They didn't talk about Cal or the trial during the next week. Jack tried to bring it up a few times, just to see how Rose was feeling, but she brushed him off with smiles and cheerful comments about other things. Fabrizo was equally silent on the subject, but Jack figured he and Lucy were discussing it during their walks. In fact, they were avoiding it as well. Since the incident in town, Lucy hadn't spoken about anything connected with what happened. Like Rose, she just wanted it over and done with.

Milton continued to fight, but his efforts were fruitless. Cal remained in jail, silently fuming, and Harry remained somewhat amused by the spectacle Milton presented every day. Mostly, though, he just wanted the both of them to leave. He wished none of this had ever been brought into his town. He wished Jack had stayed wherever he was, keeping Rose and all the demons that followed her with him.

The day before the trial began was just like any other, but everyone felt a change in the air. Cal sat a little straighter on his cot. He wore a serene expression. When Milton arrived, he dismissed him. "There's no need," Cal said. "Tomorrow this will all be over."

"This charade could go on for several days, weeks even," Milton argued. "Why do you suddenly want to go through that?"

"Because I know it won't last that long," Cal replied, with a satisfied smile.

Milton eyed him curiously. "Is there something you haven't told me?"

"I've told you everything. It's just, I realized my wife will never testify against me. She can't."

"The other side doesn't think so," Milton said. "What makes you so sure?"

"I just know. She'll never manage it."

...

In fact, Rose was worrying about that very thing, though she did her best to hide it from Jack. He tried not to hover around her, and he actually managed to spend most of the day on his own, either tending to things outside or drawing. It felt good to just sit with his sketchbook and draw the scenes playing in his mind. He drew the two of them in happier times; he drew the future. He started, but didn't finish, a sketch of Lucy for Fabrizo.

Jack found Rose in the kitchen. The table was set for two. "Fabrizo's eating with Lucy tonight," she explained. "I hope you don't mind eating my cooking."

"Course I don't mind." He kissed her. "It'll be great."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." She smiled. "I didn't try anything too diffiuclt, though."

They talked about everything except what was weighing on their minds. Rose was cheerful, and she didn't let the conversation lag once. She also didn't let Jack talk much. Doing so would've meant risking question she didn't want to answer.

...

"I'll walk you home," Lucy offered.

"You don't have to do that," Fabrizo said. "It's getting dark."

"So? I know the way." She looped her arm through his. "Probably much better than you," she added with a grin.

They set off into the gathering dusk. The cold pressed in on them. Lucy held tighter to his arm. "It'll be bad tonight," she predicted.

"Worse than now?"

She nodded. "It's gonna be like a blizzard without the snow."

"Maybe you should go back home," he said. "I can make it the rest of the way."

"It's just cold," she replied. "I'll be fine."

"I don't want anything happening to you, Lucia."

"It won't. There's nothing to worry about," she said, giving his arm a squeeze.

"Maybe not tonight. No, I'm sorry," he added. "I shouldn't have said that."

"You're worried about tomorrow. So am I. I wish we didn't have to go through with it."

"You don't," he said. "You could always-"

"I can't do that. How could you even say that?"

"I'd say it to Rosa too," he replied. "I'm sure Jack would tell her the same thing. We don't want you hurt."

"That's why we have to do this," Lucy said. "People have to know the truth. They've made up plenty of their own stories already, but now we'll get to tell ours."

"You've been hearing stories?"

"Just a few, when I go into town," she said. "I haven't been going lately."

"Neither have we," Fabrizo said. "I don't want to hear it. I don't care so much what they say about me, but-"

"I care."

He kissed her hair. "I love you, you know that?"

"Of course I know. I love you too. That's what matters."

...

Rose felt sick. Her stomach churned, and she feared the few bites of breakfast she'd managed to get down would come back up at any moment. Jack squeezed her hand as the courthouse came into view. She tried to give him a smile, but her lips only twitched. "You don't have to do this," he said.

"Of course I do."

"We can go home," he offered. "Let this go however it's gonna. We can leave town today."

"He'd find us, Jack," she said. "And it would just the same thing all over again." Her eyes were weary.

Jack put an arm around her waist. He pulled her closer, his hand on her cheek. "You can divorce him now. We have the money, remember? You can do that just as easily from Paris."

This time Rose was able to smile. "It's a lovely idea."

"But?"

"But I have to do this first," she said. "If not for me, then for Lucy and you and everyone else his actions have hurt." It was all she could do not to say "my" instead of "his." Jack saw it in her eyes. "You haven't done anything, Rose," he said. "No matter what anyone says."

"I know."

He kissed her. "I'll be with you the whole time."

Fabrizo and Lucy were already inside, along with all three of her brothers. They sat in a line in the first row. Outside, things were quiet; it seemed like a typical day, but inside the main courtroom, a drama was already unfolding. The spectactors' gallery was nearly full, with locals taking up all the seats that didn't have reporters in them. Rose sucked in her breath. She stood, frozen, just inside the door. "Jack?" she said in a small voice.

