if she was the only one with deep feelings invested in it. As a result, they would need to deceive Malik and Marik in the process, even for a short time while they smoothed over things with the gossip and her father.

"I'll try to get him at his club tomorrow," she said at last. "I don't think it'd be a good idea to run into Malik yet. He isn't even aware that we're in town yet unless my brother told him."

"He hasn't reached out to me yet and neither has Marik," Bakura confirmed.

"But it is weird...what could Otogi possibly have to talk to Malik about?"

"Frankly, I could care less." Bakura took her arm and propelled her towards their carriage as a fight broke out between one of the security members and the man that had been pulled from Yami's table. "With Otogi's financial senses, he's probably agreeing to a business deal with Malik. As long as it doesn't involve me, I don't need to know."

"Don't you handle Malik's finances for him, though?" she queried as he handed her into the carriage and followed close behind her, knocking on the top of the carriage.

"For debt collection, yes, and that's how I plan to keep it."

Bakura had been waiting for when Anzu's father would approach him on his own time. While they had been back from town for a month and had gone to several dinners, Hathaway had made it clear that he was no more comfortable with their marriage than he had been when they had been in the country. As he stepped out of his club from checking the betting books to see if there had been a standing bet on his marriage - something that was incredibly common once marital issues came to light in Society - he saw Hathaway patiently standing near his carriage. He had been satisfied in learning that no bet had been placed yet, but upon seeing Hathaway, his mood took a distinct turn.

"Bakura," Hathaway greeted, "do you have a moment?"

"Even if I didn't, I have a feeling that I won't be getting out of this conversation," Bakura grunted irritably. Hathaway frowned, but did not deny the assessment. "I take it this has to do with Anzu?"

"As you know," Hathaway began in a quelling tone, "I had some misgivings regarding your marriage to my daughter. She seemed quite set on you as a husband, however, so I gave my approval against my better judgement. Her mother also vouched for her and you and has defended you as far as she can. I cannot, however, ignore the type of scandal you have brought her into. It is easy to ignore gossipmongers in the tabloids, but when people are coming up to me directly and telling me about the type of things you have gotten up to with my daughter – well, my suspicions are confirmed."

"And just who were the ones who came to you with that information?"

"Several people of pristine reputation."

Pristine reputation my ass, Bakura thought to himself.

"As a female," Hathaway continued, "Anzu is unable to apply for a divorce or annulment, but you are more than capable of doing so. With her reputation in tatters, she may not be able to marry now, but you would be able to provide her with a comfortable endowment, I'm sure. It is the right thing to do."

"An annulment isn't an option," Bakura told him coolly, a razor-sharp smile lighting his features. Hathaway's cheeks flamed in outrage at the insinuation and before he could voice such outrage, Bakura continued, "And I am not granting a divorce."

"Do remember that, as her father, I have the right to withdraw my approval and force a divorce by the law."

There was a long silence and Bakura stared at him for a moment, weighing his options. He could simply ignore Hathaway and see what he would do, though that seemed incredibly risky given how serious the man appeared to be. He would not have threatened it if he did not feel that his daughter was truly in a dangerous marriage environment. He knew so little of marriage law, but had heard of fathers enacting this in desperate situations when their daughters had ended up with fortune-hunters and very few men had felt the need to fight it in a court.

The idea of a life without Anzu made his blood run cold.

Both of them had thought they could smooth over the situation with simply returning to town and cleaning up their reputation. He doubted even Anzu would have thought her father would go to such lengths to end their marriage. Imagining walking into the townhome without her there or going to social events without her made him feel incredibly empty inside.

"Is that your threat, then?" Bakura asked at last in a deceptively calm tone.

"It is no threat."

"Then neither is this – I'll see you at dawn."

Hathaway gawked at him in disbelief. "You...you cannot call her father out to a duel!"

"Would you rather I settle this the way I did with Jounouchi and use my fists?" Bakura suggested, raising an eyebrow. "Or would you prefer to settle this as gentleman?"

"I won't settle a marriage dispute with a duel!" Hathaway blustered angrily. "As her father – "

"As her husband," Bakura interrupted sharply, "I have as much right as you do and she has more say in this than either of us. It's not up to you to decide who she chooses to marry or whether she wishes to remain in her marriage."

