[A/N: Thank you Joyce, GiW, L, Annie, and Guest for your reviews of "Through Thick and Thin"! I appreciate you guys taking the time to comment, and I'm glad you liked the story :) I hope everyone enjoys this story too!

It's back from Scotland for Eliza and William! They are two days into their return, and a busy couple, catching up with work and letting friends know about their status as newlyweds! And of course learning to live with each other… which, for the most part, goes smoothly, until William makes a purchase, a very large purchase…]

Mrs. Wellington and The Duke

Chapter 1

"Can I help ye lad?" William asked looking up from his papers. There was a boy standing at his door, holding a large stack of files. "Good day Sir, I have the latest reports of solved cases from the detectives." William blinked, "I dinnae understand. Why do you have them?" He asked confused. Ephram tried not to sigh, he correctly assumed that Detective Jeremy Hatfield had forgotten to tell William that he had hired him to be his secretary.

"I am your secretary Sir." Ephram explained. William looked startled, "Seriously lad? You're just a mere child!" Ephram tried to keep his expression neutral. "I am 17 Sir. And my name is Ephram Oakden, I'd appreciate you calling me by my name, not lad." Ephram wasn't sure if William was going to shout at him or not, he had heard the rumors about the Chief's infamous temper.

"Aye, apologies Ephram, I'm rather surprised is all. Come in, sit yourself down." William said. He belated remembered how he had felt when he was a teenager and people would call him a child and not take him seriously. Ephram stepped inside the office, put the files he was holding at the edge of William's desk, and sat in one of the chairs across from him.

"I've just returned from Scotland with Lizzie, errr… Miss Scarlet, I mean Mrs. Wellington, my wife." William said, realizing that this was the first time he had to use her married name with others, "I'm still catching up on everything I've missed here." He explained. Ephram tried to hide a smile, the men at the Yard still called her Miss Scarlet, they had told him that she used to "steal" cases from Duke before they were married. Ephram had thought it strange at first, that a woman would be working with the police, but after hearing the stories about her, and the way the men spoke of her with respect, he was curious to meet her.

"That's quite alright sir. Would you like me to bring you up to speed?" Ephram asked, pulling out a notebook from his pocket. "Oh. Certainly." William said, I could get used to this, he thought.

"Collin, please, stay in here, and don't move. Sit in this chair and…" Ephram looked around and grabbed a notebook off of the Chief's desk, "Look at this, and I'll be right back, okay?" Collin nodded, already flipping through the pages. Ephram sighed, He should be safe in here for now. He thought as he left the office, locking the door behind him.

William headed back to his office. It was his first day back at work, though he and Eliza had returned the day before last, they had both been too exhausted to do anything but sleep. He had spent the afternoon making his rounds, talking to his men, and mostly receiving felicitations on his marriage. He had planned on talking to John Mathews, his Superintendent, but he was in court, as a witness on a case he had had to handle in William's absence. William had hoped to have been the first to tell him about his marriage, but it was seeming unlikely, as all the men knew now, and he would probably find out rather quickly on his return the next day.

William hummed tunelessly as he neared his office, he was quite pleased at how Detective Jeremy Hatfield had handled everything in his absence. And his new secretary, Ephram, seemed incredibly promising, a bright young lad. He hadn't left him much to deal with, so William decided to enjoy the lull, knowing it wouldn't last more than a few hours, if even.

He had just reached his office door and tried the knob but it was locked, Odd, I don't usually lock it anymore. He thought distractedly, Perhaps Ephram locked it. I need to remember to tell him he doesn't have to.

William let himself in with his key and sat at his desk. He had just pulled out a file to review, a potential case to assign to Eliza, when he heard a tiny voice pipe up, "Hello!" it said. "Lord have mercy!" William said, startled half to death, "Where are you?" He asked, not seeing anybody. Did I develop hallucinations now? He wondered, slightly alarmed. "Here!" The disembodied voice called out.

William stood and headed over to the chair by the fireplace. He walked around to the front of it and raised an eyebrow. A young bespectacled boy, of about 5 years of age, was sitting in the chair and waved at him. William crouched down at the side of the chair, "Hello yourself. And who might you be? Are you lost?" He asked, curious as to how a child had gotten inside his locked office.

"I'm Collin! My brother told me to stay in here, and not move." He said this last part in a different tone of voice, as though impersonating someone older. William chuckled, "Ah, I see." He replied, even though he didn't quite understand what was going on. "I'm Will. And what do you have there?" William asked, pointing to the notebook in his lap, recognizing it as one of his financial registers. "Numbers! I think some are wrong though." His little face scrunched up in confusion. William's eyebrows practically shot into his hairline. I dinnae know children could do math at that age… William was flabbergasted.

"See, this number should be a 2!" Collin said pointing as he turned the notebook around to show William. William squinted at it and then looked up at Collin in surprise, "Aye, lad, I think you're right! Good work!" William said. Collin smiled, "Thank you! Can I show you more?" Collin asked.

Thirty minutes later…

William was back at his desk, with Collin sitting on his lap, they had the notebook in front of them, poring over the numbers. This child is a prodigy. There are quite a few mistakes in here. William thought, annoyed with the man who had done the accounting while he had been gone. William usually took care of the budget, and was very meticulous with the money. They were so engrossed, neither of them heard the door open.