"It's alright," he assured her.

At the front of the room, sat Cal. He turned in his chair, as if he knew she was there. His eyes met hers, and he smirked. Rose's hand turned to ice in Jack's.

"Look at me, Rose," Jack said, touching her face. "If you wanna leave, we will. Right now."

Rose felt Cal's stare. It was a pair of hands gripping her, his fingers cutting into her skin. Just like they always did. She took a breath and made her decision. "No, Jack," she said. "We have to stay."

"Alright."

Jack glared at Cal as they took their seats next to Fabrizo and the others. Cal's smirk didn't waver.

"Why are there so many people here?" Jack said, annoyed.

"His lawyer got the word out," Tom replied. "At least, that's we heard."

"How nice," Jack said drily. He put his arm around Rose and gave her a reassuring squeeze. She took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "I should've known this would happen," she said. "I just thought he'd want to keep things quiet as long as possible."

Milton had indeed alerted the press. When Cal announced his intention to stop fighting the case until the trial, he decided a new strategy was necessary. He had no illiusions about Cal's guilt, and in fact this wasn't the first legal trouble involving a woman he'd been sent to pull him out of, but guilt was irrelevant. The true battle would be fought in the court of public opinion, a place where even Cal could look sympathetic, if presented correctly.

It wasn't difficult to get representatives from the national papers. Some of the regional papers followed once they found out what was happening. Of course, this meant everyone now knew. The fact that something was deeply amiss in Cal's life wasn't such a surprise to his friends, though most of his family ignored or denied any knowledge of it. Rose had been gone for months, most people reasoned. Something like this was bound to be the cause.

Ruth also knew. Like his parents and closest friends, she declared her astonishment and outrage at the situation, but part of her knew there was something to the claims. She just didn't want to see it; she'd never wanted to see it. Looking away, and telling herself Rose could handle it, was so much easier.

She stayed in Philadelphia and ignored the journalists who came to the house.

Rose ducked her head as flashbulbs went off around them. Jack held her tighter, leaning over her to block the cameras. Lucy kept her back to them. Chin up, she projected defiance. Fabrizo held her hand. Her brothers sat in a row on the end of the bench, silently daring anyone to come closer.

A hush fell over the room as the judge entered.

...

The morning was taken up the prosecution. Charlie made his case eloquently, pacing up and down the room. To the amazement of some of the more prominent reporters, he treated the case with dignity, as though it were a high-profile matter and not, as so many of them dismissively referred to it, a marital dispute.

Rose heard almost nothing of his arguments. All that mattered was, eventually, possibly before the day ended, she would be in front of the room, explaining what happened. She didn't eat during the lunch recess. Jack tried to get her to have a bite of something, but her stomach wouldn't allow it.

Lucy moved her food around her plate more than she actually ate it, but handling the fork gave the impression of an appetite, and she was left alone. She caught Rose's eye across the table, and they shared a look. The diner overflowed, its usual lunchtime customers mingling with the trial spectators, and conversation was nearly impossible. It didn't matter. A look said more than words could have at that moment.

They kept up a brisk pace on their way back. Lucy and Rose walked in the middle, with two of the men on either side of them. They were nearly to the courthouse steps when a handful of photographers leapt out of the bushes. Jack pulled Rose under his coat with one arm; with the other, he shoved the nearest cameras away They hurried inside. Lucy and Fabrizo followed close behind. Her brothers remained outside to deal with the unwanted guests.

Lucy's hand shook with fury. "How can they do that?" she said disgustedly. "They don't have the right!"

"They think they do," Fabrizo said, his mouth thin with anger. He put his arm around her waist. "It's just something they write about. They don't care." He had to choose his words carefully, his emotions threatening to overcome his grasp of English.

"It's disgraceful," Lucy said.

"I know."

"It's worse than I thought it would be," she added. "I knew people were talking. I heard them, but this-" She shook her head. "I never imagined this."

"You shouldn't be going through this," Fabrizo said. "Neither of you." They looked toward Rose. She was huddled against Jack.

"We'll get through it," Lucy said.

...

Jack thought he couldn't get any angrier, but when Milton stood up and began to speak, he knew he'd been mistaken; he could always be angrier. It washed over him. He held Rose close, shielding her from Cal's view with his body. It didn't matter. She still heard everything. He couldn't stop that.

"My client is a prominent businessman and a devoted husband," Milton said. "He is innoccent of the outrageous charges against him." He paused and turned, so he was facing the judge on one side and the crowd on the other. "Marriage isn't easy, and perhaps some people simply aren't suited for it. Mrs. Hockley appears to be one of those people."

Rose flinched at the name. Jack glanced at her. "You alright?" he whispered. She nodded.