Hathaway straightened, glaring at him. "We'll see about that."

"Then I'll see you at dawn." Bakura ignored whatever else Hathaway had begun to say, stepping into his carriage and shutting the door promptly in his face. Inside, he fumed and contemplated all of his options once again. It was not common to call out one's father-in-law, but was preferable to what he wanted to do to the man, which was ring his arrogant neck. He reached up to push his hair from his face and paused, noticing that his hand was shaking. Clenching a fist, he lowered it and then pushed the curtain aside from the window, glaring out at the city that swung by as his carriage joined the others on the cobbled streets.

Marik is my seconds, he thought, so I'll have no choice but to tell him that I'm in town now. On top of that, I'm going to have to tell Anzu that I called her father out for a duel. He almost groaned aloud. What the hell am I going to tell her? It's easy to dismiss everything with other man as simply being possessive – it's a lot harder to explain why I'm so dead set on staying married.

He undid the coach trap on the ceiling, calling out, "Take me to the Pleasure Pavilions." The coachman made a sound of confirmation and Bakura closed the trap, leaning back in the seat and releasing a long sigh. So much for remaining out of sight.

As soon as he entered the Pleasure Pavilions, he noticed that business had returned to its previous luster during his time out in the country. Walking into the office, he nearly ran head first into a voluptuous redhead that gave him a coquettish smile as soon as she recognized him. "You're in my way," he snapped. Her red-lipped pout instantly fell and she stumbled out of his path into the corridor outside the office. He shut the door behind him, locking it, and turned to face Marik, who was tying his cravat. He had clearly just enjoyed an afternoon break with the redhead that had just left.

"I would have thought you'd be in a better mood when you got back," Marik commented lazily, smoothing his cravat down and then pulling his topcoat on.

"I was," Bakura grumbled and then moved to the sideboard, taking the decanter of whiskey and pouring a generous amount into a glass. "I have a dawn appointment."

"Already?" Marik questioned, raising his eyebrows. "With who? Otogi again? Or the blonde that beat the shit out of you?"

"Anzu's father."

There was a pause in which Marik stilled, looking at him in clear surprise. "Her father?" he repeated and then broke into laughter. "Are you planning to end up in a duel with every man in her family, Bakura?"

"I haven't been the one starting these goddamn conflicts," Bakura told him pointedly as he took a drink of whiskey. "He's trying to force me to divorce her because of some obscure law that gives the father of the bride that power. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Divorce her and take her as a lover?" Marik suggested.

Bakura frowned, considering it, and then immediately dismissing it. Lovers lived in different homes and he had to sneak up to bedroom windows. He didn't want a lover. He wanted her in his home, as his wife. "No. That's not possible."

"Why not? It amounts to the same thing."

"It's completely different! I'm too damn old for sneaking around behind protective father's backs and I'm not interested in getting a divorce."

Marik went quiet, leaning against the desk and eyeing the toes of his gleaming, polished Hessians thoughtfully. After a moment, he shrugged and said, "Different or not, you still have the problem of explaining to your beautiful wife why she's either going to be a widow or without a father. I wonder how good of a shot her father is."

"Seeing as how offended he looked, I'm hoping he's never been in a duel in his life."

"I doubt Anzu is going to take it lying down that you two ended up in a duel."

Bakura's eyes dropped to his glass, recalling the last time he had gotten involved in a duel with Otogi. She had showed up and could have gotten herself killed with how she had put herself in the middle of them. With Hathaway's temperament as it was, Bakura did not trust Anzu to be there and her father accidentally shoot her rather than Bakura. Women were not supposed to be present at duels, anyway, but he knew she would insist on either being present or talking with her father at the very least.

"It's not assured that either of us will die," Bakura told him, "and it's something I would prefer for her not to know until after the fact."

"So that she can kill you when you tell her then?" Marik cackled.

"She's going to be pissed either way." Bakura drank the last of his whiskey and set the glass aside. "It's better this way."