Meanwhile…

Eliza walked through the hallway. The men all greeted her and welcomed her back as she headed to William's office. She thanked them all and stopped to talk to a few of them. "Ah, Miss Scarlet, a moment of your time? I'd like to introduce you to someone." Detective Hatfield said to her. "Certainly Detective Hatfield." She replied. "This is Ephram Oakden, the Chief's new secretary." He said, waving Ephram over. He approached and smiled, "Hello Mrs. Wellington, it's a pleasure to meet you. I had the honor of meeting the Chief this morning." He said, trying not to seem as though he had to rush off. He desperately wanted to get back to Collin.

"It's wonderful to meet you Ephram, my husband can use all the help he can get!" She said with a cheeky smile. Ephram smiled at her, She's so pretty and kind! He thought. "I was just about to head to William's office." Eliza told him. Ephram panicked, "I'll come with you!" He added hurriedly, "I left something in there." She nodded and they headed down the hallway together.

"How do you find Scotland Yard?" Eliza asked as they reached William's door. Ephram never got the chance to answer, she turned the knob and the door opened. I thought I had locked it! Ephram thought panicking. They stepped inside and both stopped short.

To Ephram's horror, Collin was talking about math and numbers to the Chief, who seemed to be nodding and taking everything he said very seriously. Eliza meanwhile found the scene quite charming, the boy looked so small sitting on William's lap, and both of them wore incredibly serious expressions. Then Collin said something she couldn't quite catch and William burst out laughing, causing Collin to giggle, his spectacles sliding down his small nose. They both looked up at the door at that moment.

"Ephram!" Collin exclaimed as William said, "Lizzie!" "Why hello, who do you have with you there Will?" Eliza asked coming over. "This is my new accountant, Collin." William paused, "Am I allowed to hire a 5 year old?" He wondered allowed.

Ephram had a guilty look on his face, "Sir, I apologize, Collin is my brother. Our neighbor usually watches him but she had an errand to run. I was going to take him home and come right back but I had to retrieve some records for…" William held up a hand. Ephram wasn't sure if he was in trouble or not. "Quite alright, he was fine in here. Is he a math prodigy?" William asked.

Ephram nodded slowly, "Yes sir. Please, if you don't mind sir, could you keep this between us? I don't want people finding out. It's not safe." William raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't press the matter, he had just met the boys and didn't want to come across as being nosy. He was going to keep an eye out on them though, in case they were in some sort of trouble.

William nodded, "Of course. Is your mother working?" William asked. Collin shook his head, "We have no mama. She died." He said matter of factly. William and Eliza looked aggrieved, "I'm so sorry child." William said to Collin. Collin shrugged.

"Is it just the two of you then? Or do you have a father?" Eliza turned to ask Ephram. He hesitated before answering, Mrs. Wellington seemed so nice, he decided to tell the truth, mostly. "It's just us. We have a tiny room we share, I make enough money now to support us. Our neighbor helps watch him too." Ephram was nervous about the reaction he would get.

Eliza nodded, "William and I both understand what it's like to lose a parent, or both, at such a young age." Ephram looked up at her in surprise, "Really?" He asked. "Aye," William answered, "If you ever need help Ephram, you can come to me. Or Miss Scarlet." Ephram nodded and Eliza raised an eyebrow at William upon hearing her maiden name. He shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"I can take Collin home now, I'll only be 10 minutes or so." Ephram said. "Of course, take your time." William replied. "Come Collin, let's go home. Miss Pearl is going to watch you for a few hours." Ephram said, holding out his hand to his little brother. To Ephram, and William's, surprise, Collin put his arms around William's neck and hugged him before jumping off of his lap and heading over to Ephram. "Bye Mr. Will!" He said waving as they left the office. William chuckled, "Bye Collin!" He called out.

Eliza came over to William's side of the desk. "Mr. Will?" She asked teasingly. "I thought it would be easier for him to remember, although he is a genius apparently. Interesting, they're hiding something." William said, brow furrowed.

"I agree, but we shouldn't push them. You'll…" She began to say as William nodded, "Aye, I'll keep an eye out. I'll get his address and have men patrol the street. Ephram was frightened of something. I do not want anything happening to them." He said.

Eliza nodded then moved closer to William and sat on his lap. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her. "Miss Scarlet?" She asked. He laughed, "All the men still call you that, and it is the name on your agency door." He said. "You don't mind?" She asked him. He shook his head, "Nay, you're my wife, and you did legally change your name, whether or not anyone remembers to call you by it… eh?" He shrugged, he really didn't seem to care.

"Do you think I should change the agency to Eliza Wellington, Private Investigator?" She asked. "Lizzie, you do as you see fit. Although, I do like how that sounds." He said with a smile. "Will?" "Yes Lizzie?" "I like how that sounds too." She said, leaning forward to kiss him. He smiled then kissed her back.

"I'd best head to my office now. I'm sure I'll have tons of letters to go through." Eliza said after their lips parted. "Mmmm…" William said, trying to steal another kiss from her. She smiled, knowing what he wanted. She kissed him again and rose from his lap, "I'll see you tonight my love." "Aye, tonight…" He said with a roguish look on his face. Eliza chuckled, waved goodbye, and left.

Lord, I can't get enough of that woman! William thought happily then tried his best to refocus on his work.