"I'm not in the habit of defaming women's characters," Milton went on. "But the truth must be told. This young woman deceived my client. She ran away from the life and home he provided for her and took up with an unscrupulous young man. She allowed her friends and family to believe her disappearance to be the result of force, that harm had befallen her. Her own mother thought her dead." He paused again, pleased when a murmur went through the crowd.

"She will hardly rejoice at finding her daughter alive," he continued. "Considering the situation she's been living in." Here, he turned and looked at Rose, who met his stare. "Wed to another man but living with not one, but two others," Milton proclaimed. "What are we to make of this?" The sound of pencils on paper could be heard. "And when her husband arrived to bring her home, after months of searching and worry, he's nearly murdered for his efforts!"

Rose closed her eyes and shook her head. She dreaded speaking, dreaded being questioned by this vile man, and yet, refuting his lies would be a kind of relief.

...

They were all exhausted by the day's end. Harry came over to speak to them as they left, but Jack led Rose away. She leaned against him, too wrung out to care if their picture was taken. They walked home as a group. Little was said. When they reached the Dawson house, Billy and Adam squeezed Rose's hands and smiled encouragingly. She smiled back.

"It'll be alright," Tom said.

"I know," Rose said. "Thank you."

"I'll be home soon," Lucy said.

"I'll get some dinner made," Fabrizo offered. "Lucia, you wanna help?"

"Maybe in a minute," Lucy replied. She gave him a quick kiss. "Why don't you and Jack go on inside?"

Jack looked at Rose. "You can go," she said. Hesitantly, he went.

"I thought you might like to talk," Lucy said.

"I don't know what to say," Rose said.

"Let's walk," Lucy suggested.

They headed down the path that led to the lake, oblivious to the darkness looming around them. After what they'd experienced, a dark forest held no threats. "Do you think about it?" Lucy asked.

"All the time. Do you?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "I can't help it. The thoughts just come. It's more than remembering. It's like I'm there, and it's all happening again."

"I feel that way too," Rose said. "Sometimes I know why. Something reminds me of him. But other times, it just happens. It's worse then. I don't feel like I can trust myself or anything else. Nothing is safe. I can't tell Jack. He won't understand, not really. He's had things happen, but..."

"Not like this," Lucy finished.

"Not like this."

"He knows that," Lucy said. "He knows he doesn't have a clue. Fabrizo doesn't get it either."

"I love him for trying anyway."

"Me too," Lucy said. "Is it worse for you now?"

"I don't know," Rose answered. "I can't remember what I felt like before I was afraid of Cal. After a while, I wasn't so much afraid of him anymore; I was mostly just numb from it all. That changed when I met Jack. I thought I was getting over it. I don't know if I ever will now. I'm afraid, no matter what happens, I'll always wonder if he's there, waiting for me, for us." Rose shook her head. "You don't have to listen-"

"I want to," Lucy said. "Talking helps. And there's some things you can't tell other people, no matter how much you love them. I can't tell Fabrizo what I've been hearing."

"What did you hear?"

"Nothing important," Lucy said. "Just talk. About us being together. About how it's not right." Anger burned in her eyes. "From people who think they're too good to speak to him, and me now."

"That's terrible," Rose said.

"It wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't coming from people I've known all my life," Lucy replied. "I thought these people were friends. I know this isn't a big town, and there's always gossip, but I've never heard anything so vicious. I didn't know people here felt that way. I don't care what they say about me. They've been talking about me for years. First for spending so much time with Jack, and then, after he left, they blamed me."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I know," Lucy said. "But that didn't stop some people from saying I drove him away." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't stand the things they're saying about Fabrizo, but there's nothing I can do about it. No-one would listen even if I tried to tell them the truth."

"I tried to tell people about Cal," Rose said. "My mother and a few of my friends. I never got very far. They didn't want to hear it. It's easier to pretend everything's fine."

"People knew?"

Rose laughed dryly. "They knew."

"That's horrifying. And they didn't help?" Lucy said.

"No-one offered, until Jack. And now I have to hear all over again what a fine, upstanding man I married. How he would never hurt anyone," Rose spat. "How I'm exaggerating. Making it up."

"Fabrizo asked if I wanted to stay home today," Lucy said. "He told me not to testify, if I didn't want to."

"Are you going to?"

"Are you?" Lucy asked.

"I have to," Rose said. "No matter how much it hurts, I can't let the lies stand any more. Even if no-one believes me."

Lucy took her hand. "I'll believe you. And I'll be there with you. You won't be doing this alone."

"Neither will you."

...

Day one was over. Cal sat in his cell, hardly feeling the lumpy mattress on his cot. He didn't care when vegetable was served for dinner, again, or when he was given day old bread. What did any of that matter now? He'd seen Rose, and more importantly, he'd seen the fear in her eyes. Jack could glare all he liked, but he knew the truth. Rose wouldn't talk, and even if she did, who would listen?