Anzu frowned at the note that Bakura had sent to her from the Pleasure Pavilions. "I have some business to take care of with Marik – will be back late." She continued to stare at it, seated as she was in the sitting room. She had gone to Otogi's club that morning, but when she had inquired after him, he had not been there or at any of the gaming hells that she had rode by or at her parents. She guessed that he had either stayed overnight with a woman or was at one of his friend's homes. She had run out of time to do any further searching because she had wanted to be home by the time Bakura returned from his own business inquiries. Instead, she had come home to the note from him.

It was past sundown now and while she was disappointed to be eating alone that night, she had a distinctly uneasy feeling in her gut that told her something was off about this message.

It's not like him, she decided, setting the note to the side for the millionth time and trying to focus on the book she had been pretending to read. He never told me that he would be meeting with Marik, let alone making it known we were back in town. He would have said something to me.

She lowered the book again and glanced at the note.

Maybe I'll just check up on him at the Pavilions – make sure everything's alright and nothing's happened.

Setting the book aside, she picked up the note, tucking it in her reticule, and hurried to get her cloak. Rather than having the second carriage drawn around, she left the townhome and hailed a hackney. After giving the address to the hackney, she chewed absent-mindedly on her bottom lip. She could not explain the feeling of discomfort in her stomach after seeing the note and while it could be nothing at all, she wanted to make sure.

It took her some time to make her way through the crowds of people in the Pleasure Pavilions, but as soon as she found the office, she knocked briskly and then entered. Inside, Bakura was not present, but Marik was at the desk, perusing through a ledger. He smiled as soon as she entered, saying, "Look who it is. I'm not surprised to see you poking your nose in here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, bristling.

He rolled his eyes, dropping the ledger on the table and standing up from behind the desk. "That Bakura underestimates his own woman. I suppose you're looking for him?"

"Is he not here? He said he was going to be with you."

"Not until later," Marik said distractedly, checking his pocket watch. "He probably went to get the set of pistols."

"Pistols?" she repeated, her jaw dropping. "What does he need that for?"

"A duel," he answered patiently, tucking his pocket watch back into his pocket. "If you're wanting a front row seat, you'll have to ride with me."

"I don't want any type of seat! Why didn't he tell me?"

Marik seemed to consider the question before shrugging. "Because he's Bakura."

"This is ridiculous," she muttered, beginning to pace the room angrily. "We're supposed to be keeping our heads down and not stir up more stories! Him doing a dawn appointment isn't exactly keeping his head low." She rubbed her forehead, pausing in her pacing. She had thought her only problem for the week would be trying to find her brother and now this duel had to spring up. "It wasn't with Otogi, was it?"

"No, he's in one of the gambling halls here. He just came in a bit ago."

Anzu blinked, surprised. "What? He is?"

Marik raised his eyebrows. "Let me guess...you want me to take you to him." He released a long-suffering sigh and tucked his hands in his pockets, stepping towards her. "Come on, woman."

Without a word, Anzu followed Marik out of the office and across the Pavilions to a round, glittering gambling hall. As they walked in, she had to admit that he and Bakura had outdone themselves in decorating the Pavilions. It certainly held a sense of grandeur that was not often seen in these types of establishments. She spotted her brother immediately, smiling and chatting animatedly with a blonde woman that resembled one of the demimonde. She at first thought it was Mai, the same woman from the theatre, but upon closer inspection, she was not as pretty and her clothing less fine.

As they approached, Otogi caught sight of Marik, still smiling, and then froze upon seeing his sister. Noticing the drain of colour from his face, she instantly narrowed her eyes into a glare towards him. She half expected him to try and scramble from the table, but between the table dealer and Marik, it was apparent he would not get too far.

After he had folded his cards and was collecting his winnings, he tried to slide sideways past them, but Marik caught hold of his shoulder and thrust him backwards with a cheerful smile. "Trying to sneak away so fast, Otogi? Usually you're at the tables longer."

"No, not at all," Otogi mumbled, avoiding Anzu's eyes that were boring holes into him. He straightened his topcoat that Marik had ruffled and straightened his spine, adding, "Just know when to take my winnings and move on is all."

"Funny how you conveniently have managed to learn that lesson all of a sudden," Anzu remarked, planting a hand on her hip and grabbing the lapels of Otogi's coat, dragging him away from the table. "We've got some talking to do, brother."

Forcefully pulling Otogi out of the gaming hell with Marik trailing them, watching Otogi attempt unsuccessfully several times to wrench himself free, Anzu broke out into the cool air and released him, glaring up into his face. "You could have just asked!" he protested, smoothing his lapels down fretfully.

"Sure about that? Because it seems like you've forgotten how to talk to me since I got back from town!"

Otogi grimaced, glancing at Marik uncomfortably. When it was clear that Marik had no intention of leaving them, smiling in a patronizing way, he turned back to his sister, hunched his shoulders slightly. "Listen," he said in a lowered voice, "I have my reasons."

"Which are?"

"Where's Bakura?" Otogi asked nervously, glancing again at Marik and then around.

"He's getting ready for a dawn appointment with your father," Marik replied, ignoring the horrified stare the siblings cast towards him. "Go on. You were saying?"

"My father?" Anzu bleated, her face now ashen. Otogi groaned in misery and then lowered his face to his hands. Swinging around towards her brother, she hissed, "What did you do?"

"Don't put this on me!" Otogi said defensively and then thrust a finger towards Marik. "It's his damn brother that's started this whole mess."

"What Malik gets up to has nothing to do with me," Marik said in a bored tone.

"You had better start explaining before I box your ears, Otogi!" Anzu warned, raising a fist threateningly.

"I am, I am!" He waved a hand to ward off her fists. "Malik came to me awhile back before you went to the country and said that he was planning to let loose some information to our father regarding some of the gossip that was happening. It seems that father was concerned some of it was just gossip, so Malik was going to make sure he knew that it wasn't and stir the pot a bit. He offered to let me do it since he felt that it would come off as less inflammatory from me, so I talked to father a bit and said that I had seen the ballroom scene with Jounouchi and that a few of the other things could be verified."

"What in the world would you do that for?" she exploded, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "What purpose does that even serve?"

"Give me a break, Anzu!" He scowled at her. "It wasn't directed at you, it was just to put some pressure on Bakura. You even said yourself he was acting like an ass. I just expected father would get a little riled up, maybe preach to Bakura some, and force him to act more responsibly and treat you better. I didn't think he was going to end up in a duel with him!"

"This is the worst possible scenario that you could get Bakura into!"

"To be fair, he got himself into it," Marik inserted helpfully. "He was the one that called your father out, not the other way around."

Once again, the siblings had turned to stare at him, this time with clear confusion. Anzu raised her hand to head, rubbing her temple where an insistent pounding had begun. If her father was going to show up, then he would go through with the duel unless somebody stopped it. She ran through all the possibilities from calling Scotland Yard to forcing Marik to persuade Bakura out of the duel. Obviously, her father had said something to trigger Bakura to respond in such a way otherwise he would have let it be.

If father tried to force Bakura into a divorce, it might have spurred him to act, Anzu thought. Bakura hates to be forced into anything anyway and given how little he liked the idea of a divorce when I brought it up, it would set him off immediately.

Even if that were that case, however, Anzu could not think of an easy solution in resolving it before a duel did break out. Bakura, hard-headed as he was, would feel the need to put her father in his place and prevent him from meddling in his business. Her father, she was sure, would be just as stubborn, though for reasons revolving around honor and societal expectations.

"Can you take us with you?" Otogi spoke up in the midst of Anzu's frenzied thoughts.

"What for?" Marik asked with an arched brow. "Reasoning with Bakura is out of the question – she's not even supposed to know that this is happening."

"He should be used to Anzu finding things out by now."

Marik checked his pocket watch again, saying, "Well, then we had better get going now. It's going to take us some time to get to the other end of town, especially in this crush." He gestured towards the groups of people that were mingling in the Pavilions.

The three set off towards the edge of the Pavilions where Marik's carriage was located. After the carriage had started forward, Anzu fidgeted in her seat with nervous energy. Her father had never seemed to her to be the type to keep a dawn appointment, much less with his son-in-law. She could not imagine what Bakura would have said to her father that would make him keep such an appointment, though it did make more sense now why Bakura had chosen to remain from home that day. If he had become annoyed enough to call her father out, then he most certainly would have been agitated at home and she would known picked up on it instantly.

Not that him staying away helped him, she thought, flicking the curtain back and despairing at the jam of carriages in the street.

"What are you planning to do when we get there, anyway, Mazaki?" Marik drawled languidly to Otogi, the only one in the carriage that seemed completely at ease.

"I'm not sure," Otogi admitted, his brow puckered in worry. "Talk to my father, for one thing. Clearly the little I told him has made him react without thinking. Usually our father is a lot more level-headed than this."

"He might not even show up."

"If we're lucky," Otogi muttered.

"Since that's a possibility, I think it would be best for you two to remain out of sight until Hathaway does arrive. And Anzu should stay out of sight entirely. Neither your nor Bakura were happy when she showed up at yours and his duel."

"Fine," Anzu agreed shortly, stirring from her thoughts, "but what happens if we don't get there in time? These carriages are barely moving!"

"We have plenty of time." Marik consulted his watch for a third time and, satisfied, he added, "It's not as if Bakura will start the fun without me."

"You're sadistic," Otogi said in disgust.

"As if you're one to talk. You end up in as many duels as I do."

It was some time later that they arrived at the park on the other side of town. It looked deceptively quiet and empty, dark from the lack of lamp posts within the park. Stepping out behind Marik, Anzu looked around anxiously, but there was no sign of either her father or Bakura on the edge of the park. As Otogi climbed out and the door was closed behind him, Marik said, "They'll be meeting further into the park. You two will have to find cover once I say so and be quiet otherwise they'll hear you."

"It's fucking cold out here," Otogi muttered as they followed Marik into the park. It was clear that neither she nor Otogi had prepared for an outdoor excursion, with her dressed only in a simple walking gown and fur cloak and Otogi with only a great coat as protection against the bitter London winter. Marik, with his fur-trimmed great coat and leather gloves, looked quite cozy.

With the ground frozen and bare of any leaves, it was easy to walk silently through the park. It took some time for their eyes to adjust, as Marik had insisted on not bringing a lantern since it would give away their presence. After nearly twenty minutes of walking, they spotted two lanterns in the distance. "There they are," Marik said in a soft voice. "You two go on and find a place to hide. I'll meet with Bakura."

Anzu hesitated, wanting to follow Marik, but Otogi insistently tugged at her to follow. The pair broke away from Marik and he let them get ahead before continuing forward. They found a large tree that overlooked where Hathaway and Bakura were standing several feet across from each other. Unlike Bakura, Hathaway appeared to have no seconds and was standing by himself, looking grim. Behind the cover of the tree, Anzu shivered and rubbed her hands beneath her cloak in an attempt to stay warm. Beside her, she could feel Otogi shivering from the dropping temperatures.

"About damn time," Bakura said to Marik when he spotted him. "What took you so long?"

"Traffic," Marik answered without pause. He turned a curious gaze to Hathaway. "No seconds?"

"I have no need," Hathaway said in a flinty voice. He raised his hand, pistol in hand. "I don't miss."

"Cocky, aren't you?"

Ignoring Marik's taunt, he turned to Bakura, saying, "If I win – and hit any place on your body and his – then you will agree to my terms. A duel is intended to protect one's honor."

Otogi straightened beside Anzu, whispering, "I'm going to try to talk to father before this gets out of hand. Remember what Marik said – stay here." Anzu nodded mutely, watching as Otogi hurried across the spare feet, calling, "Father! Stop!"

"Otogi? What are you doing here?" He sent an accusing glare towards Bakura and Marik, neither of whom acknowledged the stare. Bakura was frowning at Otogi and had turned his gaze towards where Otogi had appeared in the darkness. Anzu, pressed against the tree, feared for a moment that he could see her pale face in the shadows. Given his expression, it did not appear he had, and he looked away, allowing her to breathe easier.

"This is madness," Otogi said to Hathaway. "We have no right to get involved in Anzu's personal affairs. I told you so that you would stop cursing at the gossip columnists – not so you would go out of your way to try and kill her husband!"

"You have said yourself that he is a poor match for Anzu."

"Yes, but I'm her brother. I'm going to think that about anyone and so will you!"

"I'm gratified to know that you care so much about your sister's well-being," Hathaway said to him with a hint of surprise, "but I will not back down when I am challenged. Now, please step aside, son. This will not take long." Otogi hesitated on the threshold, looking to the other two men in dismay. "Otogi! Do as I say."

"Yes...Of course, father," he muttered, stepping back from his father so he was standing behind him. He looked into the darkness towards Anzu imploringly, spreading his hands out helplessly. Bakura's eyes had followed Otogi's and they narrowed into slits of suspicion, though he was not given a chance to speak up before Hathaway brought his attention back to the matter at hand.

"On my ready, Bakura."

I have to do something before this gets any further! Anzu thought wildly. As though in slow motion, she saw her father's arm raise, pistol pointed towards Bakura's chest. Lifting her skirts, she broke into a run, barreling towards her father. As her shoulder collided into his, she heard an explosion of sound as his pistol went off, causing her ears to ring painfully and then his cry of alarm as they went crashing into the frozen ground. Her shoulder stung from throwing all of her weight into her father who was a good deal more solid than her and her ankle had wrenched painfully when she had gone down. Scrambling off the ground, she sucked in a breath when she looked over and saw Marik kneeling over Bakura.

"No!" she gasped and with an effort, dragged herself to her feet and attempted to limp with her sprained ankle over to Bakura's fallen body. "No, no!"

"Anzu – " Marik began, but she had already whipped around and started back towards her father.

"Why would you do that?!" she cried, tears gathering in her eyes as she gestured towards Bakura's prone form. "Why did it matter so much to you who I loved?"

"Fucking hell," Bakura's strangled voice came from behind her, causing her to freeze. "I think that hit my bone."

Anzu turned, breath caught in her throat, to see Bakura struggling to an elbow, clasping his bloodied shoulder. The bullet had clearly torn through the top of his shoulder where blood was flowing freely. He looked a good deal paler in the face, a testament to how much pain he was in. He was, however, quite alive and the wave of relief that crashed into Anzu caused her to sink to her knees, sobbing freely into her hands. Marik had a wry expression on his face as he steadied Bakura with a hand on his back, as if this was a commonplace event for him.

"Come on," Otogi murmured from behind her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "It's alright. He's alive."

"You should know better than to bring your sister to these types of things," Hathaway scolded angrily, having gotten to his feet, wincing somewhat.

"It's her life, father, I think she should have a say in it," Otogi shot back irritably.

"Could you both stop bickering," Bakura snapped between gritted teeth, "and fucking help her stop crying, since I'm occupied by bleeding over here?"

This was enough to cause the two men to go silent, though not without a withering stare from Hathaway. As Marik made a makeshift bandage from his own topcoat, tightly winding it around Bakura's shoulder, Otogi helped Anzu to her feet where she pressed her face into her brother's chest, tears still leaking out of her eyes. For the briefest of moments, she had been in a world where Bakura hadn't existed and it had felt too brief of a time with him, too horrifying to imagine. The relief of hearing Bakura alive, albeit grumpy from pain, had been staggering.

Hathaway walked over to Anzu and pulled his thick cloak off, wrapping it around her and Otogi, both of whom were shivering from the intense cold. "I don't know how I raised such rebellious children," he sighed.

"You could stop giving us a reason to rebel," Otogi suggested moodily.

"And you could stop giving me reasons to cut your allowance," Hathaway told him warningly.

This forced Otogi into silence and after Marik had gotten Bakura to his feet with his coat bandage in place, he suggested they leave before Scotland Yard came to investigate. The group quietly walked back towards the carriages at a slow pace due to Anzu's sprained ankle and Bakura's wounded shoulder. By the time Marik had gotten Bakura into his carriage, it was clear that the pain was overwhelming him and he was about to black out. "I'm going to get him to a doctor to stitch that up," Marik said, "but I'll have him home soon." He smiled at Anzu, winking at her. "See you in a bit."

"You should probably see a doctor, too, Anzu," Otogi suggested dubiously, looking towards her ankle.

"It's fine," she dismissed, giving a weak smile. "I just want to go home, to be honest."

"Well, let's take Bakura's carriage, then. I'll stay over tonight with you."

"Father?" Anzu said tentatively, turning from Otogi and handing the cloak back to him. "Are you...?"

"I don't like it, Anzu," he told her seriously, "but I can see that there's nothing I can do to sway your feelings." He reached out and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. "I don't need to see more bullet wounds and sprained ankles. I'm a little too old for this much excitement. Just take care of yourself and let me or your brother know if you've changed your mind."

She smiled and reached up to hug him. "Thank you...but I won't."

Epilogue

Bakura remained with Marik rather than coming home while he was healing, as the doctor said that he needed a "less stressful environment." Marik took this to mean that he didn't need to get involved in any more domestic disputes and as such took it on himself to house Bakura until he was able to move his arm without passing out from the pain. Anzu's own ankle injury was easily remedied with a cold compress, some herbs, and a good deal of rest. She knew that Bakura had returned home when she heard a flurry of activity in the foyer far from the day room where she was situated with her ankle propped up on a pillow. There was the excited conversation of servants that quieted moments later.

Smiling, Anzu set down her book and said, "Welcome home," as Bakura opened the door to the day room.

"Here you are," he said with satisfaction. "I'm gone for a week and you'd think my servants forgot what I looked like."

"How is your shoulder?"

"It hurts like hell," he grumbled, "but it's better than it was before, so I can't complain much." He moved to sit next to her on the day bed she was lounging on, resting his hand on her ankle. Bakura's eyes inspected it as his fingers closed around it, taking note of the bruising that was now fading. The swelling had gone down for the most part and she had only a trace bit of tenderness when still walking. "You have a terrible habit of putting your nose into other people's business, you know."

"As you liked to remind me, that's how I ended up with you as a husband," Anzu replied tartly.

That night, the two of them attended a private party of Isis's that she had thrown together to celebrate, what she told Anzu, "good health" before one of her soirees.

"I was sorry to miss all the excitement," Malik said to Anzu with a smile when she had broken away from the others. Malik had been lounging near the window like a feline, seemingly content with watching the party from afar. "Especially considering it was from my own design. I seem to have miscalculated that bit. I thought Hathaway would react a lot less violently to Otogi talking with him. It does seem to have you helped yours and Bakura's relationship, though. It looks like he won't be going anywhere anytime soon. You're welcome."

"Yes, thanks for that," Anzu said sarcastically, sweeping a hand towards her feet. "Because of you, I ended up with a swollen ankle and a disabled husband."

"Temporarily disabled," he corrected with another flash of his too-handsome smile. "He'll be back in your bed in no time, no fear."

"That's not even what I was thinking!" she protested. "And besides, that wasn't your only scheming that you were doing. You might as well fess up to the nasty letter you had your sister send because now that this all came out, I'm not convinced it was from her at all!"

Malik raised his eyebrows, a puzzled expression crossing his features. "Letter?" he repeated blankly as Marik walked up to them, drinking from a glass of brandy. "You have the advantage of me here, Anzu. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Isis sent me a letter before we went to the country, telling me that she wouldn't accept me as your wife if I chose to divorce Bakura and marry you instead. It was really very insulting!"

While Malik continued to stare at her, baffled, Marik said, "Oh, that was me." They rounded on him in surprise, having not noticed him approach them. "I told Isis what to write and she sent it off."

"You?" Malik eyed his brother with a new light in his eyes. "What the hell were you up to?"

"I was getting bored with you involving yourself Bakura's affairs," Marik said with a shrug. "You were doing a sloppy job of it and depending too much on Anzu, so I took it in my own hands." He looked to Anzu, adding towards her, "That's why I sent the note to you, as well, from Bakura. I knew you'd come to the Pleasure Pavilions looking for me. He didn't want to send anything to you – said you'd think it was suspicious if he used me as an alibi, so he was just going to home late and blame it on business details." He flashed a sly smile. "I'm pretty good at forging his handwriting, aren't I?"

"I can't lie...that was pretty well-done," Malik admitted.

"Otogi was also there because of me. I told him prior about some special table games that were happening in the Pavilions because I had heard you were looking for him from Yami."

"But Yami was seeing Malik that night we went looking for them," Anzu said, frowning.

"Not me," Malik said with a shake of his head. "He probably misheard the name."

"He had started coming to the Pavilions instead of his usual haunts," Marik explained. "He came to me asking if I knew of some hells outside of the entertainment district and I told him to come to the Pavilion because Bakura was avoiding me at the moment. I figured I could use that to my advantage later and make some money while I was at it." He lifted his shoulder in a graceful shrug. "It was really quite easy. Malik just likes to overcomplicate things."

"I'm impressed," Anzu admitted with a rueful smile. "It's like we all played into your hands."

"That's usually how it goes," Bakura's familiar voice said behind her in a surly tone. "That's why I was purposely trying to keep you out of this entire affair."

"I stayed on the sidelines for the majority of it," Marik said with a grin.

Anzu laughed and took Bakura's arm, gently pulling him away before he could get into an argument. Leaving the two Ishtar brothers alone, they went near the billiards table where Yami and Otogi were playing against each other with Isis and Seto watching nearby. "You two look much better," Isis commented as Seto took Yami's place to play against the winner. "I'm glad that nobody died. I'm always terrified when these three get involved in dawn appointments and scandalous business deals."

"Seto never got called out when he started courting you, did he?" Yami said thoughtfully.

"No," she sighed, "but Marik certainly made our courtship a living hell. He seemed to think it was best for Seto to know what he was marrying into before the nuptials."

Once the other guests began to arrive, the others dispersed to join the soiree, leaving Anzu and Bakura alone in the sitting room. Anzu's ankle was still too tender to attempt any dancing or a long night of walking and Bakura's shoulder was still healing. Instead of opting to go home, Anzu sat at the edge of the divan, watching Bakura playing billiards by himself, wincing occasionally when he overextended his shoulder too much.

"You know," he said casually, "now that we're celebrating our 'healthy recovery' from that event according to Isis, I happen to remember certain words were said during that event." Anzu stiffened as he paused, smirking deviously up at her from his bent posture over his billiards stick. "What was it now? Something about who you loved?"

Anzu felt her cheeks flood with colour, but set her jaw stubbornly. She had forgotten what she had blurted out so passionately up until the next morning when her head was not so scrambled. She had lied in bed, horrified at having said it so openly. While she could hardly be concerned about a dead man knowing her feelings for him, she was now faced with a very obnoxious, living man that had every intention of throwing such words in her face.

In spite of the blush on her cheeks and the embarrassment at having herself reminded of her verbal declaration, she was rather glad to have the confession out in the open. The strain of trying to deny her feelings and smothering them in front of Bakura had been difficult and unbearable at times.

"And?" she said at last, raising her eyebrows. "What do you have to say about it?"

He chuckled, turning back to the table and taking a shot at one of the balls. Once one had gone into the pocket, he straightened, setting the stick against the table.

"It would seem," Bakura said deliberately, "that those feelings are reciprocated."

She blinked, caught off guard by the response and then smiled, acknowledge that he had no intention of saying more than that until she did. She reached out for him and he obligingly stepped towards her, bending his head down and meeting her lips halfway. "I'll accept that for now," she teased, "but eventually you're going to have to say it back. Maybe we can come to a compromise."

"Well, my dear," he said in his arrogant drawl, "as you know, I'm quite good at compromises."

Finis

A/N: And so ends another regency England story! This last chapter feels a little rushed out, but I honestly couldn't think of a better way to end it while still tying all the loose ends and keeping Bakura close to character. I'll admit, this will probably be my last one as far as fanfiction goes. I've written a lot of AU in the YuGiOh! fandom and I love it, but I'm happy to return to the original world now and do some more stories over there. For awhile there, when I went – what was it? Two years without updating on this story? – I was really afraid I was never going to complete this. But, as anyone who follows me knows, I hate to be that author that just never finishes anything, so I pushed through the writer's block and managed to get these last chapters out.

In any case, thanks to each and every one of you that followed, read, and/or reviewed the story throughout the years! It helped a lot seeing people leave reviews reminding me that people were still out here wanting an update and made me knock myself into gear so that I would finish this. I know it was a long time in coming and if there are those that ended up finding this story long after I've finished it because they remembered it or just checked out the story again – thanks for coming back and finishing it!

And, as always, be sure to keep an eye out for new stories that I post. Like I said, I won't be coming back to regency England stories in fanfiction, but might play with the idea of AU fairytale stories like The Fairest Lady. Otherwise, I have another vexshipping story up right now, Teach Me, and will be posting more one-shots in the YuGiOh! fandom.

Thanks for all your support and I'll see you all around soon! :)